Chapter 180

After giving a few instructions,

Sima Di used his telekinesis to lift Kemi, carrying her off into the sky as if kidnapping her, and flew toward the auction house on Tree Island No. 1.

The moment they landed,

the guards at the entrance saw him frown and were about to say something, but Sima Di simply ripped off Kemi's skirt, exposing her mermaid tail.

"I'm here to sell a mermaid. Bring out your manager."

This trump card,

made the guards hurriedly greet him with smiling faces and escort Sima Di into the VIP room.

Before long,

a fat man with a head full of fat and a belly full of guts came rushing over, panting heavily.

The look in his eyes when he saw Kemi was as if he wanted to devour her on the spot.

"Wonderful! Finally another female mermaid!" the fat man exclaimed joyfully. "Esteemed guest, I am Umekawa Kuzo. This auction house is willing to offer 80 million Berries! That's a very high price!"

Sima Di stared at Umekawa Kuzo with a look that said "idiot."

No wonder he's called that name — he really is shameless.

"Not satisfied, guest?" Umekawa Kuzo's face turned ugly. "Then... 90 million Berries? 100 million Berries! Can't go any higher!"

"Cut the nonsense." Sima Di cut him off. "I'm not selling outright — consignment."

Umekawa Kuzo's face fell.

Consignment only?

The auction house could only take a 10% consignment fee, which was definitely not as profitable as an outright buyout.

He couldn't help rolling his eyes around, and one look told you he wasn't thinking anything good.

"Buzzzzzz)))——"

The Conqueror's Haki burst forth from his body, directly suppressing Umekawa Kuzo to his knees, yet without knocking him unconscious.

"This is just a warning. If I catch you scheming again, I'll kill you on the spot," Sima Di threatened.

Umekawa Kuzo nodded frantically, his heart pounding with fear!

Conqueror's Haki!

Fewer than twenty people on this entire sea have awakened it — the absolute mark of a powerhouse!

He really wasn't someone a small auction house manager could afford to offend.

Seeing how cowardly Umekawa Kuzo was, Sima Di temporarily changed his plan to keep Kemi.

"Go spread the word. Tomorrow night I'll come back with the goods."

Driven by telekinesis,

he took Kemi and himself soaring into the sky, crashing through the ceiling as they flew off.

Leaving Umekawa Kuzo trembling in fear.

Once they had flown far away,

Sima Di looked at Kemi and smiled. "Didn't scare you, did I?"

"N-no."

You're stuttering and you say you weren't?

Sima Di thought for a moment, opened the Golden Treasury, and took out a vial of Super God Water to give to Kemi — the side effects of Super God Water, he believed, would be no problem at all for this silly child.

After briefly explaining its effects, Kemi hurriedly tried to refuse.

"It's too valuable! I..."

"You helped me a great deal," Sima Di cut in. "It's just a bottle of water — we have plenty. Take it."

Hearing Sima Di say this,

after much hesitation, Kemi still couldn't resist the temptation of growing stronger and accepted it.

Having just gone through that ordeal, she finally understood how helpless the weak were — she could only watch Sima Di and Umekawa Kuzo discuss how to sell her, without even having the right to open her mouth and speak.

For the first time, she wanted to become stronger!

Back at the tavern,

everyone saw Sima Di return with Kemi and thought something had gone wrong.

Kemi excitedly recounted Sima Di's operation just now, as if she had done it herself.

But the Straw Hat Pirates were used to it.

"That's just Di's basic move, Princess, please don't take it too seriously," Sanji said.

"Always choosing the optimal solution — that's very you," Kureha praised.

Sima Di shrugged, not taking it too seriously.

He glanced at Usopp, who was still rolling on the ground. Since he could keep rolling until now, it seemed there wasn't much of a problem.

It all depended on how long he could endure.

The longer he endured, the higher his potential, and the more his strength would ultimately increase.

Currently, the one who endured the longest was Luffy, a full 17 hours.

Who knows...

how long Usopp could endure?

The news that Tree Island No. 1's auction house would auction off a mermaid spread across the entire island!

Soon it reached the point where everyone knew, and it even reached Mariejois, letting those novelty-seeking World Nobles learn of it.

The next day,

the entrance of Tree Island No. 1's auction house was cleared by CP0 agents. Apart from a few people of status, even the richest could not enter.

The masked members of the Straw Hat crew were likewise intercepted and stopped.

Sima Di produced the mermaid Kaymi, who was bound by psychokinesis, and said, "This mermaid is being provided by me. Are you certain you want to block me?"

The intercepting agent deliberated for a moment.

He said stiffly, "Just hand the mermaid over to us. You may not—"

"Mmph—mm—mm—"

Kaymi's face flushed an unnatural crimson, for Sima Di was using psychokinesis to choke her by the neck.

"If you utter one more word of nonsense, I'll strangle this mermaid to death. And then you watchdogs will surely be punished by your masters—"

Sima Di let out a cold chuckle.

Yet it made every agent present shudder; the Celestial Dragons' cruelty was something even they, as loyal hounds, feared beyond measure.

"Bam!"

A CP0 agent wearing an owl mask flashed into view and kicked the intercepting agent into the ground with a single stomp.

"My apologies, my subordinate is ill-mannered," the owl-masked CP0 said politely. "As the consignor, you are of course qualified to enter the auction. However, please do not approach the noble Celestial Dragons too closely, lest it cause unnecessary misunderstanding."

"Finally, someone who speaks like a human being."

Sima Di nodded and, ignoring the CP0 agent, walked toward the auction house.

He hadn't expected that a mere mermaid would cause such a huge commotion.

Once inside the auction venue, he understood why they were on such high alert.

At a single glance,

over a hundred Celestial Dragons wearing bubble helmets sat in the front three rows.

The aisles were packed with slaves of every race brought by the Celestial Dragons, with rows of CP0 agents lining both sides.

Only after a full ten rows,

did a sparse few elegantly dressed individuals sit there, and from time to time people rose and left.

The atmosphere on the scene was too terrifying; it was best not to get involved.

【"So many Celestial Dragons—today the Pashi Society will likely see a fierce battle,"】 Crocus remarked through the mind link.

This had been deliberately arranged by Sima Di.

With so many CP0 agents present, there were bound to be some with Observation Haki; any conversation might inadvertently expose their plans.

【"Hehe, that's right—today's going to be quite lively,"】 Sima Di said with a smile.

Taking out over a hundred Celestial Dragons...

I wonder if it'll trigger one of those famous scenes?

But after that, it was sure to be very interesting!