"Please take care, Lord Mai, Second."
The manager bowed and scraped, finally seeing Uchiha Mai's group off.
He hurried back to report everything that had happened today to Donquixote Doflamingo.
Several of his employees were doing the same.
Whether because some of the auction items might interest the World Government and the Navy, because they wanted to keep tabs on Doflamingo, or because they wanted to better serve the Celestial Dragons, the auction house needed plenty of informants.
The Navy and the World Government did the same.
Once they had left the auction house, Rayleigh stopped. Looking seriously into Uchiha Mai's eyes, he asked, "You didn't stop me earlier to protect those people, did you, young Mai? Why do you want me to be the Akatsuki's Second?"
Rayleigh was no fool.
He had known there would be trouble, so he had planned to use Haki to deal with everyone present.
But the moment Uchiha Mai acted, his Haki dissipated. Rayleigh knew there was no way he could kill those people today and continue living a peaceful life.
It was not as though the Navy did not know he was on the Sabaody Archipelago.
After all, he had lived here for twenty years. He liked gambling, drinking, and crowds, so plenty of people had seen him long ago.
Yet the Navy had not acted against him because Rayleigh kept his mouth shut.
The Navy did not know whether he had gone to Laugh Tale or whether he knew the truth.
There was no need to provoke someone so powerful when, without Roger, Rayleigh had done nothing and would do nothing.
If the Straw Hat crew reached Laugh Tale and Luffy was eventually executed, Zoro would not be targeted either. It was the same principle.
Only the leader had greater symbolic significance.