Two sofas—Lena and Meowth sat on one. At first, Meowth wanted to sit on the same one as Vane, but Baccarat beat her to it.
And a single sofa could easily seat four or five people; Baccarat even deliberately leaned close against Vane.
Lena gave Baccarat a calm glance. This woman didn't have much strength; the only thing worth praising was her dance steps. It wasn't that Lena looked down on dancers, but many people in that line of work relied on their looks to entertain others.
On the perilous seas, Lena didn't think Baccarat's choice was wrong either. If one's own strength wasn't enough, then sticking close to a strong person was the most correct choice.
Vane didn't think that much about it. He activated his Observation Haki to observe the surroundings.
"Hm?"
Vane's brows furrowed. Just now, he had felt another Observation Haki collide with his own, and the other party's Observation Haki was far more practiced than his.
"As expected, you can't underestimate the strong on the sea."
The West Sea wasn't the weakest sea, the East Sea. Encountering someone who knew Observation Haki was perfectly normal.
...
Another private room.
"This place is really stingy—only fruit? I want to eat meat."
"I told you not to eat so fast. Now there's nothing left to eat… Captain, what are you looking at?"
Red-Haired Shanks shook his head. "I noticed two rather interesting people."
...
The auction officially began.
"Esteemed guests, today's highly anticipated auction will be hosted jointly by me, Mr. Auctioneer, and Miss Clara!"
An auctioneer whose hair looked very much like a microphone stepped onto the center of the stage. Beside him was Miss Clara, whose main role was decorative—boasting a stunning figure and dressed extremely boldly.
"Miss Clara! Woohoo~~"
"Look over here! Please accept my love!"
Miss Clara was also very good at teasing, constantly batting her eyes flirtatiously.
"Very good, it seems everyone's enthusiasm is running high. Then, taking advantage of that enthusiasm, let us present today's first auction item."
The first item was very small. With a glance, some pirates let out mocking laughter.
"Isn't that just a navigation Log Pose? Something like that can be auctioned?"
"Yeah, I've got plenty of those."
Mr. Auctioneer shook his head and said, "This isn't an ordinary Log Pose. This is a Grand Line Log Pose."
"Everyone should know that ordinary Log Poses are worthless on the Grand Line, because its magnetic fields are utterly chaotic. For a ship to find its direction and head to the next destination, it must rely on a Log Pose."
"A Log Pose records the magnetic field of an island. One island connects to the next to form a route, and this Log Pose records a route of the Grand Line."
"How can men who want to conquer the Grand Line do without a Log Pose!"
"Grand Line Log Pose! Starting price: 1,000,000 Belly! Each bid must increase by no less than 10,000 Belly."
Quite a few people present were pirates. As pirates, many naturally harbored dreams of conquering the Grand Line, and for them, a Log Pose was indeed indispensable.
"I bid 1.2 million!"
"Don't even think about competing with me! I'm only one Log Pose away from becoming Pirate King! 1.6 million!"
"Pirate King? You? 1.8 million."
At first, the competition came from the small-time pirates below. Many pirates in the private rooms already had Log Poses.
The price slowly climbed to 2.6 million Belly, a figure that began to make some pirates feel it wasn't worth it.
"3 million Belly."
People in the private rooms also began to compete, and the price quickly silenced the pirates seated below.
"3.3 million Belly."
This price was called out by Vane. A directional Log Pose for the Grand Line was one of the essential items for his crew.
"3.5 million!"
Vane: "3.8 million."
Spending 3.8 million on a Log Pose that might not even be usable anytime soon made the other party hesitate. Or perhaps they knew this price was already somewhat inflated.
Mr. Auctioneer loudly hyped it up once more, but no one followed. This Log Pose was officially taken by Vane.
"Next up are one hundred new-model muskets from the South Sea. As everyone knows, weapons from the South Sea have always been at the forefront of the world. This batch of muskets…"
"…Such excellent muskets can greatly enhance your crew's strength. The starting price is 3 million Belly!"
After listening to the host's introduction, Meowth lay against the window, looking disappointed.
"These muskets are just so-so. Not impressive at all."
The firearms Meowth made were, at worst, on the level of World War II, and from time to time could even burst out with future technology. The muskets at the auction were completely beneath her notice.
"Weapons produced in the South Sea are indeed good in quality—just a bit low in technological level… But if there's a chance, I can take you to the Future Country."
The Future Country, the Karakuri Island, was the homeland of the genius Vegapunk. There were plenty of high-tech designs there, and obtaining some would be quite nice.
However, Vane didn't remember which sea the Karakuri Island was in. He only knew it was a winter island, difficult for ordinary people to land on. Back then, Franky had been sent there by Kuma at the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Of course, if we can find the Navy's or the World Government's research facilities, that would also work. Though they can't compare to the homeland of this world's top-tier scientist, they still have their merits."
In the pirate world, technological power was mainly embodied by Vegapunk. Vane only remembered two other technological forces: one was the Vinsmoke family of the North Sea—Sanji's family—who researched lineage factors.
The other was Caesar Clown, the Gas-Gas Fruit user who created artificial Devil Fruits.
But whether it was the Vinsmoke family's lineage factors or Caesar Clown's artificial Devil Fruits, both were intricately connected to Vegapunk.
So in the end, Vegapunk was still the most incredible.
This batch of muskets ultimately sold for 8.5 million Belly—nearly triple the base price.
"A truly fine opening. Let us continue…"
The subsequent items were some seemingly high-tech equipment, mysterious and authentic unknown treasure maps, and a Skillful Grade sword.
The Skillful Grade sword fetched a decent price, but Vane had no interest whatsoever.
His Cursed Sword was perfectly usable. Each time he went all out, the blade biting into his hand and drinking his blood was, to him, a form of amplification. His blood would also make the sword stronger. With this mutual enhancement, the Cursed Sword's grade was at least that of a Great Grade, or even a Supreme Grade.
"Everyone! Today's main event has arrived! On these seas, if you want to become stronger, aside from eating a Devil Fruit, the only other way is to diligently cultivate yourself in other aspects!"
"Whether you are a swordsman or a master of fist techniques, this is a cultivation path you must have to become strong!"
"Armament Haki! Haki cultivation insights! Absolutely guaranteed, these are cultivation insights from the powerful West Sea nation—Kano Country!"
The real show had arrived—Armament Haki cultivation insights.