Half an hour later.
Most of the guests had arrived, and the entire auction house was almost full.
The red curtain was drawn back, and under countless gazes, a middle-aged man with flowing golden hair stepped onto the high stage.
Dressed in a black tuxedo, he carried himself with elegance and poise—he didn't look like a host at all, but more like a nobleman.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Babu Auction House. I am your host for tonight, Babu Alan!"
The golden-haired man gave a slight bow.
When he looked up, his face was full of brilliant and passionate smiles.
"Thank you all for waiting so patiently. The time has come. I hereby declare that tonight's auction—officially begins!"
A smattering of applause rippled through the house. The host didn't mind in the slightest. With a wave of his right hand, staff members immediately wheeled out the first auction item.
It was a pair of exquisitely crafted Western-style longswords. Both the scabbard and the blade were quite eye-catching in their workmanship.
"Item number one, the fine blades 'Spring Water' and 'Autumn Elegance,' produced in the Flower Country of the West Blue. They are a pair of twin blades and cannot be auctioned separately."
"The starting bid is 20 million Berries, and each bid must not be less than 2 million Berries!"
At his words, the auction house erupted into murmurs.
"Starting right off with Fine Grade Blades? The Babu Family's show is getting bigger and bigger!"
"Shishishishi~ Makes me even more curious what they've prepared for the finale…"
…
Fine Grade Blades?
In a remote seat in the southeast corner, Nao's eyebrows twitched slightly. He tapped his index finger on the armrest a few times before putting it back, no longer interested.
He was more concerned with the discussions coming from the seasoned auction-goers around him.
The Babu Family, huh…
To be able to establish their power on the Sabaody Archipelago and hold such a large-scale, high-quality auction, it seemed that the owner behind the Babu Auction House was no small fry.
"40 million Berries."
"43 million Berries!"
"48 million Berries!"
At this time, the entire auction house had already begun a fierce competition for the pair of fine blades. The sounds of bidding came one after another.
When the price reached 50 million, the bidders gradually showed hesitation and gave up one by one, gritting their teeth.
And the bald rich merchant who had called out this price was all smiles. Seeing that no one in the audience was following, he showed a smug and confident smile.
"50 million Berries, going once!"
"50 million Berries, going twice!"
The golden-haired host raised his little wooden gavel. Pausing for effect, he smiled and began the final count.
"It seems there will be no further bids. Then—fifty million, thr—"
"100 million Berries!"
However, at that very moment, a new price was called out.
The moment they heard that number, the entire auction house was in an uproar.
What's going on? It doubled all of a sudden?
"The gentleman with number plate 234 bids 100 million Berries!"
The golden-haired host froze for a brief second, then burst into excitement.
"100 million Berries, going once! Is there anyone who will bid higher?"
Of course there wasn't.
Almost every guest at the auction turned their heads, staring in shock and disbelief toward the source of the voice.
Even Nao couldn't resist glancing curiously toward the northeast corner, wondering which rich fool's son had such deep pockets.
And then—
The moment he saw who it was, the corner of his eye twitched, his expression turning oddly strange.
——Of all the coincidences in the world, he just had to run into this guy here?
…
Northeast corner.
"Uwaah, that hurts!"
Shanks, who had just proudly shouted out the bid, was still basking in the sea of incredulous stares when a fist landed squarely on his head. He clutched his forehead, yelping in pain.
"What was that for, Yasopp?!"
"You tell me!"
Yasopp and Lucky Roux both smacked him again, baring sharp teeth in fury.
"Nobody else was bidding anymore, and you raised the price that much? Are you stupid?!"
"100 million Berries could've bought us a Great Grade Sword, you idiot!"
"But those two swords looked really pretty…"
Shanks put on a pitiful, sulking face.
"And besides, isn't this how auctions are supposed to go? The real experts stay quiet at first, then swoop in at the last moment with a crushing bid that leaves everyone hopeless—"
"Expert my ass! You're clearly just a clueless rookie at your first auction!"
Yasopp was nearly exploding with rage.
"We've only got less than two hundred million total, and you just blew through more than half of it in one go! And don't you already have a sword that's way better than those? What do you need two more for?! That's nothing but waste!"
"How is it waste? What if someday we meet a dual-sword user who wants to join us? Then I'll already have the perfect welcome gift ready…"
"That's still no excuse for jacking the price up like that, you dumbass! Idiot!"
