Chapter 133 Commotion at the Auction
Esdeath's cold voice echoed across the hall as her Conqueror's Haki swept through the venue.
Ordinary people collapsed with whites in their eyes, while most of the pirates and guards also fell to the ground. Only a few remained standing.
The tiger-faced guard, despite lacking sweat glands on his face, was drenched. The intense Haki had passed through his body, making him tremble. Though he hadn't fainted, his feline instincts screamed that the woman before him was extremely dangerous. Saliva gathered in his mouth as he nervously swallowed.
At the front of the hall, Eaton was drenched in sweat. He'd only ever felt this kind of pressure from his boss, Donquixote Doflamingo—it left a lasting impression.
"Tch." Eric clicked his tongue in frustration. Even the staff who had been counting his money had passed out, causing his hard-earned cash to scatter everywhere.
That was my money! Eric's heart bled.
The few pirates still standing frantically shook their unconscious crewmates, trying to wake them.
...
The CP0 agent Eric had previously encountered in Gourmet City had already contacted the navy. Days before, he had arranged for all nearby marines to gather at Carnival Island in hopes of capturing the Eric Pirates. Even if they failed, at least it would buy time for the three CP0 agents hunting Eric.
But they hadn't found any trace of the Eric Pirates. Instead, they encountered numerous wanted pirates from other crews.
Now, with looting and chaos breaking out, the marines that had been lying in ambush outside the auction house were forced to act, surrounding the entire venue.
Meanwhile, the CP0 agent who had issued the orders was already gone. Capturing pirates was the navy's job. His job was to fulfill the mission assigned by the Celestial Dragons.
A navy colonel holding a loudspeaker shouted, "Pirates inside, listen up! You are surrounded! Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately! Do not resist needlessly!"
It was a textbook example of a surrender plea. Of course, no one listened. If they were the kind to surrender, they wouldn't be pirates in the first place.
"Tch, why'd the marines have to show up again? It's all these idiot pirates' fault for making a scene and drawing them here."
Eric happily shoved the blame onto the other pirates.
The pirates who hadn't been knocked out by the Haki were panicked and furious.
"I don't know why, but all my crew fainted!"
"What now? There are so many marines out there!"
"Was this auction a trap? Did they cooperate with the navy to lure us here?!"
Looking out the main entrance, they could see marines packed in four or five layers, at least four to five thousand of them.
Blinded by rage, a few pirates charged at the auction house boss, intending to hack him into pieces.
The tiger-form guard quickly returned to Eaton's side to shield him.
While Zoan-type Devil Fruits greatly enhanced physical abilities, the pirates still standing had survived a wave of Conqueror's Haki. They weren't weak.
Swords and axes carved bloody wounds across the tiger-man's striped fur. He swiped one pirate away with a claw and shouted, "Boss! I'll hold them off! Run!"
The slightly plump Eaton proved to be no pushover himself, having withstood Esdeath's Haki. Hearing his guard's cry, he bolted toward the Devil Fruit on the stage.
But Eric flashed forward to stand in front of the fruit, blocking Eaton.
"Hey, I already paid for this. The Devil Fruit is mine now."
"Don't joke with me! The transaction isn't complete yet!" the boss shouted. "And I'll have you know—I'm a subordinate of the 'Warlord' Donquixote Doflamingo! Get out of my way if you don't want to die!"
Eric blinked. Again with Doflamingo? Just how many businesses did this guy own?
He glanced at the walls—no sign of the Donquixote Family's signature smiley-face symbol.
"Hahaha! Just another Warlord. That last one, Moria, just died. Once I get this fruit, I'll take down Doflamingo and become a Warlord myself!" several pirates sneered, clearly unimpressed by the current lineup of Warlords.
That was partly Eric's fault. Moria had only been a Warlord for a few years and hadn't built up much prestige before dying, which caused the Warlords' reputation to nosedive.
Seeing his boss in danger, the tiger guard tried to rush to his aid.
