The Celestial Dragon's sudden bid of 100 million beli silenced the entire room, leaving the audience in stunned disbelief. How could three little girls, barely old enough to understand their situation, be worth such an exorbitant amount? The wealthy bidders who had previously shown interest quickly abandoned their cards. Not only did the price seem outrageous, but challenging a Celestial Dragon in a bidding war was a death wish.
"100 million, once!"
"100 million, twice!"
The auctioneer, Chibis, could hardly contain his excitement. "Is there a higher bid?"
The room remained silent, tension hanging in the air like a thick fog. Suddenly, Edie rose from his seat.
"Guest, what are you..." the auctioneer stammered, momentarily confused.
All eyes turned to Edie, their curiosity piqued by his bold move.
"Who is that?"
"No idea. What's he planning to do?"
"Is he insane? Challenging a Celestial Dragon? He's going to get us all killed!"
The murmurs of the crowd grew louder as the gravity of the situation sank in. The Celestial Dragons were known for their ruthlessness; any slight against them could result in the deaths of everyone present.
Edie, however, remained unphased. He gave his order with calm precision, "Let's do it."
Initially, Edie had planned to purchase the Devil Fruit legally through the auction. But the Celestial Dragons' involvement changed everything. Now, not only did he intend to take the Devil Fruit, but he also wanted to free the three girls—Boa Hancock and her sisters, the Snake Sisters.
With the decision made, there was no need for further hesitation. "Hahaha! Lord Heavenly Father, so we're taking it by force after all?" Zishu laughed, a wild grin spreading across his face. The next moment, his expression turned deadly serious.
Boom!
A wave of Conqueror's Haki surged through the auction hall. In an instant, the oppressive energy filled the room, bringing everyone to their knees—noble or commoner, pirate or civilian, even the Celestial Dragons.
"Conqueror's Haki!" gasped one of the pirates who managed to recognize the overwhelming power before succumbing to it. But the realization came too late.
The entire crowd collapsed, eyes rolling back as they lost consciousness, one after another. The Celestial Dragons, who had been the center of attention moments before, were no exception. They slumped in their seats, powerless against the force of Zishu's Haki. As Zishu moved swiftly to Kill the Celestial Dragons, Chen Long wasted no time. He broke into the backstage area, where the auction's final item—the coveted Devil Fruit—was being kept.
By the time Edie made his way to the stage, standing before the iron cage imprisoning the three terrified Snake Sisters, Chen Long had already returned. He knelt on one knee, presenting the Devil Fruit to Edie as if it were a sacred offering.
The entire room lay silent, save for the gentle hum of Conqueror's Haki dissipating into the air. Edie gazed down at the three sisters, their wide, fearful eyes locked onto him, unsure of whether they had been saved or if they were simply exchanging one captor for another.
"Heavenly Father, this is what you wanted," Chen Long said as he handed Edie the small treasure box containing the Devil Fruit.
Inside the cage, the three Snake Sisters stared in stunned silence, their panic slowly giving way to confusion. Their minds blank, they gaped at Edie, their mouths forming small "O"s. Boa Hancock, the eldest of the three, looked up at him with a mixture of fear and awe.
Edie calmly opened the treasure box to confirm the Devil Fruit inside. Satisfied, he closed it and turned his gaze to the three sisters. "Your names?"
"Boa Hancock," the young empress, only 12 years old, replied nervously. She gestured to her sisters. "These are my sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold."
"Are you the children of the current emperor of Amazon Lily?" Edie asked, his voice smooth but commanding.
Hancock shook her head quickly. "No, I'm a warrior of the Nine Snakes... Who are you?"
"Edie, the scientist," he replied, a faint smile playing on his lips. "If I hadn't saved you, the three of you would have been purchased by the Celestial Dragons and turned into their slaves, you know?"
The three sisters shook their heads in unison, the fear of such a fate evident in their wide eyes. They had never even encountered a man before, let alone the horrors that awaited them under the Celestial Dragons.
"You'll soon realize how fortunate you are to have met me," Edie continued. "Zishu, open the cage."
Zishu immediately drew his samurai sword, its blade flashing as it sliced through the iron bars with ease. He then reached out to remove the slave collars around the sisters' necks.
The girls huddled together in terror, Hancock hurriedly warning, "These collars have bombs in them! You can't remove them without the key..."
Before she could finish, Zishu deftly removed the collar. His mastery of Armament Haki allowed him to dismantle the internal mechanisms with ease. But then, a ticking sound began to emanate from the collar.
