"Unless both of us are going blind, I'm pretty sure that's Old Man Ray," Jerry confirmed with a slight shake of his head.
"But how did he end up among those slaves about to be auctioned off?" Skull asked, completely bewildered.
"Haha, you're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Jerry replied with amusement.
Skull was thoroughly confused seeing a legendary pirate appearing among the group of slaves on stage. Jerry, however, could vaguely recall that Rayleigh did indeed have such an unusual hobby. It seemed that whenever he ran short on money from gambling or drinking, he liked to pull this particular stunt.
After all, selling himself at auction houses was risk-free and profitable—a no-capital business venture that always paid well. Why wouldn't he do it?
Carrot tilted her head curiously as she watched their exchange, while Carina, overhearing their whispered conversation, asked with interest, "What's going on? Do you know someone up there?"
"That's the master craftsman who coated our ship," Skull explained quietly. "He's a powerful legendary figure."
"Then why is he now...?" Carina began.
"I'll explain later," Jerry interrupted. "Don't worry about it—there's no way he'll actually suffer any loss here."
After this brief exchange, Jerry and Skull returned their attention to the stage, though their mood had lightened considerably.
Carrot also continued watching the slaves on display. For someone as young as her, this was the first time witnessing a slave auction in person.
"Brother Jerry, are those people... going to be sold?" she asked quietly, her voice heavy with concern.
Carrot seemed genuinely troubled. Though she'd heard of slave auctions before, seeing one firsthand was different. Her kind nature instinctively told her this was deeply wrong.
While she had encountered slaves during their battle on Zou, those had been in cages during a combat situation, so she hadn't had time to fully process what she was seeing.
"Yes, this place can be very cruel," Jerry replied gently, patting her head. "But someone will handle it." He glanced discretely toward Rayleigh as he spoke. If the old man didn't take action himself, Jerry decided he'd wait and see how things developed.
After Carrot nodded with obvious confusion, Jerry shifted his attention back to the suspicious armored group.
The moment the slaves walked onto the stage, the armored men became visibly excited. However, since many other audience members were also cheering enthusiastically at that moment, their reaction didn't seem particularly out of place.
"Keep your voices down—don't draw attention," the gentleman leader warned as one of the armored men started to get carried away.
"Right, I heard her too," another replied quietly.
Despite their attempts at discretion, their voices still reached Jerry's ears, given his focused attention on their group.
Carrot's sensitive rabbit ears seemed to have caught the same exchange. When she noticed Jerry turning his head, she looked in their direction as well.
"Brother Jerry, did they say there's a princess on stage?" she asked with sparkling eyes.
"I don't know for sure, but they did mention it," Jerry confirmed.
The word "princess" seemed to captivate Carrot completely. Her eyes filled with stars as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, clearly lost in some romantic fantasy.
The armored men had traveled from a small nation called the Teton Kingdom. As a non-member country of the World Government, they lacked Marine and governmental protection, but the kingdom's guard force had always been strong enough to ensure their people lived stable, prosperous lives.
However, not long ago, when Captain of the Guard Valk was escorting the king and a trade caravan back from a diplomatic voyage, he received devastating news: the royal palace had been destroyed by pirates who had taken advantage of his absence, and Princess Maritis was missing.
Valk's rage had been overwhelming. He and the princess had been in love for years, and the king had already approved their marriage. But during his moment away on duty, disaster had struck.
Standing amid the artillery-scarred ruins of his homeland, he had roared his fury to the heavens and sworn to track down those responsible.
Taking a small team of elite guards and the kingdom's long-serving minister, he had set out to sea in pursuit of the pirate group responsible.
After extensive investigation, they discovered this wasn't a simple case of raiders seeking destruction and plunder, but rather slavers who operated part-time as pirates to capture human merchandise.
Following a grueling journey, they had finally intercepted and defeated the pirates in Sabaody Archipelago's waters, only to learn that the princess had already been sold to an auction house along with other captured civilians.
Valk, the armored man Jerry had been observing, clenched his fists in barely contained rage, unwilling to wait even another second.
