As the auction carried onwards, Cherry sat back down satisfied at having frustrated the Charlotte woman. Of course there was more to it than simple good fun.
She hoped that she could put a bit of a dent into their budget, though she didn't have any high hopes in that regard as this concerned the wealth of one of the four Emperors.
Still, it would improve her chances at acquiring the devil fruit that she desired, if only by a little.
Cherry suspected her primary opponent in that endeavor was not the Charlotte siblings, but rather Sentomaru. The man was probably here to obtain the devil fruit for Vegapunk and Cherry was worried that there would be no upper spending limit to complete his mission.
If that turned out to be true though, Cherry was prepared to steal the devil fruit from him later. So it was not a huge problem.
Time passed and enormous amounts of wealth was exchanged for various luxuries or rare goods. Cherry even acquired a collection of journals belonging to a famous archaeologist that lived a hundred years ago for Robin. That wasn't too expensive as those present were mostly people with more money than sense or meatheads.
"The time has come for the main event of our gathering here today!" The auctioneer called out.
"I'll not keep our esteemed guests in suspense, as I am sure you're all quite aware of what this particular lot is." The auctioneer pulled off a silk cloth revealing a devil fruit inside of a glass case.
The devil fruit appeared to be a pear, only with two bulbs stacked atop one another instead of just one. It was dark brown, almost black in color with light brown circular swirl patterns on its skin. The stem wrapped around the thinner top part before turning upwards.
"We have no records that give any suggestion of what this devil fruit's identity could be. If you win the bid, it will be a mystery that you can solve yourselves." The auctioneer said, then started the bidding at the standard 100 million Beri, as was typical of any devil fruit.
Sentomaru was the first to bid on the devil fruit, but only matching the opening bid which showed his reluctance to spend more than he had to. Undoubtedly because he would get an earful if he spent too much, given that the money would end up in a criminal's pocket.
Next was Charlotte Katakuri at 110 million Beri. As expected this was likely to be the reason he came here.
Cherry held back, letting the two fight each other over the devil fruit. She was trying to get a gauge of how important it was to acquire it. If they were reluctant to raise the price too high, then she would swoop in to take it for herself. However, if they were relentless in obtaining it and passed her bottom line, then there was no need to let them know that she wanted it before she came to steal it from them.
As the bidding rose past 500 million Beri and showed no sign of stopping, Cherry started to wonder if they were bidding because they knew what the fruit was or if it was because they didn't know that they wanted it so bad.
She could understand why Vegapunk would want something he didn't know about, being a man of science, but why would Big Mom make such a big gamble on an unknown devil fruit?
Sentomaru started to become reluctant to push the bid further when it reached 1 billion Beri. Once it reached 1.2 billion Beri, Katakuri simply stopped bidding despite not seeming to be under any pressure at all.
'Ah, I see. He couldn't get it for himself at a reasonable price, so he's just making the World Government spend more than necessary. Basically the same thing I did to Brulee.' Cherry reasoned inwardly.
Cherry had enough money to keep pushing the bid, but she was doubtful that Sentomaru would give up before she would. Better to keep her interest hidden for now.
"Going once! Going twice! Sold!" The auctioneer called out. "That concludes tonight's event, I thank all you fine ladies and gentlemen for your participation! Do not forget to claim your items!"
The attendees started to stand and filter out, many disappointed at not being able to obtain what they wished. The Charlotte Siblings and Sentomaru were quick to attend to their items.
Cherry could tell from Sentomaru's vital energy that he was anxious. Rightly so since he found himself in a bidding war with Big Mom's strongest child. He was certain to try to leave immediately and escape whatever danger may follow him.
Unbeknownst to him, Katakuri was the least of his worries. There were few who could outrun Cherry in this world, and the devil fruit was too important to her cultivation to surrender it to the World Government.
…
"Set sail immediately!" Sentomaru ordered with a shout.
"Yes sir!" An officer answered and started giving out instructions.
Sentomaru was deeply concerned. He didn't expect Charlotte Katakuri to be here or that he'd end up 'battling' him during the auction. He didn't think it likely that Katakuri would risk a conflict over one devil fruit, but his instincts were screaming at him to leave as soon as possible.
They wouldn't be attacked here as that was a major faux pas for these auctions that was sure to get you uninvited to every future auction. Still, they needed to leave eventually and it was better to get a headstart.
The marines worked quickly, like a well oiled machine, and quickly got the ship moving. This particular ship was one of the fastest models available to the marines, so he was confident that Katakuri wouldn't catch up.
Several minutes went by and Sentomaru wasn't calming down at all. Something wasn't right.
"Why haven't you brought out the paddles yet?! We need every bit of speed we can get!" Sentomaru questioned.
"Sir. The paddles, they… they've been sabotaged…" The officer said, looking pale.
"How did someone get past all of you to sabotage them?!" Sentomaru was getting increasingly agitated.
"The gears, sir… t-they're all gummed up with… mochi…" Said the officer who had become pale as a ghost by now.
Sentomaru's eyes shook and he turned to scan the horizon behind them. Then he saw it. A ship that looked to be made of desserts, the name "Katakuri" painted across the mainsail, and flying the all too familiar flag of the Big Mom pirates.
The ship was heading straight for them.
"Get the gear works cleaned up as quickly as you can!" Sentomaru shouted. He clenched the box containing the devil fruit tightly to his side.
Their ship was still quite fast even without the paddles, all they needed to do was outrun them until the paddles were free.
The chase was on. The marines could only clench their jaws in anger as Katakuri was too much to fight even with Sentomaru on their side. They could only run away with their tail between their legs.
They had called for backup, but it was too far away.
Katakuri's ship was gaining on them slowly, but surely. After an hour and a half, his ship was almost in cannon range, but thankfully the marines who felt the threat of death upon their backs worked with great efficiency and finally cleared the gears up enough to use the paddles.
Sentomaru didn't need to give the order, the marines knew what needed to be done and brought out the paddles.
Before he could heave a sigh of relief, his thoughts were interrupted by a thundering sound and splintering wood.
Something had fallen from the sky and obliterated the main mast. That 'something' stood up and climbed out of the remains of the main and sail.
"Hey there, axe guy! Long time no see!" Cherry greeted him with a smile as if they were old friends.