Chapter 110: Daz Bonez

"Among the items being hyped up recently, there are no shortage of rare antiques, treasures, famous blades, and Devil Fruits."

"There are even rumors that some illegal dealings are being conducted there, though none have been confirmed. If you go, you'd best hire some guards."

"Is the type of Devil Fruit clear?"

Mira shook her head:

"That is confidential information kept by the auction house. Basically, you can only know in advance once an item actually goes on the block, or if you're a high-ranking internal client."

Gao Wen nodded. He had only asked offhandedly and hadn't held any real expectation of an answer.

The two chatted as they walked, and soon arrived at the auction house's entrance.

Gao Wen cheerfully paid five thousand Belly.

Mira stared at the bills in her palm, blinked in slight surprise, then her eyes lit up. She clutched the bills tightly in her hand:

"Mr. Gao Wen, you're a good man."

"Don't hand me some 'good guy card' at a time like this."

Gao Wen shook his head, then turned and walked toward the auction house's main entrance. Several attendants came up to him respectfully, and amid their fawning, he stepped inside the auction house.

……

Mira turned to look in the direction Gao Wen had disappeared, then looked again at the bills in her hand. A faint blush slowly rose to her cheeks.

A few minutes later, Mira turned and headed toward the port to wait for her next customer.

But the moment she returned to the port, she saw ship after ship, covered in scars, pulling into harbor.

Their savage, barbaric appearance— even without a pirate flag hoisted— let Mira recognize at a glance that these were pirate ships.

"No mistaking it. Everything Father used to say about the traits of pirate ships matches up perfectly."

"That's not right!"

"This place isn't far from the Marine branch, and there's even Colonel Smoker stationed here. How could so many pirates have rushed over?"

Mira's brows knit tightly, and an inexplicable sense of foreboding rose in her heart.

She immediately gave up on today's customers, turned, and hurried toward her home— where her younger brothers and sisters, as well as her mother, still were.

Halfway there.

Mira's steps faltered slightly. She opened her right hand, in her palm a few bills crumpled into a ball.

In her mind.

An ordinary-looking face slowly surfaced.

Mira clenched her teeth and unconsciously quickened her pace, breaking into a light run toward her home.

……

The auction house.

Inside a second-floor VIP room.

Gao Wen sat in the center of the private booth. Before him stood a fawning-looking attendant, skillfully decanting the wine for him.

"Mr. Arthur, I can let you in on this— this auction will definitely have a Devil Fruit you need, and its abilities rank as quite outstanding even among Devil Fruits."

"The auction begins at eight in the evening. Please wait patiently for a while."

Saying this, the attendant slowly set a glass of red wine before Gao Wen, then rose, gathered the tools beside him, and slowly withdrew.

Originally, the people in this auction house hadn't been this polite to Gao Wen— until he produced Gasha's affiliated gold card, at which point their attitude did an instant one-eighty.

"So just how much did she spend here back when she was flush…"

Then Gao Wen thought of his own Devil Fruit, as well as Gasha's own abilities.

He had his answer at once.

He took a sip from his glass, then turned to look at the floor-to-ceiling window beside him. Through it, he could see everything in the main hall.

By now quite a few people had already filtered in, one after another.

Most of them were finely and elegantly dressed nobles with attendants in tow, though quite a few people dressed as merchants had also appeared.

Gao Wen even spotted two familiar faces among them.

"A height just over two meters, a body of solid muscle, a cold face, and that oddly-shaped character on his chest."

"Baroque Works' Mr. 1, Daz Bonez? Isn't this guy from the West Blue?"

"Then the afro-haired woman beside him must be the one called Miss Doublefinger, Sasha."

"Forget it. Not a threat."

Gao Wen slowly shifted his gaze away.

Daz Bonez, seated below, only felt a sudden chill down his spine, as though something immensely dangerous had just swept past behind him.

"Hm?!"

He looked around, but his eyes found nothing.

Sasha beside him asked, puzzled:

"What's wrong?"

Daz Bonez's brows drew tight. On his cold, hard face, no expression could be read— only a single bead of sweat on his brow, slowly sliding down:

"Just now, for that one instant, I felt a chill down to my bones, just like the first time I met the BOSS."

Sasha paused, then waved a hand and laughed:

"The BOSS?"

"Although I've never seen him, it's not hard to guess— anyone who can run rampant on the Grand Line must be some big shot."

"How could there possibly be anyone in East Blue who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him?"

Daz Bonez swept a glance at her and said:

"East Blue doesn't have one, but quite a few people who've come from the Grand Line like us have already gathered here. Perhaps some monsters are mixed in among them."

Sasha started in alarm, glancing around.

But all he saw were a bunch of bloated, greasy faces — and even a man dressed like a noble, whistling at him.

A look of disgust crossed Sasha's face, but he didn't make a move; instead, he slowly returned to his seat.

Daz Bones, standing beside him, said in a solemn tone:

"Once we get that fruit, we leave immediately."

"Got it."

……

"Sharp instincts."

Gao Wen sighed in admiration, but his gaze had already drifted to the buyers who had shown up.

As more and more people filed in, a look of keen interest gradually crept onto Gao Wen's face.

A corner of the auction house.

A few figures stood out conspicuously — ill-fitting suits, disheveled hair, and movements that clearly betrayed a restrained nature.

