After Saff asked for Stella's name, Stella remained silent. She did not say another word.
Ash did not mind. In his experience, girls were often more sensitive when emotions were involved.
Suddenly, Youki narrowed his eyes and remarked, "That guy seems to be wearing only nine rings."
Ash raised an eyebrow. He had to admit that Youki's observation skills were sharp. When he glanced at the thoughtful expressions on Saff and Perona's faces, a faint wave of emotion passed through him.
"Yes," Ash said calmly. "The woman who should have worn the ring on his left ring finger is gone. That is why the villain covered in gold and silver leaves only that finger bare."
Saff and Perona fell into an even deeper silence after hearing those words.
Youki, on the other hand, resisted the urge to slap himself. He rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed that he had opened the topic.
Tsuki blinked in confusion. "?"
Ash, however, had long been familiar with the art of emotional consolation. Situations like this were nothing new to him.
Tesoro's appearance was nothing more than a brief interlude. It did not create any real disturbance.
None of the executives from the Donquixote Family came out to receive him.
That was perfectly normal. Both sides only needed to send a signal to the outside world.
In truth, the two factions had been fighting for more than a year. Even though their leaders had decided to call a ceasefire, such a long conflict naturally left lingering resentment.
If executives from both sides happened to meet during this cooling-off period, the atmosphere would likely become extremely tense. Tesoro showing up alone to send a message was probably the most effective approach.
It was also worth mentioning that Ash and Youki had been teasing Donquixote Doflamingo quite openly earlier. Their fearless behavior created a noticeable empty space around them, a vacuum of cautious distance.
That unusual scene caught Tesoro's attention.
Tesoro had deliberately come to put on a show, but the moment his eyes met Ash's, something flickered in his gaze.
A brief flash of surprise.
A subtle ripple of recognition.
Ash noticed it immediately.
This old man knows me.
That was Ash's first thought.
But after a brief moment of consideration, he realized that it was completely normal.
Someone like Tesoro, a major operator within the underworld, would obviously pay attention to news about rising figures.
Especially someone like Ash.
During the past few days, Morgans had practically flooded the seas with news about him. The promotion campaign had been relentless, and the Sabaody Archipelago was one of the primary hubs for spreading information.
What Ash did not know was that the news about him joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea had already begun circulating. The moment he appeared at the Marine Base on Sabaody, the information had started spreading through the World Economic Journal.
Ash, however, had very little interest in Tesoro himself.
Tesoro's life story was dramatic.
From an abandoned orphan to a street thug.
From a thug to a man fighting desperately for love.
Then finally transforming into the Gold Emperor, a man whose values had twisted after losing the woman he loved.
It was certainly a colorful life.
Every stage reshaped his worldview.
But when you laid it all out, it was nothing extraordinary. It was simply a magnified version of the struggles that countless ordinary people experienced.
As long as Celestial Dragons and pirates continued to exist in this world, people like Tesoro would always appear.
If Ash had arrived in this world ten years earlier and happened to meet that unfortunate couple, he might have stepped in to save Stella, assuming he had the strength to do so.
Perhaps Tesoro's fate would have changed.
But the current year was the end of Sea Calendar 1515.
At this point in time, Tesoro's heart was already consumed by money.
Aside from that eternally empty left ring finger, wealth was the only thing that mattered to him.
He wanted to become the master of money.
He wanted to use money to take revenge on the Celestial Dragons.
Unfortunately, that dream was beautiful but unrealistic.
Tesoro and Doflamingo both made the same mistake.
They relied too heavily on external forces.
They forgot the most important rule of the sea.
Only one's own strength could truly be relied upon.
Tesoro had not yet created his maritime kingdom.
Gran Tesoro, the enormous ship nearly ten kilometers long, did not exist yet.
Without the world's greatest entertainment city, Tesoro was nothing more than a small-time underworld thug with a twisted heart in Ash's eyes.
Hardly worth his attention.
However, nothing in this world was absolute.
Tesoro's group still had some value.
Specifically, three Devil Fruits.
Tesoro possessed the Goru Goru no Mi.
Baccarat possessed the Raki Raki no Mi.
Mr. Tanaka possessed the Nuke Nuke no Mi.
Then there was Dice, the champion of underground death matches. His combat ability was quite impressive and would probably provide at least a hundred units of energy.
A small bonus.