Their original plan had been to infiltrate the auction venue and assess whether they could rescue the princess directly. If an opportunity presented itself, they would consider immediate action. If not, they would observe who purchased her and then intercept them during the transaction process.
However, the scale of this auction was larger than expected. After entering, they had spotted numerous representatives from various powerful factions in attendance.
This had created a conflict between Valk and the kingdom's minister. The gentleman was concerned that a more dangerous force might bid for the princess, or that they might accidentally lose track of her entirely.
Looking at Princess Maritis under the stage lights—her face gaunt, wearing a slave collar and iron chains—Valk's eyes turned cold with murderous intent.
Abandoning any pretense of following their careful plan, he stood up from his seat and walked directly toward the stage while the auctioneer continued his detailed introductions of each slave's "qualities."
The minister grabbed his arm, but lacking sufficient strength, was dragged several meters before managing to whisper an alternative plan.
The new strategy was to wait until the princess came up for auction, then bid directly to purchase her. During the payment transaction, they could rescue her and escape.
Valk turned to look at him, temporarily restraining his murderous aura, but didn't stop his slow advance toward the stage. He finally positioned himself directly in front of the platform, just behind the VIP table.
Fortunately, many other attendees were also moving around the venue for better views of the merchandise, so his movement didn't attract undue attention.
"Excellent! Let's continue with our auction," the auctioneer announced with renewed enthusiasm.
"First up, we have the notorious pirate Aoko! His original bounty was 80 million berries, and he possesses exceptional skill and strength!"
"He can fight ten men at once and has extraordinary stamina—perfect for hard labor! For those interested, he can even serve as a training dummy!"
"Multiple uses from a single purchase, meeting all your various needs! The starting bid is..."
The auctioneer delivered his passionate sales pitch while the audience murmured among themselves. Many looked down on pirate slaves, but plenty of others showed genuine interest.
The auction continued in this heated atmosphere through several more lots.
"Attention, attention, distinguished guests!" the auctioneer called out with theatrical flair. "Next, we present our premium midway attraction!"
"Behold this exquisite beauty with her stunning figure—the finest slave we've managed to acquire!"
"She is Princess Maritis from a non-member nation! Skilled in song and dance, accomplished in both literature and martial arts, not only that she is still pure and with no scratch in any way. A measure we take to provide top quality product. She can fulfill your every fantasy!"
"Don't let this opportunity pass you by! Act now rather than hesitate—purchase her and profit immediately!"
"Delay means defeat! Hesitation means you'll leave empty-handed!"
"Honored guests, let the bidding begin!"
The auctioneer signaled for staff to gently pull Maritis forward a step. His introduction triggered an enthusiastic response from the audience, particularly the male attendees, whose eyes widened as whistles and catcalls filled the air.
Upon hearing her own name announced, Maritis—dressed in revealing, elegant attire—went pale with horror.
She bit her lip hard and raised her head slightly. Through her tear-filled eyes, she caught a blurred glimpse of a familiar figure in the crowd.
Uncertain whether what she was seeing was real or an illusion born of desperate hope, she whispered, "Is that really you, Valk?"
"That's right—why am I still hesitating?" Valk muttered to himself as he saw his beloved woman in tears, hearing her call his name in anguish.
All thoughts of careful planning vanished from his mind. His expression hardened with absolute determination as he suddenly launched himself forward at lightning speed.
While every eye in the venue remained focused on the princess, he charged toward the Devil Fruit display at incredible velocity.
Before the security guards could react, he struck them down with thunderous blows, then smashed the display case with a single punch.
Grabbing the Dog-Dog Fruit, he swallowed it whole without hesitation, then rushed toward the princess like a man possessed.
After delivering another devastating punch to knock away the staff members trying to obstruct him, Valk swept his long-separated lover into his arms.
"Maritis, are you alright? Don't be afraid—I'm here to save you," he declared passionately.
"Come with me! We're leaving right now and going back to our happy home together!"
Valk tried to maintain his loving gaze and serious expression, but he kept retching violently from the revolting taste of the Devil Fruit he'd just consumed.