Stella looked toward the voice, and surprise and concern flashed in her eyes when she saw Tesoro.
"This guest seems quite excited!" the auctioneer joked with a laugh. "Now then, this beautiful young lady came from East Blue, sailed with her merchant father from childhood, and possesses considerable navigational skill. The starting bid is two million Beli."
"Three million Beli!" Someone immediately raised a paddle.
Navigation was immensely important in a world covered in sea, and having an excellent navigator was a great advantage when it came to safety.
"Five million Beli!"
"Eight million!"
As the price continued to climb, Roy saw Tesoro about to raise his paddle and clamped a hand firmly on his arm.
"How much money do you have?"
"I..." Tesoro froze. "Three hundred thousand."
"Then why are you bidding?"
"But..."
"Calm down." Roy released his arm. "Things haven't reached their worst yet. I'll find a way."
"Thirty million."
Just then, the Celestial Dragon in the front row raised his hand, his voice excited. "Thirty million Beli. I want her to be my seventy-first wife."
The whole room fell silent at once. No one dared bid against a Celestial Dragon.
Stella raised her head inside the cage, despair written across her face. Tesoro, visibly agitated, tried to rush forward, but Roy hurriedly stopped him.
"Don't rush."
Then he leaned close to Tesoro's ear and quietly gave him some instructions.
Tesoro looked at Roy in confusion and seemed about to say something. Seeing how calm Roy was, he turned and quietly left the auction house.
"Bang~~"
"Congratulations!! The beautiful young lady goes to Saint Rugmark!"
Roy watched the auction in silence. He needed to know where that Devil Fruit would end up.
At that moment, an attendant lifted a tray covered with a red cloth.
"Now, before us is a secret treasure of the sea. Eat it, and you can gain an unexpected superpower."
The auctioneer whipped off the red cloth, revealing a fruit that was pink all over and resembled a human brain. Its surface was covered in intricate folds and grooves, with patterns like a network of nerves. Light seemed to flow through them like nerve impulses.
"It is the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, the Telekinesis-Telekinesis Fruit!!"
"Eat it, and you can freely control objects around you. You can even lift yourself off the ground and gain the ability to fly. When it comes to increasing your strength, this is an extremely powerful fruit. The starting bid is one hundred million Beli."
As the auctioneer finished speaking, the entire auction house fell silent for a moment before erupting into a clamor. Everyone was apparently discussing how useful the fruit was.
The Telekinesis-Telekinesis Fruit-its name alone made its ability clear. It could use mental power to control all objects, whether the user's own body or external objects.
Was this fruit overpowered? Extremely so. For someone with already immense mental power, the boost to the fruit's ability ought to be even more terrifying!!!
Roy listened quietly to the clamor in the room, staring fixedly at the Devil Fruit on the tray as his longing for it grew stronger and stronger.
"One hundred and thirty million Beli!" A pirate seated in the row ahead of Roy immediately made a bid, raising the price by thirty million in one go to scare off the other bidders.
"You think adding a measly thirty million will get you this fruit? Dream on! Two hundred million!"
A potbellied merchant glanced contemptuously at the pirate and immediately raised the bid.
The auction continued, and the price kept climbing.
Devil Fruits were already extremely rare. In the Underworld, any one of them was worth a hundred million, and that was for those with ordinary abilities, like the Zoan-type White Rabbit Fruit.
Some powerful fruits, however, could fetch astronomical prices.
So the people present were immensely enthusiastic about the fruit before them, which had an excellent ability.
The auctioneer hardly needed to explain this Devil Fruit. The price had already soared past three hundred million, and the bids from the floor were gradually growing fewer.
"Four hundred million Beli!!" a pirate shouted, looking around in an attempt to scare off the other bidders.
As his voice fell, some of the nearby pirates cried out in surprise.
"Isn't that Iron Arm Jones, the great pirate with a bounty of one hundred and thirty million? I hear he's already ventured into the New World twice in a row, but failed both times. Looks like he's determined to get this Devil Fruit!"
"Five hundred million Beli!"
"I want this fruit. I'll take it back to the Holy Land and feed it to my slave. Hahaha~~~
"A slave who can fly would be wonderful. Then I'll really be able to show off to that fellow Chargaven," the Celestial Dragon Saint Rugmark shouted, waving his arms and legs.
The great pirate Jones slumped back into his seat in disappointment, his fists clenched and eyes wide as he stared at the Celestial Dragon, full of resentment. This fruit might have been his only hope of venturing into the New World again.
But he didn't dare make a move against a Celestial Dragon here. If he angered one, a Marine Admiral would be sent after him. After all, Marine Headquarters was so close.
Seeing that the Devil Fruit he had been longing for had also fallen into the Celestial Dragon's hands, Roy felt relieved. He no longer had to worry about the fruit being eaten immediately.
And Stella was also in the Celestial Dragon's hands. As long as he dealt with the three Cipher Pol members when the time came, he could rescue Stella and obtain the Devil Fruit he had dreamed of.
With that thought, Roy lost interest in the rest of the auction. He quietly got up and headed out of the venue.
In an alley across from the auction house, Tesoro, who had left earlier, was watching the entrance anxiously. Only when he saw Roy come out did he relax a little.
After leaving the venue, Roy used his Observation Haki to sense the area, then headed toward the alley.
"Don't worry, Tesoro. The plan is going even more smoothly than expected. When the time comes, we'll stick to the original plan."
Roy took the large cloak from Tesoro and put it on. He pulled up the hood, its broad edge covering most of his face.
"B-boss!!" "Are we really going to make a move against a Celestial Dragon? If we draw an Admiral here..."
"Don't you want to save your Stella? She's still in the Celestial Dragon's hands!"
Seeing that Tesoro still looked worried, Roy patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. Haven't we planned everything out?" With that, Roy leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and paid Tesoro no further attention.
Through his Observation Haki, everything inside the venue appeared clearly in Roy's mind. This was the benefit of powerful mental strength: he only had to pay a little attention to clearly sense what a person was thinking.
Meanwhile, the auction was drawing to a close. To Roy's surprise, the Celestial Dragon also bought the other of the only two Devil Fruits in the auction.
His surprise gave way to delight.
When it came to something as wondrous as a Devil Fruit, who would ever complain about having too many?