"101 million berries, once!"
"101 million berries, twice!"
"101 million berries, three times! Sold!"
The auctioneer spoke rapidly without dragging things out, his wooden gavel falling heavily with a crisp, final sound.
A Devil Fruit that could easily be hyped to 600 or 700 million, or even over a billion berries on the open market, had fallen into the Charlotte family's hands at such a bargain price.
The auctioneer understood this perfectly.
Tesoro had put out this fruit with a half-sell, half-gift mentality, intending to attract the Big Mom Pirates and demonstrate goodwill.
As long as the Charlotte family attended, this fruit's mission was complete.
After all, in the New World, forces with the courage to compete with the Charlotte family in bidding could be counted on one hand.
Among all the guests, aside from Kai's group under the same Emperor-level pirate crew, perhaps only that Warlord Crocodile who loved collecting Zoan Devil Fruits might qualify as competition.
And that would only be worth the risk if it were Ancient Zoan-level quality goods.
"Damn Charlotte family!"
The guests below all cursed jealously in their hearts, only regretting they weren't the ones enjoying such privileges.
As for cursing out loud? They valued their lives too much for that.
Inside Box No. 2, Perospero glanced at the neighboring box, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
He'd really feared Kai might act on a whim and deliberately drive up prices.
Not only would that cost more money, but they might even fail to win the bid, a consequence he absolutely couldn't bear.
Soon, the next item appeared on stage.
"Zoan: Ancient Type, Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Tyrannosaurus form!"
The auctioneer shouted enthusiastically, "Just eat this Devil Fruit and you'll hold the admission ticket to the world of the strong!"
Despite the auctioneer's energetic promotion, everyone present understood the situation.
With the Charlotte family's precedent and now Hanafuda, famous for collecting Zoan Devil Fruits, present, how could they possibly win this fruit?
This wasn't about money. Unless they wanted to offend a Warlord of the Sea.
Obviously, no one present was that reckless.
"101 million berries!"
The next moment, a bid came from Hanafuda's box.
Seeing no one else dare raise their paddle, the auctioneer understood and quickly went through the motions, banging his gavel with practiced efficiency.
"The final item, tonight's true grand finale! From the publicly recognized strongest class of Devil Fruits, Logia type: Flame-Flame Fruit! It's among the elite of Logia types."
The auctioneer promoted professionally, "The power of Logia Devil Fruits needs no elaboration from me!"
"Starting bid: 100 million berries."
After speaking, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward Box No. 1.
Before the auction began, Boss Tesoro had personally instructed that Beast Pirates' Kai had reserved this fruit.
Of course, backdoor dealing aside, proper procedures still had to be followed.
Sure enough, the next second, a gentle male voice came through his earpiece: "Box No. 1, 101 million berries."
When the auctioneer announced this price and bidder, suppressed uproar and whispers immediately erupted below.
How excessive!
At least let them raise their paddles and bid; let them enjoy the thrill of auction participation!
Every single one is so blatantly winning at the floor price, only adding 100,000 berries without a penny more.
Had they conspired beforehand? Simply outrageous!
But these guests only dared complain furiously in their hearts, not showing the slightest dissatisfaction on their faces.
The only one with both qualification and power to disrupt things was in Box No. 2.
"Perospero-nii-san! Why won't you let me bid?!"
Oven had already grabbed the Den Den Mushi but was firmly held down by Perospero. "Even if we can't win, wouldn't making that bastard Kai bleed more money be satisfying?!"
Perospero remained calm, lowering his voice to scold, "Foolish! Forget whether your plan could succeed. Kai not interfering with us earlier already gave us face!"
"Even pirates have rules to follow."
"Now, restrain your anger."
Oven looked at his brother's extremely serious expression, his chest heaving violently several times before finally releasing his grip reluctantly. "I understand."
Below, the auctioneer understood and completed the final procedures with lightning speed.
"Congratulations to the distinguished guest in Box No. 1! Successfully winning the Logia: Flame-Flame Fruit for 101 million berries!"
"I now declare this auction successfully concluded!"
