"Okay, please ask our staff to send Slave No. 8 to our distinguished guest," the host said, maintaining his composure and disregarding the usual backstage payment rules at the auction. He directed the staff to bring Rayleigh to the box.
The entire auction was abuzz with excitement.
Rayleigh's expression turned tense.
He eyed the approaching employees, hesitated, and decided not to flee. 'Causing a scene in public would have significant repercussions. It doesn't fit into my retirement plans. Let's see what this Celestial Dragon who bought me has in mind.'
'Maybe there's a broken ship, and I'm asked to repair it,' Rayleigh thought to himself.
He didn't resist and followed the two employees to the top box.
In the box.
The maid and butler exchanged glances.
"Is it worth buying that shipwright?" the maid questioned.
Hancock's eyes flickered. 'Does this old shipwright have any special identity or ability?' She felt that Lakeman always had a purpose in his actions. 'He wouldn't buy a worthless slave for no reason.'
"Sir, your slave has arrived," the butler announced.
Not long after, Rayleigh was escorted to Lakeman's box by the auction staff.
"Come in," Lakeman's eyes gleamed with joy.
As soon as he spoke, a maid opened the door.
Rayleigh, shackled, walked into the box under the scrutiny of guards and butlers.
"t-tl..." Rayleigh pretended to be timid, keeping his head lowered. 'This will make the Celestial Dragons lose interest in me.'
But then, something unexpected happened to Rayleigh.
"Are you a shipbuilder?" Lakeman stared at him with stern eyes and smiled. "Very good, now go and build a new ship for me!"
"Go, go now!" Lakeman waved his hand, stood up, and walked out.
Rayleigh: "?"
Hancock: "?"
Maid, guard, butler: "?"
Everyone was confused. 'Isn't this too sudden?' they thought.
"What are you still doing?" Lakeman had already walked to the door and rushed down the hall with urgency.
"Yes!" The others snapped out of their daze and began their tasks. The guard led the way, the maid packed things, and the butler followed closely. Rayleigh was also led by a servant, following Lakeman.
A large group left the auction.
Below, countless guests noticed the scene.
"Hey, the boatman is still alive."
"What a blessing."
"He should be useful for the time being."
The guests were a little surprised. They quickly withdrew their gazes and continued bidding on the goods. The auction had just begun.
But among the leaving group, Rayleigh was confused.
'Why are you leaving now? Didn't the auction just start? Don't you want to see the rest? Why do I feel like you are here for me?!' Rayleigh cursed inwardly. But then he shook his head.
'How could it be directed at me? I'm just a shipwright, worthless. It was probably this Celestial Dragon who happened to have the idea of building a ship and happened to find me as a shipbuilder, so the group took me at the right time. Everything is a coincidence.'
'It's just that this child...' Rayleigh glanced at Hancock calmly, his eyes narrowing.
'She's called Hancock. Shakky said that the ship on Nine Snake Island was robbed and the candidate for the next empress also disappeared. I didn't expect her to become a slave to the Celestial Dragons.'
Rayleigh watched Hancock secretly. 'The girl has a beautiful face, a calm expression, and a noble and arrogant demeanor. She seems like a royal daughter who should be aloof and privileged, not a slave. But still became a slave to the Celestial Dragons, Pity!.'
Rayleigh's tempered heart couldn't help but feel sympathy. At the same time, he suddenly thought of something.
'Shakky had just left in despair. Did she discover that Hancock had become a slave to the Celestial Dragons?' Rayleigh guessed, feeling that this was probably the correct answer.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. 'When I planned to escape, I intended to take the little girl named Hancock with me. But I didn't know Shakky had already given up.'
Meanwhile, Lakeman, walking ahead, silently raised the corners of his mouth.
[Silvers Rayleigh with genius qualification detected, would you like to bind?]
[After binding, you can share daily practice feedback!]
'Yes!' Lakeman mentally confirmed.
[Binding begins!]
[Target: Silvers Rayleigh!]
[0.14%...0.23%...0.31%...]
After many days, he finally encountered another binding target. Lakeman was delighted.
'At this point in time, although Rayleigh is retired, he is still in his prime, and daily exercise is essential.'
'Even if it reaches the time of the original story, it can still provide me with considerable benefits!'
'Plus Kizaru, Hancock, and Stussy. The training feedback from four geniuses combined will boost my strength like a rocket!'
Lakeman excitedly clenched his fist.
Lakeman's departure didn't attract much attention. The group quickly returned to the Celestial Dragons' hotel.