"Now's my chance!" a pirate attacked from behind, slashing across the tiger-man's back and sending him crashing to the ground.
"Damn it!" Seeing his guard go down, Eaton gave up on the Devil Fruit and ran backstage. No matter how valuable it was, his life mattered more.
As for the Donquixote Family hunting him down later? He'd deal with that—if he survived today.
"Seriously, Doflamingo overestimates his name. Can't even be bothered to send a real family member to guard this place, and you're auctioning off a Devil Fruit? Not afraid someone's gonna walk off with everything?"
"Hey, old man. Hand over that Devil Fruit, or else…" A pirate licked the blood off his blade and crept toward Eric.
"Hehehe," Eric chuckled darkly. Finally! The dramatic moment I've been dreaming of!
He yanked off his fake beard—rip! Ouch, that hurt!
Holding his stinging lip, Eric looked at the pirate. "What was that, kid?"
"You think I'm scared just 'cause you pulled off your beard? Hand over the Devil Fruit!"
Eric: "???"
You didn't recognize me?! That's not how this was supposed to go!
Aren't you supposed to drop to your knees, beg for forgiveness, and call me Lord Eric?!
Forget it—Eric gave up on his dramatic reveal. "Take care of these pirates."
"Been waiting for that," Kurumi replied.
Akame and Kurumi struck at once. The remaining pirates didn't stand a chance and were taken down like wheat in a harvest.
"Dammit!" one pirate raised his machete—only for Kurumi to shatter it with a single shot.
Surprisingly, Esdeath, usually eager for battle, didn't lift a finger this time. She simply watched with amusement. The enemies were clearly beneath her interest.
The total amount of money Eric possessed continued to rise with each defeated bounty target. When all pirates had been cleared out, the number stopped increasing.
Eric did a quick mental tally. 'Tch, seriously? All their bounties combined only came out to a little over 200 million?!'
"You guys are pathetic! That's all your bounties are worth?"
"Captain, Carnival City's still in the early stretch of Paradise. Most pirates here don't have high bounties."
"Tch, whatever." Eric stashed the Devil Fruit. "Let's get out of this marine encirclement."
He glanced at the wounded but still breathing tiger guard. Since the guy had stayed loyal and hadn't crossed him, Eric decided to leave him be. With the powers of a Zoan fruit, he'd recover.
"Kurumi."
Already understanding Eric's intention, Kurumi raised her right hand. "City of Devoured Time."
A pitch-black field expanded from beneath her feet, enveloping even the marines outside.
"What is this?!"
"I... can't move!"
These weren't elite marines from Navy Headquarters. They were local base troops, and against Eric's crew, they might as well have been vegetables. The "City of Devoured Time" drained them of strength, leaving them all lying helpless on the ground.
One navy colonel managed to lift his upper body—only to realize in horror that the man walking toward him was the infamous Eric himself!
He was too stunned to speak, watching as Eric and his companions walked out the auction doors and right toward them.
"S-Stop!"
Naturally, no one paid him any mind. They stepped over the collapsed marines and walked away.
The colonel stood dazed for a long moment before grabbing his transponder snail and reporting in:
"Requesting reinforcements! Requesting reinforcements! Everyone is down, and the Class-A criminal Eri—huh?"
As soon as Eric's group had gotten far enough, Kurumi deactivated the City of Devoured Time. The weakness vanished instantly, and all the marines stood up.
"Colonel Patton, what happened out there? What did you see?"
"Nothing. Everyone's fine!" Patton quickly cut off the line and turned to his men. "Check the auction hall for civilian safety, now!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Reporting, sir! All pirates neutralized! All hostages unconscious but stable!"
Colonel Moss let out a long sigh. All the civilians were safe. But… wait. Did he forget something?
Hiss! He suddenly gasped and grabbed the transponder snail again. "The Eric Pirates! I just remembered—we found the Eric Pirates!"
(END CHAPTER)
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