The entire hall fell silent!
"Gulp! Three billion?"
"Did I hear that right? This is three billion, not three hundred thousand..."
"It's that demon from Germa, Vinsmoke Ichiji!!!"
Most of the people in the venue looked towards the VIP seats in the center, somewhat disbelieving.
No one had expected that a Devil Fruit with a starting bid of only 500 million Berries would actually be bid up to three billion directly!
"Damn bastards!!!"
"Simply giving us no chance..."
The Diesel Brothers, "Blood Cat" Burleigh, "Strange Face" Norland, Bailey, and other New World Pirates, each with fierce expressions and a green complexion, couldn't help but glare at Vinsmoke Ichiji, gritting their teeth.
They had specially brought over a billion, or even two billion Berries, equivalent to most, or even all, of their family's wealth. That was what they had accumulated with great difficulty over so many years of mixing in the New World. To acquire an unknown Logia-type Devil Fruit, they had already made an extremely firm resolution.
As a result, that bastard from Germa didn't even give them a chance to bid, directly raising the price to a height they couldn't afford. How could these New World Pirates, who were already ruthless and arrogant on a daily basis, not be enraged?
"Ah! Ichiji, you really went all out..."
Morgan, his face full of surprise, watched Ichiji beside him and couldn't help but chuckle: "It seems there's new news again!"
"As expected of Germa, they're truly wealthy!" Stussy's beautiful eyes twinkled slightly, and she re-evaluated Ichiji with a captivating smile.
"Tch..."
"A show-off!"
Niji and Yonji both pouted unhappily.
Having been psychologically prepared long ago, they naturally weren't surprised.
No matter how much they raised the price, they would only lose a few hundred million Berries. Although that wasn't a small sum, compared to the wealth of the Golden Lion himself, the gold on Sky Island alone was almost enough to buy a small country. Germa currently wasn't short of money.
Several nobles and wealthy merchants, disguised as intelligence personnel, sent by the World Government, directly gave up bidding.
Three billion Berries, this price, had already exceeded the bottom line set for them by their superiors.
The World Government was rich, but this huge and bloated organization, with its complex personnel and departments, needed more money to spend. Plus, the high-level corruption and ineffective top-down command meant these issues were getting more severe daily, utterly unstoppable. Not to mention they still had to support the huge military machine of Marine Headquarters. The annual military expenditure was astronomical, a bottomless pit.
Logia-type Devil Fruits were indeed special, but also quite risky. Their weaknesses were truly too great. In the eyes of the vast majority of high-ranking officials, they were far inferior to the Logia-type Devil Fruits of Marine Admirals Kizaru and others. After all, they weren't invincible Devil Fruits either, and unlike the Ope Ope no Mi that the Government didn't hesitate to spend five billion Berries on to buy from a pirate, which possessed immense value, the World Government wouldn't pay any price for it.
No matter how good an ability, if there isn't outstanding talent to use it, it simply can't realize its true value. Similarly, even the worst Devil Fruit, if developed by outstanding talent, can play a huge role.
Ultimately, Devil Fruits are just aids; talent itself is the most important thing. The government indeed had an abundance of talent, but there was no need to spend such a large amount of money to buy a Devil Fruit with extremely large flaws. It couldn't even be elementized. The suffering of its single weakness (double weakness) was something that not everyone could bear.
Moreover, the higher-ups only hoped that it wouldn't fall into the hands of the "Four Emperors" of the New World. If it were bought by Germa 66, which was allied with the World Government, it was still within an acceptable range.
"That brat, he simply doesn't treat money as money..."
Peche, sitting in the back row, looked at Ichiji. With his bright eyes, he was now more mature than the little brat he had been years ago. Ichiji, looking increasingly handsome, had a somewhat surprised and puzzled expression on his pale face. However, she knew about the Dark-Dark Fruit's huge flaw: "Did this fellow already know the specific information about this fruit through some channels? Is he planning to buy it for himself?"
The welfare treatment for high-ranking Marine officers was not bad, but under normal circumstances, it was merely "not bad." After all, the Marines had to support millions of troops. Each year, they built and maintained warships, supplemented ammunition, cannons, and weapons, and paid soldiers' monthly salaries, welfare, and injury compensation. There were more places to spend money inside and out. The military expenses allocated by the World Government were truly a bottomless pit, constantly being chipped away, truly flowing to the Marine Finance Department.