Soon, a finely crafted small box radiating golden luster was solemnly delivered to Box No. 1, escorted by Baccarat and a group of fierce-looking men in white suits.
"Kai-sama."
Baccarat bowed respectfully. "Tesoro-sama has settled all payments for you. Now, this precious Devil Fruit belongs entirely to you. You may dispose of it as you wish."
"Give my thanks to your boss. I accept this gesture."
Kai smiled, casually opening the box to reveal the strange fruit with flame-like spiral patterns inside.
He picked up the Flame-Flame Fruit, examined it briefly, then with a flick of his wrist, casually tossed it to Ace.
"Here, it's yours now."
Baccarat's eyes flashed with surprise.
This was the Flame-Flame Fruit, worth at least a billion berries at auction, just given to some subordinate like that?
She didn't dare say more and, after delivering the Devil Fruit, tactfully left with her subordinates.
Meanwhile, Ace caught the fruit frantically, momentarily finding it hard to believe.
"It's really that simple?"
"It's just one Flame-Flame Fruit, not worth making a big fuss over."
Kai laughed heartily, his tone suddenly turning stern with unquestionable authority. "Even if someone tried to intercept it halfway, we'd just kill them and let this fruit respawn somewhere on the seas."
"Thank you, Kai-aniki!" Ace bowed solemnly.
After straightening up, he hesitated no more, opening his mouth to bite down hard on the Flame-Flame Fruit.
"Ugh! Bleh, disgusting!"
The next second, Ace's eyes widened as an indescribable nausea from his soul's depths shot straight to his brain.
He couldn't control his dry heaving, his entire face scrunching up in revulsion.
Watching from the side, Sanji frowned with disgust. "I'm never eating any Devil Fruit. Having that thing enter my stomach would insult my tongue and my pride as a chef."
He knew how unfussy Ace was about food. If even Ace made that expression, the taste was unimaginable.
Kai watched Ace's predicament with mischievous laughter. "Hahaha, Ace, make sure to finish it all! If you don't finish, the abilities you gain might be defective."
"Really?"
Ace believed him, grimacing as he pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and forced his mouth wide open, swallowing the Flame-Flame Fruit in just a few bites.
Only after completely swallowing did Ace dare open his eyes, looking like a battle survivor.
Then Kai leisurely added, "Just kidding."
"Eh?! Kai-aniki, that's too much!" Ace's eyes widened as he protested loudly.
"Pfft!"
"Hahaha!"
Seeing Ace's expression of wanting to cry but having no tears, the entire box erupted in cheerful laughter.
Just then, Bonney covered her mouth in surprise, pointing at Ace's head and exclaiming, "A-Ace! On your head!"
"Hm? What about my head?"
Ace looked confused, instinctively reaching toward his head but feeling nothing except a warm area.
"Look, see for yourself."
Kai suppressed his laughter, pointing at the ornate mirror on the box wall.
Ace looked over curiously and nearly dropped his jaw. "Whoa! Why is my head on fire?!"
He immediately panicked, frantically patting his head with both hands, trying to extinguish the orange-red flames.
But rather than weakening, the flames flared higher and burned more intensely under his panicked emotions.
"Alright, Ace, stop wasting effort. That won't work."
Kai shook his head, providing guidance. "This is the Flame-Flame Fruit's ability activating unconsciously. You need to calm down, focus, and slowly learn to sense and control it."
"Like this?"
Ace obediently followed instructions, and indeed, through some mysterious instinctive connection, the flames on his head gradually subsided until they completely disappeared.
"Hehe, interesting."
His earlier embarrassment instantly forgotten, Ace excitedly raised both hands, eagerly beginning to experiment with controlling flames.
Kai smiled, then announced, "Alright, you'll have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the ability later. Everyone rest early tonight. We set sail first thing tomorrow morning."
The next day aboard the Rayquaza.
"Kai-aniki, I want to challenge you!" Ace called out energetically and spiritedly.
"You're still far from challenging me."
Kai lounged in his beach chair, lazily waving without even removing his sunglasses. "Get past Yamato first. Yamato, he's yours."