The air they unconsciously gave off stood in stark contrast to those around them, making them look completely out of place.

"Just as I thought."

"How could a place like this be without pirates?! Just don't know if they're planning to rob openly or act later."

"However."

"Whatever happens here should be left to the Marines — I've no interest in playing some role as a champion of justice."

"That's the mutt's job."

After muttering a few words, Gao Wen set down his wine glass and began to wait patiently.

……

In a corner of the auction house.

The few oddly-dressed people Gao Wen had noticed earlier kept glancing around.

Though they tried hard to disguise themselves, they couldn't hide the bloodthirsty, ferocious glint in their eyes.

The bald pirate leading them swept his gaze around, couldn't help but stick out his tongue to lick his lips, the greed in his eyes almost undisguisable:

"The captain's had his eye on Loguetown for more than a day or two — just never had the chance before."

"But that monster in Loguetown, they say, was beaten a few days ago by a pirate coming down from the Grand Line."

"This is our chance!"

"Lock down a target fast, then pass the intel to the captain!"

The pirate sitting beside him spread his hands helplessly:

"The captain's Den Den Mushi hasn't been reachable since a while ago."

"Not reachable again?"

The bald pirate's face suddenly darkened:

"He just got a new Den Den Mushi a few days ago — and it's already busted again?"

"Every time it matters, something goes wrong — if you ask me, that captain's seat shouldn't be his!"

The few sitting beside him didn't dare chime in, and could only seize the chance to change the subject:

"Let's lock down a target first, so we don't lose track later."

"Mm."

……

This one group of pirates disguised as buyers was only one of the groups Gao Wen had spotted.

And in other spots, at least four more groups from different factions had slipped in, searching for targets.

"Has Smoker's injury from last time not healed yet? Or did he get hurt by someone else again?"

"Was I a bit too heavy-handed?"

Gao Wen pursed his lips.

To be honest.

If it weren't for the future plan to recruit the Seven Warlords of the Sea, after barging in twice in a row, with his temperament he would have gone for the kill long ago.

But the only explanation for the current situation was that Smoker Heavy was still seriously injured and hadn't recovered.

If he were here, these pirates wouldn't even be able to sneak into the auction house — whether they could even land at the port would be the question.

Gao Wen then stopped dwelling on it and began to wait patiently.

……

Time slipped by; it was nearly eight in the evening.

The sky outside gradually darkened, and a bright moon rose into the heavens.

The cool moonlight shone down through the skylight at the center of the auction house, falling on the host standing below.

A man wearing an oddly-shaped hat and star-shaped glasses on the bridge of his nose slowly walked up onto the auction stage.

After sweeping a glance around, he picked up the microphone, about to go through the motions of a perfunctory opening:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this evening's event is hosted by yours truly, Disco —!"

"Cut the crap! Get to the point!"

A coarse voice rang out through the auction house, cutting Disco off mid-sentence, and a wine glass was hurled straight at him.

Smack!

The guard behind Disco snatched the glass out of the air, but the wine still splashed squarely onto his collar.

"My, what an impatient guest~!"

Disco's face showed not a trace of shame or anger; he slowly drew a handkerchief from his bosom, wiped the spilled wine from his face, and beckoned to a guard standing nearby.

Several guards understood at once and immediately worked together to throw out the noble who had just acted, leaving the auction hall silent for a moment.

Seeing this,

the professional fake smile that had just appeared on Disco's face returned as he said:

"Now, the auction continues!"

"Since you are so impatient, I will no longer hide anything!"

"Bring up today's first item!"

Hush!

After the sound of rolling wheels,

a small cart covered with a black curtain was pushed onto the auction platform by several servants working together.

Disco yanked off the curtain, and blinding white light suddenly flared, illuminating the stage.

Gao Wen finally saw clearly what was loaded on that black cart.

People!

Two naked women with slender, graceful figures, completely unclothed, were huddled together helplessly.

Their eyes were red-rimmed, looking utterly pitiful.

"These twin sisters are from the Kingdom of Sorbet on the Grand Line. As for their quality, everyone present can judge for themselves."

"In my opinion, they are absolute masterpieces!"

"By the way."

As he spoke, the corners of Disco's mouth curled up slightly, and he said with deep meaning:

"Because they are twins, these two can share their senses to a certain extent!"

"The starting bid is one million Belly. Each bid increase must be no less than fifty thousand. The bidding begins now!"

As his words fell,

a sudden burst of rapid breathing erupted in the hall.

On the faces of the nobles standing at the top of this world's power structure, undisguised lust appeared.

"One million two hundred thousand!"

"One million three hundred thousand!"

With the first bidding cry, a continuous stream of bidding voices echoed through the hall.

In a world where sunlight could not reach, these nobles revealed their most primal bestial nature.

In the end, the twins were bought by a portly merchant for nearly four million Belly; the latter could not wait to leave the auction hall.

"Now!"

"The auction continues!"

Disco stepped back onto the stage.

At this moment, Gao Wen also remembered his identity.

The auction held by the Straw Hat Crew in the Sabaody Archipelago to rescue the mermaid Camie was hosted by him.

"Did Doflamingo's human trafficking business extend to the East Blue? Has Smoker just fallen, and he already reached out his hand?"

(End of this chapter)