One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

For a time, apart from the people trapped in the iron cage, the entire backstage area was filled with a visible mist of blood.

Suddenly, a door in the distance opened, revealing a man inside wearing a yellow top hat and with a head of light blue curly hair, who shouted.

"Why is it so noisy!"

He looked down at the limp staff below and immediately roared in anger.

"Bastard! Bastard! Do you know whose men are working here?!"

"Heh! It doesn't matter whose subordinate you are, what matters is that you're going to die here!" Mabi's figure vanished instantly and reappeared in front of the other party. Her long sword moved rapidly and passed through the other party's body without any hindrance, causing the other party to freeze in place. She kicked the body that was about to be separated into the house and closed it again.

"How boring! As expected, they're just relying on their reputations but their actual fighting ability is much lower." Looking at the fact that they had absolutely no fighting power, Mabi shook her head. Indeed, there wasn't a single person in the entire scene who could fight.

He then walked towards the group of guards holding iron chains, took the keys from their belts, and walked towards the group of people not far away who were bound inside iron bars, their bodies covered in bracelets and necklaces.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Upon seeing Mabi's arrival, the group of people trembled and moved backward, their mouths trembling as they spoke. They had personally witnessed the black-clad youth in front of them causing the brutal deaths of all the guards.

*Thud!* Mabi threw a bunch of keys on the ground.

“Pasia! If you want to leave, then leave on your own!” Mabi glanced at the woman dressed in white gauze with long, smooth, sky-blue hair and replied.

"Do you know me?" The woman, with tears welling in her eyes, took the key, unlocked the heavy iron chain around her neck and shoulders, and looked at the black-clad youth before her, speaking softly.

“Yes! I saw you as a contestant on Dancer’s Island. Your dance was absolutely amazing. I never imagined you would be captured and brought here.” Looking at the miserable state of the woman who had once competed with her, Mabi shook her head. At the time, only a portion of them were killed, and the exact number of people was not investigated. Later, some people were captured and transported here.

"Thank you so much for your help! I really don't know how to repay you. If it weren't for you, I would have been living a life of darkness." The other person bowed deeply to Mabi in gratitude.

"How about a reward? How about you take care of this old man for me!" Mabi looked at the old man holding a flat wine jug in the distance, who was curiously observing them with his bright eyes.

"Hey? Hey! You little rascal, you actually used such a pretty young girl to take care of an old man like me!" The other party teased upon seeing Mabi's actions.

Mabi glanced at the people around him who had resumed their movements but had not left, then ignored them and pushed a wooden box in front of him with Pasia, who was dressed in a white gauze dress that revealed her beautiful figure. She sat down and smiled.

"Haha! It's only right for a junior to take care of a senior!"

He then placed the food and drinks on the wooden box in front of him, and also killed the Den Den Mushi on his body and put it aside so he could listen to his companions' urgent messages.

"Senior Rayleigh, this is pumpkin wine brewed by the priests on Sky Island. It's a rare drink in Qinghai."

"Rayleigh?" The other person looked at Maggie's slightly smiling face and laughed in surprise.

"Just who are you, brat? How did you know who I am at a glance!"

"Identity?" Maby laughed.

Having pointed out the other party's identity so readily, he naturally understood the questions the other party would ask him. After all, Rayleigh in front of him was now just a retired pirate who rarely showed his face, and few people in the new era knew of his existence.

"My captain was taught by Shanks to aim for the Pirate King Roger. As his first mate, I naturally need to know about the legendary first mate of the Pirate King, so I can recognize you at a glance. I am naturally overjoyed to see Senior Rayleigh."

"Heh! I didn't see any joy on your face! Sky Island is a dangerous place, I didn't expect you guys could even get up there!" Hearing Maby's explanation, Rayleigh loosened the coat draped over his shoulders and chuckled. He reached out and picked up the drinks that Maby had placed on the wooden box. He was satisfied with the kid who had called out his identity.

Those who had regained their freedom in the distance trembled upon hearing this scene. Rayleigh and his crew didn't know who he was, but they knew the name of the Pirate King. However, the fact that the Pirate King's vice-captain had almost been sold into slavery was even more incomprehensible to them.

"The brat who got a beating from Shanks? Could it be Monkey D. Luffy?"

“Yes! Mr. Ridley! I didn’t expect you to know him too!” Maby continued to take out a few more bottles of wine and place them in front of him, letting Pasia open the bottle caps.

“Him? I’ve wanted to see him for a long time. After all, Shanks kept talking about him when he was with me.” Rayleigh took the drink that Pasia handed him, his eyes gleaming. He glanced at Maple’s red-scabbard sword at her waist and smiled.

"Kid! How's your old man doing?"

