"The hottest item he's talking about…" Nami's face darkened. "He means Camie, doesn't he?"
"I think so."
Everyone stared at the huge object in the distance, covered in white cloth, and their expressions turned ugly.
Hearing about it was one thing.
Seeing it with their own eyes was another.
The next moment, Disco yanked away the white cloth—
revealing the figure inside.
It was Camie.
"CAMIE!!"
Hachi immediately became agitated, so worked up he wanted to rush forward and save her right then and there.
But he knew he couldn't.
He absolutely couldn't.
Because…
there was a Celestial Dragon right in front of them.
"Camie being here means…" Franky frowned. "Jin didn't make it in time?"
"Treating a lady like merchandise… these filthy bastards!"
Veins bulged on Sanji's forehead as hatred for this damned auction house boiled over.
"It's fine. We've got money." Nami said. "We'll buy her back."
If she counted it carefully, they had roughly a billion berries.
As long as they could get their friend back, even spending it all would be worth it.
"I'm begging you… Nami…"
Both Hachi and Pappag burst into tears.
At this point, they had no way out besides relying on the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Hahaha, it really is a mermaid!" Saint Charlos said excitedly. "I'm definitely getting her!"
At that moment, Saint Charlos had already started imagining the fish tank.
This time, he'd get one dozens of meters wide.
Then he'd throw the mermaid in together with piranhas and see whether she could survive to the end~
Hahaha, that would definitely be fun!
"Everyone, take a good look! This is a young female mermaid!" Disco shouted excitedly. "A true treasure, something you may not see even once in several years!"
"Alright, bidding begins now, and the starting price is—"
"Five hundred million!!"
"Uh…"
Disco stared blankly at Saint Charlos, who had suddenly stood up and spoken.
This Celestial Dragon…
had actually bid immediately?
"I bid five hundred million berries!" Saint Charlos declared again. "This mermaid is mine!!"
The others around him quietly lowered the number plates they had just started to raise.
"That kind of wealth…"
"There's no way we can compete."
"And even if we could, we can't. That's a Celestial Dragon…"
The other bidders glanced fearfully at Saint Charlos and instantly understood—
this mermaid had nothing to do with them anymore.
"Gulp…"
Disco swallowed hard.
He hadn't expected this mermaid to reach such a sky-high price.
For him, that was an astonishing performance record!!
"Ahem… Saint Charlos has bid five hundred million berries. Does anyone have a higher offer?" Disco asked.
Saint Charlos didn't get angry.
That was simply how the auction worked.
Still, he didn't believe anyone would actually—
"Six hundred million!!" Nami shouted. "We bid six hundred million berries!"
Crack.
Veins instantly bulged across Saint Charlos's face.
He turned and glared at Nami, his eyes practically spitting fire.
That look frightened Nami enough to make her take a step back instinctively.
But the moment she thought of Camie—
she stepped forward again.
"Huh?"
Disco froze.
He had never imagined anyone would really bid.
This was bidding against a Celestial Dragon…
Wasn't that just asking to die?
Law also glanced at Nami in surprise.
He hadn't expected the Straw Hat Pirates to actually bid against a Celestial Dragon.
Could it be…
that this mermaid had something to do with them?
"I bid seven hundred million!" Saint Charlos shouted, glaring at Nami. "That mermaid is mine!"
"Then I bid eight hundred million!"
"Low-born trash, are you trying to die?" Saint Charlos roared.
"This is an auction house. Everyone has the right to bid, don't they?"
"Heh."
Hearing Nami's words, Saint Roswald suddenly laughed.
The old man turned to look at Nami, amusement in his eyes.
"It's been a long time since I've seen a low-born insect with so much nerve."
"Take her away later."
Clearly, Saint Roswald had taken an interest in Nami and planned to have her seized after the auction ended.
As a Celestial Dragon, he could do this kind of thing freely.
No one would stop him.
Hearing Roswald's words, Saint Shalulia smiled faintly.
"It's rare for Father to take an interest in this kind of low-born."
"Haha, every now and then I do."
Shalulia nodded, then looked at Charlos.
"Brother, let her see the wealth of the Celestial Dragons."
Hearing his sister speak, Saint Charlos let out a cold laugh.
"That's right."
Trying to compete financially with a Celestial Dragon…
this filthy commoner really didn't know her place.
At that thought, Saint Charlos shouted,
"I bid one billion berries!"
"O-one… one billion berries…"
Nami's pupils contracted sharply.
Her body seemed to lose all strength at once, and she nearly collapsed against Chopper.
"It's over…"
"That's all the money we have."
"What do we do now?"
"What, not continuing?" Saint Charlos sneered. "If you want to raise the price again, I can keep following!"
"Of course… that's assuming you actually have the money."
"Hahahaha!"
Saint Charlos's mocking voice sounded like demonic laughter in Nami's ears, making her mind go numb.
They…
only had one billion.
"Damn it, if that's how it is, then we can only take her by force!" Franky said.
"No! The collar around Camie's neck will explode and kill her!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Get ready to fight." Sanji said as he lit a cigarette.
