The Southernpiece Auction was still ongoing, but Law had already left ahead of time.
With or without him, it didn't make much of a difference.
At most, it meant someone was sulking, and someone else lacked confidence.
The one sulking was Ellie.
The one lacking confidence was Milluki.
As the Southernpiece Auction progressed towards the 10th, only two copies of Greed Island remained. The first five had all been bought by Battera at high prices.
Reportedly, just for these five copies of Greed Island, Battera had already spent assets approaching 200 billion.
With that determined drive, he would likely spare no cost to secure the remaining two copies as well.
Milluki's budget had been figured out. With essentially no fighting power, the only way was to try and increase his budget further.
He had already borrowed 20 billion from Law and didn't want to ask again, so he could only borrow from his family.
Using 'helping to kill people' as a pretext, he planned to borrow at least 10 billion from each family member. He didn't believe he couldn't secure one copy of Greed Island.
Gon and Killua went to the auction every day, watching the bidding price for Greed Island soar all the way, thinking that even if they sold themselves, they couldn't raise that much money.
Fortunately, they had already found an alternative way out, so they weren't too worried.
Even if Milluki couldn't win an auction, they could still participate in Battera's recruitment screening.
That was a recruitment session only Hunters who had mastered Nen could attend. The number of applicants had already surpassed two hundred, most of them amateur hunters.
The Yorknew Auction gradually approached its end. Meanwhile, Law arrived at the Balsa Islands.
Located at the southern tip of the Yorbian Continent, the islands there varied in size. The largest island was ten times the size of Greed Island, and the smallest island was still about three times the size of Greed Island.
There were a total of twelve islands. Viewed from above, they looked like a large plate that had fractured into twelve fragments scattered across the sea's surface.
Each fragment was an island, and each island contained numerous countries.
If autonomous regions were also counted, the number of countries within the Balsa Islands alone reached a staggering one hundred and fifty-two.
Among them, the NGL where Tonpa was located sat at the outermost edge of the Balsa Islands, an autonomous region within the Mitene Union on one of the twelve islands.
Apart from the NGL, there were four other countries there: the Republic of East Gorteau, the Republic of West Gorteau, the Republic of Rokario, and the Republic of Hass.
It's worth noting that within the Mitene Union, only the NGL autonomous region and the Republic of East Gorteau prohibited the outflow of information.
Law knew of the Balsa Islands, but his visits there could be counted on one hand. This trip was mainly for on-site investigation.
He was on the island closest to the mainland, standing on the beach, letting the waves wash over his ankles.
It was mid-September, and the weather hadn't completely cooled down yet.
There were quite a few tourists on the beach, and playful shouts could be heard everywhere.
Looking straight out to sea from here, one could faintly see the southern tip of the Yorbian Continent. There was also a coastline adjacent to the sea there, with many famous beaches that received numerous tourists every year.
Law stood for a while, then turned and left. After walking a short distance, he could see some plastic bags, empty bottles, cans, and other trash left behind on the beach.
He deliberately stopped to look at the trash, then headed towards the rocky area at the end of the coastline.
Arriving at a cliff suitable for sea fishing, Law sat down cross-legged, quietly gazing at the distant blue sky and sea.
He didn't know the exact time the Chimera Ant Queen would arrive on the Six Continents. He only knew that when the Chimera Ant Queen arrived, she was severely injured, so she left behind a severed limb on a certain beach.
In other words, as long as the Chimera Ant Queen's severed limb was discovered immediately, they could find the Queen right away and eliminate her.
Earlier, Law noticed quite a bit of trash left by tourists on the beach, which gave him a preliminary idea.
He planned to invest an initial sum of money under the banner of 'Protecting Nature', establishing trash disposal stations on various beaches.
On the surface, the stations' work would be to send out staff daily to collect trash left on the beaches. Secretly, they could immediately discover any unidentified insect limbs.
By ensuring that trash disposal stations covered the entire southern coastline of the Yorbian Continent and the coastlines of the Balsa Islands, comprehensive monitoring could be achieved.
Even if this approach didn't work, as long as Tonpa had a firm foothold in the NGL, they could discover immediately once the Chimera Ants invaded the NGL.
"This is a massive project. Money is the minor issue, it's the procedures that are the problem..."
Law stroked his chin. Although using 'Protecting Nature' as a righteous cause and investing money without seeking returns sounded good, the necessary procedures still had to be followed. Moreover, without proper legitimacy, the locals might not agree.
Thinking it over, the only organization he could think of was the Hunter Association.
Speaking of which, he had previously planned to take one of the empty seats among the Zodiacs. It was about time.
With that title, handling certain matters would indeed be much easier.
'First, circle around the Balsa Islands, then go to the southern coastline of the Yorbian Continent, and finally return to the Hunter Association to ask Netero for a Zodiac seat.'
Law silently formulated his itinerary in his mind.
Instead of referencing the time it took for Gon and Killua to clear Greed Island, he would start setting up defensive lines now to prevent the Chimera Ant race from growing strong.
Ring ring ring...
His phone rang.
Law took out his phone. It was Tonpa's number.
He had left a message several days ago, and it was only now that Tonpa called. It showed how strict the control in the NGL was.
That place had a population of 2.7 million, 99% of whom were indigenous people, and the remaining 1% were volunteers.
There, communication tools mainly relied on letters, and transportation mainly relied on horses. It was a country that rejected all mechanical civilization, with the purpose of protecting nature and striving to live within it.
If one was found within the country carrying civilized tools like computers or mobile phones, they could potentially be sentenced to death.
Law answered the call and immediately heard Tonpa's complaints.
"I could be enjoying myself with piles of money, but instead I'm living like an ascetic here."
Law held the phone slightly away, waiting for Tonpa's bitter complaints to finish before bringing it back to his ear and asking, "How's the progress?"
After venting, Tonpa adjusted his mood and said, "My identity is a volunteer. I've been here for a while, but it's hard to even integrate into the periphery. However, it's not like I've gained nothing."
"On the surface, this is a nature reserve, but in reality, there are quite a few drug factories built here, and there are even quite a number of high-caliber firearms."
"The one leading them is a man named Gyro."
Listening to the information Tonpa provided, Law didn't comment.
He had sent Tonpa into the NGL with the intention of having Tonpa merge into the central vortex of the NGL.
In terms of information flow, the NGL was practically closed off. As long as Tonpa could secure a foothold at the center of the NGL, Law would be able to grasp any movement immediately.
If he didn't plant someone inside, given the NGL's practices, even if the Chimera Ants devoured all the humans in the NGL autonomous region, the outside world would know nothing about it.
Therefore, placing Tonpa in the NGL was to establish a second line of defense against the rise of the Chimera Ants.