Chapter 390 - The Patron Behind the Celestial Dragons

Sixty million Belli was no small sum. Even those pirates and wealthy individuals who had initially intended to join in had now withdrawn, instead watching Luffy and the others put on their spectacle.

While Luffy and his fellow captains continued their bidding war with enthusiasm, they seemed to forget one crucial detail. They weren't the only ones in the auction house—there were others here, like the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons.

Would the Celestial Dragons, with their haughty attitudes, simply let a few so-called lowlife pirates outbid them? If they allowed mere "commoners" to take away something they wanted, how could they ever maintain their prestige in Mariejois? They'd be seen as a disgrace among the other noble families.

"One hundred million Belli!" Charlos Saint raised one finger and shouted, sneering as he glanced at the three captains already in a heated fight. If you're going to bid, then bid big. Adding a mere ten million Belli each time? What small-minded behavior.

Charloss Saint didn't care much about Rayleigh himself—the old man was just fodder in his eyes. But the pride of the Celestial Dragons could not be challenged. The actions of Luffy, Kid, and Law had clearly enraged him. So now, even though Rayleigh was just some old drunk, Charlos would do whatever it took to buy him, if only to show these pirates where they stood.

To prove that, no matter how "super" they thought they were, these upstart pirates were just ants compared to the World Nobles.

With the Celestial Dragons joining the fray, Law immediately wanted to back out. Even Kid, arrogant as he was, knew how much trouble it would be to provoke a Celestial Dragon on this island, and his face twisted in frustration.

"One hundred and ten million Belli!" Luffy shouted with his usual carefree expression.

Both Kid and Law stared at him, utterly stunned.

"Straw Hat, are you insane? Do you realize you're provoking a Celestial Dragon?" Law snapped. Having spent his early years among the Donquixote Family, he knew better than most just how troublesome the Celestial Dragons could be.

The Donquixote Family was powerful, but even then, Doflamingo often had to watch his steps around the Celestial Dragons.

"I don't care if they're Celestial Dragons or Celestial Worms," Luffy said with a shrug. "That old man is Franky's friend, so we're going to save him. Besides, he's supposed to coat our ship for us."

The term "Celestial Dragon" seemed vaguely familiar to Luffy, but expecting him to remember something he had no personal connection with was a tall order. To him, Franky's earlier warnings had already been tossed to the back of his mind, and even if he did remember, it wouldn't have changed his decision.

"Turns out he's just a complete idiot!" Kid muttered in disgust, his disdain palpable. He couldn't believe he had considered such a simple-minded guy as his competition.

"If you're scared, you can back out," Luffy said, "because from here on out, it's a match between my crew and that Celestial Worm."

"Who're you calling scared?!" Kid and Law shouted in unison, clearly bristling at Luffy's taunt.

It was obvious, even if Luffy hadn't intended it, that his words were a provocation. And for someone like Kid, whose pride often dictated his actions, it was enough to get him fired up again.

Kid and Law had no intention of angering the Celestial Dragons, but if they backed down now, wouldn't that be the same as admitting they were afraid? That they weren't as brave as Straw Hat Luffy?

"One hundred and twenty million Belli!" they both shouted almost simultaneously.

Their antics, however, had finally managed to draw some real ire from those around them. Charlos Saint's face, visible beneath his bubble helmet, had turned an alarming shade of red, and even his dangling snot had almost been forgotten in his rage.

If Luffy and the others had simply overlooked the fact that he was a Celestial Dragon, Charlos might have ignored their actions. But now, after making such a high-profile bid, these pirates still dared to challenge him, even raising the stakes further? That was nothing less than trampling on the dignity of the Celestial Dragons.

Charlos Saint didn't bother bidding any higher. Instead, consumed by anger, he pulled out his pistol, immediately deciding to take action.

"You lowly scum, all of you should just die!"

In most parts of Sabaody Archipelago, using weapons was strictly prohibited, and doing so would attract the Marines. Moreover, this auction house was backed by a major underworld player, and anyone causing trouble here would undoubtedly earn the wrath of Donquixote Doflamingo, the infamous underworld broker known as "Joker."

But those rules applied only to ordinary people. When it came to the Celestial Dragons, no such restrictions existed. Charlos Saint pulled out his gun and fired several shots in the direction of the three captains.

He assumed, as always, that the rebellious peasants would soon fall before his shots, their bodies collapsing in pools of blood.

But not this time.

The bullets aimed at Luffy simply bounced off his rubbery body, rebounding harmlessly. The ones fired at Law disappeared into thin air, swallowed by his "Room" ability and reappearing somewhere else. As for Kid, the bullets stopped mid-air, seemingly losing all momentum and floating under the influence of magnetic purple sparks.

Against the three pirate captains, all with bounties averaging nearly three hundred million Belli, regular bullets did nothing.

Had the bullets been made of seastone, perhaps they would have posed some threat. But the ammunition Charlos Saint carried was meant for commoners. Using seastone bullets was costly, and Charlos had never bothered to carry such rare ammunition just to shoot peasants.

Seeing that the pirates had come out unscathed, Charlos realized they must all be Devil Fruit users. Slowly, he took out a seastone bullet, starting to reload his weapon.

