This time, Gawain had spent nearly all the funds he brought just to acquire the Devil Fruit. What little remained wasn't enough to purchase anything else worthy of serving as a prize for the martial arts tournament.
After all, the main focus of this auction wasn't rare treasures, but slaves—an utterly abhorrent reality.
If Gin ended up taking a liking to the fruit, the tournament reward would have to default to money.
Still—
If he offered a prize of 100 to 200 million berries, Gawain was confident no one in the East Blue would be able to refuse.
With that thought, an idea formed. Without wasting time, he stood and left.
Outside the Auction House
Several pirates stationed at the entrance noticed Gawain exiting in a hurry. They quietly tailed him through the shadows, though their eyes never left the box in his hand.
The leader held a Den Den Mushi receiver, eyes gleaming with greed.
"Captain, we've got a fat one. He dropped 400 million berries on a Devil Fruit."
"You sure this isn't bait?"
"Please. Who could still be playing bait in the East Blue...? Huh? Wait—where'd he go?!"
"No—!"
A sharp cry rang out, instantly drowned by the shhhk of steel and a splatter of gore. A silver flash swept through the night. The leading pirate was sliced clean in half, his blood and organs spilling onto the street, the air thick with the metallic stench of death.
In the next moment, another pirate felt a searing pain—his arm had been severed before he even realized it.
"Aaaaaagh—!"
A silver-white blade pressed coldly against his shoulder, and the rest of his scream was silenced in his throat.
Gawain stared at him, eyes void of emotion, voice like frost:
"Where is your captain?"
"I..."
The pirate hesitated. That was all it took—Gawain sliced off his ear. The layered agony nearly paralyzed him. He trembled, driven only by pure, primal fear.
This isn't some fat sheep. This is a demon in human skin!
How could a monster like this be hiding in the East Blue?!
Then came the voice again—still calm, but now laced with a deadly edge:
"I'll ask you one last time. Where's your ship?"
"Your captain dies—or you do. Choose."
Gawain felt no sympathy for these bottom-feeders.
Had it been anyone else they tailed tonight, death would've been the likely outcome.
The moment he noticed he was being followed, Gawain abandoned his original plan of simply leaving with the fruit.
After all... I'm a pirate too.
Why should others rob me, but I'm not allowed to rob back?
Everyone who entered the auction house tonight—be they pirate or noble—was trash destined for hell.
In that case, I might as well take them all for what they're worth.
A thought flickered in his mind. His eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
The pirate shuddered violently, soul seemingly on the verge of collapse. In that moment, loyalty meant nothing.
"In the port! The ship's hiding its flag, but there's a lion figurehead on the bow!"
"Please, don't kill me—!"
But mercy wasn't on the table.
Shhk!
A head dropped to the ground, leaving behind a slick trail of scarlet.
Gawain flicked the blood from his blade and turned, striding away into the night. But then—he recalled something Kuro had once said:
"If you're gonna make money—make a fortune."
All the pirates and nobles gathered in the port tonight were scum—but wealthy scum.
Still, tonight's auction involved tangled forces: the Donquixote Family, Baroque Works, even elements from the New World.
If I want to rob them all without exposing myself... I'll need a plan.
As he thought, he found himself standing once more in front of the doll shop he had passed that afternoon.
A smirk curled his lips.
Without hesitation, he turned and walked toward the port.
Beneath the Moonlight
Several bisected corpses lay scattered near the auction house entrance. The pirates who had originally followed Gawain fled in terror, switching targets without hesitation.
A few minutes later—
Daz Bonez and Zala arrived at the scene. Looking at the pool of blood on the ground, Zala frowned deeply.
"All dead with a single strike. Clean kills. The one who did this has strong swordsmanship skills."
Daz Bonez felt a chill run down his spine. A dark premonition twisted in his gut.
"Could it be the guy who bought the Bone-Bone Fruit?"
"If it is him, then we're in trouble—"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Boom!
An explosion thundered from the direction of the port. Flames lit the night sky as a damaged warship slowly pulled into the harbor.
Then, Daz Bonez saw the figure standing on the deck. His breath caught. Cold sweat soaked his back.
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea... the Lizard King—Hanafuda?!"
"Why would someone of that level show up here?!"
"This is bad," Zala muttered, wiping sweat from her palms.
Opponents of this caliber were far beyond anything they were prepared to handle.
"So that oppressive presence I felt back at the auction... it must've been him."
Daz Bonez said grimly, piecing it together.
Judging by what they knew, the mysterious presence earlier could only have belonged to Hanafuda.
But after several moments of silent thought and getting nowhere, Daz Bonez shook his head.
"Forget it. Let's move. We're tracking the one who took the devil fruit."
"Quick and clean. Get the fruit, and we're out."
