Tesoro bid casually, showing his wealth and capriciousness. However, he did indeed want to develop his own power, and Devil Fruit were the fastest way to increase strength. Being able to buy one at an auction was truly worry-free.
Rosward was seething with rage. His budget was only around 2 billion, and the price of this Devil Fruit was already close to his limit. He was about to embarrass himself again!
Why is it that everyone tries to take what he wants from him? Are the Celestial Dragons really that intimidating? Aren't they afraid I'll call Marine Admiral to come and kill them all?
Dragon: I'm not afraid!
Tesoro: I'm rich, even the Five Elders give me face! Believe me or not, I'll bury you in money!
Dragon was the least confident because he didn't have any money, so he had to consult Vic every time he raised the price by a few hundred million.
Vic had already decided to buy it for free, so he didn't care how high the three of them would raise the price. Anyway, the auction house wouldn't have anything to hand over later, so even if Dragon raised the price to 10 billion, he wouldn't have to pay.
So, even if Dragon consults Vic, he'll agree to add more money. Anyway, this time he's determined to stand up to Dragon to the end. That's a bit ambiguous, so don't overthink it!
With Vic's confident assertion, Dragon naturally won the Dragon for the Devil Fruit. Celestial Dragons Saint Rosward was once again proven wrong, and this auction will likely be one he'll never forget!
Although Tesoro is rich, he is also mindful of gains and losses. When the cost far exceeds the return, he won't be foolish enough to stubbornly persist. After all, Devil Fruit aren't something you only have today.
When Dragon was determined to acquire the Devil Fruit at any cost, and with Vic firmly supporting him from behind, he naturally had the confidence to do so. In the end, Warp-Warp Fruit acquired the Dragon Fruit for 2.1 billion Beli, and the host was overjoyed, completely unaware that he would be crying later.
Alright! Today's auction has come to a successful end. Thank you all for your support! Guests who did not win any items can now leave. If you didn't find anything you wanted this time, see you at the next auction!
Customers who have placed bids, please come with me backstage to complete the transaction. On behalf of the mastermind Shichibukai Doflamingo, I thank you all for supporting the auction house. Please proceed!
Opening an auction house definitely requires strength, strength in all aspects, whether in peaceful times or chaotic times like the pirate world. And in a place like the Sabaody Archipelago where all sorts of people mingle, it requires even more strength.
Several underground auction houses that used to operate here have failed. In the end, only Doflamingo, a former Celestial Dragons Shichibukai, could keep things running smoothly. With his current status, most people would give him face and wouldn't bid recklessly and then walk away without paying.
Of course, there will definitely be a small number of lawless individuals who will ignore him, while others are simply too strong to care, such as the Four Emperors and Vic.
Some have powerful backers who can disregard his authority, such Celestial Dragons, high-ranking officials under the Four Emperors, and subordinates of Vic.
Of course, there are also those hotheads who aren't very strong themselves and have no powerful backers, but still want to go against Doflamingo, just like when Luffy later participated in the auction.
Of course, Luffy has a very strong backer, but he doesn't realize it, so he's just a clueless young man.
For hotheads like this, the auction house has its own hired thugs. If they can kill him on the spot, they will. If he escapes, it doesn't matter. It just means the item will be considered unsold. It's no big deal. They can just issue a kill order on him later.
However, when encountering those who refuse to pay and even attempt to steal, the family's top officers are usually dispatched to handle the situation. In some cases, Doflamingo himself will personally execute the offending madmen as a warning to others.
Just like Tesoro back then, except that Tesoro brought a group of people to storm the auction and steal the Gold-Gold Fruit. At the time, they couldn't pinpoint the specific target. By the time Doflamingo realized who had stolen his Devil Fruit, it was already several years later.
By then, Tesoro's strength had grown significantly, and his net worth was very high. He was no longer afraid of Doflamingo, so Doflamingo, as a businessman, chose to compromise and do business with Tesoro, thus ending the matter.
Having seen this precedent, the auctioneer was still afraid of encountering such a reckless fool, so he brought up Doflamingo and his status as one of the Shichibukai to deter troublemakers. The auctioneer's job was quite easy, and he even got a commission; he wanted to continue doing it.
" Dragon! You go first, I'll go get the Devil Fruit for you."
He called out to Dragon and then went backstage with the others who had placed their bids.
Leading the way was, of course, the Celestial Dragons Shalria, who couldn't wait any longer. She wanted to see the person she had been longing for as soon as possible!
Following behind were her brother and father. Charlos had spent a fortune on a treasure map and was also a customer ready to pay. As for Rosward, although he had been bidding hard, he hadn't bought anything.
He got a bunch of people competing with him for the things he liked, and they wouldn't even bother to ask the price for the things he didn't like, so he ended up getting nothing. But since his son and daughter had all bought things, he was bound to go and see for himself.
The three Celestial Dragons were in front, accompanied by many suited agents. Everyone else naturally stayed away from them and waited behind. The host watched from the stage with a smile, completely unfazed.
"Hey! Didn't that guest in the black robe bid on the last Devil Fruit? Why didn't he complete the transaction the day after tomorrow?"
The host scanned the room and saw that instead of going backstage, Dragon was heading towards the venue's entrance. He immediately stopped him. He had been keeping an eye on Dragon and Vic for a while now; their large hooded black robes concealed their identities, which had already caught his attention.
Although there are always people who don't want to reveal their identities at auctions, Dragon had been bidding very aggressively before. He had been quite restrained in the first two bids, but the last one was a bit reckless. He had long suspected that Dragon was a troublemaker who was planning to disrupt the auction and leave after bidding.
So he paid special attention to the two of them after the auction, and now that his guess had come true, he naturally had to speak up to stop them.
Even without Dragon, Tesoro's offer was already far higher than the usual auction price for Devil Fruit. If Dragon was really causing trouble, he would have had his men rush in and shoot him to death before selling the Devil Fruit to Tesoro.
"We're in this together, I'll pay for his."
Dragon heard the host stop speaking, and then Vic's voice rang out. He ignored the host and continued walking.