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[Start of the chapter]
A few days later, in 1GR of the Sabaody Archipelago, Doflamingo's auction house opened for business as usual.
Compared to the earlier days when human trafficking was carried out in the shadows, this time Doflamingo stayed hidden, using control over the auction itself to conduct slave trading from behind the scenes.
At the auction entrance, nobles and wealthy merchants from various countries filed in.
Meanwhile, pirate captains with fierce auras slipped into the crowd with their subordinates, entering the venue cautiously. After all, they were pirates; keeping a low profile was safer.
There were also some low-key Underworld bosses, who quietly slipped into the auction without a sound.
Outside the venue, the perimeter was packed with guards in matching black uniforms, all wearing the crest of the Donquixote Family, maintaining order on-site.
On the other side of the island, inside a room whose walls were covered in image Den Den Mushi screens—
Doflamingo was sprawled on a sofa, one leg casually crossed over the other. His gaze swept across the dozens of screens in front of him.
The monitors clearly showed the auction entrance, the main hall, every corner of the venue, and the central stage, all in live feed.
"Fufufufufu… quite a lot of 'regulars' today."
Arms dealers from the North Blue, mafia godfathers from the West Blue, a few fairly well-known Supernova pirates from the first half of the Grand Line, and even some rebel leaders from the New World had all appeared in the venue.
All these big shots restrained themselves on the surface, under the banner of the Donquixote Family.
Doflamingo himself, along with the highest officers of his family, did not show up at the venue this time.
No matter how renowned his name had become in the Underworld, in the open he was still that Heavenly Yaksha with a bounty of several hundred million Berries from the Marines—a pirate.
If he swaggered into such a public place in person, that would be like slapping the Marines across the face.
There was no way the Marines would just ignore that.
As for security at the auction, Doflamingo was absolutely confident.
The "Donquixote Family" brand itself was the strongest deterrent.
He firmly believed that in the first half of the Grand Line, there was no one who dared run wild on his turf and destroy his business.
After all, no one could afford the price of being hunted down relentlessly by the entire Donquixote Family.
The venue gradually filled up. Everyone was full of anticipation for the auction that was about to begin.
The nobles and wealthy merchants chatted about the rare artworks and slaves that might appear.
The pirates were more interested in weapons and treasure.
As for the Underworld bosses and New World rebel leaders, what they wanted most was a quiet meeting with Doflamingo after the auction, to discuss purchasing weapons of war.
Of course, everyone present was extremely curious about the mysterious Devil Fruit that would be used as the finale of the auction.
However, just as the auction was about to begin, something on the entrance monitor instantly caught Doflamingo's eye.
On the screen, a noticeable commotion had broken out at the entrance.
Four figures walked unhurriedly through the crowd toward the inner hall of the auction.
Ronan, accompanied by Beth, Alicia, and Teresa, appeared at the auction entrance!
"Them?!"
Doflamingo stared at the screen, eyes locked, an expression of surprise spreading across his face.
"Ronan… What is he here for?!"
Doflamingo's mind spun rapidly. "To participate in the auction? Or is he targeting me?"
His brain raced, trying to guess Ronan's purpose.
At the same time, inside the auction venue—
News of Ronan's group appearing spread in an instant, triggering an even bigger stir!
"That's… that's them!"
"That prince from Lulusia! And the woman who took down Golden Lion!"
"Why are they here?!"
"Are they here to bid too?"
Whispers rippled throughout the auction hall.
The nobles and wealthy merchants, who had been sitting there composed and at ease, now showed only curiosity.
After all, Ronan was a prince. In a sense, his status as nobility was similar to theirs. They were not particularly worried that Ronan would affect them.
Instead, they were extremely curious about the bodyguards at his side who had defeated Golden Lion. Now that they could see them in person, many of them looked faintly excited.
However, the pirate captains scattered in the corners of the venue—who had been keeping a low profile—immediately went pale when they heard the news.
"Damn it! It's that prince who captures pirates!"
"What is he doing here?!"
"Move! We're leaving!"
Panic spread like wildfire among the pirates!
Without much hesitation, several high-bounty pirate captains practically sprang up from their seats at the same time. They lowered their voices and barked at their men,
"Retreat! Head for the back exit, now!"
They no longer cared about any auction items, and they certainly didn't care about any rules of the Donquixote Family.
Even Golden Lion had fallen to these people.
A Supernova like Kudris, with over a hundred million on his head, had been snatched up and hauled off for a bounty like a little chick.
They strongly suspected that Ronan's appearance here was precisely to arrest them.
In just a moment, more than a third of the seats suddenly emptied out.
These pirates were terrified that if they moved a step too slowly, they would be noticed by those walking disasters.
The once lively atmosphere in the auction hall evaporated, leaving a wide swath of empty space that made the whole place feel awkwardly cold.
In his monitoring room, Doflamingo stared at the screen showing the suddenly half-empty hall and the pirates fleeing in panic.
The muscles on his face twitched violently a few times, and a surge of uncontrollable fury rose from the depths of his heart.
"Fufu… fufufufufu…"
Doflamingo's laugh grew low, as if he were suppressing his inner rage.
The auction he had painstakingly prepared for so long hadn't even started yet, and thanks to Ronan's appearance, it had already turned into a farce!
Those pirates might not be respectable guests, but they were still important sources of profit and potential business partners, as well as a visible sign of the Donquixote Family's influence.
Now they had been scared into bolting for the exits in front of everyone.
This was nothing less than a heavy slap across Doflamingo's face!
The loss wasn't just the Berries he might have made.
It was also the reputation and authority of "Joker" in the Underworld!
"Ronan…" Doflamingo practically ground the name out between his teeth.
"Did you come here for the auction… or did you come for me, Doflamingo?"
He was seriously beginning to doubt Ronan's true objective.
Had killing Golden Lion and capturing pirates in Sabaody just been a smokescreen?
Was his real target Doflamingo himself?
Or was there some deeper reason behind it all?
But by now, even if Doflamingo wanted to act, it was already too late. The scheduled start time for the auction was almost upon them.
Even so, Doflamingo was already planning how he would teach Ronan and his group a lesson once the auction was over.
After all, this time they had caused no small amount of damage to the Donquixote Family.
He picked up a special Den Den Mushi and issued his orders:
"The auction… goes on as planned! Keep a close eye on those four. I want to know their every move—especially… what they're interested in!"
He fully intended to see just what tricks this Lulusia prince, who had wrecked his carefully laid plans, was trying to pull on his turf.
(End of Chapter)
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