When Dragon heard Brook's announcements, his mind moved faster than his expression.
If this momentum continued, it would only take a few years for the newborn New Navy to stand toe to toe with Marineford.
And once that happened, Brook's Hell Guild could finally shift from pressing the World Government everywhere to doing something far more direct, surrounding Imu and the Five Elders and forcing a decisive end.
A war of the century was no longer some distant prophecy.
It was approaching.
Dragon's gaze drifted across the viewing platform.
Every one of those "junior brothers and sisters" was frighteningly strong. The new generation under the Universal Government was countless times more formidable than the World Government's heirs.
It put the Revolutionary Army in an awkward position.
The Celestial Dragon regime Dragon had sworn to overthrow had already been beaten into ruins by Brook. The number of Celestial Dragons had plummeted, their power base shattered by "necessary sacrifices."
At this point, Dragon could not help but consider a thought that would have been unthinkable years ago.
Should the Revolutionary Army simply merge into the Universal Government?
Would they even be needed in the next phase of the war?
While Dragon calculated the future, the underground dark forces were calculating survival.
If Sakazuki, an iron blood soldier who did not care for "unspoken rules," truly rose to the top, what would happen to the gray businesses that still existed beneath Brook's expanding order?
Would Sakazuki refuse to give face to anyone and start carving up the underworld as if it were a battlefield?
Especially the old families that had not fully surrendered.
The Lu family and the Drug family.
The Umi family led by Shipping King Umit, and the Moore family led by Thomas, had already been "whitewashed" into official forces under the Universal Government. One held the transportation lifeline, the other held news and intelligence.
Even Giberson, Known as "The Concealer" and emperor of the warehousing world that Brook cultivated later, had accepted the Universal Government's legalization and obeyed Brook completely.
But the old dark families were different.
Lu Feld and Drug Peclo had cooperated deeply with the Hell Guild. They had even surrendered more than half their profits.
Yet they remained rooted in darkness, stubbornly protecting their independence.
And now, both of them could feel the message Brook was sending.
One controlled underground finance.
The other ruled the assassin market, and even the trafficking of humans and body parts.
Under the policies of the Universal Government, those businesses were unacceptable.
They would have to find a new balance, a safe position between their family legacies and the expanding legal order of the Universal Government.
Otherwise, they could truly be bitten by the mad dog named Akainu Sakazuki, while Brook calmly held the leash from behind.
Brook wore a pleasant smile, but the intent behind it was sharp.
He was already ready to turn the blade on those two families.
In the past, he had not had the time to deal with them, so their independence remained.
But now, if they refused the "whitewashing" of the Universal Government, it would become embarrassing for everyone involved.
At the very least, they needed to look clean on the surface and wrap themselves in legality and compliance.
And more importantly, they could not touch Brook's bottom line.
There had to be standards and limits. Profit could not come from the worst kind of filth.
If they refused to change, Brook would not hesitate to uproot them and cultivate new red families to replace their positions.
After all, with the New World now connected fully to the West Sea and North Sea through seastone battleships, there were countless new ways to make money.
If Lu Feld and Drug Peclo had any sense, they would pivot, instead of clinging to usury and trafficking like drowned men gripping broken planks.
…
Brook's meaning had been delivered.
Whether those two dark emperors, and certain kings, understood it depended on their wisdom.
From this moment on, Akainu Sakazuki would become Brook's sharp blade, the one used to carve away "old acquaintances" and "veterans" who refused to adapt.
Shiki and Newgate carried too much pirate spirit. They valued loyalty and old bonds, and might tolerate deliberate wrongdoing out of misplaced sentiment.
But if the Universal Government wanted sustainable growth, it needed order.
It needed soldiers.
People like Tsuru, and people like Sakazuki.
Conquering the world and governing it were two entirely different wars.
Newgate and Kaido were perfect for seizing territory through blood and thunder.
But when it came to ruling vast lands, they were simply not built for it.
…
Amid the noise and flattery, the giants on the viewing platform set aside their discussions about the West Sea and North Sea and returned their attention to the arena.
Bin had already fallen to Kurt Wagner.
Now Hawkeye Mihawk was facing Rayleigh.
Mihawk could match Rayleigh in pure sword skill now. Blade for blade, his level was no longer far behind.
But Rayleigh's Haki was monstrous.
