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"Behold! A Devil Fruit—a treasure of the sea!" Auctioneer Frotoryak, his face flushed, his voice booming, launched into his sales pitch.
"Look at this magnificent specimen! A true marvel of nature—a gift from God! Who knows what incredible powers it holds? Just look at 'Flying Pirate' Shiki, 'Whitebeard' Edward Newgate—two of the most infamous pirates on the Grand Line—and those monster Vice Admirals of the Marines! All Devil Fruit users!"
"Now, let the bidding begin!" His amplified voice echoed through the auction house.
Arthur, initially intrigued by the Devil Fruit, quickly lost interest after examining it closely.
Devil Fruits were plentiful, their numbers in the thousands. Even the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia couldn't catalog them all. But this one—its abilities were well-documented.
The Paramecia-type Cage-Cage Fruit. Its user could create barriers of iron—capable of trapping anyone who touched them, forming cages, and even launching iron spears to sink ships.
A nuisance to pirates, perhaps, but useless against true powerhouses.
"Mururururu! A Devil Fruit! How exciting! And it's so pretty! It suits my tastes perfectly! Mururururu!" A strange, high-pitched laugh echoed through the hall.
Arthur, stifling a yawn, turned his head and stared—stunned by the speaker's appearance.
The woman was a grotesque caricature—heavy makeup, outlandish clothes, a beak-like nose, resembling a witch more than a pirate. While her outfit was clearly expensive, it did little to enhance her charms.
"It's her! The most notorious female pirate, the 'Crescent Moon Hunter,' Catarina Devon!"
"A hundred-million-Belly pirate!"
"Dereshishishi! Kuzan, looks like I can finally complete my mission! We can capture her and be done with it."
Whispers—filled with a mixture of fear and excitement—spread through the auction house, both in the main hall and the private boxes above, as people recognized the infamous Catarina Devon.
"My, my. Pirates are getting bolder these days. The Marines will take that fruit." Kuzan's lazy voice, amplified, cut through the murmuring crowd.
"The Marines? Are they really going to arrest someone in the lawless district?"
"Gentlemen, please! Maintain order! This is an auction house!" Frotoryak banged his gavel, his voice booming. "A Devil Fruit—a treasure of the sea! The highest bidder wins! Now, start bidding!"
The unspoken starting price for any Devil Fruit—100 million Belly.
If you got a powerful ability for that price, you were lucky. If not? Well, you could always blame your misfortune on the unpredictable nature of Devil Fruits.
Few had access to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. Most ate the fruit blindly—a gamble on their future.
"Mururururu! One hundred and thirty million Belly!" Catarina Devon's opening bid was a substantial increase. Money, for a pirate, was a renewable resource, easily plundered.
She glanced smugly towards Kuzan's private box.
Marines, unlike pirates, had limited funds. Unless they were independently wealthy, they had to rely on their salaries—and few Marine officers were rich, especially those stationed at Headquarters. Only those in the Four Blues, commanding local branches, had opportunities for…additional income.
A Marine Vice Admiral bidding on a Devil Fruit at Headquarters—it was a rare occurrence.
"Saul, go to the office and get some Belly. After we acquire this fruit, we'll arrest Catarina Devon. We'll use her treasure to cover the cost." Kuzan, rubbing his forehead, instructed Saul.
The Marines' Devil Fruit reserves were running low.
They occasionally acquired fruits during pirate arrests—the rest came from the World Government's "taxation" of member nations.
And the recent recruitment drive—what better way to reward promising recruits than with powerful Devil Fruits and legendary swords?
"Dereshishishi! I'll be right back!" Saul, his massive frame squeezing through the box's doorway, lumbered towards the Marine Headquarters offices.
"Two hundred million Belly." Kuzan, now that Saul was gone, resumed his usual languid posture, his voice a bored drawl.
He didn't mind spending this money. He'd get it back from Catarina Devon.
"Two hundred million? You think a Marine has that kind of cash?" Catarina Devon sneered, her face twisting into a grotesque grin.
"That's not your concern, pirate," Kuzan chuckled.
The other attendees watched the exchange in awkward silence, unwilling to get involved.
Arthur, bored by the proceedings, stood up, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan, still playing games, I see?"
Kuzan's languid demeanor vanished, his voice hardening, a chill emanating from him. "Arthur? Are you going to interfere in Marine business?"
The temperature around his private box plummeted. If Arthur made a move, he would fight, even if he knew he was outmatched. A Marine's pride wouldn't allow him to back down.
"Seabury D. Arthur, the rookie pirate who's been making waves this year?"
"The one who stole the Heavenly Tribute?"
"The only man to ever escape Impel Down?"
The hall erupted as people recognized Arthur, their gazes fixed on the tall, imposing figure.
Kuzan's face darkened.
Impel Down's reputation had been tarnished, and Arthur, having humiliated the World Government, was still at large.
"Interfere? No, no. I have no interest in your little squabble. I'm just saying... shouldn't you, a Marine, be arresting pirates? Or is that too much effort? How boring…" Arthur picked his ear, then turned and walked out of the auction house.
The pirates in the lawless district operated with impunity—and Sabaody Archipelago was just a stone's throw from Mary Geoise and Marine Headquarters.
The Marines' tolerance of such blatant lawlessness was baffling.
It could only mean one thing—someone within the World Government had been bribed, paid handsomely to protect this haven for criminals. And those corrupt officials had ordered the Marines to turn a blind eye to Groves 1 through 29.
"The underworld's influence has reached the highest levels of the World Government." Arthur looked towards the Red Line, his gaze cold.
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