"Pica still hasn't come back? It's already been five hours, right? It doesn't take that long just to find a coater. Vergo, hurry up and take out Pica's Vivre Card and check it!"
Realizing that something was wrong, Doflamingo hurriedly urged Vergo to take out Pica's Vivre Card.
Sure enough, the moment Vergo took it out, he saw Pica's Vivre Card burning fiercely. It was clearly either in the middle of a battle or on the verge of collapsing from a critical condition.
"Who is it?!"
Doflamingo instantly flew into a towering rage. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his knuckles creaked from how hard his fists were clenched. Uncontrollably, an aura so powerful it made people suffocate burst out from him. In just an instant, all across Grove 21 and even the neighboring groves, the sounds of "thud, thud, thud" rang out one after another as people collapsed. Except for a very few who remained standing, everyone else's eyes rolled back. Those who were too close lost their lives on the spot, while most of the rest simply passed out.
Doflamingo did not care about the dead. Even if his unconsciously released pressure killed innocent civilians, he did not feel there was anything wrong with it. The weak are the prey of the strong, and only the fittest survive. Living in the pirate world meant you were given a chance to change your fate, but it also meant you had to accept the risk of losing your life at any moment.
Knowing it was not the time to dwell on his anger, Doflamingo fully unleashed his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), covering the entire Sabaody Archipelago and sweeping through every corner in a carpet-search.
Finally, in an underground cell on Grove 1, Doflamingo detected Pica, covered in injuries, his aura completely withered. But judging from his life force, he was only badly wounded, not fatally so. While he secretly let out a breath of relief, Doflamingo's fury only grew more intense.
"Good. Good. You've really got some nerve. You dare lay hands on my people? I don't care who you are—today, I'm going to kill someone."
Blazing with rage, Doflamingo, based on what he sensed of the situation and location, guessed that Pica had likely been captured by a human-trafficking group.
How amusing. He had been involved in that line of work himself back in the North Blue, and yet now he ran into the very same thing on himself one day.
Doflamingo turned to Vergo and Barrett.
"Brothers, come with me—let's go kill people."
Barrett and Vergo were swept up in the same emotion, and, putting their rage in sync, the three of them rushed toward Grove 1.
Because Pica was in no immediate danger of dying, Doflamingo chose to go together with Barrett and Vergo. He was not just going for revenge; he also wanted to make certain people understand that the name of Donquixote was not something to be trifled with.
On Grove 1, at the Human Auction House—
Although the venue was publicly used for slave auctions, it was not limited to people alone. It also included rare Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruits), precious items, and so on. But since Devil Fruits were extremely rare and valuable treasures of the sea, they did not necessarily appear at every auction.
Inside the auction house, the auctioneer was introducing the lots with great flourish: Longleg tribe, Longarm tribe, pirates, Devil Fruit users, and more. The final showpiece of this auction happened to be a Devil Fruit of unknown ability.
The atmosphere inside was extremely lively. There were even Tenryuubito (Celestial Dragons) present. However, the Celestial Dragons' inherent arrogance meant they disdained mingling with ordinary civilians, these so-called "lower lifeforms."
So, in many cases, apart from the items that particularly interested them, the Celestial Dragons could not even be bothered to bid on most of the lots. Of course, they also did not dare to casually break the auction rules. After all, the entire Sabaody Archipelago belonged to the Kami no Kishi-dan (God Knights). No ordinary Celestial Dragon considered his own neck hard enough to test whether the God Knights' blades were sharp.
Thus, in most cases, even if Celestial Dragons participated, and even if others dared to bid against them, there would rarely be bloodshed. It was just that aside from World Nobles, no one else dared to even try.
Of course, there were people who worked up the courage to try. The outcome for such people was either a mysterious death or a mysterious disappearance—stranger than myth.
In stark contrast to the noisy bustle inside the auction house, in a hidden open space behind it, the officers of the Baroque Pirates, led by Crocodile, had formed a half-circle encirclement around Anorid Eck.
This was not Eck's first time being surrounded. As a free-acting female pirate—and, crucially, an attractive beauty—fighting her way out from among so many pirates was no simple feat. Fear? That was impossible.
"Nya~ Eck wonders what you're trying to do, Crocodile, nya~?"
"Eck, become my right hand. With your strength and mine, plus my intellect, we'll take Laugh Tale one day and become the new Pirate King." Crocodile was utterly confident, clenching his fist to show off his power.
"You? Tch. Just a piece of trash who only plays with sand." Eck had no interest in Crocodile. It was not that he was truly weak, but that her Devil Fruit allowed her to sense a person's soul. A powerful soul usually went hand in hand with powerful spirit—in simpler terms, strong Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki).
Not to mention Eck had been forced to go to sea. As far as she was concerned, dreams were nonsense until you had a full belly. And from Crocodile, she could not feel the slightest soul-based pressure at all. His spirit was ordinary to the extreme. Only his Logia ability was somewhat special.
Crocodile was a little angry. Since when had he been looked down on like this? "The weak have no right to talk about ideals"—this had always been Crocodile's guiding principle. If someone could not offer him value, then they might as well just die.
"Sabaku no Tsurugi (Desert Spada)!"
Without another word, his arm turned into a blade of sand and slashed at Eck.
However, instead of the solid impact of a hit, Crocodile felt as if all his power had gone nowhere. In just an instant, he felt the scene around him change, and his own body suddenly froze in place, no longer under his control.
At some unknown time, Eck had slipped outside the encirclement of the Baroque Pirates. Looking at the group standing stiffly in place, she smirked.
"Tsk. Such a cocky slick-back, nya~. That's what you get for acting so high and mighty. Fufufu, now enjoy yourselves properly, nya~. This kitty is off to have some fun at the auction house, nya~!"
While Crocodile had no idea she had already left, he felt something was wrong. He could clearly sense Eck right in front of him, yet at the same time he felt no sign of life from her at all.
Taking advantage of the fact that none of them could move, Eck took out a brush and drew something on her own face. Of course, she did not stop there. Every officer of the Baroque Pirates present was "carefully sculpted" by her brush as well.
She could not see her own face, but the turtles, thick eyebrows, bushy beards, red noses, and other bizarre decorations on the faces of his comrades filled Crocodile with humiliation and fury.
He could even hear his comrades' barely suppressed, poorly concealed snickers.
"Damn it, damn it—Sabaku no Tsurugi (Desert Spada)!"
Even if they were his comrades, Crocodile would not allow anyone to ridicule him.
Maybe it was his towering anger that let him break free and move again, or maybe it was something else. Already seeing red, Crocodile no longer cared. He had to make those who laughed at him pay the price.
This time, his attack did not fail. His blade of sand accurately struck every officer present.
"Aaah—aaah—!"
Bloodcurdling screams echoed out. Crocodile shuddered, and the scene in front of his eyes suddenly changed. Looking at the Sabaku no Tsurugi (Desert Spada) he had just unleashed, and at his officers lying there with unwillingness in their eyes and their lives fading away, Crocodile's face was filled with shock.
There were no drawings on any of their faces at all.
(End of Chapter)
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