The Noro Noro Beam struck Bege again. He could feel his body weakening once more, though the degree of debilitation was noticeably less than the first time. It was evident that the effect of the Noro Noro Beam diminished significantly with repeated exposure.
After using the Noro Noro Beam twice, Foxy's face turned slightly pale, and he began to pant. Using his ability clearly consumed his stamina or mental energy.
"What a waste," Bege muttered, shaking his head in exasperation. He casually chopped Foxy on the neck, knocking him unconscious, then tossed him into his internal castle, secured with Sea Prism Stone handcuffs.
Bege paid no mind to the other pirates and simply launched himself into the air, departing.
He returned directly to his ship. The vessel unfurled its flying wings, soared into the sky, and headed straight back to the Sky Island.
Bege placed great importance on the Slow-Slow Fruit's ability. It could be said that in a duel between high-level combatants, the Slow-Slow Fruit could produce unexpected, even tide-turning, effects.
He had already selected a new host for the Slow-Slow Fruit: Simon, one of his most loyal subordinates. Simon's innate talent was average, but his loyalty was absolute; he was one of Bege's earliest followers.
The Slow-Slow Fruit was too crucial; Bege could only entrust it to his most faithful men.
Three days later, the "fusion" was complete, and Simon obtained the Slow-Slow Fruit ability. Bege then formulated a specialized training plan for Simon to help him develop more powerful applications of the fruit as quickly as possible.
Bege's subordinate crews were spread across the Four Blues and the first half of the Grand Line. Their large-scale capture of Devil Fruit users naturally attracted the attention of many powers, especially the Marines.
It was only then that the Marines learned about almost all of Bege's top officers, making them even more vigilant towards the Fire Tank Pirates.
As a result, Bege's bounty surpassed one billion Berries, reaching a new height.
Sabaody Archipelago, Lawless Zone.
Years ago, Bege had swept through the Lawless Zone, killing a large portion of its pirates and criminals. However, not only had the Lawless Zone not been eradicated, but it had, on the contrary, become even more rampant. The number of pirates and criminals within it had multiplied several times over.
The fundamental reason was that these pirates and criminals actually served powerful entities, nobles, and even Celestial Dragons. They captured slaves and sold them to the human trafficking groups on the island.
Celestial Dragons and World Nobles frequently purchased slaves here, even encouraging pirates and criminals to capture more, thereby protecting these very same outlaws.
It was precisely because of this that the Marines were unable to eliminate the Lawless Zone.
In an auction house within the Lawless Zone, a human auction was underway. The majority of attendees were World Nobles, and there were even two Celestial Dragons present—one middle-aged, the other a young boy.
On the auction stage, slaves were brought out one after another: Fishmen, members of the Longleg Tribe, the Longarm Tribe, and so on. Almost every rare race could be seen.
Bids were constantly shouted from the floor, driving prices sky-high.
However, whenever a Celestial Dragon placed a bid, everyone else dared not bid further, offering only fawning praise instead.
"Next up is a giant slave from the Land of Giants! He is a natural-born warrior, possessing immense strength, capable of lifting objects weighing well over a thousand pounds with a single hand! Even among the Marines, giants all hold officer ranks, with most reaching the Vice Admiral level. He is an absolutely rare candidate for a bodyguard! Buying him will definitely not be a loss!" the auctioneer announced with great enthusiasm, introducing a giant who was dragged in by more than ten men.
Gasps of amazement rippled through the venue, and interest lit up every face.
The auctioneer glanced at the Celestial Dragons, then shouted, "The bidding starts at fifty million Berries! Let the auction begin!"
"Two hundred million Berries! I'll take this giant. My son's mount was just killed by him, and he's in need of a good new one. This giant is excellent; he'll make a very good mount," the middle-aged Celestial Dragon said casually.
"Thank you, Papa!" the young Celestial Dragon exclaimed, overjoyed.
The middle-aged Celestial Dragon patted his son's head dotingly.
The other World Nobles immediately fell silent, quickly beginning to flatter the Celestial Dragon.
A smile also appeared on the auctioneer's face as he said with extreme servility, "Without a doubt, this giant slave belongs to Saint Engiskay!"
The middle-aged Celestial Dragon revealed a satisfied smile.
Amidst the chorus of flattery and sycophancy, an ill-timed, lazy voice suddenly cut in.
"Didn't find a Devil Fruit user, but ran into a giant first. Uncle Oars' Giant Soldier Corps is still short on quite a few giant crewmen. This giant will be a good gift for Uncle Oars."
The middle-aged Celestial Dragon frowned and turned to look at the source of the voice. In the very last row of the auction hall sat a young man in an extremely arrogant posture.
He had his legs crossed, was shirtless, and his hands were clasped behind his head, looking down on everyone.
"No one has ever dared to look down on us Celestial Dragons!" The middle-aged Celestial Dragon's face turned ice-cold. He drew the jewel-encrusted golden pistol from his waist and fired a shot at the arrogant young man.
The arrogant young man tilted his head slightly. The bullet whizzed past his head and struck the wall behind him.
"Celestial Dragons really are quite arrogant, aren't they?" The arrogant young man stood up, his haughty eyes filled with disdain and mockery.
"Damn commoner!" The middle-aged Celestial Dragon's expression grew even uglier. He continued firing, bullet after bullet flying out and piercing the arrogant young man's body.
Only then did the middle-aged Celestial Dragon smile. He even patted the young Celestial Dragon's head, educating him, "Son, remember this: we Celestial Dragons are the gods of this world. Anyone who dares to be arrogant in front of us Celestial Dragons will only find death."
"I'll remember, Papa," the young Celestial Dragon said, a cruel smile on his face.
"Just a bunch of wastes like you can call yourselves gods of the world?" The arrogant young man sneered contemptuously, his cold gaze looking down on the middle-aged Celestial Dragon.
The middle-aged Celestial Dragon's face changed drastically.
"How is this possible?! He took so many bullets! How is he not dead?!"
He looked at the arrogant young man's body. The areas that had been shot through sparked with arcs of electricity and healed rapidly, leaving his body completely unharmed.
That's right. This arrogant young man was none other than Enel.
He had descended from the Sky Island to capture a Devil Fruit user. As it happened, the user he was targeting had been caught by human traffickers and was being auctioned here, which was why he had attended this auction.
Upon discovering the giant, he had decided to get him for Little Oars Jr.'s Giant Soldier Corps, leading to the scene that had just unfolded.
"A Logia-type Devil Fruit user?!" The Celestial Dragons' bodyguards' expressions changed dramatically, and they instantly moved to protect the two Celestial Dragons.
"Kill him! Go kill him now!" The middle-aged Celestial Dragon was exceptionally furious. Since birth, no one had ever dared to look at him with such disdain or insult him so contemptuously.
The bodyguards dared not disobey the Celestial Dragon's command and immediately rushed towards Enel.
Enel leaped, clearing the distance from the back row directly to the Celestial Dragons' side in a single bound. The Celestial Dragons' bodyguards charged at him.
Lightning flashed from Enel's body, instantly electrocuting the bodyguards and knocking them unconscious.
He grabbed the middle-aged Celestial Dragon by the collar, lifting him into the air.
This scene terrified everyone present.
Enel picked his ear, looking quite displeased. "My title is merely 'Little Thunder God.' And a waste like you actually calls yourself a god? Are you insulting the title of God?"