"This is the Devil Fruit known as the treasure of the sea, Paramecia, the Speed-Speed Fruit. It allows the user to create a Extreme Speed Domain around themselves. I won't go into further details. Alright, because this is a rare treasure, our auction rules will need to be changed accordingly. The starting price is zero, and each bid must be at least ten million. The auction will now officially begin."
After introducing the Devil Fruit, Disco had everyone on the edge of their seats and immediately began the auction ceremony.
"Oh, it's finally out? I've been waiting for this moment for so long! Let me give you a little teaser: I'll bet 50 million Beli!!"
One of the other powerful figures on the island stood up, his eyes burning with fervor as he looked at the Speed-Speed Fruit placed in its treasure box on the stage, and made a bid.
"Hmph, a mere 50 million? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? Even the weakest Devil Fruit is worth 100 million Beli. If you don't have the money, don't try to act like a tycoon. I'll offer 150 million Beli!!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a young nobleman dressed in elegant and noble attire stood up from the VIP section, first mocking him, and then calmly began bidding.
Two hundred million Beli!
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone in another VIP room raised the price.
Two hundred million Beli!
"250 million Beli!!"
"370 million Beli!!"
Soon the price of the fruit was raised to a high of 370 million, and people's opinions gradually cooled down. Indeed, a price of more than 300 million was already more than enough for the fruit, and it would be difficult to raise the price any further.
"Holy crap, no way! I thought the Beli I brought would be enough to win the bid, but I didn't expect these people to be so greedy, driving up the price of an ordinary fruit to such an exorbitant level."
The voice did not come from anyone else; it was spoken by the mysterious young man from before.
He was originally the South Blue's Grand Champion of Fighting, named Frank D. Phil. He entered the Grand Line not only to surpass himself but also to challenge the guy known as the Grand Champion of the Four Seas. Of course, seeing a fruit that could improve his strength, he naturally didn't want to let it go easily.
But at this moment, he was discouraged by those people. He had originally carried the prize money of 90 million Beli won from the South Blue and thought he could easily win the bid. However, he never expected that the Speed-Speed Fruit he wanted would be bid up to four times the price. Helpless, he could only give up and stared blankly at the fruit on the stage, speechless.
"370 million Beli, the price has reached 370 million. Is anyone else going to place the bet?"
Disco on stage glanced at the fruit with some surprise. He had handled several Devil Fruit before, but none had ever fetched such a high price. Holding the microphone, he asked the crowd below with a slightly trembling voice.
Unfortunately, once it was hyped up to such a high level, other forces didn't intend to follow suit, because they had more important missions to fulfill.
That was the bidding map for the island's reorganization. Carlos divided the entire island under his control into several areas and put the management and usage rights of them up for auction. As a result, although the major powers had the money to continue, they had to give it up for future use.
"Since no one's following up, then I'll start banging the Disco: 370 million once, 370 million twice, 370 million three times!!"
After shouting three times without response, Disco picked up a wooden mallet and slammed it hard against the metal bell on the table.
block...
"Congratulations to VIP number three for winning this treasure with a bid of 370 million Beli."
Disco's words also revealed a hint of joy. After all, before he arrived, Carlos had already sent someone to tell him that he would receive five percent of the auction proceeds. Three hundred and seventy million was eighteen million five hundred million Beli. In addition, he had earned no less than thirty million Beli from previous auctions.
"Damn it, I really love that ability, but I don't have any money! What am I going to do?!"
Phil gazed at the alluring, seemingly maddening fruit on the stage and muttered to himself.
"Let's give another round of applause to our VIP number three for successfully acquiring this treasure. Now, let's move on to the auction of the long-awaited operating rights of Supomachi Island. Please welcome Lord Carlos to give us a wonderful speech. Please welcome Lord Carlos..."
Snap snap snap snap...
Soon after Disco finished speaking, the guests present applauded enthusiastically to welcome the ruler of Supomachi Island.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Carlos walked quietly to the center of the stage, took the Disco microphone, tapped it lightly a few times, and then began to speak.
"Ahem, I'm very pleased that you all could attend this wonderful auction I've prepared for you. As the protagonist of today's event, let Carlos begin by saying a few words."
First of all, aside from the previous auction items, the auction of the island management rights is the highlight of tonight's event, and I sincerely hope everyone will be satisfied with tonight's auction. Without further ado, let's welcome the real grand finale...
Carlos simply picked up the microphone, said a few words to the passengers in front of him, and then began the auction.
"Very well, thank you, Lord Carlos, for such a concise and to-the-point speech. Now, let's begin the auction. The auction will proceed in five steps. The first item up for auction is the right to operate and use the eastern part of the island, valued at 100 million Beli. Each bid must be for at least 10 million Beli. Let's begin the auction."
After saying that, Disco picked up the wooden mallet and struck Tie Ling with it. With a clang, everyone became eager to try, clutching their number plates and preparing to bid.
"Two hundred million Beli..."
"Three hundred million Beli..."
"550 million Beli!!"
Soon, the first set of blueprints was auctioned off and the price soared to a high of 550 million. It was won by the representative of Morgans Newspaper. Since intelligence is an indispensable resource for the entire island, the others, including Carlos, were somewhat instructed to acquire it at a lower price.
Then the second, third, and even the fourth and fifth bids were quickly snapped up by representatives of other forces, each for no less than 800 million, with the last bid even reaching a high price of 1.3 billion. As they were acquired one after another, the conference was drawing to a close.
Disco made a dazzling reappearance with a gold microphone to bring the event to a close.
"Hmph, looks like you didn't expect this either! Luo Chen, you've been here from the very beginning, neither participating in the bidding nor exchanging information with the others. I really don't know what you were thinking. You said something very interesting would happen at this auction, but it seems you were just overthinking it..."
As one of the people who watched the whole thing without participating in any bidding, Catherine also felt extremely bored during the long wait of several hours and began to complain to him.
"Hehehe, no rush, no rush, just wait, Catherine. That guy is even less patient than us. They're already preparing to make their move. You just wait here for a bit!"
Luo Chen didn't refute Catherine's complaints. Instead, he spoke mysteriously to her, then smiled and looked in the direction Carlos had left. With his powerful Observation Haki, he knew that Carlos had already deployed troops to block the way out, while the others present were still unaware of his intentions.