Chapter 304: The Underground Auction House

Over the next few days, Lei Li worked overtime to complete the coating of the Lionheart Knight.

His speed was so great that Franky, who had been following him to secretly learn the coating technique, was left utterly stunned.

However, completing the coating work even faster was not a bad thing for Gao Wen and his group.

Two days later.

The coated Lionheart Knight was docked within the shipyard.

A transparent film enveloped the entire vessel like a bubble, refracting iridescent light yet possessing sufficient strength to withstand the water pressure of the deep sea ten thousand meters below.

It was simply inconceivable.

With Gao Wen's group on the verge of setting sail, Nami, on the other hand, still had not given up.

"During this period, we have visited almost every auction house on the Sabaody Archipelago, yet we haven't heard of any place auctioning Devil Fruits."

On the beach, Nami changed into a form-fitting swimsuit; though the fabric was scant, it outlined her graceful figure, drawing frequent glances from the surrounding crowd.

She sat leisurely on a lounge chair and could not help but let out a sigh.

Previously, Gao Wen's group had acquired several Devil Fruits in succession, leading her to develop a mistaken perception that Devil Fruits were not as precious as legend claimed.

However, their experiences on the Sabaody Archipelago served as a harsh wake-up call.

How could such a treasure, capable of directly enhancing one's power, be obtained as easily as fruit by the roadside, despite the risk of losing the ability to swim?!

An ordinary person might never see one in their entire lifetime.

"Should I just give up?!"

Nami gritted her teeth and could not help but pick up the Devil Fruit encyclopedia beside her again, flipping it open.

Rustle—!

The sea breeze fluttered the pages of the encyclopedia, soon stopping at a specific page.

This page recorded a Devil Fruit shaped like cotton candy, which was also Nami's favorite.

Nami stared at it for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh and slowly closing the encyclopedia.

With departure imminent, she was unwilling to delay the fleet's voyage further due to her own reasons and had already given up on finding the fruit she needed on the Sabaody Archipelago.

Just then, Miss Kalifa, similarly dressed in a black swimsuit with fair skin and a tall, slender figure, slowly walked toward Nami from afar.

"Nami, I have found out the details."

"Auctions for rare treasures like Devil Fruits rarely appear in ordinary auction houses."

"After all, those interested in Devil Fruits are either ambitious pirates or dangerous individuals seeking power."

"Fights often break out among these people at the slightest disagreement, which is highly unfavorable for the auction organizers; therefore, the vast majority of Devil Fruit auctions are not held openly."

"Instead, they are held in underground auction houses."

"Underground auction houses?!"

Nami's eyes lit up with renewed hope, but she immediately noticed that Miss Kalifa's expression was not relaxed: "What's wrong?!"

"I must warn you first; the underground auction houses on the Sabaody Archipelago have another name: the Human Auction House!"

"Humans..."

Nami paused for a moment, already realizing the implication, yet her gaze did not waver in the slightest: "Then let us go there first to try our luck."

"Mm." Miss Kalifa responded, clearly unsurprised by Nami's answer, and explained: "Captain Gao Wen has decided that we will set sail tomorrow."

"Coincidentally, an underground auction is being held tonight; although the specific lots have not been disclosed, the person in charge stated that items of extremely high value will appear."

"It might even be a Devil Fruit."

"Regardless of success or failure, this is our last chance."

Time flew by, and soon it was late night.

Nami and Miss Kalifa, now changed into casual clothes, set off for the underground auction house.

Accompanying them were Sanji and Van Auger, both clad in black cloaks with hoods drawn to conceal their forms.

Sanji had naturally forced his way along; to protect the two women at a critical moment, he had even brought his Germa battle suit.

Van Auger, on the other hand, was acting on Gao Wen's orders.

After all, while Miss Kalifa and Nami were relatively weak in strength, and although Sanji was powerful, he tended to lose his rationality when facing women; thus, someone capable of handling emergencies calmly was needed.

Van Auger was perfect for this role; at the very least, no matter whom he faced, he would never hesitate to act.

The journey proceeded smoothly, and the four-person group quickly crossed the forested area, entering a bustling town where the most prominent feature was the massive auction house located in the center.

The building was somewhat aged, its walls covered in moss, yet this could hardly conceal its grandeur and magnificence.

Nami took a deep breath and led the three others briskly inside.

