Chapter 122 - Green Pheasant

"This is the secret treasure of the sea—the Devil Fruit!" Auctioneer Ftoriak seemed to be in a state of madness, his face flushed red, and saliva flying everywhere.

"Look at this! What a perfect creation—it's simply a masterpiece of God! No one knows what kind of power you'll gain by eating this fruit! But... the pirate admirals Golden Lion and Whitebeard are both world-famous Devil Fruit users! Even the great pirate and the three monster-level Vice Admirals of the Navy all rely on Devil Fruits!"

"Now, let the bidding officially begin!" Ftoriak's excited voice echoed from the speaker system.

When Hippolyte D. Asa saw the Devil Fruit being presented, his eyes lit up at first, but after a closer look, his interest faded.

There are countless Devil Fruits in the sea—perhaps not just tens of thousands. Even the Devil Fruit Illustrated Book doesn't record them all.

But this one was clearly described in the book.

A Paramecia-type: the Cage-Cage Fruit. Its power allows the user to transform parts of their body that are touched by others into steel locks that trap the opponent. They can also form iron railings to encircle enemies and even generate iron spears to attack ships from afar.

This power may trouble average pirates, but it's of little use to the truly strong.

"Uh-huh-huh-huh!"

After Ftoriak finished speaking, a strange woman's laughter echoed through the hall.

"I love Devil Fruits that gamble on luck the most, and this one is so beautiful—it completely suits my taste! Mulufufufufu!"

Asa yawned in boredom, turned his head—and was immediately stunned by the appearance of the woman who had laughed.

She wore heavy makeup, strange clothing, and had a prominent nose. She resembled a witch, her face extremely unsightly. Though her bizarre outfit gave off a high-end vibe, it couldn't mask her lack of charm.

"It's her! The most ferocious female pirate in history—'Crescent Moon Hunter' Katarina Devon!"

"The notorious pirate with a bounty in the hundreds of millions!"

"Thunder hee hee hee! Kuzan, looks like I can capture her and complete my mission!"

Everyone in the private boxes and seated in the hall began whispering, all abuzz over the high-profile pirate Katarina Devon.

"Ah la la... Are pirates so arrogant these days? The Navy wants that fruit," Aokiji said lazily, his calm voice silencing the room.

"Navy? You still dare to make arrests in a lawless zone?"

"Everyone, please don't break the rules! This is an auction house!" Ftoriak stroked his beard and knocked on the auction table. "The secret treasure of the sea goes to the highest bidder! Place your bids now!"

Needless to say, all Devil Fruits start at a base price of 100 million Beli—never less.

If you spend that much and acquire a useful ability, you're lucky. If not... well, you've no one to blame but yourself.

After all, very few people have actually seen the Devil Fruit Illustrated Book. Most gamble their futures when they eat one.

"Uh-huh-huh-huh! One hundred and thirty million Beli!"

Katarina Devon's first bid jumped 30 million. For pirates, money is like renewable "leeks"—they can always harvest more.

After making her bid, she glanced proudly at the box where Aokiji was seated.

The Navy differs from pirates. Besides official budgets, most purchases come out of pocket. Few Marine Headquarters officers are wealthy.

True wealth is found in the naval branches scattered across the world.

That's why it's so rare for a Marine like Aokiji to publicly bid on a Devil Fruit.

"Jaguar D. Saul, go to the Navy office area and bring back some Beli. Once we win the fruit... capture Katarina Devon and confiscate all her treasures," Aokiji said, rubbing his forehead.

The Navy's reason for purchasing Devil Fruits was simple—their reserves were nearly empty.

Fruits are occasionally obtained during pirate captures or collected from nations allied with the World Government and handed to the Navy.

Now, with a new recruitment wave underway, what better rewards for top-performing soldiers than Devil Fruits and famed swords?

"Hehehehehe! I'll be right back!" Saul said cheerfully, his massive body squeezing through the door as he ran toward the Navy area.

"Two hundred million Beli!" Aokiji lazily offered once Saul had left.

He didn't mind spending this much to outbid Katarina Devon.

"Two hundred million?! You Marines have that kind of money?" Devon's face twisted even more fiercely.

"Ah la la... You don't need to worry about that, pirate," Aokiji replied with a chuckle.

No one else dared to step into the bidding war—it was far too tense.

Asa, watching from the sidelines, felt drowsy. He rose with a yawn and a faint smirk.

"Vice Admiral Kuzan, are you really this unmotivated?"

"Asa? You're planning to interfere with Navy business?" Aokiji's usually lazy expression hardened, a frosty mist escaping his mouth.

The temperature around his box plummeted to freezing levels. If Asa made a move, Aokiji would confront him—win or lose. That was the pride of a Marine.

"Hippolyte D. Asa... That's the rookie pirate everyone's talking about!"

"The one who dared steal the gold from the heavens?"

"I heard he's the only person to escape from Impel Down!"

The hall erupted. All eyes turned to the tall figure in the front row.

Aokiji's face showed a trace of melancholy. Asa's prison break had disgraced the World Government—and yet he still roamed free.

"Interfere? No, no, I'm not interested in this sort of thing. I just want to say—if you see a pirate, arrest them. If you don't, can you still call yourself a Navy? It's laughable."

Asa picked his ear, then left the auction house without another glance.

The Lawless Zone remained unchecked. The Sabaody Archipelago sat just below Mariejois on the Red Line—practically next door to Navy Headquarters.

And yet, the Navy tolerated pirates flaunting their presence.

Clearly, some high-ranking World Government officials were bribed to protect this chaotic area.

Those same officials likely ordered the Navy to ignore Zones 1 through 29.

"Dark forces have infiltrated the World Government..." Asa murmured, staring up at the Red Line as he stepped into the open air.

(End Of Chapter)

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