Guarding the enormous resources of the Marine Science Unit, those excellent scientists had made remarkable research achievements in weapons and equipment over the years. Yet, due to a lack of funds, even Marine Marshal Sengoku, if he wanted to give the Marines a collective equipment upgrade, couldn't do it. This resulted in the overall equipment still being inferior to that of Germa 66, this evil war organization. Outside, it only looked glamorous.
For her to produce two to three hundred million Berries, she could indeed barely manage it, but that was almost her limit. Yet, that person just casually bid three billion, as if playing. The difference was truly a bit large.
"Lord Jellal, he is Vinsmoke Ichiji. He is rumored to have Conqueror's Haki potential and once instantly knocked out tens of thousands of conscripted soldiers in a certain country in the West Sea!" A high-ranking Marine officer sitting behind "Giant Bear" Jellal, quickly introduced him to the somewhat puzzled "Giant Bear" Jellal.
"Oh? Is he that brat?" "Giant Bear" Jellal, who usually didn't like to pay attention to news, squinted his eyes and looked at him with some amusement.
Throughout history, there have been many pirates in the New World with Conqueror's Haki potential who couldn't rise to prominence. However, it is undeniable that those with Conqueror's Haki potential generally have no shortage of latent power.
And judging by his appearance, that brat from Germa has already mastered Conqueror's Haki and can use it freely. This is quite remarkable.
"3 billion as soon as he opens his mouth, truly arrogant enough!"
Charlotte Cracker couldn't help but sneer, his ferocious appearance making people feel a chill.
"It has already exceeded by too much. Should we give up?" Charlotte Oven, the fourth son of the Charlotte family, hugged his chest, glanced at Vinsmoke Ichiji on the other side, and asked somewhat indifferently.
After all, this time, they didn't have the mindset of "must win." Two billion Berries was already their bottom line.
"No hurry..."
Charlotte Cracker's mouth curved into a smirk, his pale teeth looking a bit terrifying.
"Germa, His Highness Ichiji of Germa, has bid three billion Berries. Is there any higher?"
Dicalvan was ecstatic. This time, he was making a fortune. Looking at Cracker, "Giant Bear" Jellal, and others below the stage, he continued to question loudly and excitedly!
"3 billion 10 million Berries!"
Charlotte Cracker spoke unhurriedly, his gaze also somewhat playfully fixed on Ichiji.
As one of the Four Emperors of the New World, the Big Mom Pirates certainly weren't short of money. Although they didn't actually bring that much money, making trouble was like breaking the auction rules. But it didn't stop him from raising the bid for this annoying brat.
Even if that Vinsmoke Ichiji from Germa directly gave up bidding, the Big Mom Pirates would at least get an unknown Logia-type Devil Fruit. Would Joker, that guy, dare not give face to the Big Mom Pirates?
"Giant Bear" Jellal, a cadre of the Beast Pirates, originally came solely for a rare Logia-type Devil Fruit. The Big Mom Pirates, however, primarily came to buy snacks for Fish-Man Island and incidentally to see if they could bid on this Logia-type Devil Fruit. But they didn't get what they wanted.
Charlotte Cracker's action was purely to annoy Germa by raising the bid!
"3.5 billion!!!"
Ichiji's expression remained unchanged, showing no trace of anger, and he continued to raise the bid calmly.
He turned his head to look at the somewhat provocative Charlotte Cracker, and smiled very gracefully: "You two from the Charlotte family, if you truly want it, Germa can give the Big Mom Pirates some face. This fruit will be given to you!"
"Our Big Mom Pirates don't need you, this brat, to make concessions. You can keep it for your Germa..." Charlotte Cracker sneered disdainfully, but he no longer had any intention of continuing to bid. He knew that if he continued to bid, that Vinsmoke Ichiji might directly give up the auction.
3.5 billion to buy an unknown Logia-type Devil Fruit was a bit too extravagant.
There were only a few top Logia types. Ordinary Logia types were not necessarily truly superior to Paramecia types for strong individuals who mastered Haki.
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