After the auction hall was filled with people, the auctioneer finally appeared, said some polite words, and began today's auction.
As the host called out, a young woman walked out from backstage carrying a tray with an object about the size of a soccer ball on it, but its nature was not visible.
The item was covered by a silk cloth to conceal its true form, but many people already knew what was under the cloth. Judging from its size and shape, even without using Observation Haki, one could guess its approximate form; it was most Devil Fruit.
"This first item is quite a treasure, one that many of you have likely seen or at least heard of. Judging by its size and shape, many of you have probably already guessed it. That's right! The first item is Devil Fruit, with a starting bid of 100 million Beli. Bidding will now begin!"
While engaging the audience, the host introduced the auction items, and as he mentioned the Devil Fruit, he suddenly lifted the silk cloth, revealing a purple fruit with intricate patterns on the tray.
The host didn't say what kind of Devil Fruit it was, whether he didn't know or was deliberately keeping it a secret to let others open the blind box, but the starting price was at least 100 million Beli.
This also shows that Devil Fruit have no trouble selling; even if they are priced at the lowest possible level, the price won't be low. This confidence comes from the auction market.
But after the host finished speaking, no one made a bid, and the atmosphere became awkward. The host gave an embarrassed smile and scanned the audience with encouraging eyes, but no one paid any attention to him.
You won't even tell me what kind of Devil Fruit it is, so why would anyone make a bid? Not everyone has Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, and not all Devil Fruit Encyclopedia Devil Fruit are recorded in it.
Therefore, encountering an unfamiliar Devil Fruit is like opening a blind box. In the original work, Doflamingo set the prize for the arena as the Flame-Flame Fruit in order to lure Luffy, which immediately attracted a large number of people to participate. This is the attraction of Logia abilities.
If he hadn't revealed what the prize would be, probably half the number of people would have participated. Eating an unknown Devil Fruit is gambling; it's very likely to result in some comical fruit abilities, such as those that aid in planting and animal husbandry.
It would be hilarious if Shanks ate a Devil Fruit but ended up turning into a hoe or shovel. He probably would never use that ability in his life, which would be too embarrassing for Four Emperors. He would probably try his best to hide the fact that he ate Devil Fruit.
"Haha! Is everyone hesitant to bid because they don't know what kind of Devil Fruit this is?"
I forgot to mention earlier, it was my fault. The power of this Devil Fruit is luck. As long as you eat it, you will gain invincible luck, and you can also steal other people's luck for your own use!
Those whose luck has been stolen will be plagued by bad luck until the power it had on them disappears. This is a rare and valuable Devil Fruit! With someone possessing such an ability on board, I think safety would be absolutely guaranteed.
Furthermore, the user of this fruit's ability wouldn't be hit even a single bullet while walking through a hail of bullets; that's pure luck!
Seemingly realizing that the blind box opening strategy they had just devised had gone wrong, the host quickly tried to salvage the situation by revealing the true name of the Devil Fruit.
If the first item in today's auction fails to sell, he'll be out of a job as the auctioneer. He thought his unknown abilities would attract more bidders, but he ended up shooting himself in the foot.
He hadn't expected the people in the venue to be so cautious about unknown abilities. The quality of the people attending the auction today was truly impressive. Even the host on the stage was starting to sweat; the pressure was mounting.
After the host announced the name of the Devil Fruit, whispers finally broke out in the hall. To be honest, the power of this Devil Fruit was rather mediocre. It wasn't a useless fruit, but it didn't offer much help in battles between strong individuals.
However, for powerful organizations, such a Devil Fruit is still in demand. Just look at Tesoro's eyes lighting up when he heard the introduction of the fruit. He owns a huge casino, and such a Devil Fruit would be a perfect match for him.
It could help him earn a lot of money, far exceeding the value of the Devil Fruit itself, so he was determined to get Devil Fruit, but he was just holding back for now.
Not only Tesoro, but also intelligent people like Katakuri certainly knew how much such a Devil Fruit could help a pirate crew.
With at least one such ability user on board, there's no need to worry about sudden natural disasters anymore. They can always turn danger into safety. Some natural disasters are even beyond the resistance of powerful Emperor of the Sea, so having such an ability user is a good form of insurance.
As for Blackbeard Teach, he lost interest the moment the host lifted the cloth. What he was waiting for was the Logia -Logia Dark-Dark Fruit, the fruit he had been dreaming of countless times. He could not possibly betray the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Moreover, his participation in this auction was not at the behest of his Pops, Whitebeard; rather, he found an excuse to leave the Moby Dick and used his own money to attend. Therefore, apart from the Dark-Dark Fruit, he wouldn't consider anything else.
As for Queen, he was indifferent. He came here for the Zoan Devil Fruit; the Beasts Pirates weren't called that for nothing.
As for Logia and Paramecia, they were less interested, but it wasn't entirely impossible for such ability users to exist. Therefore, Queen planned to bid depending on the situation, and would give up if the bid exceeded his budget.
The most powerful force at this auction is the Four Emperors; the other Underworld kings are not considered major powers. Therefore, their representatives believe that this Devil Fruit dispensable, similar to Queen's.
The Celestial Dragons, a family of three, were initially interested when they saw it was Devil Fruit, but after hearing the explanation, they decided not to compete, as the Devil Fruit's abilities did not meet their standards.
Eating this Lucky-Lucky Fruit won't bring any surprising changes, nor will it make anyone more interesting, nor will it grant them any special abilities. To them, it's practically useless; they'd be more interested in buying a slave.
I'll offer 100 million Beli!
"Great! 100 million Beli! Any higher?"
"I'll offer 120 million Beli!"
" Vic! This Devil Fruit is pretty good. Let's buy it. I think Devil Fruit will be very useful to us!"
Dragon was a smart man; otherwise, he wouldn't have realized so early on what the Celestial Dragons meant to this world, which is why he could understand how much the ability representing luck could help their Revolutionary Army cause.
For example, if such a person with special abilities exists when a tyranny is overthrown in a country, then it will be very difficult for that country to receive external assistance. It's possible that the distress call cannot be made, or that the rescuers are unable to arrive due to various natural disasters, or that the navy that is on its way to the rescue suddenly receives other urgent missions and has to leave, etc.
With this ability, one side will have everything going smoothly and good luck, while the other side will be plagued by bad luck and even drinking water will cause them trouble! Luck is extremely important for both sides in a war!