The two of them kept bickering heatedly.
Meanwhile, a row behind them, Rayleigh had crossed his legs and quietly pulled a hidden flask from his coat.
Taking a light sip, he chuckled to himself, watching the youngsters make a scene.
Youth... is a wonderful thing.
The old man smacked his lips.
Decades ago, when that guy Roger first took him onto his ship, he also argued like this the first time they attended an auction, didn't he?
In the end—
The wooden gavel fell.
"One hundred million Berries, sold!"
The golden-haired man was all smiles. For the first time, he felt that making money was this easy. Without delay, he moved straight on to the next item.
As for Shanks, his attention was instantly drawn to the stage again, completely ignoring the burning glares of his two furious crewmates.
Fortunately.
In the subsequent auction items, although there was no shortage of rare treasures.
For example, precious spices from foreign countries, historical artifacts with sentimental value, and even an entire luxury warship...
But Shanks only made a token bid twice and then lost interest, showing no intention of bidding again, which finally made his companions who had been on edge let out a sigh of relief.
About half an hour later…
The auction was gradually coming to an end, but the enthusiastic atmosphere was increasing instead of decreasing.
Everyone knew that the most valuable items were always saved for last, and this auction was no exception.
"Oh, oh, oh, the final item is coming!"
Shanks also adjusted his straw hat and sat up straight in excitement. "Will there be a Devil Fruit? I heard that Logia-type Devil Fruits have appeared in auctions on Sabaody before!"
"They have, yes, just last year."
Rayleigh took another sip of sake and said with a leisurely chuckle, "At a bigger auction house next door, the Mera Mera no Mi, a Logia-type, was sold for a heavenly price of 500 million Berries..."
The Mera Mera no Mi? (Flame-Flame Fruit)
The ability to control fire? That sounds super powerful!
Shanks' eyes were sparkling with stars. As he looked forward to it more and more, he saw the last red curtain on the stage being pulled back. More than a dozen cages appeared in front of everyone.
He was immediately stunned.
"And now, for the highlight of this auction!"
The golden-haired man held the microphone, and his voice suddenly rose a pitch. He laughed loudly and said:
"I'm sure some of you who have already heard the rumors are already a bit impatient, aren't you? That's right, today, our Babu Auction House will be auctioning off high-quality slaves from more than a dozen different races all at once!"
"Giants, fish-men, humans, long-arms, minks... We have them all!"
Whoosh!
As soon as he finished speaking, the enthusiasm of the entire auction house was instantly ignited, and a tidal wave of cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.
"Wooooooaaaahhh!"
"Worth the trip! This is what we were waiting for!"
"Fishmen too?! At this point in time, the only place in Sabaody where you can see so many different races of slaves is the Babble Auction House!"
The guests cheered and rejoiced. The golden-haired man, who had successfully hyped up the crowd, was also satisfied. He brought his hands down to calm them, and when it was a bit quieter, he announced with a smile.
"Then, for the slave auction, the first item is a young giant from the New World! The starting bid is 15 million Berries!"
"20 million Berries!"
"30 million Berries!"
Giants.
Their price in the black market was far less than that of fish-men, but because they had immense strength and were durable and useful, dozens of guests immediately joined the bidding.
But the northeast corner, which had been so lively just now, had now fallen silent.
"…What the hell…"
The boy under the straw hat murmured in a low voice. He clenched his fists, and his eyes were buried in the deep shadows.
"It's one thing not to have a Devil Fruit, but to use this kind of dirty business as the final item..."
He looked up at the iron cages on the stage.
The slaves who were imprisoned all had ashen faces. Many were covered in cuts and bruises, huddled in the corners of their cages, their eyes filled with despair and numbness.
"It's simply…" the boy muttered, voice low and heavy,
Unforgivable
"35 million Berries, the giant is sold!"
"The second item, a rabbit-eared girl from the Mink tribe! Look at those long legs! That shapely butt, and her white rabbit ears and little tail are so cute too!"
"As long as you take her home, she'll be yours to enjoy however and wherever you want!"
"Starting bid, 15 million Berries!"
Another round of frenzied bidding. The price instantly rose to 30 million.