Charloss moved as if he were untouchable because, in his mind, he was. No one would dare lay a hand on a World Noble. People might run or beg for mercy, but they would never dare fight back. That's why he reloaded his gun without a care in the world.

Unfortunately for him, Charlos had made a terrible miscalculation. A certain straw-hatted boy had no clue who or what a Celestial Dragon even was.

Seeing Charlos fire at him, Luffy took it as a personal challenge. With a swift motion, he disappeared from his spot and appeared in front of the noble, punching him and sending him flying across the room.

Unlike in the original timeline, Luffy wasn't furious when he struck, so Charlos wasn't fatally injured. He was merely sent crashing several meters away. Still, that single punch was enough to escalate the situation.

Once everyone realized what had just happened, panic spread like wildfire throughout the auction house. People began scrambling for the exits like frightened birds.

A Celestial Dragon had been punched. This place—no, this entire island was no longer safe to stay on. It wouldn't be long before the Marines descended on them, treating everyone as accomplices.

"Are you completely insane?!"

"The rumors were right—Straw Hat Luffy really is as reckless as they say. No, this is even worse than what I'd heard."

Kid and Law's faces were both grim. They had wanted to hit the Celestial Dragon who had shot at them, too, but the threat of an Admiral coming to the island had kept them from acting on impulse.

They had exercised restraint, but apparently, the idiot standing next to them didn't know the meaning of the word.

"Looks like I arrived a bit late. Missed out on the good part, didn't I?" A voice cut through the tension, causing everyone to turn. "But just a friendly reminder, if you lot keep standing around arguing, the Marines are gonna have you all surrounded real soon. I saw quite a number of them gathering on my way here."

It was Wood, standing there with Robin and his newest recruit, Perona. He had come to Sabaody to witness the drama unfolding, but he'd arrived just a little too late. Charlos was already down, his face swollen like a pig's from the beating he had received.

The Marines, having understood the gravity of the situation, were already gathering outside. They knew the consequences would be severe if anything happened to a Celestial Dragon.

"Wood?! The Marine defector Wood? What are you doing here?"

Everyone—the Straw Hats, Kid, Law, and even Rayleigh—looked genuinely surprised to see Wood standing there. Rayleigh was one thing—he was a relic from the past, long retired. But Wood was different; he was a force to be reckoned with, one of the current powers of the sea. Kid and Law couldn't understand why someone of his stature would show up in a place like this.

"Would you believe me if I said I was just passing by?" Wood said with a grin.

Luffy punching a Celestial Dragon, Admiral Kizaru unleashing his wrath on the Supernovas—with so much chaos about to happen, Wood couldn't resist the temptation to come and see it all firsthand. But much to his disappointment, by the time he got there, Charlos had already been laid out flat.

He couldn't help but wonder what exactly had led to this mess. Hachi and Camie were still on Dark Abyss Island, so why had Luffy and his crew ended up brawling with a Celestial Dragon?

"Ah, perfect timing, Mister Wood!" a voice called out, sounding unexpectedly joyful. Everyone turned to see a figure approaching, her bubble helmet reflecting the lights of the auction house. Recognizing Wood, it wasn't just the pirates—even one of the Celestial Dragons knew who he was.

"Please, Wood, help us out and execute these lowly scum who dared to defy the Rozwad family. You'll be handsomely rewarded, I assure you."

The woman who spoke was Lulietta Miyou Rozwad, daughter of Rozwad Saint and younger sister of Charlos Saint—a member of the World Nobles.

The reason she knew Wood was simple: Wood and the "Golden Emperor" Tezzoro had business dealings with many of the so-called "World Nobles." In reality, many of them were financially dependent on these two men.

Even among the Celestial Dragons, there were distinctions between families, and while they all acted superior in front of ordinary people, there was still a hierarchy among themselves.

They were all "descendants of the creators," but since their statuses were essentially equal, the way to establish higher social standing came from other means—such as financial power or influence.

Most of the Celestial Dragons were parasites, living off of the "Heavenly Tribute" paid by the nations under their control. But if everyone received the same tribute, how could any one family distinguish itself?

This was why many Celestial Dragon families sought "external support"—connections that provided them wealth, power, and influence in exchange for political favors. Just as Doflamingo had powerful allies within the World Government, there were plenty of World Nobles who had their own arrangements.

Without a doubt, Tezzoro, the so-called richest man alive, and Wood, who held a monopoly on the world's arms trade, were prime candidates for such alliances. Between the two of them, they had wealth, connections, and military power—everything that certain Celestial Dragons craved.

The Rozwad family had become one of Wood and Tezzoro's allies, and in exchange for more support, they had even offered to make Wood a Celestial Dragon himself. It would be simple—he only needed to marry their eldest daughter, Lulietta, and take on the Rozwad name.

Of course, Wood had refused. It wasn't that seventeen-year-old Lulietta was unattractive—on the contrary, she was rather striking—but Wood had no interest in becoming one of those pompous buffoons waddling around in a bloated bubble suit.

Besides, it was clear as day that the Celestial Dragons were the villains of this world. Getting chummy with them would only make him a target for the protagonists and the Revolutionary Army. There was no way he was about to sign up for that kind of trouble.