The supervisor hurried after him. Seeing Rakuya pause, he fumbled out a heavy key and turned it in the lock.
The door swung inward and Rakuya's vision flooded with gold.
Dazzling light spilled in ripples, not from lamps but from the treasure itself. Jewels flashed, gold gleamed, and for Rakuya it was nothing short of a vault of dreams.
"Ha. Now that's a haul."
He lifted his hand toward the glittering storeroom, smiling.
"Gravity Storm."
An invisible gale tore through the chamber. Centered on Rakuya, the force swept forward as if a giant unseen hand had clenched. Crowns, ingots, gem-studded curios all rose, drifted, and then shot toward him. Anything that reached his palm vanished without a trace, whisked into his system's storage space.
The supervisor stood off to the side feeling his heart bleed. This was the auction house's hoard, years in the making, the kind the boss himself hated to put on the block, and now some kid was carrying it all off.
"S-sir… could you leave a little?"
He cringed in the corner, face ashen.
"Leave some? Sure. You brought me to the vault, so I'll be generous. Let's say… this one gold brick stays."
Rakuya tossed a single hefty bar onto the floor. The look on the supervisor's face cycled through grievance, helplessness, and humiliation.
"Alright, thanks for showing the way. Consider that brick your tip."
He didn't look back. Looting complete, he strolled out of the auction house with one man and one "heavenly dog" in tow, Saint Charlos still suspended in the air under Rakuya's repulsive force.
"Halt. Drop your weapon. You are surrounded by Marines. Release the Celestial Dragon or we will execute you on the spot."
Outside, the scene had already drawn a crowd. Lines of Marines filled the plaza, rifles and cannon trained squarely on Rakuya. Behind them, barricades stretched long as more Marines hustled panicked nobles and pirates away from the auction hall.
"Heh. That was fast."
While the standoff tightened, Fleet Admiral Steelbone Kong was already neck deep in fallout from the battered Celestial Dragon.
"Steelbone Kong, this matter must be handled with absolute severity. The World Nobles cannot be insulted. The offense is egregious. The upstart who assaulted a Celestial Dragon must be seized and publicly executed."
The voice on the Den Den Mushi was old but iron hard. Even Kong felt a prickle of unease.
"Understood. However, there is another matter to report first," Kong said, standing rigid at his desk.
"What is it?"
"Intelligence suggests the boy who beat the Celestial Dragon may have a hidden clan behind him. A very powerful one. By our best inference, their influence is immense. Even an admiral was told he lacked the qualifications to enter the boy's homeland. Therefore…"
Kong let the implication hang. On the other end, the highest authority in the World Government heard it plainly.
"You are saying the family backing him is formidable."
"Yes."
"Do you have any files on this clan?"
"No." Kong shook his head. "I mobilized every resource the Marines have to investigate him. We found nothing."
"Impossible. A powerhouse does not appear out of thin air by accident. Hand this to CP0. I want the truth about that hidden clan uncovered at any cost."
"Yes." Kong paused. "And the boy?"
Silence bled through the line for a long half minute.
"Capture him first," the voice said at last. "We will decide after we confer."
"Yes."
The line clicked dead. Kong exhaled slowly. He knew exactly what those thirty seconds of silence meant.
Even the Five Elders were wary in the face of a clan that stayed off the world's map.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to add this story to your Library, drop a review, and leave a Power Stone if you enjoyed it!