In Shakky's tavern, Roy withdrew his Observation Haki and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Shakky asked.
"Nothing."
Roy put down his glass.
"I just feel like Luffy hasn't changed at all over the years."
Shakky, with a cigarette dangling from her lips, didn't reply.
She met Luffy much later than Roy, but she had heard many stories about the Straw Hat boy from Rayleigh and Shanks.
What kind of ordinary person could someone be so highly regarded by Rayleigh, Shanks, and Roy?
Roy stood up from his chair and stretched his neck.
"The play is about to start, I need to find a better seat."
Shakky rolled her eyes. "Can't you just sit here and drink quietly?"
"You can't see inside the auction house from here."
Roy picked up the Shusui and hung it on his waist.
"I'm leaving, you can pay for the drinks later."
When have you ever given me money?
Roy smiled, pushed open the tavern door, and walked out.
Kuma followed silently behind, his Bible turned to a certain page, the edge of which was creased by his thumb.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the auction hall had reached its peak.
When the Straw Hat Pirates burst in, the auctioneer standing on the stage, microphone in hand, was barely able to maintain his professional smile.
The moment Luffy kicked open the auction house door, everyone in the hall turned to look at him.
The Celestial Dragons sitting in the front row— Saint Romuska —also turned around.
When Roy walked into the auction room from the back, no one noticed him.
The Telekinesis: Barrier suppressed Roy's aura to a minimum, making him appear like a transparent shadow.
It drifted silently into the shadows of the last row.
Kuma sat beside him, his tall body also shrouded by the Telekinesis: Barrier, like a silent mountain.
Roy's Observation Haki swept across the entire area.
Eustace Kid, the Red Hair, spiky-haired Supernovas, sat to the right front, legs crossed, arms folded, a smirk playing on his lips.
With a bounty of 470 million, he ranks first among this year's Supernovas.
Trafalgar Law sat on the left side against the wall, his hat brim pulled low, obscuring his expression.
But the gesture of his fingers betrayed him—the power of the Op-Op Fruit was ready to be activated at any moment.
Killer, Hawkins, Apoo, Bege, Urouge —they're all here.
Of the ten Supernovas, eight have arrived.
With the Straw Hat Pirates included, almost all of this year's Supernovas are present.
In the very front row, the Celestial Dragons Saint Romuska was tilting his head, looking at the mermaid Camie, who was bound in chains on the stage, his eyes filled with a disgusting excitement.
Five hundred million!
Saint Romuska raised a hand, his voice as sharp as fingernails scratching a blackboard.
"I, the Holy One, offer five hundred million! This Fish-Man slave is mine!"
The auctioneer was so excited he almost dropped the microphone.
Five hundred million!
" Saint Romuska has offered five hundred million! Any more bids?-"
"Bastards! How dare you treat my friend like this!"
Luffy walked in from the entrance of the auction house, his steps slow but each one making a thud on the floor.
The brim of his Straw Hat hat covered his eyes, but the half of his face that peeked out from under the brim remained expressionless.
It wasn't anger, nor was it murderous intent; it was something more terrifying than anger—a pure, unadulterated determination.
Hachi followed behind him, nervously watching the mermaid Camie on the stage.
" Hachi!"
When Camie saw Hachi on stage, tears welled up in her eyes instantly.
Saint Romuska frowned.
He hated being interrupted, and he hated being interrupted even more by pirates who looked like lowly people.
He stood up from his chair, turned to face Luffy, and raised his chin condescendingly:
"You lowly commoner, how dare you interrupt my refined pleasure?"
Luffy completely ignored the Celestial Dragons ' words, turning his attention to Camie, who was bound in chains on the stage.
Looking at the bloody marks on her wrists from the chains, looking at Hachi's face filled with worry, and then—
Luffy turned his head and looked at the Celestial Dragons.
The oppressive feeling emanating from that single glance made Saint Romuska's legs go weak.
But his arrogance quickly overshadowed that moment of fear.
He drew his flintlock pistol from his waist, aimed Luffy, and then turned the muzzle to point it at Hachi.
"I, the Holy One, will first kill this lowly Fish-Man— "
"Bang!"
The moment the trigger was pulled, Luffy.
He tilted his head slightly, and the bullet grazed his cheek, bouncing off the wall with a muffled thud.
Then Luffy's fist smashed into Saint Romuska's face.
That punch had no technique, no fancy moves, it was just the purest Gum-Gum Pistol.
"Clang--! Thump--!"
The punch landed on Saint Romuska's face, first shattering the glass, then followed by the crisp sound of bones breaking.
Saint Romuska's body flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing through the auction house wall and embedding itself in the street outside.
Gravel flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.
The entire auction hall fell silent.
A deathly silence.
Kid's laughter broke the silence.
" Straw Hat Luffy —this guy is interesting."
Luo's lips curled up slightly, but he said nothing.
Killer adjusted his mask, Hawkins dropped a tarot card from his hand, and Apoo's mouth formed an "O".
After a deathly silence, the auction house guards erupted in a series of panicked screams:
" The Celestial Dragons got blasted away--!!!"
"Immediately notify Marine Headquarters --!!!"
"It's all over, it's all over, it's all over -- everyone's doomed --!!!"
At this moment of utter chaos, the wall of the auction hall's stage suddenly shattered.
It wasn't shattered by any attack.
It was shattered by a pure, overwhelming force.
Before the rubble even hit the ground, an extremely domineering Conqueror's Haki swept out from the ruins.
The shockwave swept through the entire auction house like an invisible wave, and wherever it passed, all the guards, staff, and ordinary guests collapsed to the ground with their eyes rolled back.
Kid's expression changed.
He gritted his teeth and withstood the Conqueror's Haki force, but the veins on his forehead bulged and his fingers clenched so tightly they cracked.
Law's expression also darkened. The power of the Op-Op Fruit condensed in his palm, but he did not release it.
Hawkins ' tarot cards were scattered all over the floor, and his expression was unusually solemn, not calm.
The Straw Hat Pirates held on, but apart from Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, everyone else was on the verge of collapse.
The smoke and dust cleared.
An elderly man with white hair, wearing slippers and a cloak, emerged from the ruins, carrying a bottle of wine in his hand. His expression was as if he had just woken up and was not fully awake.
He stood on the ruins of the podium, glanced down at the pile of unconscious people on the ground, and then looked up at the people still standing in the audience.
Then he grinned.
"Oh? These kids are pretty well-behaved this year."