Black Hunter!

"Mm." Ye Yang nodded, took out five million Beli in cash, tossed it to one of the guards, and walked inside.

The auction house was lavishly decorated, completely unlike its shabby facade. Dazzling lights adorned the surrounding walls, and two lifelike golden lion statues stood in the center of the auction house, looking grand and imposing.

The auction house had three levels. Those seated on the first level seemed to be minor figures, probably pirate captains with bounties in the tens of millions. More than half the seats were already occupied.

The second level consisted of private boxes, but there were only ten, seven of which were already occupied.

Ye Yang even recognized one of the occupants: the last of the Supernovas, the Sly Coward Jeraff, whose bounty was 150 million Beli. Presumably, he had arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago a little later, saving his own life.

His seat on the second level made the status of its guests clear. They were probably people somewhere in the middle, roughly on par with the pirate Supernovas.

The third and highest level had only four spaces, also private boxes, though they were clearly larger than those on the second level and more lavishly decorated on the outside.

Of the four boxes, only one was lit. A black curtain covered the lit box, making it impossible to see inside.

After looking around, Ye Yang casually found a seat on the first level. He had only come for the Devil Fruit, so there was no need to make a show of himself.

Yet although he did not want to draw attention, some pirates had recognized him as soon as he entered.

"Look, Black Hunter's here too."

"Black Hunter? Who's that? Is he famous or something?"

"Idiot! Keep your voice down! Do you have a death wish? This guy captured three Supernovas in a row. I heard he completely crushed them, too. If you have a death wish, go provoke him. I haven't lived long enough yet!"

"Seriously? There are only five Supernovas among this year's pirates, and he caught three of them?"

"Absolutely. I saw him easily inflict serious injuries on Fierce Tiger Reika with my own eyes. His methods were vicious, too. He sliced off half of Fierce Tiger's skin and left him barely breathing!"

"That vicious? We'd better stay away from him so we don't get caught up in something!"

The story spread from person to person, growing more exaggerated with every telling. In moments, all the seats around Ye Yang had emptied.

Pirates and everyone else alike kept their distance as though he were the plague.

Seeing this, Ye Yang rolled his eyes helplessly. Since no one dared sit beside him, he was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet. He simply closed his eyes and rested.

A dozen or so minutes later, the lights in the auction house suddenly dimmed. Several spotlights then shone on the auction stage, and a thin, pale-faced middle-aged man strode up, holding an auctioneer's gavel.

He removed his top hat, a playful smile on his face.

"Handsome gentlemen and beautiful ladies, it is an honor to welcome you all to this auction. I am your host for today, Moss."

"Every time an auction begins, I see so many familiar faces among the ladies and gentlemen, and that is a great honor. I..."

Before he could finish, a pirate below stood up and shouted, "Enough nonsense! Get on with the auction!"

"This gentleman seems quite eager to see our auction items."

Moss smiled faintly. "Then I won't waste any more words. Let us begin the auction!"

A scantily clad female slave walked onto the stage carrying a black katana and came to Moss's side.

Moss picked up the long sword and announced loudly.

"Our first item is a long blade forged from Seastone. Its hardness is on par with even the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades, and it also suppresses ability users. Any ability user will have to surrender before it. It is an excellent weapon for a powerful swordsman. Just imagine how much help another powerful weapon would be as you venture across the seas!"

"The starting bid is ten million Beli, with each increase no lower than one million Beli!"

The moment he finished speaking, people below immediately raised their hands and began bidding.

"I bid eleven million!"

"Only a million more? If you're broke, don't pretend you can play at auctions. I bid fifteen million!"

"I bid twenty million! That blade is mine!"

In mere seconds, the price of the Seastone blade had doubled.

Ye Yang glanced up at the long blade in the auctioneer's hand, curled his lip, and closed his eyes again.

Although he was unfamiliar with the materials in the world of the Pirate King, Madara Uchiha's experience let him see at a glance that the Seastone blade was a fake.

There was Seastone, but only a little inlaid at the tip. The rest of the blade and the hilt were made of ordinary materials.

Quite apart from the fraud, when materials of vastly different grades were forged into a single weapon, the sections made from ordinary materials could easily break under a powerful blow. If the wielder then encountered real danger and lost their weapon, it would only get them killed.

He certainly did not believe that the auction house had failed to appraise it or had made a mistake in its appraisal.

They even dared to auction a weapon like this. No wonder they ran an illicit business.

In the end, a swordsman bought the Seastone blade for thirty-five million Beli, looking delighted at his good fortune.

Time ticked by, and over an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

The auction finally approached its end.

A female slave carried a wooden tray covered with a red cloth over to the auctioneer, Moss.

This time, Moss did not take out the item right away. Instead, he took the entire tray and held it up toward the guests below, laughing loudly. "Esteemed guests, we have finally reached our last and most precious item, the grand finale of this auction! Most of you probably already know what it is, so I won't keep you guessing... That's right, our final item is-a Paramecia Devil Fruit!"

Moss stirred up the crowd, then whipped the red cloth off the wooden tray under everyone's expectant gaze. A fruit that looked very much like a cantaloupe lay quietly on it, its skin covered in mysterious spiral patterns.

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