"What? Camie was taken!?"
Hearing Luffy's voice from the 'paper phone' on their wrists, the Straw Hat crew, who were shopping around, were instantly shocked.
"Ugh, it's all my—"
The mouths on the paper strips on everyone's wrists paused, and the crying and shouting turned into a calm voice.
"It's me, Roman."
"It might be the work of slave hunters, but it's not clear yet. Don't panic, I'm conducting a full island search, and we'll have results soon..."
"This is super serious~~"
"In critical moments, Roman is still reliable!"
"Luffy, how could you let Camie get—"
"Everyone, stop talking. What should we do now?"
Zoro's voice silenced the others, and the person he was asking was, of course:
"Yes, I'll send doves to guide you. Follow them and come to meet up."
Click,
After hanging up the 'phone,' Roman looked at the worried Nami and Robin.
"Don't worry,"
"Since the other party is a slave hunting team, they definitely want to sell Camie for a good price. That means Camie's safety isn't an immediate concern."
With a wave of his hand, the flying white paper formed a six-legged 'car.' As for the previous means of transportation, the famous bubble car of Sabaody, it was simply discarded~~
"Get in,"
After Nami and Robin sat in the back seat, Roman immediately drove the strange 'car' towards Island 1!
Meanwhile, the rest of the Straw Hat crew were also heading towards Island 1 under the guidance of Roman's 'white doves.'
In fact, Roman's doves had already flown into the 'human auction house' on Sabaody Island 1... Ah, no, it's the 'labor dispatch market.'
Inside, it was filled with dignitaries, royal celebrities, and their bodyguards; of course, there were also lawless pirates, bloodthirsty bounty hunters, and:
Celestial Dragons!
'Look over there… that guy is Captain Kid from the South Sea!'
Amidst the whispers of the surrounding elites, at the back of the auction house, Kid, with his red spiky hair and coat draped over his shoulders, leaned against the wall with a look of disdain.
"Celestial Dragons… slaves and the human market,"
"Compared to these greedy bastards, our 'bad deeds' are nothing."
"It's because scum rule the world that more 'scum' appear—"
Although he said that, he changed his tone.
"If we see something we like, let's buy a few~~ hahaha!"
"Boss Kid, look."
In the nearby circular auction house, surrounded by several officers of the Heart Pirates, Trafalgar Law, sitting in a 'boss pose' with his hands on the armrests, turned his head.
"A 200 million bounty criminal from the North Sea. Infamous, and—"
Kid frowned, his browless forehead wrinkling as Law flipped him off.
"Rude!"
As the auction began, one 'item' after another was brought onto the stage. In the host's eloquent introduction: a fallen musician, groups of strong laborers, pirate captains, and beautiful dancers made their appearances.
The elegant gentlemen and ladies tore off their 'civilized' masks and began to comment and bid on the 'goods' as if they were selecting merchandise, showing the pirates behind them, who were used to killing with knives, another kind of savagery.
"My God,"
A member of the Heart Pirates looked at the pirate captain on stage who bit his tongue to commit suicide, while the surrounding people expressed their dissatisfaction and anger, and he moved uneasily in his seat.
"Compared to them, I suddenly feel like a saint..."
——————
"This is the place,"
As Roman stopped the 'car', Franky, Usopp, and Sanji also arrived. Ignoring the nearby slaves with collars, the anxious Sanji wanted to rush in, but of course:
"Stop! Who are you—"
"Hand over our mermaid friend Camie!!"
Facing the group ready to fight at the drop of a hat, the guard on the other side just sneered.
"Mermaid? We don't know anything about that!"
"Don't be arrogant, pirates! We are a 'labor dispatch market' under Marine protection. If you attack us, a large number of Marines will arrive immediately. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I don't care—"
"Wait!"
Roman stopped Franky, who was ready to act.
"If Camie really fell into their hands, she would usually be fitted with a 'slave collar'."
"Slave collar?!"
The Straw Hat crew had encountered these before while shopping. A runaway slave captain's neck had been blown to pieces, leaving him unconscious. —That was a 60 million bounty expert! If an ordinary mermaid like Camie were to be blown up by that thing, she would...
Her brains would be splattered all over the floor.
"What should we do?"
Facing the dilemma, Roman waved his hand and stepped forward. The armed guard sneered, holding his gun horizontally:
"What do you want—?!"
"Answer me,"
Roman flipped his wrist, and a gold bar firmly caught the guard's attention.
"Is there a green-haired mermaid being auctioned today?"
"Ah... maybe... yes or no..."
The guard's eyes followed the gold bar in Roman's hand, his hesitant words making Roman shake his head in disappointment.
"Since there's none, let's go to the next one—"
"There is! There is!!"
Casually tossing a gold bar to the side, the guard immediately leaped like a dog to catch it, then prostrated himself before Roman with a fawning smile.
"Thank you, sir~~~"
"Let's go,"
Roman didn't bother with the 'business-savvy' guard and waved to the rest of the Straw Hat crew.
"We..."
"Of course, we'll follow the auction rules and buy Camie back!"
????
Wait, do we Straw Hats have that much money...