Hancock originally thought that Lakeman would continue the unfinished business in the box, so she was already prepared. She took off her kimono and folded it neatly on the bedside. Her snow-white, delicate body was hidden in the quilt. Only an exquisite curve was visible.
"Aren't you coming yet?" Hancock waited for a long time, frowning slightly, confusion on her delicate and perfect face.
Just then, a maid knocked on the door and entered, saying to her, "The young master said you can do whatever you want today."
Hancock: "?"
In the box, she could clearly see Lakeman's impatience and lust. Her waist was almost broken. And now he's saying to relax?
"Where is the young master?" Hancock asked, frowning.
"The young master said that he would supervise the newly purchased shipbuilder in building the ship and not allow him to cut corners," the maid replied with a strange expression.
Hancock was stunned for a moment. 'What the hell! Could it be that shipbuilding is more attractive than me?'
"Wait a minute, it seems Vice Admiral Kizaru was in a similar situation back then." Hancock fell into thought. Seeing that Hancock had nothing to say, the maid bowed and left.
The same situation also happened to the butler.
"What are you talking about? The young master is watching the shipwright he bought building a ship?" The butler looked surprised and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
'Although that might be interesting, isn't there a Hancock beside you?'
The butler didn't know much else, but he had served Lakeman's father. He understood men. 'They had just resolved the identity problem left by Hancock and beaten the woman named Shakky to pieces. Wasn't it time to indulge and enjoy the victory?'
"According to the master, this is the time to enjoy the spoils of war," the butler murmured, with a somewhat puzzled expression. He thought for a while and asked the housekeeper to be called.
"What happened to Hancock?" the butler asked the housekeeper.
This question was asked out of the blue. But the housekeeper heard the intention and immediately recalled the situation when she returned just now. 'Hancock was not too tired to walk or straighten up, which meant the young master did not properly engage with her. But the young master did not reject Hancock; his interest changed.'
After thinking about it, the housekeeper shook her head and said, "There is no problem with Hancock."
"Is it okay?" The butler fell into deep thought.
'He thought of a possibility. A similar situation seemed to have occurred with Vice Admiral Kizaru. The young master's interest was entirely on Kizaru for a while, completely ignoring Hancock.'
'This shipwright needs to be investigated carefully!'
The butler suddenly narrowed his eyes. He immediately recruited a guard and ordered: "Ask Stussy what's going on with the shipwright the master bought."
"Yes!" The guard took the order and left.
Meanwhile, inside the hotel's shipyard.
Bang bang bang!
Rayleigh hammered a nail with a stiff expression.
'Is shipbuilding so beautiful?' He couldn't help but roar in his mind. 'It's been an hour! You, a Celestial Dragon, can watch me hammering nails for an hour! Is there something wrong with your brain?'
Ten meters away, Lakeman sat on an exclusive recliner and watched Rayleigh hammering nails with interest.
[Current progress: 1.54%...]
[Current progress: 1.69%...]
[Current progress: 1.83%...]
Progress was steady and improving. Lakeman happily took a sip of the special drink.
"The deputy of the great Pirate King personally built my ship. Who else could have this kind of treatment?"
Thinking of this, Lakeman happily picked up a piece of fish-shaped Sea King belly, dipped it in some wasabi, and put it in his mouth to chew.
'This is simply the top enjoyment of life.' At this moment, even Hancock and Stussy were left behind in his mind.
'Oh, no, I almost forgot that it will finish blooming in a day and a half. When the time comes, heh heh heh...'
When Lakeman thought of that scene, he felt a slight heat in his lower abdomen, and the dragon was slightly moved.
Ahead, Rayleigh, hammering nails, felt a slight twitch in the corner of his eye.
'Oh no, does this Celestial Dragon brat have it in for me now? His keen perception caught the change in Lakeman's eyes at that moment. Those eyes were suddenly filled with burning desire. This is ridiculous.'
Rayleigh felt a pang of panic, as if he had stumbled into a den of thieves by mistake.
'Some people still find a man like me appealing? No, I'm still quite attractive. No, no, my charm is reserved only for women. You, a male Celestial Dragon and still a kid, have desires for me?'
Rayleigh instantly felt goosebumps rise on his skin. He felt nauseous.
'Things like that are not my cup of tea! To prevent something worse, I have to get out of here quickly.' Rayleigh's eyes flickered, sensing that if he didn't leave, he might witness something he didn't want to see.
At that moment, Rayleigh suddenly sensed a strong aura approaching.
'Who?'
He hesitated briefly and decided to wait and observe.
A few minutes later, leisurely footsteps echoed.
