"Next up is our third-to-last item."
"Clay, a Fishman from Fish-Man Island!"
Just then, the third-to-last item was brought out at the auction.
He looked a little like Jinbe, but stood over three meters tall. Explosive collars had been fastened around his neck, wrists, and ankles. They were an effective way to control slaves.
If he strayed too far from whoever held the remote, the collars would explode in an instant. Even someone with powerful Armament Haki would be injured, or even killed. What was more, the collars were laced with Seastone, which specifically countered Devil Fruit Users.
So even Devil Fruit Users would suffer serious injuries, or even die.
Clay was a Tiger Shark Fish-Man.
Tiger Shark Fishmen were the strongest kind of Fishman. Clay stared at the auctioneer, glaring furiously at everyone present. As far as he was concerned, whoever dared buy him would be killed.
"The bidding starts at 50 million Beli."
"Clang!"
Clay clenched his fists, trying to break free of his chains.
"I'll offer 70 million Beli."
"I'll offer 75 million Beli."
"I'll offer 80 million Beli."
Seeing how lively Clay was, and that he was a rare Fishman, the people below began raising their bids.
In no time, the price had climbed to 80 million Beli.
Carl sensed Clay's anger and looked over his powerful build.
She knew that even if she joined the Rocks Pirates, she wouldn't serve under Whitebeard. She would form her own crew, and she would need powerful subordinates.
Clay seemed strong enough. She might as well buy him as her first ally. Besides, as a Fishman, he would be even more useful underwater.
"Let's make Big Brother Newgate pay through the nose today. 200 million Beli."
Newgate didn't take the 200 million Beli to heart and continued sipping his liquor.
He had no idea he would soon regret it. After all, Clay wasn't the only one Carl was buying.
Carl pressed a button and called out her bid.
"The gentleman in the VIP box has offered 200 million Beli! Any higher bids?"
Since they were in a private box, no one outside could see who was inside. But they knew that anyone with a box had to be a famous pirate. The room fell silent, and no one dared to bid against them, afraid the occupants would come after them.
The entire hall remained quiet.
The auctioneer quickly called the bid three times.
"Sold! Congratulations to our VIP, who has won this Fishman for 200 million Beli!"
Seeing the room fall silent, the auctioneer quickly tried to liven things up, raising his hammer as he spoke.
"Now that the third-to-last item has been sold, we move on to the second-to-last!"
The auctioneer sounded excited. There had been plenty of good items today, especially the final two.
"The second-to-last item is a Supreme Grade Sword: the Dragon Spring Sword."
"The Dragon Spring Sword is one of the twelve Supreme Grade Swords."
"Everyone here knows its value. The bidding starts at 100 million Beli."
"Whoa!"
"They've got a Supreme Grade Sword today?"
"Coming here was worth it!"
"The bids quickly reached 500 million Beli!"
Supreme Grade Swords were worth far more than ordinary items. They were the kind of treasure one could pass down for generations.
They were even more practical than Devil Fruits. If you didn't know what a Devil Fruit could do, you might eat a useless one and end up worse off.
That was why Devil Fruits could fetch wildly different prices. The most expensive might go for billions of Beli, while the cheapest might sell for only tens of millions.
But each Supreme Grade Sword was unique, so its price could never be low.
Carl didn't use weapons at the moment, but that didn't stop her from bidding. She might need one in the future, and she wasn't the one paying this time.
Who would ever complain about having too many treasures?
"800 million Beli!"
She immediately called out an even higher price.
Newgate felt a pang of pain.
The total was already up to a billion Beli—a considerable sum. But since he had already said he'd pay, he didn't stop Carl.
Some people gave up, while others fixed their eyes on the occupants of the private box.
They knew the people inside were great pirates, but if the prize was valuable enough, they wouldn't mind taking a chance.
"Sold! Our VIP has won the second-to-last item as well. Now, let's look forward to the final lot."
The auction house didn't concern itself with such things. As long as the items sold, it was all good for business. The auctioneer promptly had the final item brought out.
A maid carried in a tray covered with red cloth. Judging by its shape, it looked like a Devil Fruit.
"Coming here today was definitely worth it!"
"Yeah, there've been so many good items."
"Too bad two of them ended up in the same person's hands."
Several pirates exchanged glances, their eyes fixed on Carl.
They had no idea that the person they'd set their sights on was someone they could never afford to offend.
"This Devil Fruit was entrusted to us by a mysterious person!"
"It's quite rare, and even our auction house doesn't know what power it holds."
"That's why we're auctioning it today."
"Since we don't know exactly what this Devil Fruit can do, the bidding starts at just 100 million Beli."
"This is a good one."
Just as Carl was considering whether to buy it, the system's voice suddenly drifted into her mind.
Since no one knew what the Devil Fruit could do, wouldn't spending 100 million Beli on a useless fruit be a waste? She didn't have much Beli herself, and she already had a Devil Fruit, though she didn't know what power it held.
But the system's sudden words made Carl decide to buy it.
"200 million Beli."
When the people in the hall heard Carl bid again, many lost the urge to make an offer. They figured it would be easier to kill her and take the goods when she left.
"Congratulations to our VIP for winning the final item."
"Please pay the full amount backstage. We'll then deliver each lot to its new owner. That concludes today's auction. Thank you all for coming!"
The auctioneer bowed politely, then headed backstage.
"Knock, knock!" Someone rapped on the door. Carl quickly got up to open it and found three maids, carrying the Devil Fruit, the Dragon Spring Sword, and the remote for Clay's collars.
Carl took the full amount out of her bag. The maid accepted the money and then left the room.
When Carl had won the first item, Newgate had thought the cost was manageable. But when she won the second item, he began to hesitate.
But he'd already agreed, so he couldn't refuse. He hadn't expected Carl to cost him 1.2 billion Beli.
Newgate reluctantly told the pirates to bring out the money.
Before you continue