"Boss, a man and a woman just showed up. They're tough. Chad was killed by them."
"Oh, they've got guts. Send me their pictures so I can take a look..."
Soon, Vic arrived at the auction house with Rebecca. His luck was pretty good: an auction was scheduled for today, just an hour away.
Vic and Rebecca ate at a restaurant beside the auction house. When they figured it was about time, they headed over.
The auction house was large, with a layout somewhat like a movie theater. The seats were arranged in tiers, and half the venue was underground.
Vic and Rebecca walked slowly through the entrance. As soon as they entered, they felt a sharp gaze fixed on them. Vic frowned slightly, feeling uncomfortable. He stared straight back at the man without backing down in the slightest. The man sneered and turned away. He was seated near the front and looked like a big shot.
Hmph, who does he think he's trying to impress? If he dares mess with me, he'll have something to cry about, Vic thought.
Vic found a seat at random and sat down with Rebecca. He surveyed his surroundings. Business seemed good at the auction house: quite a few people had come, many dressed like nobles.
No Celestial Dragons had come to attend this time, so it was probably an ordinary auction. Several relatively powerful presences were there, including the man who had stared at them earlier. They were mostly seated in the front rows.
"Little brother, you'd better be careful. The man who was just staring at you two with ill intent is quite famous in Sabaody. That's Barrow, an officer of the family of Rod, the underground king," a short young man in a seat in front of them said, turning around. He had lively eyes and looked especially sharp.
Vic's eyes flickered. He had heard Rod's name again. It probably wasn't a coincidence; someone had tipped them off.
"Oh? Brother, could you tell me more? You'll be rewarded for it," Vic asked, taking out a stack of bills and handing it over.
The man accepted it with a smile. His name was Ban, and he worked in intelligence. He knew almost everything that went on in the Sabaody Archipelago. He had lived here all his life and made his living selling information.
"Haha, sure, sure. Intelligence is my line of work. If you ever need information, you can come find me. I live at 78 Flying Street, Area 10."
Ban was delighted to get the money and thought Vic knew how things worked. He continued, "Rod's family is one of the kings of the underground's dark forces. His business reaches across the Four Blues and the Grand Line, and they have bases in the New World too. He has many slave ships under him, as well as numerous human trafficking groups."
"Barrow is the man in charge of the Sabaody Archipelago. He's a very powerful Devil Fruit User. He once captured a pirate with a bounty of over 150 million Beli. After he sent the pirate to the auction house, the Celestial Dragons bought the pirate at auction. So he's not someone to mess with. You two should be careful."
After speaking, Ban turned and cautiously glanced in Barrow's direction. Only after seeing that no one was paying attention to them did he unconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.
"Ban, do you know what his Devil Fruit power is?" Vic was curious what kind of power this arrogant fellow had. He figured there would probably be another conflict, so it was important to learn about his opponent.
"Well... I really don't know that. I've only been on this island for a few years, and Barrow's exploits all happened many years ago. I only heard that they happened. I don't know the details of his power either." Ban was a little embarrassed.
Incomplete information could seriously affect an intelligence broker's reputation, so he quickly explained, "Only a few people on this island know what his fruit power is. I only know it's a Paramecia. He doesn't fight often, and the few times he did, he killed all his opponents. There weren't any bystanders at the time, either."
"Oh, all right, then. From now on, you'll need reliable information to get paid. You can't be a half-baked informant."
Vic wasn't disappointed; this information was more or less enough. He gave Ban a reminder, since he might have a use for him in the future.
"Hehe, you're right, brother. I'll invest more in it from now on," Ban said with a somewhat confident smile.
Just then, a bell rang out, signaling the auction. The venue fell quiet. It looked like things were about to begin. A tall, slender host wearing a top hat walked to the center of the stage.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Ethan, your host for today's auction. It's an honor to preside over it. As always, the deal is made after three strikes of the hammer. I hope you all win the items you want," Ethan said with a smile.
Then his face hardened, and he said coldly, "But if anyone breaks the rules by taking something without paying, or simply seizing it by force, that 'anyone' might become an auction item as well. Of course, that's assuming he's still alive. Please trust in our auction house's methods."
As soon as Ethan finished, a buzz rose from the audience. Many were regulars here and knew the auction house's methods, so they didn't react strongly.
Vic knew that anyone able to run an auction house in the Sabaody Archipelago, the Celestial Dragons' backyard, had to be formidable. Most likely, the owner was also a king of the Underworld.
Just like the auction house in the Sabaody Archipelago later on, which belonged to Heavenly Yaksha, a Shichibukai and former Celestial Dragon. Of course, it definitely wasn't his now. Doflamingo was probably only around twenty at this point, still operating in the North Blue. He didn't yet have that kind of strength or influence.
"All right, quiet. The auction will now begin." Ethan raised his voice and struck the hammer once. The noise below the stage died down, and Ethan was pleased with the result.
"Now, please bring out the first item!" Ethan called.
At his shout, two tall, beautiful women in skimpy clothing carried a wooden stand onto the stage. The item was covered with a cloth, so no one knew what it was yet.
A sweep of Vic's Observation Haki told him what it was: a sword. It looked fairly nice and was probably a Famous Sword. Vic wasn't very interested; he still wanted to forge one himself.
After the stand was set down, Ethan stepped beside it and pulled off the cloth in one motion. At the same time, he announced loudly, "Our first item is a Famous Sword, one of the forty-one Skillful Grade Swords-Flame."
"This is a rare weapon, beautifully designed and finely crafted. Its fiery red blade has a distinctive beauty, and it ranks among the Famous Swords. It was once used by a swordsman. Anyone here who uses a sword can buy it and give it a try. The starting bid is five million Beli. Please place your bids."
Quite a few people in the pirate world carried swords. Rank-and-file Marines and ordinary pirates carried either flintlock guns or blades, so demand was still high. Of course, those were all standard-issue weapons. They worked well enough against ordinary people, but anyone a little stronger could snap those blades outright.
Across the entire sea, there weren't many powerful fighters at the swordsman level. Once people reached that level, they branched into different disciplines to pursue greater heights: physical techniques, Devil Fruit Users, Haki users, gun users... and so on.
"5.1 million Beli."
"5.5 million Beli."
"Six million Beli."
At six million Beli, nobody spoke up again. That was about what a Skillful Grade Sword was worth. It wasn't a Great Grade Sword, after all; those cost ten million and up.
"Six million Beli, going once..."
"Six million Beli, going twice..."
"Six million Beli, going three times. Sold! The buyer can go backstage to pay and collect the item after the auction, or go backstage now." Ethan brought down the hammer, finalizing the sale of the Skillful Grade Sword.
"Vic, is that sword really worth that much?" Rebecca asked Vic, touching the sword in her hand and turning to him.
"More or less. That price isn't expensive. The difference between sword grades can make the price more than ten times as high. Great Grade Swords cost at least ten million Beli, though the exact price depends on the quality. I came here this time to see if any good materials were up for auction, so I could buy them and forge a Great Grade Sword. My two swords can't keep up with my strength anymore," Vic replied.
"Oh, this sword of mine is still more than good enough. I don't want to replace it yet." Rebecca was very fond of the sword Vic had forged for her.
"All right. When you want a new one, just tell me. I'll forge you another sword exactly like it, but at the Great Grade Sword level," Vic said with a smile.
"All right, please bring out the second item... Captain ****'s treasure map..."
"Five million..."
"6.5 million..."
"Ten million Beli."
"Sold! Congratulations to the buyer on obtaining the treasure map..."