A receiving attendant quickly approached, ushered the four into the auction hall, and voluntarily began introducing the background of the auction to them.

"Behind this auction house stands some important figure from the New World; whether regarding the stability of the supply or security, everything is guaranteed."

"Rarely does anyone dare to cause trouble within the auction house."

As he spoke, the attendant's gaze intentionally or unintentionally fell upon Sanji and Van Auger standing behind Nami and Miss Kalifa like bodyguards.

Seeing that neither of the two spoke up to refute him, he assumed his words had taken effect, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

He guided Nami and her party to a spot in the corner of the auction hall, swept his gaze over Nami and Miss Kalifa once more, then turned and left, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

At this moment, quite a number of people had already gathered within the underground auction hall.

These individuals carried themselves with elegance and wore exquisite, refined clothing, accompanied by guards and servants, clearly indicating they were either wealthy or noble.

Many among them were obviously nobility from certain kingdoms, yet they had all come to this underground auction house; their purpose went without saying.

Nami's brows furrowed slightly: "These people actually treat their own kind as mere commodities to be sold with such complacency..."

Miss Kalifa's understanding of the World Nobles far surpassed Nami's, yet facing such a scene, she could not help but sigh:

"In their eyes, the people sold here are mere commodities, no different from roadside weeds or wild beasts in the forest; they simply cannot be called humans."

"Or rather..."

"In the eyes of these powerful and influential people, they themselves have become a kind of existence beyond human status."

"Just like those swine in Mary Geoise who claim the title of gods."

Speaking thus, Miss Kalifa reached out and placed her hand on Nami's shoulder, reminding her: "Do not forget our purpose in coming here."

"I understand." Nami nodded, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down.

Soon, the lights overhead flickered, converging on the center of the auction hall, and the gazes of everyone present focused at that moment on the distant stage.

"The long-arm tribe member I bought from here last time made me happy for so long; what kind of surprise will this time bring?!"

"Skip the ordinary slaves; I need stronger stimulation!"

"Torturing these lowlives—no, curing their congenital deformities to make them no different from ordinary people—is my greatest joy!"

"Hahahaha—!"

Accompanied by these hysterical shouts, the buyers all around dropped their usual pretenses, revealing their true selves: ferocious and vile, as if a layer of human skin had been peeled away to expose their most bloodthirsty and primal nature.

Nami and the other three sat in a corner, silent, yet the expressions on their faces gradually turned Solemn.

Soon, a well-dressed auctioneer hurried onto the stage, grabbed the microphone, and after a brief warm-up, ordered the hall staff to bring up the first item of the night!

Clatter—!

Two staff members dressed as guards strained to push a huge iron cage covered with red cloth to the center of the stage.

"Enough idle talk!"

"The first item of tonight's auction makes its entrance!"

The auctioneer yanked down the red cloth, and the two figures within the iron cage were thus exposed to the air, exposed to the gaze of everyone present.

The venue fell silent for a moment; everyone stared blankly for several seconds before coming to their senses.

Looking at the merchandise in the cage, their breathing nearly stopped, only to be followed by hysterical madness.

"This is... a Fish-Man, from the Ryugu Kingdom beneath ten thousand meters of the deep sea!"

Indeed, locked inside the cage were two Fish-Men with mouths full of sharp teeth.

The stronger of the two Fish-Men held the smaller one in his arms, his gaze shifting uneasily back and forth, his eyes filled with blatant fear and a trace of resentment hidden extremely deep.

"Spare my child, and I will do anything you ask!"

"I beg you!"

Thud—!

The strong Fish-Man slammed his forehead heavily against the ground, again and again, until blood seeped out and his consciousness began to blur.

But what awaited him was not a word of pity, but the sound of a heavy hammer striking.

Bang!

"Auction for the Whale Shark Fish-Man father and son begins now; starting price 2 million Berries, each bid must be no less than 200,000 Berries!"

Soon, the first buyer in the auction seats raised his paddle high.

"Three million!"

Then came a second, a third...

Gathered here, the noble tycoons who were usually elegant and reserved before others, both men and women, participated in the bidding almost frantically, solely to purchase the merchandise on stage and make it their slave, their collection, or even some sort of product.

Amidst the noisy hall, Nami's gaze remained fixed on the Fish-Men on the stage, feeling that this scene was strangely familiar.

That's right, Bellemere protected me just like this back then...

Nami bit her lip tightly and slowly lowered her head.