"Throw it away, unless you want to blow yourself up," Edie instructed calmly.
Zishu grinned. "Heavenly Father, these things are interesting. Even if you damage the inside, the bomb still activates."
He tossed the broken collar into the air, where it exploded in a flash of fire and smoke.
Hancock's eyes widened in amazement. "That was incredible! How did you do that?"
Her two sisters looked at Edie with newfound hope, their fear replaced by admiration.
Two more explosions echoed through the auction hall as Zishu disposed of the remaining collars.
"The task is complete. Let's go," Edie said, turning to leave the auction venue.
The three sisters, now free, exchanged glances.
"Sister..." The two younger girls looked to Hancock for guidance.
"Let's follow him!" Hancock decided without hesitation. After the torment they had endured, Edie seemed like a savior, a Prince Charming in white, rescuing them from the darkness.
As the group walked out of the auction house, Hancock couldn't help but see Edie as her own storybook hero, with Zishu and Chen Long as his loyal knights. Her heart swelled with gratitude, knowing that their nightmare was finally over.
Zishu suddenly lifted his head, his senses tingling. "Heavenly Father, a powerful aura is heading our way—fast. Actually, it's already here."
Before anyone could react, a golden light streaked through the air, striking the trunk of a nearby Arqiman mangrove tree. The light ricocheted off the tree, hurtling straight towards the auction house. Within moments, the light coalesced into a tall figure standing just a few paces from Edie and his group.
The newcomer was clad in a yellow shirt, a white undershirt, and a black cowboy hat tilted at a jaunty angle. A cigarette dangled lazily from the corner of his mouth.
"Hey~ You guys over there... I'm just here to ask a quick question. I got a report that some Celestial Dragons were killed around here. Any chance you know anything about that?" The man spoke slowly, lighting his cigarette with a deliberate flick of his lighter.
Despite his relaxed demeanor, the air crackled with tension. Edie, recognizing the man's signature Logia ability—Sparkling Fruit—knew exactly who he was facing. This was Admiral Kizaru, one of the future Marine Admirals.
"Borusalino?" Edie greeted him with a smile, the name rolling off his tongue with an ease that belied the tension. "Aren't you just a Vice Admiral right now?"
"Um?" Kizaru paused, his cigarette halfway to his lips, taken aback by Edie's familiarity.
"The Celestial Dragons were killed, so I suppose an Admiral should handle that," Edie continued, his tone light and almost playful. "But you're a social creature, Borusalino. Why get involved in this mess?"
Kizaru remained silent, his lips pursed in a slight twist as he contemplated the odd situation.
"And by the way," Edie added, a hint of mischief in his voice, "you've got the wrong place. The attack was in Area 2, just next door."
Kizaru squinted slightly. "You're lying..." he murmured.
Edie chuckled softly. "Or maybe not."
Kizaru's eyes narrowed, the hint of a smile fading from his face. "So, it was you after all? Sorry, but I'm here on official Marine business."
Zishu interrupted with a casual but defiant tone, "Yeah, we fucking killed those pigs."
At those words, Kizaru's entire body glowed with an intense golden light, his laid-back attitude evaporating in an instant.
"Ever been hit by a lightspeed kick?" he taunted, his voice echoing in the air as he vanished, only to reappear at Edie's right side, his leg raised high, charged with blinding photons.
But for all his speed, Kizaru was too slow.
"Too slow, Marine," Zishu sneered, stepping forward with lightning-fast reflexes. His blade, cloaked in Conqueror's Haki, cut through the air with a dark, ominous energy.
"Divine Departure!" he roared, the blade slicing through the very fabric of reality.
Kizaru's eyes widened in shock, but it was too late. The black sword energy struck him before his lightspeed kick could even graze Edie.
*BTZ BAM*
The impact was catastrophic.
Kizaru was sent flying like a missile, his body hurtling through the air at a speed that outpaced sound itself. He crashed through the auction house door, soared across the entire area, and finally slammed into the massive trunk of a Yarkman mangrove, right under the sign for GROVE No. 1. The impact was so severe that the trunk splintered and shook.
"Pfft... cough, cough cough..." Blood poured from Kizaru's mouth as he hung in the tree, his body embedded like a grotesque, human-shaped ornament.
"What... a monster?" he gasped, the realization of Zishu's overwhelming power dawning on him too late.