"Sure thing."
Yamato didn't mind that Ace was still weak, readily agreeing and picking up her kanabo.
Kai thoughtfully released Armament Haki, giving the deck a layer of reinforcement to prevent their battle from damaging the ship.
"Come on, Yamato-nee-san!"
Ace grinned, fighting spirit high.
"Fire Fist!"
Ace launched the first attack, his right fist striking out as surging flames instantly separated from his fist, forming a massive, solid flame fist that aggressively charged toward Yamato.
He really had talent. After just one night, he could already use the Flame-Flame Fruit so competently in battle.
"Namuji Hyoga!"
Yamato remained calm, opening her mouth as extremely cold, bone-chilling freezing air poured out like a white torrent.
The next second, the blazing flame fist violently collided with the extreme cold.
Contrary to Ace's expectations, his seemingly powerful flame fist offered almost no effective resistance, being directly overwhelmed and extinguished by Yamato's superior freezing air upon contact.
Boom!
The freezing torrent that shattered the flames continued unabated, surging toward Ace's original position like an avalanche.
Instantly, where Ace had been standing, a massive crystal-clear icicle emitting cold air appeared from nowhere.
But Ace himself wasn't frozen within it.
"That was close!"
Appearing several meters away, Ace patted his chest, breathing heavily with lingering fear.
Fortunately, he was no longer the frog in a well from Windmill Village. Knowing he was no match for Yamato, he'd predicted and dodged in advance.
"It's not over yet! Cross Fire!"
Steadying himself, Ace's eyes focused as he quickly crossed his index fingers, a blazing cross-shaped beam instantly shooting from his fingertips, precisely aimed at Yamato.
The next second, surging flames were guided by the beam and shot out.
Boom!
A massive pillar of fire rose up, instantly engulfing Yamato's position.
The scorching heat waves made even distant spectators feel their faces burning.
This was the terrifying power of top-tier Logia Devil Fruits. Even basic applications could generate amazing spectacles.
"Did I succeed?" Ace squinted, trying to see clearly through the flames.
"Still far from it."
Yamato's energetic, clear voice rang out right by Ace's ear.
Simultaneously, a white kanabo rapidly enlarged in Ace's pupils.
Bang!
Ace instinctively tried to elementalize, turning into flames to avoid this heavy blow.
However...
Bang!
The Armament Haki-infused kanabo struck Ace solidly.
Ace screamed as he flew backward uncontrollably like a baseball hit for a home run, crashing heavily into the ship's rail reinforced by Kai's Haki.
"That hurts!"
Ace slumped on the deck, seeing stars.
"Fighting Armament Haki users, elementalization is the stupidest behavior. You'd be better off using Iron Body."
Kai scolded disappointedly. "Remember, elementalization isn't for close combat."
Though Iron Body had legendary infamy in his previous life, it was indeed the optimal choice in extreme situations.
At least it let you tank more damage.
"I understand, Kai-aniki."
Ace shook his still-dizzy head, standing up somewhat unsteadily but showing no dejection.
"Alright, enough playing around. Begin daily training."
Kai turned to the tall figure quietly watching nearby. "Kuma, please guide them."
"It's my duty."
Kuma nodded slightly, his tone as steady and reliable as always.
With Kuma as a dependable companion, Kai contentedly became a hands-off manager.
Wano Country.
After five days of sailing, the Rayquaza returned to this island's outer waters.
The great ship passed through the rushing waterfall, slowly entering the hidden submarine port within the mountain.
"Kai-sama has returned!"
The moment the Rayquaza's distinctive figurehead appeared, the entire submarine port erupted.
Deafening cheers nearly lifted the cavern roof.
Pirates frantically waved their arms, faces showing undisguised fanaticism as they loudly shouted Kai's name.
"Kai-sama really is popular."
Robin, visiting Wano for the first time, stood by the ship's rail somewhat surprised.
Those Beast Pirates members who were legendarily fierce enough to stop children's nighttime crying were now no different from fanatical fans chasing idols in Kai's presence.