Since Kizaru had struck first—and without warning—Nao naturally made no effort to hold back.
As most of the bidders were unarmed and appeared relatively less threatening, so Nao targeted the armed guards first.
Like a streak of lightning, he darted through the crowd.
Each swing of his blade was precise—he dismantled weapons and dispatched threats in a single move.
Rear Admiral Gumiiru joined the fray, his usual gentle demeanor gone. His gaze was sharp, dripping with lethal intent, showing that he too was truly furious.
From various passages, guards, alerted by the commotion, continuously rushed in, surging with aggressive intent.
Yet before they could even get a clear look at their enemies, they were either pierced through the skull by incoming golden lasers or cut in half by dark crimson blades.
Their screams echoed like the fall of grain in a harvester—one after the other, they collapsed in a grisly display.
After a minute or two of this carnage, the tide began to turn.
"Stop right there, you bastards!"
A furious roar suddenly erupted, and then, from somewhere within the enclosed auction house, a blizzard drifted in, causing the temperature to plummet abruptly.
A figure in white burst from the corridor toward Nao and Gumiiru, delivering powerful blows simultaneously:
"White Feather: Blizzard Impact!"
Boom!
A surging wave of snow erupted violently, like an avalanche, engulfing more than half of the auction house in an instant.
Gumiiru was too slow to react and had his legs sealed by the blizzard. Nao, however, reacted swiftly—using Moonwalk to leap onto the chandelier above.
Though Kizaru was farthest away and unaffected, he also paused his attack. The three of them simultaneously looked towards the newcomer.
It was a thin, almost skeletal, mature woman.
She appeared to be in her early forties, still possessing a certain charm, but her face was grim, and her body seemed to be shrouded in layers of frost, continuously emitting a chilling aura.
"Though I don't know how you found this place…"
She frowned slightly as her gaze swept over Kizaru, but then paused, speaking in an icy tone:
"But Marines, this is not a place for you to run wild!"
So, the boss behind this auction house has finally appeared.
Nao leaped down from the chandelier, landing on the ground, and gripped his sword as he coldly assessed the woman.
From that punch just now, it was clear her strength was considerable, but her face was unfamiliar; he had no recollection of her.
"How surprising. So the Snow-Snow Fruit user hidden behind the scenes was actually you…"
Kizaru quietly observed the woman, then suddenly spoke in a calm voice. "Windsor Kale, a former apprentice of the Rocks Pirates. After Headquarters raised her bounty to 98 million Berries ten years ago, she suddenly vanished from the public eye."
"I never expected you would later eat the Snow-Snow Fruit, become a Logia user, and then disappear into the underworld to establish such a formidable dark organization."
The Rocks Pirates?
Gumiiru's expression shifted, and Nao's eyes also flickered with surprise.
That was the strongest pirate crew that had dominated the seas decades ago. Their captain, Rocks, was once considered the World Government's greatest threat.
Whitebeard Newgate, Big Mom, Kaido… three of the future Four Emperors had all been members of that pirate crew, fighting side-by-side under Rocks' command.
Could this woman before them also be from that legendary pirate crew?
"You seem to know a lot about me?"
Windsor Kale narrowed her eyes at Kizaru, sneering, "Should I feel honored to be remembered by the Commander of the G-2 Branch, the esteemed Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Borsalino?"
"Being remembered by me is no honor."
Kizaru smiled faintly and raised his fingertip. "However, it will be an honor for a junior like myself to have a member of the Rocks Pirates die by my hand today…"
Buzz!
A golden laser shot from his fingertip, heading straight for the woman's chest in mid-air.
Windsor Kale's eyes were icy. She made no attempt to dodge, letting the laser pass directly through her, causing the ceiling behind her to explode.
"It seems that female Giant I froze last night is a very cherished subordinate of yours."
She looked at Kizaru expressionlessly. The large hole in her chest condensed into snow mist, instantly restoring her to normal. "But to take my life, merely bragging won't do. And, I don't know why…"
"But your smiling face is truly infuriating!"
Whoosh!
The instant her words fell, her body suddenly vanished into the accumulated snow below. When she reappeared, she was already behind Kizaru, both arms, enveloped in surging white snow, sweeping down towards Kizaru's head!
Kizaru, however, remained looking up at the spot in mid-air where Kale had been, as if unaware of the movement behind him, chuckling to himself:
"As expected of a Logia user. The speed of elemental transformation is truly terrifying…"
Boom!
A blinding surge of golden light erupted. The entire auction hall was illuminated—so bright that everyone instinctively shielded their eyes, including Nao.
A few seconds later, as the golden light faded and vision returned, people turned to see the ground covered in thick snow, and a large hole, over ten square meters wide, had been blasted into the ceiling above.
Daylight poured in. Looking up through the opening, one could see two figures clashing fiercely at the top of the cliff. The sounds of lasers bursting and snow waves surging mixed and intertwined, constantly thundering in their ears.
"Should we help?"
Rear Admiral Gumiiru came to Nao's side, asking in a low voice.
"No need. I actually wanted to challenge that woman to a one-on-one fight…"
Nao watched the battling duo from afar, faintly making out Kizaru's expressionless face. He shook his head slightly and sighed:
"But since the Vice Admiral moved first, I'll uphold the tradition of respecting elders and let him have this opportunity."
He had never seen Kizaru's gaze so cold, terrifyingly unfamiliar.
Sound of running footsteps echoed—the Marines had finally arrived at the auction hall.
Some bidders who made it into the corridors had been sheltered by the chaos. Confused and caught between chaos and retreat, they were quickly dragged back to the auction floor by marines.
However, a rare few figures, unnoticed by anyone, mysteriously melted into the rock walls flanking the corridor, slipping past the soldiers undetected.
Among them was the tall woman with the slender neck—the one who had purchased the Butter-Butter Fruit earlier.
"Well done, Spotty."
She removed her golden mask, revealing a cold face, and glanced at her subordinate behind her. "The Hole-Hole Fruit ability is quite useful at times like this. It seems bringing you along wasn't in vain this time."
"Thank you for the praise, Lady Amande."
Her subordinate knelt before her, head slightly bowed in deference. "It is my honor to serve the Charlotte Family."
"I never expected to run into the Marines disrupting things mid-way. Couldn't even bring out those two little Snake-Neck Tribe guys. Tsk, how annoying…"
The woman named Amande's narrow eyes slightly narrowed. She turned to look towards the auction house.
"But at least the Devil Fruit is in hand. Mama will definitely be very happy to see it."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin