The Paper Fruit Among the Pirates

"What? Kemi was robbed!?"

As Luffy's voice came from the 'paper phone' on his wrist, the Straw Hats, who were still shopping everywhere, were shocked instantly.

"Woooooooooooooooooo, it's all mine—"

The mouths that appeared on the paper on everyone's wrist paused, from crying and shouting to a calm voice.

"It's me, Roman."

"The matter may be done by the slave hunting team. It's not clear yet. But don't panic, I'm doing an island-wide search, and there will be results soon..."

"Super serious~~"

"At the critical moment, Roman is still reliable!"

"Luffy, how could so many of you let Sister Kemi be..."

"You all don't say a few words, what should we do now?"

Sauron's voice overwhelmed other noises, and the object of questioning was of course:

"Well, I'll send pigeons to guide you.—Follow them and come to meet first."

Click,

After hanging up the 'phone', Roman looked up at Nami and Robin who looked worried.

"Don't panic,"

"Since the opponent is a slave-hunting team, they must hope to sell Kemi for a good price. ——In other words, there is no need to worry about Kemi's safety in a short period of time."

With a simple move, the flying white paper forms a six-legged 'car'. As for the previous means of transportation: the famous bubble car in Shambord, of course, it is directly thrown away~~

"Get in the car,"

After Nami and Robin sat in the back seat, Roman immediately drove this weird 'car' towards Island 1!

And the rest of the Straw Hats came to Island 1 under the guidance of Roman's 'White Dove'.

In fact, Roman's pigeons had already flown into the 'population auction' on Chambord No. 1 island... Ah, no, it was the 'labor dispatch market'.

It's full of dignitaries, royals, and their bodyguards; of course, there are lawless pirates, bloody bounty hunters, and:

Dragon people!

'Look over there... that guy is Captain Kidd of the South China Sea! '

Amidst the whispered discussions of the surrounding celebrities, Kidd, who was leaning against the wall and wearing a coat, showed disdain at the back of the auction.

"Dragon people...slaves plus the population market,"

"Compared to these greedy guys, our 'bad things' are simply child's play."

"It is precisely because scum dominates the world that more 'scum' appear—"

Even so, he changed his mind.

"If we see something we like, we'll buy a few back~~ Hahaha!"

"Boss Kidd, look."

In the ring-shaped auction venue next to it, Trafalgar Law, who was surrounded by several cadres of the Heart Pirates and put his hands on the armchair in a "big guy sitting posture", turned his head.

"200 million wanted criminals from Beihai. Notorious, and—"

Kidd, who was given a middle finger by Luo, frowned at his browless forehead.

"Lack of breeding!"

As the auction started, each piece of 'commodity' was sent to the exhibition stand. In the eloquent introduction of the host: down-and-out musicians, groups of strong laborers, pirate captains, and glamorous dancers appear on the stage.

And the elegant gentlemen and ladies tore off the masks of 'civilization', began to judge each other like picking goods, and bid with each other, so that the pirates who were used to killing with knives saw another kind of fangs.

"Oh my God,"

A member of the Heart Pirates looked at the pirate captain who bit his tongue and committed suicide on the stage, but dissatisfaction and anger sounded from all around him, and he moved his buttocks with lingering fear.

"Compared to them, I suddenly feel like a saint..."

—————

"It's here,"

As Roman stopped the 'car', Franky, Usopp, and Sanji who were nearby had also rushed over. Ignoring the collared slaves next to him, the impatient Sanji wanted to rush in, as it should be:

"Stop! Who—"

"Hand over our mermaid friend Kemi!!"

Facing the crowd who were about to fight at the slightest disagreement, the guard on the opposite side just sneered.

"What kind of mermaid, we don't even know!"

"Don't be arrogant, pirates! We are a 'labor dispatch market' under the protection of the navy. If you attack us, a large number of navy will come. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I care—"

"wait!"

Roman stopped Franky who was about to do it.

"If Kemi really falls into the hands of these people, he will usually be put on a 'slave collar'."

"Slave collar?!"

The Straw Hats met this thing when they were shopping before. There was an escaped slave captain whose neck was blown to pieces and passed out. ——That's a master with a 60 million bounty! If an ordinary mermaid like Kaimi is blown up by that thing, I'm afraid...

The brains could paint the floor.

"Then what to do?"

Facing the other people who were in a dilemma, Roman waved his hands and stepped forward. And the armed guard sneered:

"you think--?!"

"answer me,"

With a flip of Roman's wrist, a gold bar firmly attracted the guard's attention.

"Is there a Kissing Mermaid with short green hair at auction today?"

"Ah...it seems... yes or no..."

The eyeballs were turning with the gold bar in Roman's hand, and the hesitant words made Roman shake his head in disappointment.

"Since there is no one, let's go to the next one—"

"Yes! Yes!!"

Throwing the gold bar to the side casually, the guard immediately leapt and bit the gold bar like a dog, and after landing, he threw himself on the ground and gave Roman a charming smile.

"Thank you, my lord, for the reward~~~"

"Let's go,"

It was rare for Roman to care about this skilled guard, and he waved to the rest of the Straw Hats.

"us·····"

"Of course, according to the rules of the auction, buy Kaimi back!"

? ? ? ?

No, our Straw Hats are so rich......

Click,

Pushing open the door of the auction, the arrival of Roman and his party did not attract much attention, except for the Kidd Pirates who were also standing behind the auction venue.

"Boss, those are the Straw Hat Pirates."

"The leader is not the straw hat... that person, is it the 'White Knight'?"

Because of the rewards offered by all members, the Straw Hats are definitely the most recognizable pirates. The others have matched the arrest warrant, so there is only one possibility for the handsome strange boy who is the leader:

"It seems that the armor is his fighting posture. It's a pity that I didn't see their captain, otherwise I'd like to see—"

What kind of man is it that can surpass Kidd Pirates in total rewards!

"...Then, everyone, the finale is about to begin!"

As the host and boss used exaggerated body movements to mobilize the atmosphere, a huge 'fish tank' covered by a curtain was pushed out, and a swimming silhouette inside immediately made the audience cheer. The identity of the product is self-evident ""

"The mermaid who came to Murloc Island: Kemi!"

"I don't need to say how precious a real young mermaid is, right? Then, everyone-"

"Five... five hundred million!"

On the VIP seat in the middle of the front row, a fat figure stood up, with a snot on his face, and stretched out a slap in a silly expression.

Instant freeze!

"The opponent is too strong, there is no chance..."

"Forget it today, let's see if we can meet again later."

Many aristocrats and wealthy merchants are heartbroken. Although murlocs are expensive, the starting price under normal circumstances is only 70 million Baileys. Who knew that when they met a Celestial Dragon, their starting hand was 500 million! How does this work?

"500 million! Has no one offered a higher price?"

The owner of the auction is very satisfied!

If it weren't for the Tianlong people who were stupid and rich, even a young murloc would be no more than 100 million Berries. After all, 100 million Baileys can theoretically buy a devil fruit! Even the best ordinary animal department can at least immediately produce a "little master" with a level of tens of millions...

"Then, five hundred million—"

"Six hundred million Baileys."

? !

A flat voice broke the venue, making everyone subconsciously turn their heads to look behind.

The first thought was: Who is so rich?

The second thought is: Who is looking for death like this!

Dare to bid with the Tianlong people, I am afraid that I think my life is too long——

"Roman, do we have so much money?"

Facing Sanji's whispered question, Roman nodded calmly.

"Yes, I have."

?

Although Sanji really wanted to say why I don't know, but thinking about the "finance" of the Straw Hats has always been managed by Roman and Nami, he finally shut up wisely. ——If you think about it carefully, they are probably the only two in the whole group who know how much money the Straw Hat Group has.

"how?"

Facing the gazes of the audience, Roman looked around. He was obviously an 'idle person' standing behind the auction. However, everyone who participated in the auction had the illusion that the other party was the "noble" and "king".

"Can't I participate in the bidding?"

········

This, the auction has no reason to reject other people's bids. but:

"Seven to seven hundred million!"

The snot-nosed dragon-man Charros stretched out a slap and added two fingers, which made Roman's eyes float upwards.

Kindergarten can't be so difficult, can it? I'm afraid it's not mentally retarded...

"A billion."

! ! ! !

With Roman's calm voice, the entire auction venue was completely silent. The noble and wealthy merchants present held their chests, and only the violent heartbeat was left in their ears! Between the Tianlongren and this strange boy, Bailey seemed to be thrown around like confetti...

The strange thing is that none of them doubted whether Roman could come up with the money.

"Humph,"

Sitting next to the snot-nosed man, he watched his son try hard to make a number bigger than 'ten' with his fingers. With a row of medals pinned to his chest, the elderly Celestial Dragon with a cane stood up and turned to look at the auction. Roman, who was behind the meeting, pursed his lips slightly.

"Two billion!!"

A figure full of anger and domineering spit out from Lao Tianlong's mouth. Amid the 'crazy' expressions on everyone's faces, he got his wish and saw the astonishment on the face of the boy who dared to bid.

"You just said...two billion?"

"That's right!"

The old Tianlong people nodded proudly, bowing down to the huge wealth of our Tianlong people——

"Hahahaha~~~"

The hearty laughter echoed in the auction, and even Sanji and Franky next to him were stunned. Could it be that Roman and the other party are so vindictive that Shi Lezhi can't succeed...

On the contrary, Robin looked thoughtful, and Nami, who was covering her face, had already guessed the follow-up:

"This change,"

? ? ?

In the eyes of everyone, including the Kidd Pirates who were so shocked that their chins dragged to their chests, Roman snapped his fingers.

Snapped,

blah blah——

In his downward palm, there is a golden waterfall falling like a waterfall!

Among the tinkling bells was the pleasant impact sound, and amidst the splendor and splendor was wealth, and the gold gushing out like a fountain instantly covered Roman's side! Then they piled up into a 'golden mountain' of equal height.

this is? ? ? ? ?

Everyone's eyes are occupied by gold, firmly grasping their sight! You must know that in the capital of seven waters, a table of gold ornaments was worth more than 300 million Baileys! Although these are pure gold nuggets, this amount...

To say the least, it started with billions of Baileys——

"Hey, it's my fault."

Roman shook his head,

"How can you buy something without taking out the money first?"

After speaking, he looked at the old Tianlongren whose face was turned blue and white by the golden reflection.

"Okay, it's time for you to bid."

—————

PS: Ahem, don’t be clichéd, this is a famous scene in The Count of Monte Cristo...