While waiting for the auction to begin, Takumi casually glanced around and immediately spotted Monet and Buffalo sitting in the front row.
It was as he suspected—they were here for the Devil Fruit.
"What's the matter? Did you see someone you know?" Shanks asked, following Takumi's gaze to the front row. He stroked his chin, pondering, "Who are they? Do you recognize them?"
Takumi shook his head. "No."
Shanks chuckled. "If you don't know them, why are you staring? Haha, don't tell me you've got your eye on that green-haired woman? From behind, she does seem like a looker. Not bad, Takumi! I didn't know you were into this sort of thing at your age."
Takumi gave Shanks a withering look.
Just then, more people entered the underground auction hall.
It was Akainu and several plainclothes Marines.
Takumi and Shanks immediately recognized them.
Akainu and his men took seats in the row behind Takumi and Shanks, near the entrance. It didn't take long for Akainu to notice them.
Because of the dim lighting and only seeing the side of Shanks' face, Akainu couldn't fully make out his features. But the silhouette looked familiar.
"Admiral, did you spot someone suspicious?" a Marine seated next to Akainu whispered.
Akainu, still staring at Shanks, replied, "That man in the straw hat—doesn't he resemble Red-Haired Shanks?"
"Red-Haired Shanks?" The Marine blinked, then quickly looked in the direction Akainu was gazing. Upon noticing that the straw hat was different from the one on the wanted posters, he shook his head. "Admiral, that guy shouldn't be Red-Haired Shanks. The straw hat Shanks wears was once Gol D. Roger's, something extremely important to him. He wouldn't just toss it aside. The hat that man is wearing is one of the locally-made straw hats from Alabasta. We've seen many people wearing them on the way here, and it's not the same style as Shanks'."
"Is that so?" Akainu hadn't paid much attention to the local fashion, so he reluctantly pulled his gaze away from Shanks.
Takumi and Shanks had, of course, sensed Akainu's attention.
Takumi wasn't too concerned; Akainu didn't know who he was anyway.
Shanks, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief once Akainu looked away. "Phew, good thing he didn't recognize me… Takumi, do you know who that big guy sitting behind us is?"
Takumi: "…"
Of course, I know.
In a hushed voice, Shanks continued, "That's Admiral Akainu Sakazuki, a real powerhouse. If he latches onto us, we're in for some serious trouble."
Takumi gave Shanks a side-eye.
You're the future Yonko. Even ten years ago, you could go toe-to-toe with Akainu. Are you really that scared?
But avoiding trouble did make sense.
"Let's just keep a low profile and avoid drawing his attention," Shanks whispered.
Takumi replied flatly, "Just keep your mouth shut."
Shanks blinked, then stifled a laugh, covering his mouth with his hand.
Takumi sighed internally.
This guy really does laugh a lot…
No wonder Luffy picked up so many habits from him…
Before long, a tall, thin man with a goatee and a black top hat stepped onto the auction stage.
After a few brief introductory remarks, the auction officially began.
Two bikini-clad women began bringing out the items to be auctioned, one by one.
The early items were various jewels and treasures supposedly found in ancient ruins, and they were all bought by locals from Alabasta.
But an hour later, the real event began.
The goateed man's voice grew more excited as he introduced the highlight of the auction: "I'm sure you've all heard of the legendary treasures of the sea known as Devil Fruits. Though consuming a Devil Fruit turns you into a pariah of the sea, cursed to never swim again, each one grants the eater extraordinary powers. The market value of a Devil Fruit can exceed 100 million Beli. Today, we're auctioning off one such treasure—a Logia-type Devil Fruit. Bring out the item!"
As soon as he finished, the two bikini-clad women wheeled out a small wooden box on a cart and brought it to the goateed man's side.
The audience collectively held their breath, eyes glued to the box.
With a sly grin, the goateed man lifted the box's lid, revealing a round, orange-red fruit covered in small flame-like swirls, with a green stem that curled into a spiral at one end and flickered like a flame at the other.
Takumi's eyes narrowed as he looked at the Devil Fruit inside the box.
He knew without a doubt that this was the Flame-Flame Fruit—the very one that would one day be eaten by Luffy's brother, Ace, the son of Gol D. Roger.
As far as he remembered, Ace was supposed to have found the Flame-Flame Fruit on some nameless island…
So why was it here in Alabasta?
"Oh? The Flame-Flame Fruit," Shanks muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he gazed at the fruit that was now the focus of the room's attention.
Seeing the eager faces in the audience, the goateed man continued, "I won't waste time with more details. The starting price for this Devil Fruit is 100 million Beli, with bids increasing in increments of 10 million. Let the auction begin!"
Immediately, hands began shooting up around the room as people shouted their bids.
The price climbed steadily until an elderly man in the crowd raised it to 1 billion, at which point the bidding stalled.
With a gleeful smile, the goateed man said, "One billion! The bid is now one billion! Any further offers? If not, this Devil Fruit will soon be…"
Before he could finish, Buffalo, sitting in the front row, raised his hand. "1.5 billion."
"One, one and a half billion?" The goateed man was taken aback. "An increase of 500 million all at once?"
Buffalo grinned. "Yihihi! That's right, a half-billion bump. Anyone want to top that?"
"What's with this guy?"
"Does he have money to burn? Seriously, who bids like that?"
Murmurs of discontent spread through the crowd.
The elderly man who had bid 1 billion gave Buffalo a long, hard look, mentally tallying his own wealth, and then silently decided to bow out.
"Alright! One and a half billion! Any further bids?" The goateed man could hardly contain his glee. For auctioneers, the higher the bids, the better their payday.
"Who are those two?" Akainu asked, staring at Monet and Buffalo.
The Marine beside him quickly pulled out a small notebook and began flipping through it. He couldn't find anything on Monet, but he did find information on Buffalo.
"Sir, I don't know about the woman, but the fat man is part of the Donquixote Family."
"Donquixote?" Akainu sneered. "That pirate family?"
"Yes, sir!"
Akainu's sneer deepened. "Perfect. Once we secure the Flame-Flame Fruit, we'll take those two in."
"But sir, we're not sure if the woman is part of the Donquixote Family," the Marine pointed out.
"What's there to be sure about? They're sitting together, so they're clearly in cahoots. We'll take them both," Akainu replied coldly.
When the goateed man called out for final bids, Akainu raised his hand and declared, "2 billion!"
******
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