Chapter 410

"The item for today's auction is a Celestial Dragon. The starting price… one billion Berries! Each bid must increase by at least one Devil Fruit. Now, let the auction begin."

Hui's voice rang out clear and loud.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot to mention one more rule," he added, his tone casual, almost playful. "If no one places a bid within three minutes, the auction will be declared over. And as for this unsold item…"

His eyes glinted as he glanced at Saint Mosankro. "I'll have no choice but to send him to the next world."

The crowd erupted into chaos.

This guy was seriously auctioning off a Celestial Dragon!

For countless people, this scene shattered their entire worldview, leaving their minds in complete disarray.

BANG!

In a lavish room within Mary Geoise, Saint Sorokari slammed his hand down, flipping over a massive table. His fingers clenched the Den Den Mushi so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and his eyes burned with fury.

"DAMN THE MARINES AND THE WORLD GOVERNMENT! WHY HAVEN'T THEY SAVED MY SON YET?!"

He roared in outrage, pacing back and forth like a caged beast.

After venting his anger, Sorokari gritted his teeth and barked into the Den Den Mushi, "One billion Berries! PLACE THE BID!"

Back at the Sabaody Archipelago, a voice echoed from a Den Den Mushi.

"We bid one billion Berries! Release Saint Mosankro immediately!"

The entire plaza fell into stunned silence.

The idea of auctioning a Celestial Dragon had already been enough to shatter everyone's worldview. But now… it seemed like the auction might actually succeed. This was beyond comprehension, it was the stuff of legends!

"Bastard!"

Far from ordinary spectators, the Five Elders, watching the event unfold through the Den Den Mushi, were left dumbfounded by this idiotic move from their so-called ally.

The auctioning of a Celestial Dragon was something the Five Elders had never imagined could happen. When the incident first broke out, they failed to react swiftly and decisively, which had led to the mess they were now facing.

But it wasn't too late to fix it. All they needed to do was unleash overwhelming force in front of the gathered crowd, slaughter that arrogant brat and everyone associated with him. That would set things right.

It would serve as a clear, undeniable message: The Celestial Dragons are untouchable. The World Government is not to be challenged.

But instead… that idiot Sorokari had actually placed a bid.

If the Celestial Dragon were successfully auctioned, no matter what happened to the auctioneer afterward, it would send shockwaves across the world.

Even if they killed that young man right in front of everyone, pirates from all over the world would begin to harbor dangerous thoughts.

And those thoughts… would be like sparks in a dry field, destined to ignite a wildfire.

Once the precedent was set, reckless individuals from across the world would dare to strike at the Celestial Dragons again.

This was absolutely not the outcome the Five Elders wanted.

Sure enough, the people in the plaza felt an odd shift in their hearts when they heard someone had actually placed a bid.

So… Celestial Dragons can be auctioned off after all?

That thought crept into the minds of countless individuals.

Hui grinned as he turned toward the bidder. "One billion Berries, going once! Anyone willing to offer more?"

The plaza was silent.

Despite Hui's taunts, no one else dared to speak.

Auctioning a Celestial Dragon… even though it was happening right before their eyes, aside from Sorokari's people, no one else dared to place a bid.

"Two billion Berries and one Devil Fruit."

A calm, unhurried voice suddenly rang out, cutting through the tension like a knife. It was like a thunderclap in broad daylight, leaving everyone stunned and pale.

Someone else actually dared to bid?

Are they looking to die?

But when they turned to look at the person who had placed the bid… their expressions became even more bizarre.

Because the one who had just increased the bid was… Hui himself.

He had kidnapped the Celestial Dragon.

He was auctioning off the Celestial Dragon.

And now… he was bidding on the Celestial Dragon.

This level of shamelessness left everyone completely speechless.

"Two billion Berries and one Devil Fruit! Any higher bids?" Hui's grin widened, his voice filled with malicious glee. "Oh, and if anyone wants to raise the bid to ten Devil Fruits, I'll give you a 50% discount! Just one billion Berries and five Devil Fruits to take this Celestial Dragon home! A rare opportunity, don't miss out!"

Saint Mosankro: "...⊙_⊙..."

Saint Sorokari: "...—..."

The people of the Sabaody Archipelago: "(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻  what kind of nonsensical stunt is this???!!!"

