Auction House

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Sabaody Archipelago.

Uchiha Shisui stood outside the Human Auction House, staring at a massive promotional poster without moving for a long time.

On the poster, three Fishman Boys were bound in iron chains, their eyes numb and vacant.

The words beside them read: "Rare merchandise! Three Fishman Boy brothers! Starting bid: fifty million Belly!"

His brow furrowed slightly.

This world was filthier than he had imagined.

"Sir, will you be entering?"

A waiter dressed in formal attire approached and asked politely, "There's a special auction this afternoon, with quite a few fine items."

Shisui glanced at him, his black eyes calm and unruffled.

"Lead the way."

"Please follow me."

The waiter led him into the Auction House.

The interior was lavishly decorated. Beneath enormous crystal chandeliers, many richly dressed men and women already occupied the rows of seats.

They chatted and laughed while holding auction catalogs, pointing things out to one another.

Shisui took a seat in a corner. His Three Tomoe Sharingan quietly opened as he scanned the entire venue.

He spotted several pirates with fairly strong presences.

He also saw several people concealed in the shadows, their auras carefully hidden.

They were probably the auction house's security personnel.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The auctioneer stepped onto the stage with a beaming smile. "Welcome to today's special auction! First, let us take a look at our first item."

An iron cage was pushed onto the stage. Inside stood a gaunt middle-aged man wearing an explosive collar around his neck.

"A former general of a kingdom in the West Blue, a master swordsman! Starting bid: eight million Belly!"

"Nine million!"

"Nine and a half million!"

The moment the auctioneer finished speaking, bids rose one after another throughout the lavish Auction House, and the venue grew endlessly noisy.

The master swordsman on the stage kept his head lowered in silence, like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Uchiha Shisui sat in the shadows of the corner, his black eyes calmly sweeping over the men and women raising their bidding paddles.

Nobles, wealthy merchants, brokers from the underworld, and a few pirates with fairly strong presences.

His gaze lingered a moment longer on those pirates.

Three men and one woman sat in the middle-rear rows. Their clothes were not extravagant, but their plain attire was clean and neatly pressed.

Their waists bulged conspicuously; they were clearly hiding weapons.

Their leader was a brown-haired man in his thirties with an old scar across his cheek. He was staring fixedly at the auction stage, his clenched fists turning his knuckles white.

Something was wrong with this man!

That was Shisui's judgment at first glance.

"Twelve million!" A fat noble raised his paddle.

The auctioneer smiled broadly. "Twelve million! Any higher bids? Twelve million, going once."

"Fifteen million."

The voice came from the brown-haired Scarface, hoarse and restrained.

The venue fell quiet for a moment. Many eyes turned toward him, filled with scrutiny and amusement.

Pirates usually did not act so conspicuously in a place like this.

Unless that "item" held some special meaning for them.

Clearly, such things were not uncommon here.

The fat noble sneered and lazily raised his paddle again. "Sixteen million."

"Eighteen million!" Scarface practically growled.

"Twenty million." The noble did not even lift his eyelids.

One of Scarface's companions pressed a hand on his shoulder and whispered something to him.

Scarface's chest heaved violently. In the end, he slumped back into his seat, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the gaunt middle-aged man in the cage onstage.

"Sold for twenty million!" The auctioneer's hammer fell.

Shisui withdrew his gaze, lifted the tea the waiter had brought him, and took a sip.

The tea was warm, but it carried the bitter taste of poor quality.

These were the rules of this world—naked, direct, without the slightest attempt at concealment.

The weak were prey to the strong, and the highest bidder won.

Here, people were merely commodities with clearly marked prices.

As a ninja, Shisui had seen far too much darkness.

Betrayal, indiscriminate slaughter, clan extermination...

But at least in the Ninja World, slavery was openly prohibited.

Here, it had been packaged as an auction, carried out openly beneath dazzling crystal chandeliers and elegant music.

The clan head had said this island was still under Marine jurisdiction?

What a truly cruel world!

The auction continued.

Swords and blades, treasures, Devil Fruits (imitations), slaves of rare races...

One item after another was wheeled onto the stage, then swallowed by one greedy mouth after another.

At last, it was time for the three Fishman Boys from the poster.

When the iron cage was wheeled onto the stage, low cries of surprise rose through the hall.

Fishmen were not uncommon in Sabaody, but three brothers this young and in such flawless condition were indeed rare merchandise.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The auctioneer's voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"Next is today's main attraction! Three brothers from Fish-Man Island, all under sixteen years old, healthy and with enormous potential! Whether used as laborers, guards, or..."

He flashed an ambiguous smile.

"For certain special purposes, they are all excellent choices! Starting bid—fifty million Belly!"

"Fifty-five million!"

"Sixty million!"

The bidding instantly grew fierce.

Shisui saw Scarface's fists clench tightly once more, his eyes fixed on the three boys inside the iron cage.

Beside him, his companion.

A Red-Haired Woman gripped his arm tightly, her lips moving as though she were saying something.

"Eighty million!" A merchant wearing a monocle raised his paddle.

"Eighty-five million!" Another noble followed.

The price swiftly climbed to one hundred million.

Scarface's body was trembling, while the Red-Haired Woman spoke urgently into his ear.

Scarface lowered his head and covered his face with both hands, his shoulders trembling faintly.

Shisui looked away.

Clearly, this group of pirates knew the three boys onstage.

Unfortunately, he was no savior, nor could he rescue all the suffering in this world.

In this unfamiliar and dangerous world, he was even less willing to act rashly.

"One hundred and twenty million!" A lazy voice rang out.

Someone seated in the very front spoke up. It was precisely the person the clan head had mentioned, the one wearing that strange bubble helmet over his head.

A Celestial Dragon—Saint Charlos.

He idly picked at his ear with his little finger, as though the enormous sum he had just called out was nothing more than an insignificant string of numbers.

The entire hall fell silent at once.

No one dared bid against a Celestial Dragon.

This was the iron law of Sabaody—no, of the entire world.

The auctioneer wiped away his sweat.

"Saint Charlos bids one hundred and twenty million! Any higher bids? One hundred and twenty million, going once."

Just then, a sudden change erupted!

"Move!"

A furious shout exploded from the middle rows of the hall!

Scarface the pirate leaped up sharply, a curved blade somehow appearing in his hand as he slashed at the iron cage in a streak of cold steel!

Almost at the same time, the three companions beside him moved as well!

The Red-Haired Woman drew two short pistols from her waist with both hands, her bullets flying precisely toward the guards on the auction platform.

Of the other two male pirates, one lunged for the mechanism controlling the iron cage, while the other charged at the auctioneer, trying to seize the key!

"Enemy attack!"

"Protect the merchandise!"

The Auction House instantly erupted into chaos!