"Ohhh? That slave looks good! I want to trade him for the one I have now!"
A loud, arrogant voice cut through the room as if it owned the place.
The bidders froze, instantly annoyed.
Who the hell talked like that?
They all turned—ready to mock whoever dared interrupt them—and immediately shut their mouths the second they saw the ridiculous transparent bubble helmet.
Their faces went white.
They lowered their heads at once, praying they wouldn't be noticed.
The entire auction house fell into a deathly silence.
A Celestial Dragon.
Under CP0's urging, several nobles sitting in the front row hurriedly abandoned their seats, fleeing without a backward glance.
No one knew whether these Celestial Dragons might kill someone just to amuse themselves.
Clantonl plopped down onto a chair, his small eyes gleaming as he stared at Striker on the stage.
"I bid two hundred million berries!"
Truly a Celestial Dragon—money meant nothing.
The auctioneer was so happy he nearly fainted.
They originally estimated that this pirate would sell for around one hundred million berries at best.
But the Celestial Dragon doubled it instantly.
The auctioneer didn't even bother asking for more bids.
He slammed the hammer down.
"Congratulations to the honored Celestial Dragon for winning this rare slave!"
Even if he continued taking bids, no one with a working brain would dare compete with a Celestial Dragon.
At this point, practically the entire audience—except for Oguro's group—didn't even dare raise their heads.
The auction continued and introduced several more slaves.
A fallen princess was bought by Baskondal.
The rest didn't interest them.
Only when the Celestial Dragons weren't bidding did the other attendees dare call out tentative bids.
By the end of the auction, fourteen slaves had been sold.
The auction house earned a fortune.
The buyers—excited with their new purchases—happily walked toward the back to collect their slaves.
As for the Celestial Dragons, such trivial matters were naturally handled by CP0.
Oguro gave Soi Fon and the others a small nod.
They immediately stood up and headed backstage.
"Hey! Stop!"
An auction staff member rushed forward to block them.
Only authorized personnel were allowed behind the stage.
Soi Fon didn't even blink.
She lightly waved her left hand, and the man was instantly sent flying, crashing into the auction stage with a loud bang.
The sudden noise drew every eye in the room.
The two Celestial Dragons—who were chatting excitedly about their new slave—were startled as well.
"Who?! Who scared me?!"
Clantonl clung to the chair, face turning red from fury.
CP0 immediately moved in front of the Celestial Dragons, staring coldly at Soi Fon's group.
"What the hell?! Who's so insane?! Causing trouble in front of a Celestial Dragon?!"
"That uniform... isn't that the Holy Spirit Empire everyone's been talking about?"
"Holy crap, it is! I heard that country doesn't get along with the World Government at all. No wonder they don't care about Celestial Dragons!"
"Are you idiots still watching?! If something happens to a Celestial Dragon, a Marine Admiral is coming! Do you want to die?!"
That last shout snapped the crowd back to reality.
Holy hell.
This was a powder keg.
A single spark could blow everyone to dust.
"Go go go! Get out of here!"
"But I haven't collected what I bought!"
"Stuff or your life—which is more important?! Move!"
Panic erupted as the entire audience fled the venue.
Only a handful of people remained seated.
Oguro swept his gaze across the room and couldn't help rolling his eyes.
Great.
Rayleigh was sitting in the corner, wine bottle in hand, waving casually at him like he was enjoying front-row entertainment.
Two others were furiously taking photos with cameras—clearly reporters from Morgans' newspaper.
The final person made Oguro raise an eyebrow.
Black suit, tall hat—Capone Bege, one of the Supernovas.
A mafia boss from West Blue.
He lounged back in his chair, also watching the show with amusement.
Looked like he was one of the earliest Supernovas to arrive at Sabaody.
Oguro glanced once and looked away.
To ordinary people, Supernovas were rare and dangerous pirates.
In reality, they were just rookies who had barely cleared the tutorial area.
In the New World, they couldn't even make a splash.
A large group of hired guards rushed out from the back.
"You bastards! Do you know whose territory this is?!"
The auction house owner's face was twisted in rage.
He had just sealed a massive deal, and now trouble appeared—ruining his reputation.
Soi Fon saw the man in charge step out.
She didn't waste time.
She silently drew Suzumebachi.
Whoosh.
The auction owner only felt a gentle breeze pass in front of him.
A second later, Soi Fon stood exactly where she was and slowly returned Suzumebachi to its sheath.
A thin red line appeared simultaneously on the throats of dozens of guards.
Like dominoes, they collapsed one after another.
The auction owner—the only one left untouched—fell to the ground, trembling violently.
Everyone who witnessed the scene reacted instantly.
Rayleigh, Bege, and even CP0's expressions turned solemn.
Rayleigh, with his Observation Haki, barely caught a blur of Soi Fon's movement.
Bege and CP0 saw nothing at all.
"If she moved against me... I wouldn't even be able to react..."
Cold sweat poured down Bege's forehead.
The CP0 captain also recognized her.
The Holy Spirit Empire's important figures were all recorded in CP0's files.
The woman before him was a powerhouse capable of fighting evenly with Marine Admirals.
He had to evacuate the Celestial Dragons immediately.
"This area is dangerous, my lords. We must escort you out right awa—"
Before he could finish, Clantonl angrily raised his pistol and pointed it at Soi Fon.
"How dare you ignore me?! You filthy commoner! You're dead!"
Bang!
The CP0 captain went pale instantly.
Dear ancestors...
Who's the one seeking death here?!
Soi Fon didn't move at all.
The bullet flew past her harmlessly.
These Celestial Dragons couldn't aim worth anything.
At close range they might hit something, but from several meters away it was pure luck.
Soi Fon's cold gaze landed on them.
Every hair on the CP0 captain's body stood up.
"Tekkai!"
He instinctively leapt in front of Clantonl, activating Tekkai and hardening his body into a shield.
Splat!
A blade of pressure wrapped in Armament Haki sliced through his Tekkai instantly, ignoring even his Haki reinforcement.
A deep gash ran from his abdomen up to his shoulder, nearly cutting him in half.
Blood sprayed across Clantonl's bubble helmet.
The Celestial Dragon had never witnessed such horror.
He collapsed, screaming in terror.
"Ahhh!! You filthy commoner! How dare you! Kill her! Kill her now!!"