"Old men? You mean those few? Grandpa Garp?" Mabi sat cross-legged on a wooden box, looking at Rayleigh's words with confusion. She had many old men, after all, she had sought out masters from all over the place.

"That guy around your waist! Edmund Gallup, that bastard!"

“Professor Gallup! He’s been sleeping all day for months now and is too lazy to wake up. He’s just waiting to go to the underworld.” Maby patted the red scabbard at her waist and laughed as she watched Rayleigh’s conversation.

"I never imagined that after decades, your faction would produce another successor! The legendary Yellow Springs Sword Sect, which is said to possess the power to destroy the heavens and the earth!"

"Haha! I haven't even mastered the basics of the old man's swordsmanship yet! Only when I've mastered it can I be called a successor of the Yellow Springs Sword Sect!" Merry said modestly when she heard the old man Rayleigh mention his sect. As her teacher's disciple, Merry had never understood why her teacher hadn't explained to her how powerful his sect was.

As Mabi and Riley chatted happily, more and more bottles of liquor were placed around them, and even more liquor that was about to spill was brought over by the people who had regained their freedom for the two to drink.

"Haha! The old man never expected Roger to be just as fond of fooling around as our captain!" Mabi slapped her thigh and laughed heartily as the drinks disappeared.

“Then you two will have to take on more responsibility. From your description, Roger and the other man seem to have almost identical personalities and temperaments!” Rayleigh replied, taking a big gulp of wine.

Maby sat down again, calmed herself down, and became serious.

"Of course! Luffy may be a bit of a troublemaker, but he also has his own principles. As the vice-captain, I naturally have to follow his decisions! I will definitely send Luffy back to the position of Pirate King."

"Then I'll wait and see!" Rayleigh said with a smile, putting down the empty wine bottle in his hand.

"Brut! Brut!"

"Brut! Brut!"

The Den Den Mushi placed on the wooden box rang urgently, startling the two people who were talking and laughing. Mabi immediately stepped forward and grabbed the receiver.

"Hello! This is Maggie! What's up?"

"Mabi! Where are you? Camie has been kidnapped! We're searching everywhere for her!" Nami's anxious voice came from the Den Den Mushi.

"Don't rush! I'm at an auction house right now! Go to all the auction houses and ask if there are any mermaids! Search them one by one and then notify them via Den Den Mushi!" Maggie reassured them, telling them to look for places where they could bid.

"Okay! I'll inform them right away!"

Chapter 161 Untitled! (Look!)

So tired! My head is spinning! I can't write anything today! I want to sleep! Sorry guys! I'll finish it tomorrow!

Chapter 162 Luffy is about to get angry!

“It seems your companion has run into trouble!” said Rayleigh, who was sitting in front of Maby, raising his glass.

“Yes! A mermaid companion has been kidnapped! Presumably, news of what happened here hasn't spread yet. Sending her away to auction off at the largest slave auction house in the Sabaody Archipelago is undoubtedly their best option,” Maggie replied, looking towards the door.

Previously, the rescue personnel had been instructed to guard the entrance and beat up anyone who came in, seizing their slave goods. In particular, the seven-meter-tall strong man in the brown captain's cloak was holding a spear that looked like a toothpick in his hand, and he stabbed the pirates who came in to transport slaves to death one by one.

"Can the old man help me out?" While pondering, Mabi remembered that the person beside her possessed extremely strong Observation Haki. It might be difficult for him to find a complete stranger, but finding a special mermaid should be no problem.

“Speak!” Rayleigh replied, taking the tin box filled with liquor from Pasia’s hands.

"Use Observation Haki to scan the entire island to find the captured mermaid and locate her position."

"Hehe! You really know how to mess with this old man! Didn't your old man teach you any of this?" Reilly chuckled upon hearing Mabi's question, but still nodded in agreement. An inexplicable aura emanated from him and spread far into the distance.

"He said I wasn't old enough to learn Observation Haki and Armament Haki, so he stopped teaching me those skills!" Mabi shook her head as she sensed Rayleigh's Observation Haki spreading. She said that her current understanding of Haki was learned from Issho, and her analysis of air combat power was just a low-end version of Haki, which was too limited.

"A mermaid? There is indeed someone carrying a young mermaid running this way, probably in a hurry to put her up for auction." Rayleigh said with a hint of surprise after opening his eyes again a short while later.

"However, what surprises me more than the aura emanating from you, Mermaid, is that I cannot see through any of your thoughts. It's as if you, sitting here, are like a hard statue, making it impossible to sense any of your presence."

Upon hearing Mr. Rayleigh's reply, Maby stood up and laughed!

"It's good that you found it! Thank you, Grandpa Rayleigh! What you're talking about must be related to my Devil Fruit ability. After all, the side effect of my Devil Fruit ability is to eliminate my presence. Presumably, it's also eliminating the influence of Observation Haki on me."

