After the auction of the first Devil Fruit, everyone seemed to have entered a sort of "sage mode," which caused the prices of the following lots to drop sharply, with quite a few even failing to sell.
The organizers had clearly anticipated this, so the items they brought out afterward were more ordinary than before, and the auctioneer calls for closing deals came much faster.
As a result, the auction quickly moved toward its finale.
"Next! We have the highlight of tonight auction—the second Devil Fruit!"
Lilia tone noticeably rose in excitement as she lifted the cloth covering the stand beside her, revealing the Devil Fruit beneath—a red banana with spiral patterns…
Sherwin couldn't shake the feeling that it looked familiar.
"We still don't know the ability of this Devil Fruit, since it never appeared in any Devil Fruit encyclopedia!" Lilia continued hyping up the crowd while Sherwin racked his brain.
"Just like before, this fruit is another high-stakes gamble! So, everyone… are you ready to test your luck once again?"
And at that moment, Sherwin finally remembered why it seemed so familiar…
Isn't this the Zoan-type Cow-Cow Fruit, Giraffe Model, that was eaten by that Pinocchio-looking CP agent—Orihara Lulu—ugh, I mean… Kaku?!
So… this fruit was originally bought by Stussy?But wait—that doesn't add up… This auction house is Stussy business to begin with, right? Even if it not entirely her personal playground, taking a Devil Fruit shouldn't be difficult for her…
Sherwin smirked. It seemed that this time Devil Fruit auction was either bait set out by the Queen of the Pleasure District herself, or she simply didn't want to pay the price and planned to snatch it from whoever won the bid afterward.
That actually lined up perfectly with what Sherwin had in mind—he'd been planning that if he failed to win the bid, he'd just resort to a little black-on-black robbery.
But given the current situation… he had to seriously think about whether or not to even participate in the bidding.
Still, Sherwin didn't dwell on it for long. His main reason for getting a Devil Fruit was to register it in his own "fruit encyclopedia," and besides, he was a perfectly upstanding citizen. Even if Stussy wanted to make a move, she would probably hesitate.
And if she really did try something, Sherwin wasn't afraid—worst case, he'd just break ties with the World Government a little earlier than planned.
Of course, if she was willing to buy it back at the same price, that would be ideal. Or perhaps… he could just keep pretending to be the Barbecue Fruit user and trick Stussy into thinking he had already eaten it?
While Sherwin was mulling over his options, the Giraffe Fruit had already been bid up to 300 million Berries—and then the price barely moved.
This was mostly because of the stunt the organizers had pulled earlier, which had already made people suspicious of their intentions.
Who knew if the reason they claimed "unknown ability" was simply because both Devil Fruits had useless powers they wanted to hide?
Once someone voiced that suspicion, the number of bidders dwindled even more. The pirate who had spent 820 million on Chopper fruit earlier now had a distinctly sour expression.
But Sherwin knew that, this time, the organizers genuinely didn't know the ability of this fruit—because when Kaku eventually ate it, even CP had no related records.
Oh, right! He had also been making assumptions. There were so many different kinds of Devil Fruits that not even the World Government could catalog them all.
So, if he hadn't spoken up, the organizers might never have recognized the Reindeer Fruit either.
Luckily for him, the organizers had tried to be clever and deliberately hid the Reindeer Fruit ability, which in turn ended up letting Sherwin score a massive bargain…
What could he even say at this point?
Klee Meow, forever the MVP!
"Three hundred and one million, seven hundred and sixty thousand."
Seeing that everyone else was backing off, Sherwin only raised the bid by 100,000 Berries—and instead of being angry, the person who had bid before him actually looked relieved and let out a big sigh.
Lilia was momentarily stunned by the turn of events. Unfortunately for her, no matter how hard she tried to stir up excitement afterward, no one was willing to "fall for it" anymore.
In fact, her overly eager performance only convinced them further that there was something fishy going on.
And so… Sherwin scored big.
Normally, Zoan-type Devil Fruits—excluding Ancient and Mythical types—had relatively stable prices, generally between 300 and 500 million Berries, with the exact amount depending on the animal size and habits.
A large animal like a giraffe, even though it a herbivore, could still fetch 400 to 500 million. If Sherwin decided to resell it later, clearing a profit of around 100 million Berries wouldn't be difficult at all.
Paramecia Fruits, on the other hand, fluctuated far more in price, since the gap in abilities was huge—some could rival Logias, while others were so weak that people would feel they'd wasted their ability to swim for nothing…
But regardless, the Giraffe Fruit was his now!
