The people below could hardly believe their ears. Was there really such a technique in this world? Even if it did exist, how could it possibly appear in a place like this auction house?
"…A third of the complete technique!"
When Tokefi finally finished his sentence, the crowd visibly relaxed. Even if it was just a part, it was still terrifying in its implications.
Some people, after hearing this, glanced up at the VIP boxes. Their expressions shifted, and they slowly stood up and began to leave the auction quietly.
They weren't the only ones.
In one of the private boxes, a bespectacled woman casually glanced at the departing pirates and merchants. She didn't bother stopping them. Their real targets were in the boxes—or perhaps just one specific person.
Only the heavens knew how much effort CP (Cipher Pol) had put in to track their target. They had practically investigated every single influential family in the first half of the Grand Line.
Tokefi took out a small box from his robes. He didn't dare open it, worried that whatever was inside might be something beyond his ability to comprehend. He still wanted to live a little longer.
He carefully placed the box on the auction platform.
"Starting bid: No reserve!"
Then, in the blink of an eye, he and fifty employees slipped away with the pre-arranged payment. The rest was left for Weiss to handle.
…
After all, one of Weiss's reasons for being here was to root out the rat spreading rumors behind the scenes.
Taking a sip of wine, he strapped his longsword to his waist, then shattered the glass window and leapt out.
The sudden noise startled the remaining pirates and merchants below—they thought someone was trying to rob the place. When they saw it was Weiss, they breathed a sigh of relief. At least for now, there wouldn't be a fight.
He weighed the box in his hand, and everyone's eyes followed its motion—up and down, up and down—secretly hoping it would fall and spill whatever information it held.
"Place your bids," Weiss said, leaning casually on the auction table as if trying to make himself more comfortable.
No one spoke. The ones below were just watching the show; those in the boxes were thinking hard about whether or not to make a bid. After all, they knew CP's movements couldn't be hidden from everyone.
"Lord Sword Demon, there are rumors in the underworld that you possess the complete technique. Is that true?" Lodas suddenly asked.
"What do you think?" Weiss replied, glancing toward Lodas's private box.
Meeting Weiss's gaze, Lodas suddenly felt as though a thousand swords were coming down on him. Cold sweat drenched him instantly, and he collapsed back onto the sofa.
"One hundred million Berries!" A man's voice rang out from the box marked for the Arlista Family.
Hearing the bid, no one was surprised. But several other family representatives frowned in unison—because they immediately recognized that the voice did not belong to anyone from the Arlista Family.
Suddenly…
"Fufufufu… I never expected you to show up here. How surprising!"
A mocking voice echoed from above the auction hall.
Everyone looked up, and some pirates gasped.
"Why is he here?!"
"Wasn't he in the New World? Who warned him?"
A man with golden hair, sunglasses, a bare chest, pointed shoes, and a flamboyant pink feathered coat sat high above, looking down on everyone.
It was none other than Donquixote Doflamingo.
No one in the hall had their Observation Haki active, and Doflamingo hadn't bothered to observe the occupants of the boxes—so he hadn't noticed Weiss's presence either.
"Oh? If even you are surprised someone's here, then just who could be in that box?" Weiss looked toward the suspicious box, hand resting on his sword hilt as if ready to draw at any moment.
Then, with a crash, the box's glass shattered, revealing two standing figures—and several unconscious ones on the floor.
It was Katakuri, one of the Sweet Commanders, and his sister Brûlée!
Weiss had sensed them with Observation Haki and shattered the glass himself. No point hiding now.
"How is this possible?!"
"What is going on today?!"
Katakuri was supposed to be in the New World. Only his sister had come to this region to arrange meetings. But after hearing certain rumors, Katakuri had gotten bored and decided to travel here via Brûlée's Mirror World.
He glanced up at Doflamingo, who was hovering above. Others might not recognize that voice, but he knew it all too well. He had intended to obtain the item through civil means—but now that was off the table.
So be it.
"Then, shouldn't the other two boxes reveal themselves too?" he asked.
Crack!
Crack!
Momousagi, Chaton, and members of CP finally revealed their faces one after another.
"Fufufufu… For something as uncertain as this, even monsters like you have come to Paradise? Now this is exciting!"
Truth be told, even now, none of the big names here fully believed in the technology. Despite supposed evidence, unless they saw a Devil Fruit extracted with their own eyes, it was still a rumor.
But regardless of their doubts, they had all shown up—with their own motives.
The pirates and merchants below, stunned by the sudden appearance of legendary figures known only through newspapers and myths, panicked and rushed out en masse.
Everyone understood—this place was no longer safe.
Groo quietly slipped out of his box as well. He had never wanted to be involved in this. He knew CP had been investigating who caused the chaos on Canopy Island, and who released that information.
It involved the Celestial Dragons, after all.
So he had kept a low profile, avoiding even inheriting the Celestial Dragon's steward's industries. Instead, he took over smaller, less suspicious family assets.
As far as he was concerned, the matter was over. The industries now available were enough for the Groo family to digest for a while.
But when he was invited to this auction and saw the participant list, he realized something: he was a prime suspect.
So he decided—why not drag more powerful families down with him?
As he walked, Groo reminisced about how he acquired those five Devil Fruits.
"Technology? As if something like that could exist! If it weren't for the family's ancient laws, if it weren't for bitter lessons from the past, that fruit would've looked like a dream opportunity."
"A shame… A real shame!"
And so...
The rumors about the Sword Demon? He was the one who spread them!
The note? He was the one who had Mayt kidnap Slenka to plant it!
Doflamingo? He had already been informed before Groo ever dropped the note!
The Groo family didn't have the power to fight directly—but they could play dirty.
What harm could a squinty-eyed schemer possibly do? He just wanted his business rivals dead, that's all!
But Katakuri's unexpected arrival had definitely thrown off his plans...
At that moment, a CP agent whispered something into the bespectacled woman's ear. The entire CP team began to withdraw—they clearly had no interest in fighting over the information.
They already knew what was in it. Why bother?
As for the Marines—if they wanted to fight over it, that was their problem.
"The Groo family really left?"
"Yes. Dauben and Pierrevi are still here, though."
"Just as we suspected…"
…
"So now the ones left are Doflamingo, Katakuri, two Admiral candidates, and four… well…" Weiss didn't quite know how to describe them. Were they just reckless? Or did they really think they could swoop in and get lucky?
"I believe you bid one hundred million Berries just now, didn't you?" Weiss asked Katakuri.
Katakuri scanned the area with Observation Haki. Weiss was just standing there. He nodded. "Yes."
At that, Weiss, in full view of everyone, opened the box and took out the slip of paper. With a flick of his small knife, the paper was reduced to confetti.
Then he placed a new slip of paper inside, closed the box, and said:
"Then it's yours. The deal is complete."
"Oh, and by the way—everything you heard in the underworld is true. The paper I just destroyed? That one had the full information." With that, Weiss tossed the box toward Katakuri.
Almost simultaneously, a transparent thread shot toward the box.
As for how it bypassed Katakuri's precognition?
Well… think back to how Luffy did it in Skypiea.
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https:// ko-fi.com/sami27
(COMPLETED)