In just half a month, the news of a Devil Fruit being auctioned in Mad Hat Town had spread across most of West Blue.
Suddenly, pirates craving power swarmed to the town.
Especially those pirate captains who were ready to enter the Grand Line; they were determined to get it.
What does a Devil Fruit mean?
Only these experienced pirates, about to venture into new territories, could deeply understand its significance.
On the other hand, the West Blue Navy also caught wind of this news.
However, the deployment of forces was an unavoidable weakness for the Navy, so even if they were aware, they couldn’t do much.
Because, after all, this was the West Blue, not the Grand Line.
Not to mention the prioritization of tasks, but as one of the four seas, the West Blue’s maritime area was vastly larger than the Grand Line.
This meant that the West Blue Navy needed to spread most of their forces across various locations to ensure the safety of the population within their jurisdiction.
If they were to gather their scattered forces, although communication and orders wouldn’t be an issue, the timing would be.
The most pressing issue remained the constant threat posed by pirates.
Unlike the Navy, which needed to be stationed in one place to maintain order, pirates, though not working together, could freely roam around different areas.
When they saw an opportunity, they would swarm like locusts.
By the time the Navy arrived, the pirates would have already fled, moving to another promising location.
In such a situation, hastily deploying forces would only give those locust-like pirates a chance to wreak havoc.
So, compared to the threat posed by individual pirate crews, the sheer number of pirates in the four seas was a headache for the Navy.
Of course, due to differences in culture and customs, the number of Navy forces in each jurisdiction of the West Blue varied.
In areas with sufficient forces, the Navy would organize the surplus troops into a mobile unit primarily tasked with hunting down fleeing pirates, excluding some ineffective naval officers.
Such unrestricted naval units often made pirates tremble with fear.
Although effective, this did not solve the root of the problem.
And for a lawless place like Mad Hat Town, even these units could not make a significant impact.
It’s like a sheriff with a gun entering a den of ten thugs.
The threat of the gun would make the ten thugs give up their numerical advantage and surrender.
But if the sheriff entered a den with hundreds of thugs, the outcome would be obvious.
To break this deadlock, the Navy Headquarters would need to send a unit capable of shifting the balance.
However, the commotion caused by a single Devil Fruit was not enough to prompt the Navy Headquarters into action.
Even though the West Blue Navy couldn’t make a strong impact on Mad Hat Town, they still kept a close watch on it.
Not being able to act didn’t mean they would do nothing.
Mad Hat Island, Mad Hat Town, Mad Hat Auction House.
As the name suggests, the auction house building resembled a top hat lying on the ground.
For example:
Like the brim of the hat, the first and second floors covered the largest area and were the main venues for the auction.
The auction house was designed similarly to a conventional opera house to increase capacity.
Therefore, the second floor could be considered part of the first floor.
Higher levels had progressively smaller areas.
Of course, The top floor belonged to the auction house’s owner.
As the pinnacle of the auction house, the room was luxuriously decorated, exuding the aura of a nouveau riche.
The wall facing the street center was a floor-to-ceiling glass window, and in front of it was a European-style desk with a deep red theme.
The Devil Fruit, which would be auctioned in ten days, was placed on the desk, cushioned by a soft cloth to highlight its preciousness.
A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair, a cigar in his mouth, and a red suit was sitting in the main chair.
This man was the owner of the auction house—Luces Ralph.
“With just a wave of the hand, you can drive those wolves and tigers crazy. That’s the allure of a Devil Fruit.”
Ralph leaned back in the chair, his eyes cold and dark, devoid of humanity, showing no ordinary emotions.
Opposite him, a man sneered, “That’s why I went through so much trouble to bring the Devil Fruit from the Grand Line. Just one transaction can multiply its value several times. Such good deals are rare.”
Ralph’s eyes narrowed, and he looked through the smoke at the man’s smug face without correcting his misconception.
In this world, there are many good deals.
Simply doubling the value of a Devil Fruit is more about marketing than the deal itself.
With his fingers, Ralph extinguished the burning end of his cigar and said calmly, “The starting price is one billion Berries, and it should sell for over ten billion.”
“That much?”
The man was shocked, clearly trusting Ralph’s judgment.
Ralph glanced at the Devil Fruit on the table and said, “The top figures in the West Blue underworld don’t care about this Devil Fruit, but the five major gangs are determined to get it. So, the only ones capable of buying it are among them. Do you know what that means?”
Without waiting for the man to respond, Ralph continued:
“It means that as long as the bidding is normal, the price will keep rising until it reaches their limit. Of course, this is assuming no one tries to pull any tricks. As for the pirates swarming here, they are just here to make up the numbers.”
Hearing Ralph’s words, the man became interested.
“Who do you think is most likely to get this fruit among the five major gangs?”
“Bege.”
Thor’s Weapon Shop.
Maude’s injuries had almost healed in half a month, and with a daily diet of rich food, there was no trace of thinness left on his face.
Compared to the pale and haggard look when he first woke up, his face was now rosy and healthy.
Feeling much better, Maude removed the bandages and looked in the mirror.
The sickly appearance was gone, replaced by a healthy, full-blooded face, and without the bandages covering his eyebrows, he looked even better.
After looking in the mirror, Maude was surprised to find himself—handsome?
At the same time, he finally found his second target—his neighbor.
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