Auction House
The Auction House was enormous, with what appeared to be thousands of seats, and its interior was lavishly decorated.
It has to be said that those who can engage in the slave trade are all wealthy, let alone those who can host such a large auction. This slave owner must be rolling in money.
This made Roy even more curious about who this "boss" was who could make the slave owner risk his life to personally deliver the message.
The slave owner led Roy to the front row seats closest to the stage. These seats were significantly more luxurious than those at the back, handcrafted from precious wood. Sitting in them, one could feel the breath of nature, which was refreshing and invigorating.
Beside it were fruits and drinks, specialties from Four Seas. Just collecting them was no easy task, let alone keeping them fresh and intact during storage and transportation.
No wonder even the Celestial Dragons couldn't find any fault with it.
"What treasures are being auctioned this time?" Roy asked with great interest.
"These things shouldn't normally be revealed, but since Lord Roy asked, I naturally wouldn't dare to hide anything," the slave owner first flattered, mentioning his achievements before continuing.
"Our regular auctions here usually focus on human trafficking, but this auction covers four kinds of treasures, so you definitely won't leave empty-handed."
"First, naturally, are all sorts of precious slave species, but mermaids are really difficult to capture, so none of them will be auctioned this time. Second, there are Devil Fruit; three Zoan Devil Fruits and one Paramecia Devil Fruit will be auctioned this time. Third, there are legendary Famous Sword; there are two Skillful Grade Swords and one Great Grade Sword. Fourth, there are all sorts of arms deals. As for more detailed information, I'll have someone send you a list later." The slave owner rubbed his hands together, chuckled awkwardly, and retreated. Being around a ruthless person like Roy was just too stressful.
"Robin, take pictures of these Devil Fruits and that Great Grade Sword. As for the rest, you can take pictures of whatever you want." Roy was happy to be a hands-off manager; Robin would do the work, and if not...
A Devil Fruit is worth at least 100 million Beli, but if the Devil Fruit Ability is uncertain, the resulting strong person may not be worth its price. Therefore, the main buyers of Devil Fruit are still casual pirates, while many powerful forces are more interested in recruiting established strong individuals.
However, for Roy, who is a human money-printing machine, money is not a problem at all, and he wouldn't feel bad even if it all went down the drain.
Moreover, as a treasure of the sea, Devil Fruit can basically create a mid-level fighter as long as the person who eats them isn't too useless.
As for the Great Grade Sword, although Roy no longer thinks much of it, it doesn't mean his subordinates don't either.
Roy has already returned the Kikuichimonji to the Kenkon. As for the newly joined Harvey, his original Skillful Grade Sword was shattered into dust in the previous exchange. This newly appeared Great Grade Sword is just right to fill the gap. Otherwise, a Master Swordsman without a suitable weapon would undoubtedly have a much lower deterrent effect.
Overall, Roy was somewhat disappointed, but it was to be expected, since at his current level, there weren't many things he could really appreciate.
As the auction drew near, the Auction House gradually filled with people, and many who hadn't managed to buy seats simply leaned against the walls.
"Saint Rosward, Saint Charlos, Shalria Palace, welcome!" The slave owner once again performed the dogezu (a deep bowing gesture) with practiced ease, making one wonder if it had almost become an instinct for him.
"May I humbly request that Your Excellency exempt the people in the hall from the kneeling ceremony?"
"No need for formalities, otherwise there's no way to bid, right?"
"Thank you so much! Please take your seats in the VIP section!"
As the Celestial Dragons clumsily entered the venue, many people looked ahead with anticipation, knowing that given Celestial Dragons domineering nature, they would never agree to sit in the same row as "commoners."
Of course, these dark thoughts were limited to those who arrived at the venue early. As for those who had witnessed the Celestial Dragons making way, they were not surprised at all.
Sure enough, the three Celestial Dragons very "friendly"ly took their seats in the VIP area, showing no regard for the "commoners" sitting in the same row as them.
This scene undoubtedly reinforced other people's speculation that Roy was also a high-ranking Celestial Dragons.
"Celestial Dragons, Shichibukai, Supernovas —so many important figures have gathered in this small venue. What a grand ceremony!" A well-informed person glanced around at several eye-catching corners of the venue.
"Fire Fist Ace, Explosive Fist Louis, Demon Yorkson, Ghost Eye Vincent, Black Rod Rex, plus Storm Harvey has already submitted to Nightmare Roy, apart from the dead Beheader Meredith and the absent Demon Cat Natasha, almost all seven Supernovas are here!"
"Hehe, these Supernovas are all unruly guys, and with Nightmare Roy being an unstable factor, this venue is like a powder keg on a volcano. Even the slightest bump could trigger a violent change."
In a corner of the venue, a group of Roy's acquaintances had gathered.
"Captain, it's Nightmare Roy." The Spade Pirates looked at Ace with concern, worried that he would challenge Roy again. They didn't think Roy would be kind enough to let them go twice in a row.
"Don't worry, I know the gap between him and me better than you do. I won't challenge him again until I'm absolutely certain." Ace shook his head and smiled bitterly; his wounds were still throbbing.
"Let's hope so." The group sighed helplessly. They knew their captain's manners very well. He seemed gentle and refined, but in reality, he was stubborn and could be dragged back even by nine Sea Kings if he got really angry.
"Hey, what's with those expressions?" Ace said, annoyed, seeing the obvious disbelief on everyone's faces.
"It's that guy, Fire Fist Ace! His bounty is a full 40 million Beli higher than mine. He's only got that much because of his Logia-type Fruit reputation." On the other side of the venue, one of the Supernovas Yorkson, looked at Ace's location and said with considerable displeasure.
"Captain, you need to calm down! There are Celestial Dragons and Shichibukai in the venue right now. Challenging Fire Fist Ace under these circumstances is definitely not a wise choice," his crew member said, sweating profusely.
"Huh? Are you ordering me around?" Yorkson's eyes flashed with a scarlet light.
"No, Captain, I'm not... Ah!" The crew member's screams quickly faded and disappeared into the noisy crowd.
"However, you are right about one thing. This is indeed not a good place to fight. Hehe, once we enter the New World, I'll let those idiot marines know how foolish it was to rank my bounty below Fire Fist!"