Sabaody Archipelago — Inside the Slave Auction House
On the backstage display platform, inside a transparent glass enclosure, the mermaid girl Camie pounded desperately against the barrier, her face pale with terror.Out front, standing beneath the stage curtains, the auction house's manager, Disco, was working the crowd with exaggerated enthusiasm, loudly hyping the "rarity" of the merchandise.
Yet the palm gripping his microphone was slick with sweat.
This is too much… this is playing with fire…His heart was pounding uncontrollably.
Ever since that man—"Heaven-Shaking" Gern—had publicly declared Fish-Man Island to be under the jurisdiction of G-10, officially placing it within the protection of the "Calamity" faction, human traffickers and slave auction houses throughout Sabaody had, almost overnight, completely abandoned the hunting and trading of fish-men and mermaids.
No one was stupid enough to provoke a man who could cripple even the Four Emperors.
That would be no different from suicide.
But as the saying goes—the brighter the light, the deeper the shadows.
The more strictly forbidden something was, the more difficult it became to obtain,the more valuable and tempting it appeared in the eyes of certain privileged elites.
Enormous profits were more than enough to drive desperate criminals to gamble with their lives.
This time, kidnapping Camie was exactly that—a mad gamble.
Disco knew this better than anyone.In the current Sabaody Archipelago, there was only one kind of buyer who would dare accept—and had the ability to "digest"—a mermaid slave.
World Nobles.Celestial Dragons.
And this time, his target customer was a very specific one.
A woman with an obsessive love for "rare collectibles,"and one who, due to her family's past, harbored an unspoken grudge against Marine Admiral Gern—
Saint Charlia.
Disco was betting everything on this one-of-a-kind gift, hoping to curry favor with the newly instated head of the Roswald family in exchange for immense rewards and, more importantly, protection.
(One must never underestimate the position Celestial Dragons have held in the minds of ordinary people for centuries. Many blindly believe that as long as a Celestial Dragon offers protection, one becomes untouchable. It is a deeply ingrained mindset.)
"Honored guests! Please feast your eyes upon this unparalleled treasure!"Disco forced his voice steady, though a faint tremor betrayed him.
"A youthful mermaid—from Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters beneath the sea!"
The curtain fell.
The instant Disco shakily shouted those words and the spotlight illuminated Camie's terrified face inside the glass enclosure, the murmurs of greed and excitement in the audience died out completely.
Silence.
Then—panic spread like wildfire.
"A… a mermaid?!""Is he insane?! He dared touch Fish-Man Island?!""Who would dare provoke G-10?! Is he tired of living?!"
The wealthy elites and powerful figures who moments ago had been itching to throw money around went deathly pale.
This wasn't a priceless treasure.
It was a death warrant.
In an instant, many people sprang up from their seats as if burned. Secret auction or not, decorum be damned—panic overtook them as they scrambled for the exits.
"I'm out! I'm not bidding on this!""Run! We can't stay here!""Damn you, Disco! If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"
Chaos erupted.
These people understood the rules of the sea all too well.Once "Heaven-Shaking" Gern had declared Fish-Man Island under his protection, any slave trade involving the fish-men was no longer business—
It was a direct provocation against the strongest force of the Marines.
And that meant facing not routine pursuit, but annihilation—a devastating strike from the New World's G-10 base,from the monstrous group known as the "Calamity."
Wealth and status meant nothing in the face of absolute power.
Watching nearly half the seats empty in seconds, sweat poured down Disco's forehead even faster.
He had expected this.
But now, there was no turning back.
His only hope lay with the one person still seated calmly in the front row—the Celestial Dragon who showed not fear, but irritation at the disturbance.
Saint Charlia.
Only World Nobles would dare ignore the threat of "Heaven-Shaking."Only they could protect his miserable life in this situation—and grant him the rewards he dreamed of.
Taking a deep breath, Disco pressed on.