When Ash calculated everything carefully, the potential gains from Tesoro's group were actually comparable to those from Gecko Moria.
Unfortunately, Tesoro had not raised a pirate flag.
That meant Ash had no reason to attack him.
As for running an underground organization, stealing from pirates, and scamming gamblers out of their fortunes, Ash could not care less.
What did that have to do with him?
No respectable civilian with Berries would willingly visit Tesoro's gambling dens.
Anyone who entered those places was already chasing greed or excitement.
None of them were innocent.
In Ash's opinion, if those people were fleeced like fat pigs, they deserved it.
Still, Ash would not mind visiting Gran Tesoro in the future.
That was assuming Tesoro did not lose his mind and attempt to scatter gold dust on him.
Soon, Tesoro and his group walked into the Auction House.
The crowd that had gathered outside quickly realized the show was over. One after another, the buyers began entering the building.
Taking advantage of the busy entrance, Ash used a Den Den Mushi to contact Kirk, who was guarding the ship.
He quickly learned that Brook was still lying on the Dawn ship, sunbathing comfortably and had no intention of coming ashore again.
Ash hung up the call.
Then he snapped his fingers.
"Let's go inside too."
As he spoke, he suddenly produced a pair of ice-blue sunglasses and casually put them on.
Youki looked at him suspiciously.
"Where did you get those glasses?"
"Area 34," Ash replied with a grin. "I bought them on impulse while looking for Tsuki earlier."
Then he pulled out another pair of graphite-colored sunglasses and handed them to Youki.
"Here. I got one for you too. Everyone has a pair."
Meanwhile, Disco, the owner of the Auction House, had already noticed Ash and his group.
It would have been difficult not to.
The empty space surrounding them was too obvious.
As Ash approached the entrance, Disco immediately hurried forward with an enthusiastic smile.
"I never expected members of the Dawn Hunter Pirates to attend today's auction," Disco said warmly. "This is truly an honor. Welcome, Your Excellency Heavenly Emperor Ash."
"And welcome to you as well, Your Excellency Storm Sovereign Youki."
Because of Tesoro's earlier reaction, Ash was not surprised by Disco's enthusiastic greeting.
People in the underworld were always well informed.
Those who were not well informed usually died very quickly.
"Send my greetings to your boss," Ash said calmly. "Also tell him not to wander around in front of me, otherwise he might get punched."
Disco forced an awkward but polite smile.
"Yes, of course."
Once Ash and his group entered the auction hall, the people outside immediately began whispering among themselves.
"Who was that guy? He spoke to Disco like that and Disco didn't even dare argue!"
"Are you blind? He wasn't talking back to Disco. He was clearly provoking the Heavenly Yaksha!"
"Didn't you hear what Disco called him? His Excellency Heavenly Emperor Ash!"
"I heard it, but I have never heard that title before!"
"Haven't you read the World Economic Journal recently?"
"No. I have been busy gambling at the casino for the past few days. Is he really some big shot?"
One man sneered.
"Heavenly Emperor Ash, captain of the Dawn Hunter Pirates. He wiped out the Giant Warrior Pirates' captain, destroyed Mock Town, and recently defeated Gecko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"He has a bounty of 888 million Berries."
The crowd froze.
"Eight hundred eighty eight million Berries!? How could a monster like that appear in Paradise!?"
Someone else pointed toward Youki.
"What about that muscular guy with the buzz cut and black sunglasses? The one Disco called Storm Sovereign Youki?"
"The newspaper says he is one of the Ten Demon Saints of the Dawn Hunter Pirates," someone explained. "His name is Youki."
"He is also terrifying. Apparently Heavenly Emperor Ash did not even participate in the fight against Gecko Moria. Moria was defeated entirely by Storm Sovereign Youki!"
"That is impossible!"
"Idiot, it was written in the World Economic Journal! His bounty is 300 million Berries. If the news was fake, the Marines would not issue such a bounty!"
"One of the Ten Demon Saints? Does that mean the Dawn Hunter Pirates have nine more people like him!?"
"That is hard to say."
"Maybe Moria was weaker than people thought?"
"Are you stupid?"
"What did you say!?"
"Gecko Moria had a bounty of 320 million Berries and sailed the New World for years. You think someone like that is weak!?"
"Wait a second," someone said suddenly.
"Aren't they supposed to be pirate hunters?"
"Then why do they have bounties?"
Silence fell among the crowd.
No one could answer that question.
===
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