The rebel leader who had originally bid three hundred million suddenly froze. He opened his mouth, wanting to raise the price again, but the moment he thought of the guards standing beside Ronan, he panicked that even if he obtained the fruit, he might not have any chance to leave this island alive.
"So that was his goal in coming here—this fruit!"
Everyone present instantly understood why Ronan had come to this auction. At the same time, many people also thought of the pirates Ronan had been capturing on the island these past few days; all their bounties added together seemed to be just over four hundred million Berries.
"He did all that… just for this fruit?"
Devil Fruits were indeed precious, but this was only a Paramecia-type fruit. With guards that strong at his side, he completely didn't need the boost from a Devil Fruit ability. After all, the weakness to seawater was already a huge restriction.
Everyone speculated that Ronan was bidding on this fruit most likely so he could eat it himself.
Thinking of that, not only did the rebel leader fall silent, but the other few bidders in the hall who had been itching to compete also quieted down. Seeing how determined Ronan was to obtain this fruit, no one was willing to offend him.
The entire venue fell eerily silent. The previously intense bidding atmosphere cooled completely the moment Ronan called out four hundred million.
On the stage, the auctioneer's face turned deathly pale. The hand holding the gavel began to tremble.
"F–Four… four hundred million…" His voice carried a sobbing tone. "This guest has bid four hundred million Berries… I–Is there any higher bid?"
He looked almost pleadingly at those few bidders who had been competing the fiercest earlier, hoping they would muster a bit more courage. However, the only response he got was silence, and countless gazes hastily withdrawn.
"Four hundred million… first time…" The auctioneer sank into despair.
"Four hundred million… second time…"
The hall remained deathly quiet. No one spoke.
"Four hundred million… th–third time…"
The gavel came down.
"Sold! Congratulations to this guest, who has successfully won the Paramecia-type Gold-Gold Fruit for four hundred million Berries!"
The auctioneer forced a smile, but in his heart he knew it was over. Lord Doflamingo's expectations for this fruit were far beyond four hundred million! It had originally been estimated to fetch at least five hundred million, maybe even higher! And now, because of Ronan's bid, the final selling price had been forcibly pressed down by at least one hundred million Berries!
He could practically foresee what kind of end awaited him once Doflamingo learned of this result.
For Ronan, when he heard the auctioneer strike the final gavel, the heart he'd been holding in suspense finally settled. In fact, Ronan understood very well why no one in the hall continued to compete with him on price—the deterrent force of Beth and the others still made the people present wary.
Ronan didn't dislike this kind of "oppressing people with strength." On the contrary, when you possessed such power yet still acted like an ordinary person and paid a much higher price, that would be downright foolish. At this moment Ronan even felt a bit regretful; if he hadn't hesitated for that instant and had directly bid at the start of the auction, he might have been able to get the fruit at the starting price.
"Forget it. One should know when to be content." Ronan let out a helpless laugh.
At this time, the attendants who had been standing around the venue approached in Ronan's direction, preparing to lead him backstage. After all, only after Ronan handed over the four hundred million Berries to the auction side would he be able to receive the Gold-Gold Fruit.
As the host, Doflamingo no longer had the relaxed smile from the beginning. Instead, his face had gone dark, and his tone was full of violence.
"Ronan, you've done well… Fufufufu… You've successfully… pissed me off!"
Four hundred million Berries to take away a fruit he'd estimated at at least five hundred million, and on top of that, scaring off so many "customers" and turning his auction into a damp squib, utterly ruining his face!
Just as Ronan signaled Beth to head backstage and complete the transaction to retrieve that crucial Gold-Gold Fruit—
"Boom!!!"
A massive explosion suddenly blasted out from the outer wall of the auction hall! The solid wall was blown open into a huge gaping hole, dust and smoke billowing everywhere!
The venue instantly descended into chaos because of the explosion! Before the smoke had even cleared, several dozen thugs wearing identical eerie white smiling masks surged into the hall through the breach!
"Don't move!"
The thugs immediately subdued the guards nearby and signaled for everyone present not to make any sudden moves.
Everyone in the venue—whether pampered nobles and wealthy merchants or Underworld bosses who licked blood off their blades—did not rashly clash with these thugs. Instead, most of them carried a strange "spectator" mentality.
To launch such a brazen assault on the Donquixote Family's auction in the Sabaody Archipelago? How could a madman like Doflamingo possibly tolerate someone slapping him in the face like this?
"How interesting."
The moment the explosion happened, Ronan was firmly shielded on the left and right by Beth and Alicia, while Teresa silently moved closer as well.
He raised his hand slightly, signaling Beth and Alicia to stay calm. Ronan had no interest in meddling; as long as these thugs didn't come looking for trouble with him, he couldn't be bothered.
What Ronan really wanted to see was how Doflamingo would respond. According to what he knew about that "Heavenly Yaksha," at this moment, a cadre of the Donquixote Family should already have appeared.
However, time ticked by.
Ten seconds… twenty seconds… a minute…
Aside from the shouting of the thugs and the sounds of them ransacking the hall, the anticipated thunderous counterattack from the Donquixote Family never came!
The atmosphere in the hall grew even stranger. Those nobles and Underworld bosses who had originally just wanted to sit back and watch the show now wore expressions of surprise and confusion.
"What's going on? Where are the Donquixote Family's people?"
"Could it be… they're afraid of these thugs? No way!"
"Or is this… just a play directed and performed by Doflamingo himself? Does he want to double-cross everyone and swallow all of tonight's auction money?"
This guess spread rapidly in everyone's hearts! The more they thought about it, the more plausible it seemed!
Hearing those comments, Ronan frowned slightly.
"Directed and performed by himself?" That really did fit that guy's by-any-means-necessary style. If that were true, then the Gold-Gold Fruit he had just bid for…
Just as Ronan was starting to feel uneasy, the leader of the thugs—a man particularly tall, also wearing a smiling mask—walked up onto the central display platform.
Seeing this, a bad premonition flickered across Ronan's face.
By this point, with the Donquixote Family's cadres still nowhere to be seen, Ronan no longer cared whether this was one of Doflamingo's self-directed schemes. In Ronan's eyes, absolutely nothing was allowed to happen to the Gold-Gold Fruit.
(End of Chapter)
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