Chapter 371: Bidding on the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!

Although this particular auction was not specifically a slave auction,

in reality,

among the auction items that appeared at the auction,

slaves still made up the majority!

These slaves came in a rich variety,

from male to female,

from old to young,

and even from humans to fish-men,

truly everything one could ask for!

This was only natural,

come to think of it,

looking across the entire world,

the most prosperous place for slave trading was the Sabaody Archipelago!

One could even say it this way,

it was precisely because of the development and prosperity of the slave-trading industry on the Sabaody Archipelago,

that all sorts of black-market industries kept flourishing!

The Sabaody Archipelago was like a central hub,

with the demand here spawning a whole chain of slave-trading industries that spanned the entire world!

Slavers from the four corners of the sea,

whether by luring or by capture, gathered huge numbers of slaves,

then shipped them all together to the Sabaody Archipelago,

to be traded and sold!

Therefore,

the slave-trading industry of the Sabaody Archipelago grew ever more prosperous!

At any auction held on the Sabaody Archipelago,

the most common auction item was always, without exception, slaves!

Among the nobles or truly wealthy people living on the Sabaody Archipelago,

nearly every household kept quite a few slaves,

and when going out, most would even bring one or two slaves along!

This was a scene hard to see anywhere else,

only the Sabaody Archipelago, where the slave trade had developed most prosperously,

could give rise to such a unique situation!

As for the auction items that appeared at the front of the auction,

Li Xiao had no interest in any of them!

He had only one goal for this trip,

and that was the Adam Tree!

And such a precious item

was always saved for last as the grand finale!

Therefore,

Li Xiao was in no hurry,

simply sitting quietly in a corner,

eyes slightly closed,

silently waiting for the Adam Tree to appear!

As time went on,

the auction items appearing grew ever more precious,

and the prices climbed ever higher!

Stimulated by figure after figure,

the atmosphere in the hall gradually grew restless and lively,

and every time a precious auction item appeared,

it would draw a burst of exclamations!

Whenever an auction item was knocked down at a high price,

many in the hall could not help but shout out loud!

Amid this gradually fervent atmosphere,

Li Xiao, who had kept his eyes slightly closed, expressionless, and silent the entire time,

instead seemed rather out of place!

Fortunately,

at this moment, everyone's attention had already been drawn to the auction items appearing one after another,

and added to the fact that Li Xiao was seated in the very corner,

no one paid him any notice!

Otherwise,

It's possible someone might actually recognize this face worth 3.5 billion Berries,

which could well attract some trouble!

"The next Auction Item is one of The Grand Finale Auction Items of our Cipaimai Society!"

As the Auctioneer spoke these words,

everyone present instantly turned their gaze toward him in unison,

their eyes filled with barely concealed fervor!

And the Auctioneer was clearly long accustomed to such scenes,

calmly continuing his introduction:

"Long before the auction began, we released news of this Auction Item in advance; I believe many here came specifically for it!"

"Indeed, the next Auction Item is none other than the Gomu Gomu no Mi, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit from the Logia-type Devil Fruits!"

As he spoke,

a voluptuous woman slowly pushed a small display stand forward,

and atop this small display stand,

rested quietly a fruit of peculiar shape,

which was unmistakably the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!

Under the illumination of the lights,

the patterns on the surface of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit emitted a deep and captivating sheen,

much like the power it contained,

so formidable it stirred desire in the heart!

In that instant,

within the vast auction hall,

the gaze of nearly everyone was drawn to this Rumble-Rumble Fruit,

and even Li Xiao was no exception!

Li Xiao, who had remained motionless until now, slowly opened his eyes,

and turned his head to look at the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on the display stand!