The First Devil Fruit

In the end, this batch of navy families was successfully bought by Ross for 1.5 billion.

"Saint Ross, I owe you a favor."

Zephyr let out a light breath of stale air, his gaze toward Ross shifting to something different.

"Remember that. You may have stayed out of trouble before, but as my CP0, until I find a suitable butler, you'll be in charge of my palace's security and management first."

Ross glanced at Zephyr. "I bought the people for you, but I don't keep idle hands under my command."

"I won't make things difficult for you."

Zephyr lowered his head slightly, expressing his respect.

He had managed thousands of unruly navy recruits without issue; handling just a batch of navy families was hardly any trouble at all.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've now reached the final auction item. This last piece is no ordinary thing—it's no slave, but a secret treasure of the sea."

Even knowing such a treasure had nothing to do with them, the crowd in the auction house still fixed burning gazes on the host.

Ross raised an eyebrow lightly.

The navy families were the last item he had arranged; after this, it had nothing to do with him.

Presumably, the person in charge had added this treasure specially upon learning that he and Rozward were visiting.

A secret treasure of the sea—just from the name, one could tell it was a Devil Fruit.

The only question was which fruit it was.

Even Zephyr and Rozward now showed interest.

After all, a Devil Fruit came with all kinds of abilities, and many of them possessed invincible powers.

"That's right, the final item is a Devil Fruit! And not just any—it's a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit."

"The Paramecia-type Heal-Heal Fruit! Starting bid at 100 million, welcome to bid!!!!"

"The Heal-Heal Fruit!?"

Ross's face lit up with surprise, his eyes blazing with heat as he stared at the green spiral-patterned fruit in the host's hand.

The Heal-Heal Fruit was definitely an extremely powerful support fruit.

Even if it couldn't directly repel injuries like the Paw-Paw Fruit, or match the healing of some Mythical Zoans, its ability to cure diseases and external wounds gave it strong versatility in the world of pirates.

Since he didn't have any other healing-type fruits on hand, getting the Heal-Heal Fruit would at least secure a medical safeguard for the future.

"Saint Ross, this fruit's ability is formidable."

Zephyr noticed Ross's interest and whispered beside him:

"According to navy records, this fruit's healing power is second only to the Op-Op Fruit. It can easily treat injuries at the level of an admiral's strength, and can also cure some diseases and terminal illnesses."

In short, it was a fruit with extremely strong support effects, and its healing worked well even on admirals.

"I know."

Already aware of the fruit's value, Ross had no intention of letting it slip away.

"2 billion!"

Ross directly threw out a price that crushed everyone else, and even Rozward, who had no interest to begin with, couldn't muster a shred of competitive desire.

Though Rozward was also frustrated, wondering where Ross got his money.

Still, in his heart, he felt Ross wouldn't resort to outright robbery.

The auction came to its final close because of Ross's decisive bid.

"Admiral Zephyr, use Observation Haki to keep an eye on the back. Don't let my people or the fruit get swapped out."

Ross wasn't in a hurry, just giving a precautionary reminder.

"I understand. Saint Ross, you can just call me Zephyr."

Zephyr nodded lightly. Just one auction together had earned Ross his recognition, and he also accepted this new position.

He didn't know if Ross could wipe out all pirates, but since he himself couldn't, he wouldn't fault others for failing either.

Still, from Ross's attitude toward pirates, it seemed mostly disdain, which gave Zephyr some comfort.

As long as he could take down more pirates while by Ross's side, he'd be satisfied.

The navy Training Camp could find another instructor without him, and he wanted to try a different path.

If he could rise to a high position in the World Government through Ross and mobilize the full force of the World Government, maybe there was still a chance to eliminate all pirates.

As soon as the auction ended, the nobles and wealthy merchants inside rushed to flee.

Two Celestial Dragons were here—watching the excitement during the bidding was one thing, but staying now risked being caught in the crossfire if the two Dragons clashed.

"Zephyr, it seems there are a few rats mixed in the crowd, and I don't think I've seen your Strength yet."

Ross watched the fleeing masses, spotting several towering, fierce-faced figures, and couldn't help but curl his lips into a slight smile.

One look told him these weren't good people.

Still, pirates coming to a slave auction was hardly unusual.

If you like this book, to avoid losing it next time, remember to add it to your bookshelf.

"This old man will go deal with it now!"

Zephyr grinned, a hint of cruelty flashing in his eyes.

He had recognized these pirates during the auction just now and had already locked onto them with Observation Haki.

Originally, he planned to go find them and settle the trouble once he was free.

Now that he had this chance ahead of time, he naturally wouldn't miss it.

Whoosh!!!

Zephyr's burly figure vanished from where he stood, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared at the entrance of the Auction House.

"Who are you? Get out of my way, I'm a noble of the Inamug Country."

A noble who didn't recognize Zephyr, anxious to flee, barked angrily.

"Don't, don't, don't—this is the man who was sitting next to that Your Highness just now."

The person beside him quickly tugged at the noble, stopping him from acting rashly.

Zephyr frowned but, following his Marine habits, prepared to let the noble leave.

But before he could speak.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out, and a bloody hole appeared in the back of the noble's head. He flopped to the ground.

Completed E-rank kill!

Strength +100

Special Reward: Noble Etiquette (E-rank)

"Zephyr, next time someone blocks your way, kill them all. That's the authority I grant you. Oh, and don't kill those pirates—leave them for me to execute personally."

Saint Ross blew the white smoke from his gun's muzzle, twirled it in a flourish, and holstered it at his waist.

If it weren't for the noble status backing him, that noble would probably have been rated G-rank. Him personally pulling the trigger was already generous.

Not gonna lie, shooting people with a gun felt pretty cool.

Those who hadn't yet fled watched Ross casually kill a noble and fell into terrified silence.

"Saint Ross, this old man understands."

Zephyr gave Ross a deep look, committing his words to memory.

The methods used by a Celestial Dragon were indeed different from those of the Marines.

Killing whoever you wanted without worrying about the consequences... That was probably the root of why Celestial Dragons committed atrocities.

"Except for a few among you, the rest can leave."

Zephyr said flatly, stepping aside to clear half the path.

Seeing the open passage, the wealthy merchants and nobles didn't hesitate and scrambled to rush out.

Several pirates now sensed something was wrong and tried to blend into the crowd to escape.

But with Zephyr there, they had no chance.

"Pirates, you'll all stay here for this old man."

Boom!!!!

Zephyr's figure darted swiftly through the crowd, his towering build not hindering his speed in the slightest.

With each punch he threw, a pirate was knocked down.

Ross followed behind Zephyr, unhurriedly finishing off the fallen pirates.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every gunshot marked the end of a life.

Completed D-rank kill!

Strength +1000

Special Reward: Body Technique (D-rank)

Completed D-rank kill!

Strength +1000

Special Reward: Marksmanship (D-rank)

In just a short while, all the wealthy merchants and nobles had fled, leaving only the noble's corpse from before and eight fresh pirate bodies on the ground.

Eight pirates, the lowest being D-rank, with one C-rank among them.

In total, they provided Ross with 17,000 experience points, along with C-rank Swordsmanship, three D-rank Body Techniques, two D-rank Marksmanship skills, and one D-rank Swordsmanship as Special Rewards.

Too bad it takes ten of the same rank to synthesize one higher rank. Still, I need to carry out more righteous judgments.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author—maybe it just changed its name!