From the look of things, there was no way to buy Camie back with money anymore.
In that case…
there was only one way left.
"Then I'll go find Jin and snatch the key first." Franky said.
"Got it!"
"Hey, shouldn't you be announcing the mermaid's ownership now?" Saint Charlos said impatiently.
"Ah, yes, of course, Saint Charlos-sama~" Disco coughed lightly, then shouted, "Since no one is bidding any higher, then… this mermaid now belongs to Saint Charlos-sama!"
Thunk.
With Disco's hammer falling, that round of bidding officially ended.
"Hahaha, I'm taking this mermaid home!" Saint Charlos laughed loudly.
Then he turned and looked at Nami and the others.
"You low-born insects really thought you could compete with me financially?"
"What a joke."
Hearing Saint Charlos's mockery, veins bulged across the Straw Hat crew's faces, but none of them said anything.
After all, arguing with words meant nothing.
At that moment, a flying fish bike crashed down from above, smashing a huge hole through the ceiling of the auction hall.
"BOOM!!"
"Crash~"
As debris rained down, Luffy and Zoro fell to the ground with it.
"Lu… Luffy?"
Sanji stared blankly at Luffy.
Why had this guy dropped out of the sky together with Zoro?
"What the hell are you doing?!" Luffy shouted angrily at the skinny Rosy Life Rider. "Can't you land properly?!"
"Idiot, this is a flying fish, not a bird! How am I supposed to land smoothly in here?!"
"And weren't you the one yelling for me to charge in?!"
The skinny guy was nearly driven mad.
If Luffy hadn't kept shouting at him to crash straight in, he wouldn't have come in so hard!
"Oi, even if we were heading back to the Thousand Sunny, there was no reason to be this rushed." Zoro rubbed his head and grimaced. "You just grabbed me halfway there and dragged me on. You nearly killed me."
Shaking his head, Zoro looked around in confusion.
"Hm?"
"Where is this?"
Weren't they supposed to be heading back to the Sunny? Why had they ended up in such a weird place?
"Luffy, didn't you explain what happened to Mosshead?" Sanji asked.
"Nope."
"What the hell happened?"
Zoro frowned at the others.
Why did it feel like something huge had gone down?
Hm?
Why was Nami sitting on the floor?
"Nami, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine." Nami stood up and said, "Luffy, we lost the bidding. We can't beat the Celestial Dragons in money."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Where's Camie?"
"There!"
Following the direction of Nami's finger, Luffy saw Camie on the stage, and his gaze instantly sharpened.
"Camie! I'm here to save you!"
With that, Luffy immediately charged forward.
The rest of the Straw Hat crew followed at once.
Clearly, everyone understood now—
they weren't getting their companion back with words.
"What a noisy bunch." Saint Roswald frowned. "What's with these pirates?"
"Obviously, they're a pack of low-born fools with a death wish." Saint Shalulia sneered. "They're here for that mermaid."
"Perfect. Father, didn't you say you like pirate captains? You can take their captain too."
"Heh, good point."
Roswald grinned and slowly turned his gaze toward Luffy.
Clearly, as a man with a particular interest in pirate captains, he kept up with newspapers and wanted posters.
And Luffy…
was the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Then I'll do the capturing myself!" Saint Charlos stood up and pointed his pistol at Nami. "We'll start with that woman!"
Bang!
"Pfft—"
"Eh?"
Seeing Hachi take the bullet for her, Nami froze in shock.
"H-Hachi?"
"I'm sorry, Nami… dragging all of you into something this dangerous…"
"Oi, is this really the time to say that?!" Nami shouted anxiously. "Chopper, quick! Check his wound!"
She had never expected Hachi to actually block the shot for her.
At that moment, someone in the hall noticed Hachi's extra arms and immediately screamed in horror.
"Hey, look! That guy's a Fish-Man!"
"He really is! He's got all those extra arms…"
"Oi, disgusting Fish-Man, why are you even on land? Go die!"
"Die!"
Hearing the voices around him, Chopper froze.
"Why are they…"
"Because I'm a Fish-Man." Hachi said with a bitter smile.
The Straw Hat crew all fell silent at his words.
Just because he was a Fish-Man…
that alone was enough for everyone to despise him?
"How surprising…" Disco muttered with a frown. "Still, at least the buyer this time is a Celestial Dragon. At least we'll get our money."
That was one of the better things about Celestial Dragons—
as long as they said they'd pay, they would.
After all…
money was the one thing they had no shortage of.
Just then, Disco noticed a strange man walking out from one side of the hall.
And in that man's arms…
was another "item" that was supposed to be sold at the auction?!
"Kid, who are you?!" Disco's gaze instantly turned cold. "Why are you carrying our merchandise?"
Crack.
The moment Disco said the word "merchandise," veins bulged across Jin's forehead.
"Merchandise…"
"That's right. Merchandise!" Disco smirked. "The moment they enter this place, they lose the right to be considered human."
"Slaves… are not peo—"
He didn't get to finish the sentence.
