"Get lost!"
Nami lashed out with her staff, knocking aside a charging Celestial Dragon guard. Her voice rang with fury as she shouted, "If you keep forcing us, don't expect any mercy!"
"Ah!"
Chopper transformed into his heavy combat form, swinging his arms with full force and sending two fully armored guards flying across the floor.
"Damn it, didn't we agree to handle this according to the auction house rules?" someone shouted in frustration. "Why has it turned into a fight anyway?"
"Nami, Chopper, stop fighting!" Hachi yelled anxiously as he dodged a thrusting spear. "If this continues, we'll offend the Celestial Dragons!"
He was terrified that Kemi's situation would drag these overly enthusiastic friends into a disaster that would end with an Admiral hunting them down.
"How can we not fight back?" Nami snapped, her eyes blazing. "They're coming straight for me now!"
She swung her Clima-Tact again, golden sparks bursting outward and splashing across the guards' armor. The strange energy seeped into the metal, and in an instant, the fully armored guards froze in place.
"I… I can't move!"
"She's a Devil Fruit user too! Hurry, prepare Sea Stone weapons!"
Things had spiraled completely out of control.
They had only wanted to rely on the auction house rules, to win Kemi fairly by bidding the highest price and rescue her.
They did not seek trouble, yet trouble came knocking anyway.
Although the auction house strictly forbade private armed conflict, when it came to the guards of the Celestial Dragons, the so-called security chose to look away, silently allowing the bidders to be attacked.
"Guards!" Nami shouted angrily at the auction house staff who were pretending not to see anything. "Doesn't your auction house prohibit private fighting?!"
"Hmph." One guard glanced at her with disdain. "Those are the guards of the Celestial Dragons."
He sneered coldly. "I advise you to stop resisting and obediently go become a Saintess in the Holy Land."
"Nami-swaan, don't waste your breath on him," Sanji said calmly as he kicked away another lunging guard. His gaze shifted to a man slowly approaching through the chaos. "All the so-called rules here only exist to punish the weak. They never apply to the strong."
"Oh?" Sanji's eyes sharpened. "Looks like someone capable finally showed up."
The man wore a white suit and a mask shaped like a woodpecker's beak. His voice was calm and emotionless. "I am CP-0 Koma. I am responsible for the safety of Saint Rosward's family."
He looked directly at the Straw Hats. "Straw Hat Pirates, leave this auction house immediately. I will not pursue you further, nor will I make you my enemies."
In truth, by saying this, Koma had already violated the Celestial Dragons' orders.
The command given to him was clear, kill the Straw Hat who dared defy them. No one was to be spared except Nami.
But Koma understood reality far too well.
If he truly carried out that order, neither he nor the three Celestial Dragons would be able to leave the Sabaody Archipelago alive.
He knew the power of the Arrogant Emperor far too clearly.
That was not something a mere CP-0 agent could oppose.
Even if every CP-0 operative were dispatched, it would likely still end in annihilation.
"Fine," Nami said coldly. "We'll leave. Hand over the mermaid, and we'll go immediately."
"I'm sorry," Koma replied without hesitation, shaking his head. "The mermaid cannot be given to you."
"Then there's no way we're leaving," Nami shot back.
"Hm?"
Koma suddenly sensed something wrong. He looked up and dodged instinctively.
Boom!
A massive flying fish smashed through the ceiling, crashing straight into the audience seats. Screams erupted as unlucky spectators were flung aside.
"That hurts so much!!!"
Luffy's furious roar echoed through the hall. Then his eyes locked onto the fish tank above the stage.
"Kemi!" he shouted excitedly. "I finally found you!"
Swish.
A figure appeared directly in his path.
It was CP-0 Koma.
"I'm sorry, Straw Hat Luffy," Koma said firmly. "You cannot take this mermaid. She is the private property of the Celestial Dragons."
He intended to keep the mermaid as a form of compensation, hoping it might appease Saint Rosward's family and allow his failure to be overlooked.
"What?" Luffy glared at him, veins bulging. "Private property?"
He pulled his arm back and shouted, "Get lost! Kemi isn't anyone's property! Gum Gum Pistol!"
"If you take another step forward," Koma warned as he dodged the punch, "don't blame me for being impolite."
From not far away, the shrill, furious voices of the Celestial Dragons rang out.
"Why haven't you killed them yet, you idiot?!"
"We spend Berries raising you spies, and when we need you, you're useless! You can't even handle a lowly pirate!"
Idiots.
If you weren't Celestial Dragons, Koma thought coldly, I would have taken your heads already.
His expression hardened. He brought two fingers together like a blade and thrust them toward Luffy's arm.
"Shigan, Twin Finger Strike!"
…
"Oh, not bad."
On the stage beside Kemi's fish tank, two men sat casually, sipping wine as they watched the chaos unfold.
"Straw Hat's combat instincts are better than I expected," Silvers Rayleigh said with a smile. "Did you train him?"
"I don't enjoy teaching," Shirogai Yamikuro replied lazily. "But I do enjoy watching people suffer."
He took a sip of wine, his tone indifferent. "Experience proves that patiently instructing someone is far slower than beating the lesson into them."
"Hahahahaha!"
Rayleigh laughed heartily. "So you believe in tossing a kid into the sea and letting him learn to swim if he survives? You'd get along well with Roger."
"Is that so?" Shirogai chuckled. "Seems the Pirate King liked simple and violent methods too."
"That man was even lazier than you," Rayleigh said with a trace of nostalgia. "He preferred letting others train the apprentices. It feels like yesterday when Roger entrusted Shanks and Buggy to me…"
Shirogai smiled and patted Rayleigh on the shoulder. "Rayleigh San, reminiscing too much is a sign of age."
He smirked faintly. "You're still lively, still fond of beautiful women. No need to dwell on the past."
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, cutting through their conversation.
Both men had already sensed it coming. They stopped talking and looked toward the audience.
A bullet struck Nami squarely in the chest.
"…"
Nami stared down in disbelief, her body trembling.
The one who fired the shot was a Celestial Dragon with snot dripping from his nose, his face twisted in a cruel sneer.
Saint Charlos.
"Hmph!" he scoffed. "How dare you defy the will of a World Noble and refuse to become my wife?"
His voice dripped with malice. "If I can't have you, then no one can!"
___
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