His sword carried the weight of experience and dominance, and Mihawk could only be suppressed by that overwhelming pressure.
Even so, Mihawk had achieved his goal.
He had crossed swords with an old legend of the New World.
He would continue his journey, one challenge at a time, climbing toward the throne of the world's greatest swordsman.
In the end, Bartholomew Kuma defeated Byrnndi World and reached the final.
But even Kuma was not enough.
Rayleigh, wielding advanced power in all three types of Haki, shut him down and claimed the pure gold ring.
The underground emperors and the kings of the core nations could only swallow their frustration.
It was obvious Brook had opened the back door for Rayleigh.
They had no choice but to abandon that ring and focus on the other two, the pure gold rings tied to highest transaction volume, and the ring reserved for the auction finale.
When the tournament ended, Antonio brought over a list of standout performers.
There were unknown bounty hunters, hidden pirate masters who had stayed underground for years, and other strong fighters who had finally revealed themselves.
But none of the names were truly special.
Brook glanced once, then handed it back.
"Recruit them."
He had no time for more.
He was heading to the auction.
That was the real battlefield tonight.
How many priceless Devil Fruits would finally crawl out of hiding?
To raise the temperature, Brook had also placed several great swords on the block, a batch of Pacifistas, dozens of artificial Devil Fruits, and multiple Zoan type Devil Fruit weapons.
He wanted the whales to open their mouths wider.
And countless strong people, smelling blood in the water, consigned rare items of their own, hoping this grand stage would sell them for sky high prices.
Every auction item that passed authentication was compiled into a booklet so bidders could inspect the prizes in advance.
As for anything the Hell Guild truly wanted, it had already been bought out or intercepted quietly before it ever reached the floor.
One group after another poured into the massive auction hall, a venue built to hold tens of thousands.
Den Den Mushi screens the size of buildings covered the venue, broadcasting every item live so even those seated far away could see each treasure clearly.
Every qualified bidder received a bidding device developed by Dr. Vegapunk, allowing them to place bids instantly, at any time.
As long as they had enough Berries.
The earlier items were mostly consignments from powerful people, but they did not truly attract the eyes of the biggest players.
Most of the giants were waiting for the finale, the pure gold ring.
They only occasionally lifted a hand for something they liked.
Meanwhile, the smaller bidders who actually won those early lots were practically shaking with excitement.
Their names flashed on the giant screens.
They were being seen.
In an auction that gathered monsters and kings from across the world, that alone was enough to make people feel like they had stepped into history.
-------------
Inside a VIP room at the auction house, Lu Feld clenched his cigar between his teeth, his expression shifting from stormy to bright in the span of a breath.
He understood Brook's warning perfectly. The day the Universal Government was founded, Lu Feld had already foreseen that a reckoning like this would eventually arrive.
But asking the Lu family to let their underground financial empire be "whitewashed" by the Universal Government, to drag everything into the light, and to expose every secret for Brook to inspect was simply too much.
They were a dark family with hundreds of years of roots.
They had buried more skeletons than most kingdoms had citizens.
If Brook had not appeared like a time traveling anomaly, the illegal research group MADS, formed around Vegapunk, would have been funded by Lu Feld and entangled in countless forbidden experiments.
In the war for Uranus fragments, the Lu family had also taken part, even briefly obtaining fragments themselves. The moment they did, they hired illegal scientists to research them at top speed, then hid the results from the Hell Pirates.
And that was only the surface.
Every year, countless civilians and weaklings were crushed by the Lu family's usury, driven to death, forced into prostitution, or sold into slavery. In the underground world, those things were as ordinary as breathing. That was the New World's norm.
But now Brook had unified the New World and built this damned Universal Government, and the old norms no longer fit.
To be honest, Lu Feld had once wished Brook never appeared at all. If the New World had stayed in chaos, with forces rising and falling like waves, the Lu family would still sit above the underground sea as a dark emperor, controlling the financial lifeblood.
Pirate overlords were reckless brutes who only knew how to swing their fists. They lacked business sense. The true order of the shadows had always been maintained by men like Lu Feld.
Lu Feld narrowed his eyes and bit down on the cigar.
It seemed he would have to quietly contact the World Government and prepare backup plans. If that failed, he would calculate how much it would cost to preserve the Lu family's independence.
