Dragon and Donquixote Doflamingo Take the Stage

To the sound of chains scraping across the floor, Dragon and Donquixote Doflamingo were shoved onto the auction stage.

A crowd of greedy, cold-hearted buyers critiqued every aspect of their bodies while they stood onstage like merchandise at the mercy of others.

The unease that had plagued Donquixote Doflamingo ever since he had been in the cell reached its peak when he stepped onto the stage. Seeing the looks around him, he felt helplessness and fury engulf his heart.

His heart pounded wildly as though it would burst from his chest, while an indescribable terror clogged his throat and left him barely able to breathe. He struggled to remain calm, but the fear within him surged like an unstoppable tide.

Dragon, meanwhile, remained as expressionless as ever, as if he were not merchandise standing onstage but a king inspecting his domain.

The collar around his neck could be removed with a flick of his hand, so his state of mind was vastly different from Donquixote Doflamingo's. If he wanted to leave, no one here could stop him.

A feverish atmosphere spread through the auction house, carrying the scent of money, power, and greed intertwined.

Donquixote Doflamingo's gaze swept over the buyers' faces. Their expressions were indifferent, their eyes gleaming with desire for young slaves.

Some wore smiles, as though they were admiring a priceless work of art, while others stared sharply at them like hungry wolves.

He was afraid. Their gazes made him physically uncomfortable. He could not help wondering whether he had once looked at ordinary people with the same eyes.

"Next is Lot Number Sixteen: a strong young man from the South Blue, capable of moving an entire warehouse's worth of cargo without tiring. Not only can he work himself to the bone, he can also serve as a punching bag—and he comes with a handsome boy as a bonus."

"Ha ha ha ha..."

The people in the auction seats burst into laughter.

"So then, what should the opening bid be?" Modis asked as he observed the crowd's expressions.

He slammed the hammer down on the table. "The opening bid is thirty million Beli! Bidding starts now!"

The moment the auctioneer announced them for sale, a commotion immediately broke out among the crowd.

Some discussed it animatedly, some consulted the people beside them about how they should bid later, while others remained silent, though the greed in their eyes was impossible to hide.

Donquixote Doflamingo increasingly felt like an item of merchandise, displayed in a shop window for everyone to admire and bid on.

"Damn it, I'm only worth thirty million Beli?! What an insult!"

Dragon felt insulted when he heard their opening bid.

No, Dragon looked at the trembling brat beside him. He was not even worth thirty million Beli.

A faint breeze stirred through the hall, but once Dragon calmed himself, it quickly returned to stillness...

Jin An, seated among the auction guests, watched the two on the stage with interest as bids rang out continuously beside him.

"Dragon is really popular with noblewomen."

It could not be helped. Nearly everyone bidding around them was a woman. It seemed his disguise was quite popular with these people.

"Forty-five million!"

"Forty-five million and ten thousand..."

The auction process felt like a horrifying nightmare. Donquixote Doflamingo fell into a despair he could not escape.

Never before had he craved freedom so desperately, craved to break free from his restraints. Yet in this cold and heartless auction house, he could only watch helplessly as he was stripped away bit by bit, sold off bit by bit, until he finally fell into some stranger's hands and his fate was once again controlled by someone else.

"Fifty million!"

Bids rose and fell throughout the venue. Jin An's mouth twitched. Fifty million was no small sum.

After all, he was the one who had put the two of them up for auction. The best solution was still to bid for them himself.

Modis called out loudly, "Fifty-one million! Fifty-one million! Is there anyone willing to bid higher?"

Seeing that it was about enough, Jin An slowly raised the paddle in his hand. "Fifty-one million and ten thousand."

The corner of Modis's eye twitched. Behind his sunglasses, he glanced at Jin An, then looked around and saw the strained expressions of the other bidders. He knew this was the highest price.

So he repeated the price three times, and the matter was settled.

"Congratulations to Guest Number 888 for successfully winning merchandise to your liking!"

When Donquixote Doflamingo saw that Jin An was the one who had bought him, he let out a long breath. The heart he had kept clenched finally settled. He never wanted to suffer through something like this again.

Dragon glanced at Jin An, feeling somewhat irritated. In the end, a Marine Headquarters colonel and a little brat had sold for only fifty-one million and ten thousand.

Dragon and Donquixote Doflamingo were taken away to await delivery after the auction ended, or for their buyer to collect them personally.

Meanwhile, the auction continued...

The more outrageous the prices these people shouted, the more excited Jin An became.

Actually, Jin An did not want to spend money buying them. Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to simply rob the place? But if he was going to rob it, he would have to wait until after the auction ended. Fewer people would make it easier to act.

In any case, he could not stand seeing these auction houses treat living people as merchandise. Human traffickers deserved to die, and so did the people who ran auction houses.

If he had possessed the strength to contend with the World Government, he would have torn this place down already.

"Sigh... Looks like I'll be leaving empty-handed again this time..."

"Is there still no mermaid? I've been looking forward to one for so long."

"Forget mermaids. Even fish-men are rare goods. Whether you get to see one depends on luck."

The true VIPs of the auction house were full of desire for slave merchandise, yet they were dissatisfied with the current offerings. What they craved were higher-quality slaves, preferably from special races.

The previous lots had been rather monotonous: slaves with strong bodies for hard labor, or slaves with special skills, such as cooking or music.

But no merchandise that could truly catch their eyes had appeared yet...

Still, despite their dissatisfaction with the current slave merchandise, the guests remained full of anticipation for the slaves to come.

They hoped that the following auctions would bring more ideal slaves, ones capable of satisfying their needs and desires.

Thus, they chose to remain in the auction house, waiting for the next lot to appear and hoping to find slaves suited to their tastes.

To them, slaves were not merely laborers, but symbols of identity and status, capable of bringing endless comfort and enjoyment.

"How ugly..." Jin An sat in the auction house, feeling completely out of place here.

Jin An's gaze drifted across everyone in the auction house. There were kings, nobles, wealthy men, and he even spotted a Celestial Dragon in a separate section.

Celestial Dragons were not merely rich. Robbing one of them would probably be worth the combined wealth of everyone here.