A second Jin, identical to the first, suddenly appeared at his side.
Then came a rapidly enlarging fist.
"BANG!!"
A Haki-coated punch smashed into Disco's skull, shattering it instantly!
"Whoosh—"
"BOOM!!"
Like a cannonball, Disco was blasted away, crashing into the wall behind him with a thunderous impact!
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his head lolled to one side, lifeless.
Thus, Disco—the auctioneer who had run these auctions on Sabaody for years—died at Jin's hands.
That sudden twist immediately drew everyone's attention.
"That's… Blood-Eyed Ninja Jin?" Law looked at him in surprise. He hadn't expected Jin to walk out from there.
Looking at it like this, all of the Straw Hat Pirates had arrived.
"Jin!"
Meanwhile, Nami and the others looked at Jin and Merry in pure relief.
"Thank God, Merry's okay!"
"Thank God!!"
"What is with one after another of you people?!" Saint Charlos roared furiously. "Are you all trying to die?"
The group in front of him not knowing their place was bad enough.
Now another one had appeared?
"These two look good. I want them!" Saint Shalulia said excitedly. "Father, I want that man and that child!"
"I want them as my slaves!"
"Heh, suit yourself."
Saint Roswald still wore a smile, as if the murderous Straw Hat crew standing there didn't exist at all.
"Really…"
"your arrogance knows no bounds."
After saying that, Jin ignored them and walked straight toward Camie's glass tank, intending to get her out.
And at that same moment, Luffy moved too.
"Hm?"
"What kind of look is that?" Roswald glanced at Luffy as he approached and raised his gun. "Do you want to die too, low-born?"
Unfortunately, Luffy didn't even respond.
He just kept walking forward in silence.
Seeing that Luffy refused to recognize his place, Roswald pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three bullets shot mercilessly toward Luffy—
and Luffy dodged all three with ease.
"He dodged my bullets?"
Shock flickered through Roswald's eyes.
There were actually people in this world who could dodge his bullets?
In the past, whoever he wanted dead had simply died.
"You filthy—"
"BANG!!"
This time, Luffy gave him no chance to continue.
He punched Roswald square in the face, sending him flying in one terrifying blow!
"Whoosh—"
Clack.
Everyone stared in horror as Roswald's body was caught in midair by Jin's Shadow Clone.
"H-he hit a Celestial Dragon?!"
"Oi, what are you planning to do now?"
Seeing that Jin had grabbed Roswald and clearly had no intention of letting him go, Saint Shalulia shot to her feet, glaring furiously at him.
"Let go of my brother, you low-born trash!"
Jin turned his head, gave her a savage grin, and said,
"Don't worry…"
"You're next."
As his words fell, he casually tossed Saint Charlos upward.
At the same time, he raised his right hand and wrapped it in Haki.
"Armament…"
"Super Strength Punch!!!"
"BANG!!"
That horrifying punch slammed into Saint Charlos's body, caving in his chest and instantly shattering his heart!
A huge spray of blood burst from his mouth as he was blasted away, smashing a giant hole through the wall before flying out of the building.
The moment he hit the ground outside—
he died.
"You—"
Saint Roswald glared furiously at Jin.
"You filthy low—"
"Too noisy."
"Wha—?!"
Seeing Jin suddenly appear right beside him, Roswald's pupils contracted.
Was this man actually planning to kill him too?
At that thought, he instinctively tried to call for his guards.
But Jin was simply too fast.
"Pfft!"
A flash of steel.
The next instant, Roswald felt the world start spinning.
'Hm?'
'What is this…?'
Why was everything turning upside down?
But he understood soon enough.
Because he saw his own body.
'So that's it… I was cut?'
'This low-born insect actually dared kill me?'
Even in his final moment, Roswald couldn't believe someone had truly dared kill him.
In the end, his sight stopped on his daughter.
And at that moment—
his daughter was pinned to her seat with a sword through her body.
'If only I hadn't come out today…'
That was Roswald's final thought before darkness consumed his consciousness.
"Y-you…"
Saint Shalulia trembled as she tried to reach for Jin, but the Kusanagi Sword had pierced straight through her heart.
She had no strength left at all.
In the end, her hand dropped limply.
"Pfft—"
Jin pulled the Kusanagi Sword free and calmly slid it back into his waist.
Only then did the crowd finally understand what had just happened.
"T-the Celestial Dragons are dead!!!"
"You devil! Are you trying to tear open the heavens themselves?!" one man shouted in terror at Jin.
He had never imagined that someone would truly dare kill Celestial Dragons.
This was bad.
Now even the people in the hall might be arrested as accomplices!
"Killing Celestial Dragons means tearing open the heavens?"
"Then let's tear open the heavens!"
"Madman…"
Looking at Jin—who showed not the slightest trace of fear—the man felt like he was staring at a lunatic.
Then again…
only a lunatic would dare do something like this.
At that thought, the man scrambled toward the exit on hands and knees, terrified Jin might cut him down too.
"Everyone run!!"
"A Marine Admiral is coming!!"
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