"Understood!"
At the same time—
In the port.
Flames surged into the night sky, several buildings burned fiercely, and the air was filled with the cries of the wounded.
Hanafuda stood calmly at the bow of the ship, watching the chaos with a cold gaze.
"Captain, I've confirmed it—there's an auction underway, and the place is crawling with fat sheep!"
"As long as we seize control of the port, everything here is ours for the taking!"
"Then…"
A cruel grin formed on the pirate's face as he spoke.
Hanafuda, still wrapped in bandages, stood beside him. Blood seeped slowly from his wounds. The original plan had been to head straight to Raven Harbor and take back the Red Dragon Fruit from the pirate called Knight Gawain. But halfway there, their fleet had been ambushed by the Navy.
Their original pirate ship was sunk, and even the captured warship beneath their feet was now barely afloat.
With supplies dwindling, they had been forced to detour to Loguetown to replenish. Yet unexpectedly, they stumbled upon this windfall.
"This should be enough to make up for our losses," Hanafuda muttered.
"Attack!"
With Hanafuda's command, the pirates who had followed him from the Grand Line surged into action, drawing their blades and clashing with the port's defenders.
Steel clanged and cannons roared.
In mere minutes, the defenders at the port were overwhelmed. Without Smoker's leadership, the marines' resistance quickly crumbled.
Bloodthirsty pirates even turned on the civilians, cutting them down without mercy.
In an instant, Loguetown's port plunged into total chaos.
Screams and cries of the townspeople echoed across the burning streets. Among the smoke and fire, the marauding pirates marched further into the town's heart.
Standing tall at the bow, Hanafuda looked out over the carnage, unmoved by the sea of bodies below.
"There is no place for the weak in this world. Their only worth... is to serve as fuel for my ascent."
"Tears? Screams?" he scoffed.
"They are nothing but the instincts of the powerless. The strong—only they rise again and again... until their enemies are destroyed."
Amid the smoke and gunfire.
Mira, having ensured her family's safety, now moved through the chaos. She glanced back at the burning port, her face pale with fear.
But when she looked down at the crumpled banknotes in her hand, her determination hardened. She clutched them tightly and ran toward the auction site.
Soon, a familiar figure appeared in the distance.
He wasn't particularly handsome—just over two meters tall—but there was an aura about him, like he was in control of everything around him.
It was Gawain, also headed toward the port.
Mira's eyes lit up, and she hurried toward him, calling out urgently:
"Sir!"
"There's a group of dangerous pirates at the port. Please, follow me—I'll take you to a safe place."
Without waiting for a reply, Mira grabbed Gawain's hand and turned to lead him away from Loguetown.
Gawain didn't resist. He let her lead the way, a faint warmth glimmering in his eyes.
He glanced down at the banknotes clutched in her hand.
"This money isn't worth risking your life to save me," he said softly.
Mira turned back, her smile clear and unwavering.
"My father said justice should always be warm. And you, sir… you have a warm heart."
"Someone like you shouldn't die here!"
Boom!
A shell struck the building beside them, erupting in blinding red light. The blast sent debris tumbling toward them.
Gawain scooped Mira into his arms and leapt high into the air. In a blur, he landed steadily on a distant street.
"S-Sir, you…" Mira stammered, her cheeks suddenly flushed. She realized in that moment—the man before her had never needed her protection.
"I… I was being foolish."
"No," Gawain replied, shaking his head.
"You have a warm heart too."
As he spoke, the dream Mira had mentioned earlier came to his mind. A soft smile tugged at his lips.
"Hey, Mira... do you want to see a real dragon?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mira blinked, confused.
But before she could process the question, the answer revealed itself.
Gawain's body swelled and expanded, and within mere seconds, he had transformed into a massive red dragon—over a hundred meters long.
Four powerful limbs, two massive wings, and a body covered in fearsome thorns radiated an overwhelming, fantastical presence.
Mira, now perched on Gawain's back, was frozen in awe. Instinctively, she grabbed onto a spine to steady herself.
It wasn't until she gazed down and saw the immense dragon below her that it truly registered.
"A… a dragon?!"
"A real, living, colossal red dragon!"
"M-Mr. Gawain is… a dragon?!"
She gasped, her voice rising in disbelief.
"Wait, are those old stories about dragons kidnapping kind-hearted girls actually true?!"
Mira mumbled in a daze—then, with a sudden rush of wind, her body felt light. She lowered herself instinctively against Gawain's back.
When she opened her eyes again—
She was soaring through the sky, with all of Loguetown stretched out beneath her.
"Hahahahaha—!"
Laughter echoed in the skies above, loud and unrestrained.
Back at the burning port, Hanafuda's expression darkened as he watched the scene unfold.
"You… you really ate that fruit?!"