Meanwhile, at Grove 3 of the Sabaody Archipelago, inside the Human Auctioning House.
The entire auction house had already descended into complete chaos.
Normally, everyone who could participate in a human auction like this was either rich or powerful. To make matters worse, a Celestial Dragon was personally present.
In the eyes of any influential figure, simply being able to share a room with a World Noble and participate in an auction alongside them was an honor worth boasting about, even if they ultimately walked away empty-handed.
Yet no one had expected that this supposedly prestigious auction, with a Celestial Dragon in attendance, would erupt into a violent incident.
Even the untouchable World Noble they had revered had been attacked.
"My God! Run! It’s the Supernovas of the Worst Generation—the Straw Hat, Captain Kid, and the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law! They actually attacked a Celestial Dragon!"
"Quick! Get word out! Have the Marines come and capture these madmen!"
The entire scene immediately descended into chaos.
Hundreds of people inside the already-crowded auction house desperately scrambled for the exits.
Quite a few people glanced back at the fallen Celestial Dragon, and for a moment, they were tempted to take advantage of the situation and rescue him in order to curry favor.
But compared with their own lives, they obviously chose the latter.
"Quick! Everyone, move aside!"
"The criminals inside! You are surrounded!"
"I’m Commodore Ryan of the Marines! Surrender immediately, or don’t blame us for using force to storm the building!"
Hundreds, then thousands, of Marines rapidly converged from every direction, completely surrounding the plaza outside the auction house.
At the forefront was a middle-aged Marine officer wearing a felt hat.
During this period, the Marines had declared war on two of the Four Emperors. Elite Marines who had been stationed elsewhere had not only been recalled to Marine Headquarters at Marineford—many had also been stationed throughout the Sabaody Archipelago.
Otherwise, they would never have been able to gather more than a thousand Marines so quickly in response to the emergency signal reporting an attack on a Celestial Dragon.
In an instant, countless rifle barrels were aimed at the auction house’s only entrance.
Not far away, several other Supernovas were also watching the entire scene with great interest.
Capone Bege, captain of the Fire Tank Pirates.
"Roar of the Sea" Scratchmen Apoo, captain of the On-Air Pirates.
Jewelry Bonney, captain of the Bonney Pirates.
Basil Hawkins of the Hawkins Pirates.
And X Drake of the Drake Pirates.
Originally, even they regarded Celestial Dragons as untouchable existences.
They had encountered them more than once on their journey.
But every time, they had deliberately avoided them, even ordering their crews to stay away.
They had assumed they could remain peacefully uninvolved and spend the day in the Sabaody Archipelago without incident.
They had never expected some reckless fool to actually attack one.
Instead, the incident piqued their interest, making them curious about how it would ultimately end.
"Captain, I have a bad feeling about this."
"It feels like we really shouldn’t have come here to watch the commotion."
Inside the entrance of the auction house, Trafalgar Law’s expression was stiff, and the muscles in his cheeks twitched repeatedly.
Five days ago, after completing his deal with Lucas, he had immediately taken his crew and fled toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
He had originally only intended to visit the auction house for some entertainment and perhaps see if he could recruit some useful combatants for his crew.
He had never expected to get caught in the crossfire again.
"Captain, why don’t we leave?"
"My heart is beating faster and faster."
Shachi, standing behind Trafalgar Law, couldn’t help speaking up again.
The other members of the crew nodded in agreement.
After everything that had happened five days ago, they had firmly come to believe that they were pirates who had grown stronger by weathering the storms of the sea.
They absolutely did not want to associate themselves with this group of Supernovas who were still floating around in the clouds.
"Heh-heh, Trafalgar Law, I told you a long time ago."
"What kind of Supernova are you? You’re not worthy of standing alongside me."
Kid was the first to speak with a cold laugh.
"If you’re afraid, then run."
"I’ll deal with this Celestial Dragon incident myself."
"Don’t forget, I’m the number-one Supernova."
His booming voice echoed across the open space, causing many people still present to turn their heads.
When faced with an attack on a Celestial Dragon, most people’s first instinct was naturally to distance themselves from the incident.
Kid’s decision to do the exact opposite was certainly unexpected.
Precisely because of this, both the Marines and the pirates turned their attention toward Trafalgar Law and Straw Hat Luffy.
They also wanted to know what the other two Supernovas who had emerged from the auction house would choose to do.
"Luffy, we should leave."
Nami’s face was pale as she looked around.
"There aren’t that many Marines here yet. We should hurry and escape."
Usopp and Chopper, the other two members of the Cowardly Trio, immediately nodded repeatedly in agreement.
But faced with all of this, Luffy had already rolled up his sleeves.
He shook his head.
"No."
"We’re not the same people we were back in Water 7."
"This time, I want to find out just how strong I’ve become."
"These Marines are nothing. I can defeat them easily."
"I’m going to show everyone on the sea that I’m the strongest Supernova!"
"Heh-heh. The captain is right."
Zoro tightened his grip on the swords at his waist and strode forward.
Thinking back to everything they had experienced in Water 7 not long ago, his grip on his swords became even tighter.
Sanji also put away his usual carefree smile and stepped forward with a cigarette between his lips.
After encountering the Marines again so soon, they clearly wanted to use this opportunity to restore their confidence.
Seeing that the three had already made up their minds, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper immediately panicked.
They hurriedly turned toward Robin and the others, silently seeking help.
Before they could even say anything, however, the bloodied Celestial Dragon, Saint Charlos, staggered out of the auction house and let out an enraged roar.
"You bastards! You useless Marines! Why haven’t you attacked yet?"
"Are you planning to stand by and watch us Celestial Dragons get killed?"
"Don’t forget, I’m a World Noble! I’m one of the most exalted people in this world!"
"No one is allowed to attack us! Anyone who does will only meet one fate—death!"
"I order you to eliminate them immediately!"
"If I still see them alive ten minutes from now, don’t blame me for killing all of you!"
"Not a single one of you will escape!"
The moment these words were spoken, the expressions of both the pirates and the Marines changed.
They had certainly heard that the World Nobles were arrogant and violent.
But they had never imagined that one of them could be ruthless enough to threaten to kill his own people.
Commodore Ryan, the Marine officer in charge, immediately turned grim.
He clearly hadn’t expected the situation to develop this way.
"Saint Charlos, our opponents this time are Supernovas, and you are still in their hands. We cannot recklessly launch an attack."
"But please rest assured, Saint Charlos. We’ve already requested assistance from an Admiral."
"I just received confirmation."
"The Marine Admiral coming to support us this time is the newly appointed Gluttonous Admiral Lucas."
"He’s nearby and should arrive within a few minutes."
A newly appointed Marine Admiral?
Saint Charlos froze.
The vicious rage on his face instantly disappeared.
He hurriedly asked,
"W-What did you just say?"
"Say that again."
"Which Admiral is coming?!"
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