Click,
Pushing open the auction house door, Roman and his group didn't attract much attention, except from the Kid Pirates standing at the back of the auction house.
"Boss, those are the Straw Hat Pirates."
"The leader isn't Straw Hat... that person, could it be the 'White Knight'?"
Due to their bounties, the Straw Hat crew was the most recognizable pirate crew. Everyone else matched their wanted posters, so the remaining unfamiliar, handsome young leader could only be one person:
"It seems that armor is his battle form. Too bad we didn't see their captain, otherwise, I'd like to see—"
What kind of man could surpass the Kid Pirates in total bounty!
---
"Well, everyone, the final highlight is about to appear!"
With exaggerated gestures, the host and owner hyped up the atmosphere as a giant 'fish tank' covered by a curtain was pushed out. The silhouette swimming inside immediately made the crowd cheer. The identity of the item was obvious—
"A mermaid from Fish-Man Island: Camie!"
"A genuine young mermaid, I don't need to tell you how valuable she is, right? So, let's start the bidding—"
"Five... five hundred million!"
In the front row VIP seat, a fat figure stood up, snot hanging from his face, and raised a hand with a foolish expression.
Instantly, the room fell silent!
"The opponent is too strong, there's no chance..."
"Today... forget it, maybe we'll have another chance in the future."
Many noble merchants were heartbroken. Although mermaids were expensive, the starting price was usually only 70 million Berries. Who knew they'd encounter a Celestial Dragon, starting at 500 million! How can anyone compete?
"Five hundred million! Is there no higher bid?"
The auction owner was very pleased!
If it weren't for the foolishly wealthy Celestial Dragon, even a young mermaid would fetch no more than 100 million Berries. After all, 100 million Berries could theoretically buy a Devil Fruit! Even the weakest Zoan type could instantly create a 'small expert' worth millions...
"Then, five hundred million going—"
"Six hundred million Berries."
?!
A calm voice broke the silence, making everyone instinctively turn to the back.
The first thought was: Who has that much money?
The second thought was: Who's courting death!
Daring to bid against the Celestial Dragons, they must have a death wish—
"Roman, do we have that much money?"
Facing Sanji's whispered question, Roman calmly nodded.
"Yes."
?
Although Sanji wanted to say, "How come I didn't know?" he remembered that the Straw Hat crew's finances were always managed by Roman and Nami. So, he wisely kept his mouth shut. — On second thought, probably only those two knew how much money the Straw Hat crew had.
"What?"
Facing the crowd's gaze, Roman looked around. Even though he was standing at the back of the auction house as a 'casual observer,' he gave everyone the illusion that he was the 'noble' or 'king.'
"Can't I participate in the bidding?"
...
Well, there's no reason for an auction to refuse someone's bid. But:
"Se-seven hundred million!"
The snot-nosed Celestial Dragon Charlos held up one hand and added two fingers, making Roman's eyes roll upward.
Even kindergarteners wouldn't struggle this much, right? He must be an idiot...
"1 billion."
!!!!
As Roman's calm voice echoed, the entire auction house fell silent. The nobles and wealthy merchants clutched their chests, their ears filled only with the sound of their pounding hearts! Between the Celestial Dragon and this unknown young man, Berries seemed to be tossed around like scraps of paper...
Strangely, no one doubted Roman's ability to produce that amount of money.
"Hmph,"
Sitting next to the snot-nosed man, watching his son struggle to come up with a number larger than 'ten,' the elderly Celestial Dragon with a row of medals on his chest and a cane in hand stood up, turned to look at Roman at the back of the auction house, and pursed his lips slightly.
"2 billion!!"
A number filled with anger and dominance came from the old Celestial Dragon's mouth. Amidst everyone's 'crazy' expressions, he saw the astonished look on the young man who dared to bid.
"Did you just say... 2 billion?"
"That's right!"
The old Celestial Dragon nodded proudly, bowing to the immense wealth of the Celestial Dragons—
"Hahahaha~~~"
Laughter echoed through the auction house, leaving even Sanji and Franky bewildered. Could it be that Roman had lost his mind in a bidding war...
Robin, on the other hand, seemed thoughtful, while Nami, covering her face, had already guessed what would happen next:
"This small change,"
???
In front of everyone, including the Kid Pirates whose jaws dropped to their chests in shock, Roman snapped his fingers.
Snap,
Clang clang clang—
From his downward-facing palm, a golden waterfall poured out!
The pleasant sound of clinking filled the air, and the dazzling wealth, like a fountain, instantly piled up beside Roman, forming a 'golden mountain' as tall as he was.
What is this?????
Everyone's eyes were filled with gold, capturing their gaze! Back in Water 7, a table full of gold jewelry was worth over three billion Berries! Although these were just gold bars, the quantity...
At least tens of billions of Berries—
"Sigh, my mistake."
Roman shook his head.
"How can you buy something without showing the money first?"
He then looked at the old Celestial Dragon, whose face turned pale under the golden light.
"Alright, it's your turn to bid."
——————
PS: Ahem, don't call it cliché, this is a classic scene from "The Count of Monte Cristo"...
—————— ----
You can read 30 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu