Aldo walked with the group along the streets leading toward those "special establishments," but his expression remained awkward the entire time.
As he walked, he couldn't help muttering under his breath,
"The boss actually told me to bring you idiots to a place like this… Why does this feel so weird?"
"Exactly, Brother Aldo!"
One of the crewmen quickly chimed in.
"The captain really did say that! Right, guys?"
The others immediately nodded vigorously in agreement.
Aldo snorted and scratched his hair.
"That Isaac bastard… really dumped an annoying job on me."
"Well, you can't really blame him," another crewman laughed.
"Brother Isaac's working himself to death in the training room so he can awaken Haki as fast as possible."
"That's true."
Aldo's tone softened slightly.
"As an officer, still being stuck at merely brushing the edge of Haki like some squad leader…"
"He's definitely feeling pretty miserable inside."
As they chatted, the topic somehow drifted toward Sami.
"But speaking of which…"
One crewman lowered his voice teasingly.
"Have you guys noticed? The captain never seems to visit places like this…"
"Could it be he doesn't like women?"
Someone beside him immediately stifled a laugh and added,
"My guess is… maybe he just doesn't like humans at all."
"If that's true… then the captain's life is way too tragic!"
The moment those words came out, several crewmen instantly understood the implication and burst out laughing.
Listening to them grow more and more ridiculous, Aldo clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Yet inwardly, he also found himself briefly wondering about it.
Shaking his head, he forcefully tossed aside those messy thoughts and barked:
"Alright, alright! Stop gossiping behind the boss's back!"
"If we're going, then hurry up already! Quit dragging your feet!"
That day, everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly, and fortunately, no trouble broke out.
Since the coating process would take around five days—and that didn't include the waiting period for their reservation—the crew estimated they would remain at Sabaody Archipelago for nearly half a month.
The next day, Riberra Sami gathered the crew and announced the day's plans.
"Same rules as yesterday."
"If you go ashore, you must be accompanied by an officer."
His gaze swept across the group before landing on Kahaylo and Alberto.
"Kahaylo, Alberto—you two are coming with me today."
"Oh, right. Do you still have enough money on you?"
The two exchanged glances before nodding.
"We still have a few tens of millions of Beli."
"Good. That should be enough."
Riberra Sami continued,
"Yesterday I spent most of the day observing the auction house in Area 3."
"A few Grade Skillful swords were auctioned there."
"You're all still using ordinary weapons, right?"
"So I figured I'd take you there and try your luck."
"Maybe there'll be weapon auctions again today."
"So that's the plan."
Kahaylo nodded.
Riberra Sami then turned toward the rest of the crew.
"Anyone interested can come along and take a look too."
Most of the crew hurriedly waved their hands.
"No thanks, Captain—we definitely don't have that kind of money."
The other officers who didn't use blades also looked largely uninterested.
Seeing this, Riberra Sami casually added,
"Oh right. There was also a Devil Fruit at yesterday's auction."
"Though the final sale price was pretty outrageous."
"DEVIL FRUIT?!"
The instant those words fell, the eyes of the previously uninterested crew and officers all lit up.
They might not afford swords, nor care much about them—
But Devil Fruits?
Those were treasures of the sea!
Even if they couldn't buy one, simply seeing one in person would already be exciting.
Besides…
What if… just what if… someone managed to get absurdly lucky?
"Boss! Take me with you! I wanna see too!"
"Captain! Me too! Bring me!"
The scene instantly became chaotic.
Dozens of people crowded forward noisily, all begging to join.
Watching the uproar, Riberra Sami helplessly shook his head.
"This is getting ridiculous."
"If dozens of us charge into the auction house together, people will think we're there to wreck the place."
He raised a hand to quiet them.
"This time, besides Alberto and Kahaylo, I'll only bring a few others."
"Not too many people."
"We're staying here for quite a while anyway. You can take turns visiting later."
In the end, Riberra Sami selected several crew members, and the group departed the Flame Fang together toward the auction house.
By the time they arrived at Area 3, it was still morning, and the auction house had only just opened.
Perhaps because their group looked obviously dangerous, they didn't encounter any kidnapping attempts like Riberra Sami had the previous day while traveling alone.
Standing before the auction house's grand entrance, they saw crowds already beginning to gather.
At a glance, over a hundred people were steadily entering through the slowly opening luxurious gates.
"Boss," Marcus lowered his voice, "looks like we came at just the right time."
"Yeah. Let's head in."
The group entered the venue and found seats.
Kahaylo habitually began scanning the surroundings.
But when his gaze swept across one section in the distance, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
"That's… Barbarossa the Explosive Bear from the South Blue?"
Riberra Sami followed his line of sight.
A tremendously burly man sat arrogantly in the front rows.
Several savage-looking men clustered around him, occasionally erupting into coarse laughter.
"Barbarossa?"
"The guy ranked just below me in bounty?" Riberra Sami recalled information he had seen in previous newspapers.
"That's right."
Kahaylo's expression remained calm as he pulled out the collection folder he carried with him and skillfully flipped to a wanted poster.
In a low voice, he read:
"Explosive Bear Barbarossa. Bounty: 170 million Beli."
"Violent and cruel by nature. Guilty of murder, arson, looting, and countless atrocities."
"While in the South Blue, he repeatedly led attacks against Marine branches."
"He's considered an extremely dangerous criminal."
"According to intelligence reports, he's an Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit user."
"He commands a fleet of over five hundred men, and the combined bounty of his organization is close to 600 million Beli."
Riberra Sami gave a slight nod and turned his attention back toward the flamboyant pirate.
"Five hundred men. Six hundred million total bounty…"
"Not small, but nothing too special either."
"The only thing really worth paying attention to is probably his Ancient Zoan ability."
…
"Hah! Those bastards from the Mad Dog crew sure ran fast yesterday!"
A monkey-faced officer gulped down alcohol while shouting loudly, causing the surrounding subordinates to burst into laughter.
"Exactly!"
"The moment our boss got the news, those guys vanished with both ship and crew like they'd seen a ghost!"
Barbarossa lounged lazily in the guest seating area.
Hearing this, he merely snorted dismissively through his nose, appearing utterly unconcerned.
"If they ran, they ran."
"It's just a Devil Fruit."
"They won the auction fair and square."
"I, Explosive Bear Barbarossa, haven't sunk so low that I'd stoop to robbing someone over a single fruit."
His words immediately triggered a storm of agreement from his men.
"Boss is right!"
"That's Captain Barbarossa for you! Such magnanimity!"
Barbarossa narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, enjoying the flattery.
It was as if the frustration and regret he'd felt yesterday upon hearing the Devil Fruit had been sold had never existed at all.
Then his tone shifted, becoming tinged with disdain and irritation.
"But that brat Mad Dog really doesn't understand etiquette."
"After getting such a huge prize, he didn't even bother coming over to celebrate with me or buy me a few drinks…"
"That's clearly disrespecting me."
The fingers gripping his wooden cup tightened slightly, causing faint creaking sounds to emerge from the wood.
"The next time I run into him at sea…"
"Hmph."
"I'll smash both him and that worthless little ship of his straight into the ocean to feed the fish."
"OOOOHHHHH!!"
His subordinates instantly erupted into bloodthirsty cheers, as though they could already picture the delightful scene.
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