Seeing Maby stand up and sit cross-legged on the wooden crate, Rayleigh also straightened his coat and smiled.

"Heh! To erase one's own existence? That's quite a peculiar ability! For someone who craves fame and power, that's a cruel thing!"

Upon hearing this, Mabi smiled helplessly and walked towards the door, her words carrying far.

"Fame? I don't need it! Power is even less important to me! I just need my friends and family to remember me! I didn't choose to come into this world, but I can decide how I want to live!"

"A pretty good idea!" Rayleigh said with a smile, brushing the grass clippings off his clothes.

"Haha! Haha! Look what I caught! It's sure to be the best item at this auction!" A man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, standing three meters tall, pushed open the door with a grin, carrying a package on his shoulder. But when he saw the figure hidden behind the door, he froze and asked in disbelief.

"Who are you? Newly recruited guards?"

"Hummingbird!" Without giving him any explanation, she raised her hand and two iron rods, each as thick as a finger, flew out. With a slight buzzing sound, they arrived in an instant and pierced his shoulder bones, carrying a powerful force that pinned him directly to the wall behind him, causing him to struggle and scream violently.

Ignoring his screams, Maby squatted down and untied the burlap sack, and heard an angry, slightly trembling voice coming from inside.

"Damn it! Damn it! Xiao Ba will definitely come to save me! He will definitely come back to save me! He will definitely kill you all!"

"Kemi! It really is you!" Mabi exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the familiar figure. It was worth making her wait here for so long.

"Who are you! If you dare touch me, Xiao Ba, I will never let you get away with this!" Upon seeing Mabi's figure, the other party looked slightly confused, then glared angrily at Mabi.

"···"

Mabi felt a headache coming on when she saw her angry face. Sure enough, she had forgotten to eliminate the side effects of the other woman on her before, and had forgotten about her in such a short time.

"Hey! What are you doing...?"

Seeing her struggling to get up, Mabi reached out and placed her head on top of her, pressing her back down and tying the sack to prevent her from yelling around.

"I'm sorry! The fruit's influence is still there, making her forget my identity. For now, the only way is to wait and hand it over to our partners. That will make things much easier, and she won't cause any trouble."

After being tied up, Mabi explained to the unfriendly crowd around her, "Anyone who has just regained their freedom would feel uncomfortable to see someone tying them up in front of them, even if this person is the benefactor who saved us."

"Uncle, is the hot oil ready? If it is, we'll go." Mabi asked, looking up as she hoisted Kemi back onto her shoulder.

"It's been ready for a while now. We're just waiting for you to finish talking before we leave!" Upon hearing Mabi's reply, they didn't bother with anything else and immediately said that they had been eager to leave since they had regained their freedom.

"Set it on fire! If we're going to destroy it, let's destroy it completely and turn them to ashes!" He kicked open the closed door and stepped out first, coldly looking at the panicked crowd caused by the sudden breakage of the door. Thanks to his disruption and the preemptive killing of the people inside, no news had leaked out, preventing the area from being besieged.

Looking at the people dressed in gorgeous clothes surrounding the auction house, he figured they were bidders who couldn't get in because the doors hadn't opened yet. He casually used his other hand to dial the number on the Den Den Mushi.

"Brut! Brut!"

"Hey! Nami! Stop what you're doing! Camie's here with me!" Nami took the ringing Den Den Mushi receiver off her shoulder and heard the familiar voice on the other end.

"Found it! That's great! We're all basically gathered together, and I can get them to stop searching. But we've run into a little trouble here and can't get out. Maggie, you should use Luffy's Vivre Card to get here as soon as possible."

"Trouble?" Mabi frowned as she heard Nami's slightly troubled voice. What had happened now? The scattered companions began to gather in one place, then tossed the sacks on their shoulders to Rayleigh and replied.

"Grandpa Rayleigh, I'll leave her with you for now. Hachi will take us to the tavern to meet up later."

Then his body soared into the air, stepping on a bubble and leaping and running far away.

"Go ahead! I didn't expect you to be Hachi's friend too! We'll wait for you over there." He caught the mermaid tossed to him and looked at Merry as she walked away into the distance.

"Hey! Luffy! Camie has been found, she's with Mamey!" Nami shouted to her crew after receiving the message.

"Understood!" Luffy said in a deep voice, his face grim as he slowly removed his straw hat from the back of his neck and placed it on his head, leaning forward and taking a light step.

"Hahaha! Hahaha! Hahaha! You damned lowly people, hurry up and offer me your birdman as my wife! I've never collected a birdman before! She must be a perfect specimen!" A fat man with a snotty nose and a bubble-like head, holding a torch, laughed wildly with a big smile on his face. Behind him, a man in a suit stepped forward.