Miss Kalifa, standing nearby, saw this; she grabbed Nami's hand and held it tightly:

"Nami, do not forget our purpose."

"I understand."

Nami replied, closing her eyes to avoid looking at the scene before her.

Yet what she saw behind her closed eyelids was the image of Bellemere falling before Arlong in exchange for a chance at her own survival...

Sanji, standing beside Nami, slowly removed the cigarette from his mouth and likewise lowered his head in silence.

Soon, that father-and-son pair of Fish-Men was purchased by a middle-aged woman of elegant posture and majestic grace.

She covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, looking satisfied with the merchandise she had won, yet her words sent a chill down one's spine:

"Such a rare creature ought to be made into a specimen, placed in an exhibition hall for all to admire!"

"Hehehehehe~"

The middle-aged woman was not far from Nami and the others, nor did she lower her voice; her tone even carried a hint of self-satisfaction.

Thus, these words naturally reached the ears of Nami and the others, and the anger they had just suppressed instantly flared up!

This time, even Van Auger found it hard to tolerate.

Click!

Van Auger grabbed his flintlock pistol, but just as his finger touched the trigger, he forcibly suppressed the impulse within his heart.

It was not just Van Auger; everyone present among Nami's group understood their purpose and could only choose restraint at this moment.

The auction of the Fish-Man father and son was merely the beginning.

Soon.

Item after item was brought onto the auction stage, the majority of them being various rare races.

Whenever these rare races appeared, they always sparked a frenzy on site, receiving far more acclaim than ordinary goods.

A Devil Fruit did appear during this time, but it was merely an ordinary Zoan-type ability.

This was not the ability desired by either Nami or Miss Kalifa, so naturally they did not participate in the bidding, allowing it to be bought by another group of pirates.

"There is one question I do not understand."

Van Augur looked at the distant stage, his brows slightly furrowed:

"Why, on an occasion like this, have no female slaves—who should be highly sought after—appeared?"

"You..."

Sanji's face flushed with anger; he was about to speak when his action was interrupted by a flickering of lights.

"Distinguished guests, I believe you have all noticed that up to this point in tonight's auction, not a single female slave has appeared!"

On the stage, the auctioneer gripped the microphone with both hands, his face flushed, wearing an expression of near madness:

"Next to appear is tonight's headline item, and the only female slave of the evening!"

"To be honest, even I did not expect that after nearly a thousand years, this race would still exist."

"They should have gone extinct before the establishment of the World Government, yet for some reason, they have managed to cling to life until now."

The atmosphere in the venue was completely ignited at this moment.

Many who had previously felt bored by the absence of female slaves now widened their eyes, staring toward the distant stage.

There, accompanied by soft, beautiful music, a cage entirely gilded in gold and resembling a bird's nest slowly descended from the ceiling.

Magnificent! Breathtakingly beautiful!

Merely the revealed cage was utterly different from those used to sell other slaves.

It was even harder to imagine what kind of rare treasure lay within!

"What exactly is it?!"

"A Merfolk? A Lunarian? Or a Buccaneer?!"

"No! No! None of those are right!"

"Those races either went extinct after the establishment of the World Government, or they still exist!"

"Wait..."

"Extinct before the World Government was established—could it be that one from Britannias? No, no, no, impossible!"

Someone recalled something, only to immediately deny their own guess in the next instant:

"That is just a legend!"

Boom!

After a dull thud, the cage landed.

The auctioneer turned and grabbed the red silk cloth covering the cage.

"Next, please welcome..."

Swish!

The silk red cloth was yanked away by the auctioneer, and the lights in the hall focused at that moment on the golden cage.

Inside the cage.

A woman with a head full of silver hair and a face of breathtaking beauty slightly narrowed her eyes.

She instinctively raised her hand to block the light, only to discover that due to the Seastone handcuffs on her arms, she could not even perform the motion of raising her hand.

Everyone in the auction hall momentarily froze, their expressions looking as if they had seen a ghost!

This was because behind the woman, two pairs of wings, thin as cicada wings, were pulled taut by threads and fully spread; when the surrounding lights hit them, they immediately displayed a luster like that of gems!

"The legendary Fairy Tribe of Britannias, though I believe you are more familiar with her other name—"

"The Lady of the Lake!"

"Starting bid: three hundred million Berries! Bidding begins now!"

(End of Chapter)