Yasopp and Lucky Roux also stopped their clowning around and quietly watched the boy with the straw hat. They seemed to have an inkling of what was about to happen.
Having known Shanks for a long time, they could clearly sense that reason was gradually disappearing from their Captain. In its place was a burning, raging anger.
"Hey. Yasopp, Lucky Roux."
The red-haired boy in the straw hat suddenly spoke up,
"I can't just sit by and watch these people get sold off like goods… so spending all our money here—there's no problem with that, right?"
"You're the captain."
Yasopp, who had been fretting over their wallet just moments ago, shrugged his shoulders, looking indifferent.
"How the money's spent is, of course, up to you."
"Only thing is, it might not be enough."
Lucky Roux patted his belly, grinning.
"If we can't pay the full price, we'll be seen as troublemakers. They'll call us criminals and hunt us down—we wouldn't even make it out of the auction house alive…"
"Then we'll just kill all these guys and walk out!"
The straw hat boy finally raised his head and grinned. "Anyway, let's just make a bid first..." He suddenly raised his voice, and it almost drowned out the sound of the entire noisy auction house.
"60 million Berries!"
Rayleigh lay back on his chair, smiling slightly, and drank the last of the sake in his flask.
"60 million Berries!"
On the high platform, the golden-haired man's face lit up with surprise once again. "My goodness, it's that gentleman with number plate 234 again! He's doubled the price directly to 60 million Berries! What a generous bid! Is there anyone else who wants to bid?"
No one else bid.
But many guests couldn't help but cast strange looks toward the northeast corner.
Clearly, quite a few had already pegged Shanks as some ostentatious fool of a nouveau riche, the kind who loved throwing money around just to make a scene.
The gavel came down—deal closed.
Inside the cage, the rabbit-eared girl timidly glanced in Shanks's direction.
"The third item, a group of twelve human girls!"
The central iron cage was wheeled forward.
The golden-haired man clutched his microphone with excitement:
"Aside from the fish-men, this is actually the biggest highlight of the evening, everyone! Get excited, and don't underestimate your own kind!"
"These twelve young women are far from ordinary. They are the finest, hand-picked slaves—almost all of them are the most outstanding among their peers!"
"There is the talented musician who once held her own solo piano concert—Miss Alice!"
A refined golden-haired girl was forced to lift her chin with rough hands.
"There is the young doctor who saved thousands with her remarkable medical skills—Miss Hepburn!"
The bespectacled girl turned her head in defiance, only to be lashed brutally with a whip.
"…And finally, a battle-hardened, genuine Marine medic—Ensign Emily!"
The atmosphere swelled higher and higher, until the feverish, heavy breathing of men filled the auction house.
Seizing the momentum, the golden-haired man loudly announced:
"All twelve will be sold together! The starting price is 80 million Beri!"
The price was steep enough to make many flinch, but those with wealth and power were still plentiful.
The bidding surged rapidly upward, breaking past the hundred-million mark in no time.
"Damn it… we really don't have enough money left…"
Lucky Roux chuckled,
"To think the price would climb this high. Looks like this time, we really will have to fight our way out…"
"130 million Berries!"
The red-haired boy raised his number plate again. Yasopp pouted. "There's only one way out, Shanks. There's no need to play along with them anymore. We can't pay this price anyway..."
"200 million Berries!"
Suddenly, a cold and sinister voice echoed through the entire auction house, interrupting the rest of Yasopp's words.
The few of them were all stunned at the same time and turned their heads to look in the direction of the voice.
Who is that?
Why is he also bidding like he's playing, directly raising it by almost double, just like Shanks?
The other audience members also looked in surprise toward the center of the auction house. There, a large figure, at least five meters tall, slowly rose. In the light, his ferocious, scarred face was revealed.
"200 million Berries!"
The five-meter-tall ferocious man, with his bulging muscles, was very intimidating. He grinned, revealing his neat white teeth. He said with a sinister smile.
"These little darlings are mine today. Is there anyone else who wants to bid higher?"
That's...
The moment everyone saw that figure, they all gasped in shock.
—Black Shark Tooke, captain of the Great White Shark Pirates!
He was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, with a former bounty of 390 million Berries!
Since signing his alliance last year, he had been considered by the world to be the undisputed strongest of the current Seven Warlords!
This monster...
Didn't they say he went to the New World a while ago? Why is he here?