In the end, the mermaid was sold for a price of 250 million Beli.
After the atmosphere had been heated up, the rest of the auction proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Several valuable antiques were sold in quick succession, and the auctioneer was grinning from ear to ear. Soon, the second batch of slaves was brought up—this time, ten able-bodied pirates.
This group of pirates had been thoroughly "disciplined" before being brought out. They all appeared incredibly docile, as if they had already accepted their fate. In the end, the ten pirate slaves were sold to a wealthy merchant for a total of fifty million Beli. Their value was not even a fraction of the mermaid's, but no one raised any objections. It was clear that the standard price for a normal slave was around five million per person, which only further highlighted the rarity and value of the Fish-Man race.
Bellamy had no interest in any of this. If not for the novelty of it all, he might have already closed his eyes to rest.
Soon, the first half of the auction came to an end. The famous sword, the final item, was sold for a price of 300 million Beli.
After a half-hour intermission, the first item of the second half was brought onto the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for has arrived!" the auctioneer announced. "Look this way!"
An unusually large man, covered in shackles, was surrounded by a dozen guards and forcibly dragged to the center of the hall. The moment this man appeared, Bellamy felt a thick, malevolent aura.
This guy... he looks a little familiar.
Who would get caught at a time like this and be sold as a slave? He couldn't recall such a person from his memories.
"Ah, let me go!" the man suddenly began to struggle violently. The dozen guards, pulling on the chains with all their might, could barely hold him back.
It was obvious that this slave had not been successfully tamed. It was a mystery why the auction house would bring him out to sell. The auctioneer cautiously stepped to the side and began to introduce the item.
"This man is the renowned fighting champion, Jesus Burgess! It took us a great deal of effort to capture him."
So it's him.
The moment he heard the name, Bellamy immediately remembered. It was the fighting champion from the Blackbeard Pirates. A rather unimportant character, no wonder he couldn't recall him. This guy's luck seemed to have run out; he had actually been caught and was being sold as a slave.
"As you can all see, the fighting champion's strength is no small matter. A dozen men can barely hold him back," the auctioneer continued, conveniently omitting the slave's drawbacks. "And he is also very experienced in combat and can skillfully use Armament Haki. Well now, is anyone interested in this top-quality slave with astonishing fighting power? The starting bid is five million Beli, with each subsequent bid no less than five hundred thousand. For such a small price, you can take this fighting champion home with you right away. It's an absolute bargain!"
Such a low starting price clearly indicated that Burgess was being sold as a defective product. It seemed they had been unable to tame him and had no choice but to sell him off cheap.
"Who dares to bid? I'll kill you when I get out of here!" Burgess suddenly let out a boisterous laugh. "Wihahahaha!"
The entire hall fell silent. The auctioneer stood on stage, at a loss, and the guards were completely unable to control Burgess. Seeing their helpless expressions, Bellamy let out a bored yawn.
"What a waste of my time."
He casually flicked his finger. A gust of wind shot through the air and into Burgess's forehead.
Thud.
Burgess, who had been so arrogant just a moment ago, suddenly collapsed to the ground, his state of life or death unknown. After a long pause, the auction house staff finally reacted, quickly dragging him away and hastily ending the failed auction.
Della, sitting next to Bellamy, looked as if she had seen a ghost, staring at him in disbelief.
"You... you... you... you..."
"Shut up."
Bellamy couldn't be bothered with this annoying woman. He had already wasted several hours here and was starting to get impatient. This time, Della finally knew to listen. The moment Bellamy told her to shut up, she immediately clamped her hand over her mouth and fell silent. However, a strange excitement now filled her eyes. Who knew what kind of wild fantasies had just run through her mind in those few short moments.
Although there had been an incident, the auction was clearly not going to stop. Soon, the next item was brought out. With the help of a few obvious shills in the audience, the cold atmosphere gradually began to heat up again.
Finally, it was time for the grand finale: the Slow-Slow Fruit.
The auctioneer excitedly described the miraculous powers of Devil Fruits on stage. With a swell of dramatic music, two scantily clad young women walked out slowly, carrying a golden tray.
"Finally, it's almost over."
This auction had been incredibly boring for Bellamy. If not for the Devil Fruit, he would have left long ago.
Ever since seeing Bellamy take down Burgess with a single finger flick, Della had been secretly observing him. Bellamy hadn't bid on a single item. He must have had some special purpose for being here. Now, with only the last item remaining, could this Devil Fruit be what he wanted?
"If you're short on money, I can lend you some," Della offered, her curiosity about Bellamy clearly piqued.
"Woman, you should run now."
But Bellamy's reply was completely baffling. What does he mean, run now? What's that supposed to mean? Della was confused.
The final auction hadn't even begun. The auctioneer was just about to warm up the crowd when Bellamy suddenly stood up.
"If any of you survive, be sure to tell Doflamingo," he said, his voice cold. "This is just the beginning."
With a sneer, Bellamy took a single step and appeared at the center of the hall.
"I'll be taking this Slow-Slow Fruit."
He lifted the cloth covering the tray and, sure enough, saw a spherical Devil Fruit. Bellamy hadn't seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, so he couldn't be one hundred percent certain this was the Slow-Slow Fruit.
I'll take it back and let them choose for themselves. In any case, he had the item now. Whether they ate it or not was up to them.
"Who are you? What are you doing!" the auctioneer shrieked, pointing at Bellamy. "Guards! Where are the guards!"
He still didn't understand what was about to happen.
Bellamy gave him a cruel smile, then spun around, kicking out a massive, crescent-shaped blade of air.
Tempest Kick: Circling Cut!
The blade of air swept across the room, instantly severing all the load-bearing columns of the auction house. The massive building shuddered violently, then began to rapidly collapse.
No one had ever expected that someone would dare to crash Doflamingo's party. In an instant, countless screams and wails filled the entire hall.