The Little Thief Who Came Knocking

"Ladies and gentlemen, please look, this is the grand finale of this auction— the Dark-Dark Fruit, possessing what is considered the most vicious power in the history of Devil Fruit." Gild Tesoro held up an exquisite treasure box. As the lid was opened, the intricate purple patterns of the Dark-Dark Fruit came into view, seemingly possessing boundless magic that captivated everyone's attention. Greedy and burning gazes were focused on the "Dark-Dark Fruit," as if they wanted to melt it.

Actually, Gild Tesoro was a little worried. What if the fruit was exposed as fake? If it was discovered to be a forgery, then there would be no point in continuing the auction.

Of course, as the most successful businessman in the Pirate World, Gild Tesoro would not show any weakness. Moreover, he also knows the principle that "if you want to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself." Words that you don't even believe yourself cannot convince others.

So, Gild Tesoro, who had been hypnotized, said in a fanatical tone, "As long as you obtain this fruit, you will gain power, wealth, fame, and everything you want. This is truly... One Piece!"

"Ah..." The cheers and shouts of the crowd almost lifted the roof off, and the sound waves erupted in the hall like a torrent.

It has to be said that Gild Tesoro's language is very seductive. Even those dark kings who dominate the Underworld can no longer care about their appearance. They look like starving ghosts reincarnated, their scarlet eyes are terrifying. If this were at night, the whole room would be full of... wolves!

Fortunately, there aren't many fools here. Even the most greedy wouldn't dare to try and steal it right under the noses of two Four Emperors. Besides, do they really think the Gild Tesoro is an idiot? Someone who can build a special neutral zone that is recognized even by the World Government from scratch is definitely not a kind person. Even if it were one of the Four Emperors, it would be very difficult to take the Devil Fruit from him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, to show my sincerity, I will keep this treasure chest on the auction stage until the very end of the auction, which is also the most exciting moment. Then I will personally preside over the auction to bring this auction to a perfect close." Gild Tesoro gently placed the treasure chest containing the "Dark-Dark Fruit" on the table. With a wave of his hand, a beautiful auctioneer stepped forward to take his place, holding a very similar treasure chest in her hands.

"Distinguished guests, the next item to be auctioned is the first item of this auction: an unidentified Devil Fruit. The starting price is 70 million Beli, and each bid must be at least 1 million Beli higher," the beautiful auctioneer announced in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Gild Tesoro owns 20% of the Beli in the Pirate World, and his readily available cash reserves alone amount to 500 billion Beli. To put that into perspective, if we disregard the increase in the value of Devil Fruit due to his massive purchases, Gild Tesoro could buy 5,000 Devil Fruit and 100 Op-Op Fruit.

For powerful forces, Devil Fruit are strategic resources, and they can't lose money no matter how much they buy them. For smaller forces, the Beli they get from selling a Devil Fruit are enough to hire "strong" people who have eaten Devil Fruit to work for them. It's not a question of who wins or loses; it's simply a matter of each getting what they need.

Therefore, when Gild Tesoro used his vast wealth, he quickly obtained many Devil Fruits with strange magical powers. Of course, most of these were Devil Fruit that were not even recorded in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and required a gamble.

However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of all parties in the slightest. Life is a gamble, and if one were to get lucky and obtain a powerful Devil Fruit, their entire life might undergo a dramatic change.

"7...73 million Beli!"

"76 million Beli!"

"Hmph, the aura of a weakling! I'll offer 777 million Beli!"

Soon, the first Devil Fruit was sold for 93 million Beli. Although Devil Fruit can usually fetch more than 100 million Berries, that mostly refers to Devil Fruit that can be found in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. This kind of unidentified fruit, which is extremely risky, is naturally cheaper.

Besides Devil Fruit, the most popular items at the auction were all kinds of powerful weapons.

It's important to know that while swords are the mainstream weapon in the Pirate World, there are quite a few powerful individuals who prefer unique weapons, such as Kaido's spiked club, Vergo's Bamboo Stick, Mad Monk Urouge's... pencil?

Therefore, for special groups like them, obtaining a desired weapon is not an easy task. It is only because Gild Tesoro possesses the ability to "spend money" that he can collect all kinds of powerful weapons from various areas of the Grand Line in a short period of time.

Besides these two, there are many other interesting items up for auction, such as the sovereignty of certain territories, or even... an entire country. There are also large-scale arms deals and frequent slave trades, which give the Celestial Dragons, who have been idle all the time, a place to vent their frustrations.

"Hehe, I've made a killing! These Celestial Dragons are really rich fools... ugh, they're the epitome of rich and stupid." Carina, dressed as a staff member, strode out of the VIP box, her nimble fingers quickly tapping the banknotes in her hand, letting out a satisfied sigh, "Ah, if everyone were as stupid as the Celestial Dragons, this world would be a wonderful place, la la la."

However, Carina soon stared at a private room next to her, caught in a dilemma. "The longer I stay, the greater the chance of being exposed. If these brutal Celestial Dragons discover anything, my fate might be worse than death."

"But such an opportunity is a once-in-a-century event. If you miss it, how can you still call yourself a phantom thief who has stolen from all over the world? Carina, you have to believe in yourself. With the intelligence of those Celestial Dragons, they will definitely be fooled by you."

"Once I've done this last job, I'll stop immediately and take all this treasure far away. By then, even if the Celestial Dragons discover something's wrong, they'll only be able to settle accounts with the Gild Tesoro."

After making her promise, Carina hummed a cheerful tune as she walked toward the private room next door. "By the way, who's in this room again? They're probably... Celestial Dragons, right? Oh well, whatever. With my skills, there won't be any problems."

"My esteemed guest, would you like some fruits and snacks from around the world, or perhaps some special clothing..." Carina's eyes widened as she entered the room, and she cried out in her heart, "It's... it's that big shot who appeared in the Gild Tesoro's room yesterday! It's all over, this time it's completely hopeless."

As a lazy bum like me, I've actually updated three times in three days straight! What happened? Was I modified by aliens? Or have my readers cast a vicious curse on me? It sends chills down my spine! Finally, you know what I mean, I'm begging for votes!