But for now, he had a more urgent priority.
The pure gold ring.
He would not allow that immortal treasure to fall into anyone else's hands.
As the auction continued, item after item sold, and the atmosphere in the hall grew hotter and louder.
The bidding ran from morning into night, and even after darkness fell, the auction hall blazed with light like a festival city. The giants watching from across the world could feel it in their bones.
The show was about to begin.
The grand finale, the pure gold ring, was coming.
Every major force was already prepared, top level Devil Fruits in hand, waiting to throw them onto the table.
And then, just as Brook stepped onto the auction stage to personally present the ring, a pirate suddenly charged up in front of everyone.
"Lord Brook! I have the Op Op Fruit! I want the pure gold ring and the one billion Berries you promised for it! And I want to become a true member of the Hell Guild!"
Dies Barrels looked up and saw several Hell Guild cadres rushing toward him, their eyes sharp enough to kill.
His face went white.
He instantly yanked out a red, heart shaped Devil Fruit and clutched it with both hands. If anything went wrong, he would destroy it on the spot.
"Yohohoho! Don't be nervous. Step back."
Brook waved the cadres away with a casual hand, laughing as if this were part of the program.
He had not expected such a surprise before the ring auction even began.
Below the stage, countless eyes locked onto the fruit in Barrels's hands, another legendary treasure tied to immortality.
Doflamingo's stare gleamed, along with the hidden CP agents scattered among the guests.
But their excitement froze almost immediately.
The fruit was already in Brook's territory, in Brook's hands.
How could it possibly become theirs?
A Devil Fruit with a five billion Berries reward from the World Government had been delivered straight to Brook by an unknown nobody.
Fate could be cruel like that.
"I accept your request," Brook said calmly. "From this day on, you are a member of the Hell Guild. We can also accept one of your descendants as a student. Now, hand over the Op Op Fruit."
Brook's refusal was impossible anyway. This auction was being broadcast live to the world. He could not do something as crude as killing the man and stealing the prize, not in front of so many eyes.
In fact, he wanted to make a statement.
A public, righteous move.
A clear path.
A way for the underground dark emperors and certain brutal kings to see an exit.
Bring something valuable, create a connection, and at least obtain a thread of relationship, even if it was only becoming a cheap student of Brook's side. It meant a chance to grow up alongside princes and princesses, and a new layer of protection.
In his VIP room, Lu Feld stared greedily at the Op Op Fruit, then thought about Brook's words.
Maybe he could learn from this nobody.
If offering a treasure could preserve the Lu family's independence, then perhaps there was still a way forward.
Dies Barrels trembled with excitement as he presented the Op Op Fruit to Brook.
From now on, he could walk the New World wearing the Hell Guild's name like armor.
He would have a pure gold ring that granted immortality.
He would have one billion Berries.
Endless wealth and glory.
A greedy thought flashed through his mind.
If Brook rewarded him with an island to govern, that would be perfect.
As an official member of the Hell Guild, owning territory was not unreasonable, right?
But before Barrels could say another word, he was politely, firmly escorted away.
Brook had no intention of wasting the time of so many monsters and kings. Too many powerful eyes were already burning with envy as they watched him accept the Op Op Fruit.
Brook lifted the red fruit slightly, letting its shape show clearly under the lights.
"Apologies, everyone. A small incident," he said, smiling. "But I am very pleased with this unexpected gift."
Then he took out a pure gold ring, tossed it lightly in his hand, and let the hall's hunger rise with every glint.
"Now, show me your strength and your sincerity. Win this pure gold ring."
His smile sharpened.
"And for everyone's protection, we will not disclose the final transaction details. The one who obtains a pure gold ring will become a target for countless greedy eyes, especially the World Government and the Celestial Dragons."
The hall erupted again, jealousy thick as smoke.
Some ruthless figures even shifted their gaze away from Brook and toward Barrels's retreating back.
A weak nobody was easier prey.
If they could take the ring from him later, it would be far simpler than trying to snatch it from Brook.
Brook's voice rose, cutting through the noise.
"Next is anonymous bidding. Use your bidding device to upload the name or appearance of the Devil Fruit you are offering!"
Every qualified bidder had an independent VIP room.
Even if they failed, the world would never know which top level Devil Fruit they possessed.
.....
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