"Her singing voice soothes the soul—her beauty is unmatched!A treasure worthy of becoming the centerpiece of any grand collection! The starting bid is—"
He announced an astronomical number without hesitation, though his eyes involuntarily drifted toward the front—
Toward the luxurious seat heavily guarded, crowned with a bubble helmet.
And then—
BANG!!
The auction house doors were blown open by a tremendous force!
Wood splintered and flew as several figures stormed in against the light, brimming with momentum.
"CAMIE—!! WE'RE HERE TO SAVE YOU!!"
Luffy pulled down the brim of his straw hat, his rubber arm already coiled to strike.
"Give our friend back!"Zoro's three swords were drawn, their cold gleam cutting through the air.
"To traffic slaves in broad daylight…!"Sanji's face was dark with barely contained fury.
The Straw Hat crew.
Disco's face drained of all color as he stared at these ignorant rookie pirates.
He wasn't afraid of the auction being ruined.
What truly terrified him was—
If the G-10 side found out that their people, on their territory, had been put up for auction…
The consequences were beyond imagining.
Seated in the VIP section, Saint Charlia observed the sudden chaos through her bubble helmet with cold indifference.
When she realized the intruders were nothing more than rookie pirates with bounties barely over one hundred million, a sneer of contempt and cruelty curved her lips.
"Again… a group of rule-ignorant vermin."
Luffy and the others took in the fleeing crowd and the isolated, trembling Disco onstage.
They didn't fully understand what "G-10" represented—but they could tell the situation was far more complicated than expected.
Still—
No matter how complicated it was, their resolve to save their friend would not waver.
Already seething with bottled-up anger from being inexplicably insulted by Enel days earlier in Area 43—only to have him escape—Saint Charlia now found herself in a secret auction house, watching wave after wave of "lowly" pirates disrupt her affairs.
The brutality and rage inside her finally exploded.
This was a place she completely controlled.The perfect place to vent.
"A pack of death-seeking insects! Kill them! Kill every last one of these pirates!"
The black-clad agents and guards behind her immediately moved, murderous intent surging forward.
But Saint Charlia's madness didn't stop there.
Her gaze fell upon Camie, trembling violently inside the glass enclosure. A surge of displaced malice rose within her.
She wasn't stupid—she knew this matter couldn't be exposed.
Raising her ornate pistol, she didn't aim at the Straw Hats—
She aimed directly at Camie on the display platform.
"And this fish too! A lowly species! Die along with them!"
"CAMIE!!"
At the instant Saint Charlia was about to pull the trigger—
"Gomu Gomu…"
Luffy's body tensed like a drawn bow, boundless fury exploding in his chest.
Celestial Dragons.World Nobles.
In the face of harming his friends—none of that meant a damn thing.
"JET PISTOL!!!"
His arm launched forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
The air screamed as it was torn apart.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous impact shook the entire auction house.
Under countless disbelieving gazes, Saint Charlia's bubble-helmeted head was struck head-on by a punch carrying all of Luffy's rage.
Cracks spread instantly across the bubble—
Then it shattered.
Her body was sent flying backward, twisting unnaturally through the air before slamming hard into the wall behind her, dust erupting everywhere.
Alive or dead—unknown.
Silence.
A deathly silence smothered the auction house.
Everyone was petrified.
The remaining wealthy patrons.The auction guards.Even the other members of the Straw Hat crew.
They supported Luffy—but they all understood what this meant.
Not everyone was named Gern Reginald Sigmar.
The sky… had fallen.
A Celestial Dragon…had been struck?!
At Sabaody Archipelago, before countless witnesses,a Celestial Dragon… had been punched by a pirate?!
"It's over… it's all over…"Disco collapsed to the floor, face ashen, muttering to himself.
Almost the instant Saint Charlia was sent flying, an agent slammed a specialized alarm.
The siren blared across the entire Marine base at Sabaody.
This was the highest-level alert—
A World Noble had been attacked.
The so-called "secret auction" lost all meaning in the wake of that single punch.
What began as a rescue mission had escalated into an incident that would shock the entire world—
The assault of a Celestial Dragon.