At that moment, everyone's hearts were a tangled mess.

You can auction things like this?

He's just straight-up putting a price tag on it now!

This is outright extortion!

Who would've thought that someone would have the guts to extort a Celestial Dragon like this?

"BASTARD!!!"

Back in Mary Geoise, Saint Sorokari was foaming with rage.

"One billion Berries and five Devil Fruits?! Why don't you just come rob me directly?!"

Hmm… Though this whole situation wasn't much different from outright robbery, doing something like this in front of the entire world, where was the dignity in that?

But alas, Saint Sorokari could only grit his teeth and endure it.

"Place the bid!" he barked furiously.

Devil Fruits might be rare treasures to others, but to the Celestial Dragons, they were just another commodity.

Truth be told, for him, offering five Devil Fruits was far easier than coughing up an extra billion Berries.

Back in the Grand Plaza, just over a minute had passed when the previous bidder's voice rang out again.

"One billion Berries and ten Devil Fruits! We accept the terms!"

The plaza exploded into chaos once more.

They actually placed the bid.

Faced with this blatant extortion by the young man, the Celestial Dragons had backed down.

And more shockingly, this unprecedented, world-shaking auction of a Celestial Dragon had succeeded!

"…"

Some people stood with their mouths agape, wanting to say something but unable to form the words. Their minds were a jumbled mess, completely at a loss for how to process what had just happened.

Hearing the bid, Hui grinned.

"Excellent! One billion Berries and ten Devil Fruits—sold. Now…"

He glanced around at the sea of people, his expression laced with disdain.

"…bring me my payment."

"Celestial Dragons… I guess they really can be auctioned off," Hui quipped sarcastically, his voice dripping with disdain. "And they're pretty valuable too. I suppose it's only fitting, considering they're the 'descendants of the creators.'"

His words struck a chord with many in the crowd, leaving them deep in thought. But for the Five Elders, his words were like a slap to the face. Their expressions darkened instantly.

"You'll get what you asked for! Now release Saint Mosankro!"

The bidder from earlier returned, followed by several individuals carrying various strange-looking fruits.

"One billion Berries is a hefty sum. It's difficult to gather that much on short notice. But here are the ten Devil Fruits. We hope you'll release Saint Mosankro now."

Hui had wondered how they'd managed to come witht the money so quickly. But upon hearing they were bidding on tab, it all made sense.

Still, that was fine by him.

Between Berries and Devil Fruits, he'd choose the Devil Fruits without hesitation.

"Oh? That's not going to work," Hui replied, shaking his head. "Ten fruits alone isn't enough. Fifteen, and I might consider it."

"Don't push your luck!" the man snapped, unable to hold back his frustration.

Shlick!

Another blade sank into Saint Mosankro's body. 

Hui tilted his head, feigning confusion.

"What was that you just said?" he asked, his voice calm but filled with menace.

"You…!!!"

The man was fuming, his face red with anger, but he didn't dare retaliate.

"Fine! Fifteen it is!"

With that, he stormed off to gather the rest.

In just a minute or two, he returned again.

This time, even more people followed him, each holding Devil Fruits.

Hui was surprised. That was fast.

In such a short time, they'd managed to produce so many Devil Fruits.

It made him wonder if these fruits were even real.

But soon enough, his doubts were cleared.

Because he noticed someone, a person whose body still radiated faint spatial fluctuations.

It was clear this individual possessed a spatial-type Devil Fruit, though Hui wasn't sure of the specifics.

"These are the Devil Fruits you wanted. Now release Saint Mosankro!"

The man placed one Devil Fruit on the ground, staring directly at Hui.

Naturally, he wasn't about to hand over all the Devil Fruits at once. He intended to give one first, forcing Hui to uphold his end of the deal.

Mochizuki Hui's lips curled into a smile as he glanced at the fruit on the ground, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

Devil Fruits… right into my hands.

As expected, Celestial Dragons were indeed useful.

"Very well," Hui said, his voice calm and steady. "Let's do this the proper way—an even exchange."

"Fine by me."

The man let out a sigh of relief and waved his hand. The people behind him began to bring forward the Devil Fruits, one by one.

Leading them was the man still radiating the faint spatial energy.

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