Kizaru, wearing sunglasses, strolled over casually, greeting Lakeman from a distance. "Good afternoon, Saint Lakeman."
"Oh." Lakeman didn't even turn back, responding coldly. In his view, the finished tool didn't need further attention.
Kizaru: "..."
'You're so indifferent now, even though you weren't like this on the ship!'
If it were anyone else, Kizaru would have turned around and left. He didn't bother with people who had bad attitudes.
But duty bound him to swallow his pride.
"Saint Lakeman, are you free today?" Kizaru approached with a smile, like an eager dog, ignoring Lakeman's indifference and forcing conversation.
Lakeman glanced at him and waved dismissively. The surrounding guards stepped aside, allowing Kizaru to approach Lakeman.
'Kizaru, has he been slacking off lately?' Lakeman looked at Kizaru, slightly dissatisfied.
'You only practice in the morning. What do you do the rest of the time? You're so lazy, you're slowing down my path to becoming the world's number one!'
Lakeman was speechless and decided to allocate more resources to Kizaru. He would call Sengoku, instructing him to oversee Kizaru's training twenty-four hours a day, except for sleep, to ensure full and intense practice!
'Practice until you drop!'
Kizaru suddenly felt a chill on his back and had a sinking feeling. He glanced around suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.
'Why this unease? I'm probably overthinking it.'
Kizaru dismissed the feeling and refocused.
"This is my new shipwright slave. I've tasked him with building a ship for me, and I'm overseeing his work," Lakeman said calmly.
'Overseeing shipbuilding? How boring.'
Kizaru inwardly grumbled. 'What kind of dull hobby is this?' But he kept a surprised smile on his face. "Shipbuilding? Quite refined, Master Lakeman. Let's see what this shipwright can do..."
Kizaru approached with a smile, but when he got a clear look at the shipwright's face, his voice faltered, and his smile froze.
'Isn't this Silvers Rayleigh?!'
Kizaru stared at the shipwright in disbelief, horror etched on his face.
'What's going on?! How did Silvers Rayleigh end up as a shipwright for the Celestial Dragons? Does this mean the Roger Pirates intend to surrender to the World Government just like Roger?'
Kizaru felt like his ammunition depot had exploded and his CPU was overheating.
Meanwhile, Rayleigh noticed Kizaru's gaze and stared back expressionlessly.
Their eyes met.
A silent exchange occurred.
'You know me, kid?'
'Haha, who doesn't know the famous deputy of the Pirate King?'
'Just so you know, it's a coincidence I'm here. Don't read too much into it.'
'Haha, when do you plan to leave?'
'Now!'
'Good!!'
They reached an understanding.
One party didn't want to linger, fearing unwanted advances. The other worried about Lakeman and preferred Rayleigh's swift departure. Both Kizaru and Rayleigh wanted him gone.
At that moment, Lakeman spoke calmly. "Kizaru, you're just in time. I'm going to take a break. Keep an eye on this guy while he builds the ship. Don't let him slack off."
With that, Lakeman left abruptly.
Kizaru and Rayleigh were left alone, staring at each other in shock.
'Why did he leave?'
Simultaneous thoughts raced through their minds. Then, their eyes met again.
'Am I leaving?'
'No! Wait for me. Can I make a call first?'
'...?'
'Just hear me out!!'
Rayleigh was bewildered, wondering if he had misinterpreted the situation.
But then, he watched Kizaru turn and produce a phone bug.
'Oh, so you figured it out...but why are you calling me?' Rayleigh's heart sank with a hint of annoyance.
'Today I feel exceptionally unlucky. Why did one unfortunate event follow another? Let's wait until he finishes the call.' Rayleigh sighed wearily, thinking to himself, 'Marine Admiral candidate's personal guard...this Celestial Dragon's identity isn't simple, is it?'
Meanwhile, Kizaru walked a few steps away, his eyes darting as he dialed Marshal Sengoku. He wasn't sure if Lakeman had acquired Rayleigh accidentally or deliberately. But his gut told him something was amiss.
'It's best to inform Sengoku.'
Duuludulu…
After a moment, the call connected.
"What's up, Kizaru?" Sengoku's voice came through.
"Here's the deal, Marshal. Saint Lakeman bought Silvers Rayleigh," Kizaru said succinctly, packing his words with dense information.
It hit Sengoku like a nuclear bomb.
Boom!
"What in the world?!" Sengoku exclaimed.
"I'm not sure myself. This is what I saw..." Kizaru rubbed his ears, almost deafened, and quickly recounted the story.
On the other end of the line, Sengoku fell into a long silence.
The air hung heavy with uncertainty.
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