Ultimately, Ross successfully purchased the families of these Marine personnel for 1.5 billion.
"Saint Ross, I owe you a favor!"
Zephyr exhaled a relieved breath, and his gaze toward Ross shifted.
"Remember this: although you didn't meddle in other people's business before, as my CP0, you are still in charge of the protection and management of my palace until I find a suitable steward."
Ross glanced at Zephyr. "I bought the man for you, but I don't keep idle people around."
"I won't make things difficult for you."
Zephyr lowered his head slightly to express his respect.
He managed to keep thousands of troublemakers in the Marine in check, but managing a small group of Marine family members was a piece of cake.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have now reached the final auction item. The last item is extraordinary; it is no longer a slave, but a treasure from the sea."
Even knowing that such treasures had nothing to do with them, the people in the auction house still looked at the host with burning eyes.
Even Ross raised an eyebrow slightly.
The Marine family members were the last items he arranged to be auctioned, and after that, they had nothing to do with him anymore.
Presumably, this was a treasure specially added by the person in charge after learning of his and Rosward's visit.
The treasure of the sea, as its name suggested, was a Devil Fruit.
Ross just didn't know which fruit it was.
Even Zephyr and Rosward showed interest at this moment.
After all, they were Devil Fruits, with a wide variety of abilities, many of which possessed invincible power.
"That's right, the final item up for auction is a Devil Fruit! And it's a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit."
"Paramecia-type Heal-Heal Fruit! Starting bid 100 million, all are welcome to bid!!!"
"The Heal-Heal Fruit!?"
Ross looked on with delight, his eyes gleaming with intense interest as he gazed at the green spiral-patterned fruit in the host's hand.
The Heal-Heal Fruit was definitely an extremely powerful support fruit.
Even if it couldn't directly wipe away injuries like the Paw-Paw Fruit, or even the innate healing abilities of some Mythical Zoan species, its ability to heal diseases and external injuries made it extremely versatile in the world of One Piece.
Since he didn't have any other Heal-Heal Fruits on hand right now, he'd get his hands on the Heal-Heal Fruit first, so at least he'd have more medical security in the future.
"Saint Ross, this fruit is very effective."
Zephyr noticed that Ross was somewhat interested and whispered to him:
"According to the Marine's records, this fruit's healing ability is second only to the Op-Op Fruit. It can easily heal the injuries of admiral-level powerhouses and can also treat some incurable diseases."
In short, this was a fruit with extremely strong support effects, and its healing effects were also quite effective for admirals.
"I know."
Knowing the value of this fruit, Ross wasn't about to let it slip away.
"2 billion!"
Ross immediately offered a price that overwhelmed everyone else, which made Rosward, who had no interest to begin with, lose all desire to compete.
Rosward was also frustrated, wondering where Ross got the money.
But in his heart, he still felt that Ross wouldn't go so far as to seize it by force.
The auction ended abruptly thanks to Ross's decisive bid.
"Admiral Zephyr, use your Observation Haki to keep an eye on the back row. Don't let my people and Devil Fruits be switched."
Ross wasn't in a hurry; he just gave a heads-up as a precaution.
"I understand. Saint Ross, you may call me Zephyr."
Zephyr nodded slightly. Just one time at the auction had made him acknowledge Ross in his heart, and at the same time, he accepted this new position.
He didn't know if Ross could eliminate all the pirates, but since he himself couldn't do it, he wouldn't criticize others for doing it.
However, judging from Ross's impression of pirates, he probably felt more disgust than anything else, which made Zephyr quite relieved.
He would be content if he could take care of more pirates while he was by Ross's side.
Even if he left the Marine training camp, there were other people who could be instructors, and he wanted to try a different path.
If we can use Ross to rise to a high position in the World Government and mobilize the power of the entire World Government, we might still have a chance to eliminate all the pirates.
As soon as the auction ended, the nobles and wealthy merchants inside rushed out.
There are two Celestial Dragons here. It's fine to just watch the auction, but if they stay here now, they might get caught in the crossfire if the two Celestial Dragons start fighting.
"Zephyr, it seems there are a few rats mixed in here, and I don't think I've seen your strength before."
Ross glanced at the fleeing crowd and spotted several tall, burly figures with fierce faces; a slight smile crept onto his lips.
He could tell at a glance that these people were no good.
However, it was quite common for pirates to visit this slave auction house.
"I'll go and take care of it!"
Zephyr grinned, a cruel glint in his eyes.
He recognized these pirates right when the auction started and had already locked onto them using Observation Haki.
He had originally planned to wait until he had some free time before going after these troublemakers.
Now that they had this opportunity in advance, they certainly couldn't miss it.
Whoosh!
Zephyr's imposing figure vanished from the spot in an instant, appearing at the entrance of the auction hall in the blink of an eye.
"Who are you? Get out of my way right now! I am a nobleman from the Kingdom of Ilusia."
A nobleman, not recognizing Zephyr, shouted angrily as he fled.
"No, no, no, this is the person who was sitting next to that prince just now."
Those nearby quickly pulled the nobleman back, preventing him from acting recklessly.
Zephyr frowned, but still followed his habit from his time in the Marine and prepared to let the nobleman leave.
But before he could speak...
Bang!
After a gunshot, the nobleman had a bloody hole in the back of his head and collapsed to the ground.
[E-rank kill achieved!]
[Strength +100]
[Special Reward: Noble Etiquette (Rank E)]
"Zephyr, next time you encounter anyone who tries to stop you, kill them all. This is the power I'm giving you. Oh, and don't kill those pirates. Let me execute them myself."
Ross blew the white smoke from the muzzle of his gun, twirled it, and tucked it into his waistband.
If it weren't for his noble status, this nobleman would probably only be a G-level rating. It was already a great honor that he personally fired the gun.
You know what, killing people with guns was actually pretty cool!
Those who hadn't had time to leave fell silent as they watched Ross kill a nobleman.
"Saint Ross, I understand."
Zephyr gave Ross a deep look and took his words to heart.
The methods used by those who follow the Celestial Dragons were indeed different from those used by the Marine.
Can anyone kill someone they want without considering the consequences...? This was probably the root cause of the Celestial Dragons' evil deeds.
"Except for a few of you, the rest of you can leave."
Zephyr finished speaking calmly and made way for half of the road.
Upon seeing the exposed passage, the wealthy merchants and nobles dared not hesitate any longer and rushed out.
Several pirates realized something was wrong and tried to blend into the crowd and rush out.
But with Zephyr around, they wouldn't get a chance.
"Pirates, leave them all to me!"
boom!!!!
Zephyr's figure darted quickly through the crowd, his tall stature not hindering his speed at all.
He could knock down a pirate with just one punch each time.
Ross followed behind Zephyr, calmly finishing off the fallen pirates.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Every gunshot meant the loss of a life.
[D-rank kill achieved!]
[Strength +1000]
[Special Reward: Physical Skills (Rank D)]
[D-rank kill achieved!]
[Strength +1000]
Special Reward: Gun Skill (D Rank)
[...]
In just a short while, all the wealthy merchants and nobles had fled, leaving only the noble's corpse and eight fresh pirate corpses on the ground.
There were 8 pirates, all of whom were at least D-rank, with one of them being C-rank.
Ross was given a total of 17,000 experience points, as well as special rewards including C-level swordsmanship, 3 D-level physical skills, 2 D-level spear skills, and 1 D-level swordsmanship.
It was a pity that it took 10 of the same level to synthesize 1 advanced level; he still needed to conduct more righteous judgments.