Upon witnessing this, the audience stared blankly at the fallen Saint Charlos. The Straw Hat Pirates looked solemn, poised for battle at any moment. Meanwhile, the Kidd Pirates and the Heart Pirates smirked ominously, seemingly unconcerned by the escalating situation.
After a few breaths of stunned silence, a sudden, violent reaction erupted. A noble, clad in flamboyant attire, shrieked in terror: "The Celestial Dragon... he's been attacked! We'll all be implicated and executed because of this hateful pirate!"
"Char... Charlos..." Saint Rosward was horrified, but even more so, enraged. "You damned, lowly bastard! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
Luffy, seeing everyone staring at him, rubbed his head a little sheepishly and grinned, "Sorry, everyone~ I heard that if we beat him up, the Admirals and warships would be attracted here~"
Zoro chuckled, sheathing his sword. "It's all because you were too fast. That's why I couldn't cut him." The Straw Hat Pirates were now fully energized, ready to face whatever new challenges lay ahead.
"Brother Charlos... how dare these lowly creatures hurt him?" The startled exclamation from Shalria Palace seemed to embolden Saint Rosward. He pulled out a gun and fired several shots at Luffy, bellowing, "Go to hell! Despicable, lowly life! Pay for your sins against my son!"
Bang bang bang!
The gunshots were rapid, but Saint Rosward's aim was abysmal. All the bullets struck innocent spectators, eliciting several pained screams. Witnessing this, the audience realized the Celestial Dragon was losing his temper. They immediately began shouting, "The Celestial Dragon is angry! Quick! Let's run outside!"
As the words tumbled out, the audience seemed to grasp that staying any longer would surely lead to their demise. They stampeded towards the auction hall's exit, yelling, "Hurry, hurry!"
"Just wait, and you'll know what a tragic end awaits you for daring to attack us, the descendants of this world's creators!" Saint Rosward continued to fire at Luffy, but frustratingly, he missed every shot.
"Take care of yourself first! Behave yourself!" Sanji executed a mid-air somersault, landing gracefully beside Saint Rosward. With a swift side-kick, he effortlessly knocked him unconscious.
"How dare you, you bastards, harm the Celestial Dragons!" The Celestial Dragons' bodyguards and the auction house staff, who had been struggling to maintain order, finally reacted. They surged forward, shouting as they attempted to encircle Luffy and his crew.
After several quick exchanges, these minor adversaries were easily dispatched by Luffy and his companions. However, more and more people kept pouring in. After fighting for a while, Chopper, seeing the worsening situation, urged, "We have to hurry, otherwise the warships and the Admiral will arrive!"
At this moment, Law, who had been silently observing the battle, spoke calmly: "Straw Hat-ya, the Navy surrounded this place a long time ago. They had this venue cordoned off even before the auction began."
"Huh? Who are you?" This time, Luffy finally noticed the other onlookers who weren't panicking at all, such as Law, Kidd, and Hikaru.
Law didn't answer directly, continuing, "Though I don't know who they were planning to capture, they certainly didn't anticipate a Celestial Dragon being attacked here. You really did quite a thing, Straw Hat Luffy!"
"Luffy! He's also a pirate, Trafalgar Law! Not only him, but also Eustass Kidd by the door, and the 'God Emperor' Hikaru in the back-right corner!" Dorry introduced the remaining powerful figures in the room to Luffy, his voice laced with considerable fear.
Bonney was in her younger form and had changed her hat. Unless one was intimately familiar with her, it would be almost impossible to recognize her.
Hikaru gazed at the "prey" before him with an indifferent expression, anticipating the spectacle that was about to unfold. Everyone caught in his gaze felt a sudden chill, a perplexing sensation washing over them.
"That bear too?" Luffy's attention, as always, was unique. He stared intently at Bepo, causing her to shyly hang her head.
As everyone stood in a silent standoff, Shalria Palace quietly ascended a ladder. She stood atop it, clutching her gun tightly, and menacingly pointed it at Naguri, threatening, "A bunch of lowly people dared to attack us, so let me kill this mermaid!"
Disco was horrified, but he could only plead verbally, "That... that's worth seven million Berries! Please, Shalria Palace, please have mercy!"
"Stop nagging me, you stupid thing!" Shalria Palace was annoyed. She whirled around and shot Disco, a move that immediately drew the attention of Luffy and the others. She then pointed the gun at the sleeping Naguri again. Just as Zoro and the others were about to act, she curled her lips, ready to pull the trigger.
At that moment, a powerful surge of Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted from the backstage of the auction venue, directly impacting Shalria Palace's spirit. Her eyes rolled back, and she lost consciousness, falling straight backward.
Not only her, but all the minions throughout the entire venue were knocked down by this sudden, overwhelming wave of Haki. (In reality, Hikaru had taken advantage of the chaos, subtly boosting the effect of his Conqueror's Haki to fell the minions. Rayleigh, as the one who released the initial burst of Conqueror's Haki, could sense Hikaru's influence.)
Everyone was stunned, completely unaware of what had just transpired. However, Hikaru was quick to react. He waved his hand, and Shalria Palace floated lightly towards him before she could hit the ground.
But no one cared about Shalria Palace's whereabouts anymore, because they witnessed the auction platform suddenly being torn open by a large hand. "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh emerged from the wreckage with a commanding presence, stating calmly: "Look, Mr. Giant, the scene is in chaos. I told you the auction was over!"
"You're such a bad guy! You just came here to rob money!" The giant mercilessly exposed Rayleigh's true intentions.
"Isn't this a failure? Hahaha~" Rayleigh laughed heartily. The raw power and boldness in his laughter caused Law and Kidd to break out in cold sweats.
"Hmm?" Rayleigh suddenly noticed the familiar straw hat in front of him. He looked around for a moment, trying to piece together the events unfolding. "I see... that straw hat... I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, Monkey D. Luffy!"
"Me? Hey! Uncle, who are you?" Luffy touched his straw hat, utterly bewildered.
"Luffy! He's the Pirate King's right-hand man, 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh!" Dorry timely reminded him.
"What?! He's actually..."
Who wouldn't be shocked when the name of the Pirate King's right-hand man was uttered?
Shalria Palace: Like most Celestial Dragons, she possesses an inflated sense of self-importance and is incredibly arrogant. She is the only female Celestial Dragon to have appeared so far (Donquixote Doflamingo's mother has lost her Celestial Dragon status and therefore doesn't count). If Hikaru were to make her submit, it would likely require quite a few "lessons," wouldn't it?