Sherwin didn't rush to complete the handover with the organizers. Instead, he first took out his Hunter Manual and started flipping through it.
As expected, even though the fruit wasn't in his hands yet, the entry in the handbook illustration catalog had already been unlocked.
Just like with named blades, as long as something was officially recognized as belonging to him, the catalog would automatically update. That made things much more workable.
Just like those featured monsters and named blades, the Giraffe Fruit didn't disappoint Sherwin—it gave him a summoning ticket… well, a fragment of one.
"Tsk… is it because Zoan-types aren't as good as Logia-types?"
Sherwin muttered under his breath while picking up the fragment to examine it.
As he expected, the Devil Fruits were yet another new card pool. The base color of this fragment was a pale yellow, covered in irregular brown spots… just like a giraffe pattern.
Only… how on earth was he supposed to get the other two Giraffe Fruits?!
Sherwin subconsciously rubbed the fragment between his fingers, and suddenly the base color shifted to a grayish-brown, while the brown spots transformed into deep brown antler-like patterns.
So… in the Zoan card pool, can you choose from all the types you've collected? Or do you have to first collect the Cow-Cow Fruit and then pick a form from there?
Either way, Sherwin had at least found a new collection goal.
"I didn't expect you to be such a rich little brother~ Why haven't you come to see your big sister these past few days?"
Just as Sherwin was studying the fragment, a charming voice snapped him out of it. At some point, Stussy had appeared right beside him.
Without any change in expression, Sherwin quietly put away the fragment and the handbook, scratched the back of his head, and gave a wry smile.
"What can I say? I've got a lot of Felynes to feed at home—if I don't find ways to make more money, I'm in trouble."
He had originally planned to put up a front in front of Stussy, but considering her true identity, Sherwin decided there was no point in showing off before an expert.
Besides, it wasn't like he'd done anything "bad" right now—CP0 had no reason to give him trouble.
"You really are fond of those cat-fur tribesfolk," Stussy eyes shimmered as she covered her mouth with a light laugh, showing no apparent interest in the paper fragment in Sherwin hand—likely mistaking it for a piece of Vivre Card.
Then, she suddenly leaned her graceful body forward, practically pressing herself into Sherwin chest.
With lips red as cinnabar, she brought her mouth close to his ear and breathed in a soft, fragrant whisper:
"You'd better be careful of those pirates, little brother~ They won't let you walk away with a Devil Fruit so easily."
After speaking, Stussy let out a soft giggle, drifting away from Sherwin arms like a nimble swallow. She gave him a playful wink, then turned and walked away.
Sherwin could feel the waves of hostility, jealousy, and greed radiating from the gazes around him, and he let out a helpless sigh.
In truth, he had long expected that buying a Devil Fruit would put a target on his back… after all, that exactly what he would have thought in their place.
Originally, though, he shouldn't have been the center of attention—because there was still that poor sap who bought the Reindeer Fruit, someone who should have been sharing the spotlight with him.
And since that guy fruit was more expensive, theoretically, more people should have been after him rather than Sherwin…
When both fruits had unknown abilities, these not-so-bright pirates would naturally aim for the more expensive one.
But thanks to Stussy little stunt, all eyes had suddenly turned toward him.
This was really…
Such a big help!
Sherwin had been worried that once the auction ended, the pirates might scatter too quickly. But now that Stussy had turned him into the bull-eye, he no longer needed to worry about that.
In the current situation, even if he stayed in Queen of Spring City for another ten days or half a month, these pirates were unlikely to let him go.
So… was Stussy planning to let him and the pirates fight it out to the bitter end, and then swoop in to clean up afterward?
She didn't even want to put in that much effort… when it comes to black-hearted schemes, CP agents really are in a league of their own.
Sherwin curled his lips in mild disdain, not taking Stussy actions too seriously. Ignoring the stares from the pirates, he stood up and went to handle the transaction with the auction house.
The handover went smoothly. Before long, Sherwin was walking out of the auction house carrying two boxes.
As for the Adam Wood log, the auction house offered a service to have it shipped via sea train to Water 7.
If Sherwin had his own ship here, he could've just accompanied the shipment directly.
He didn't even need Observation Haki to know that there was now a whole crowd of "tails" following him.
But that was exactly what he wanted, so he made no effort to shake them off, swaggering openly toward the harbor instead.