AUCTION MASTER

Chapter 1: first auction Pt 1.

—One Piece World, Sabaody Archipelago—

This archipelago was known as a place where a thousand and one things happened every single day; however, the sudden appearance of a magnificent palace overnight was something that even those who had spent the longest time in the archipelago had never seen in their lives… and they had seen all kinds of things.

Even so, they soon grew accustomed to seeing the resplendent and majestic palace, though more than anything, it was because its golden and gleaming decoration made it impossible for people to look away, until they simply ended up used to it.

Of course, the mere fact that the palace oozed wealth from every single damn brick meant that some pirates had tried—and failed miserably—to rob it. And, naturally, every Celestial Dragon who came to the archipelago to “sightsee”… or rather, to enjoy inflicting as much pain and suffering as possible on anything in their path… simply could not resist wanting to claim the palace as their own.

However, just like with the pirates, every attempt to approach had been brutally repelled by a powerful golden barrier that had sprung up after the very first robbery attempt. Whether that attempt had been made by a pirate or a Celestial Dragon, no one really knew to this day.

And it must be said that even the finest fighters under the Celestial Dragons had truly given their best efforts to break the barrier, without the slightest success.

This inevitably became such a routine event that, eventually, it turned into just another part of daily life for the archipelago’s residents. After all, if something defined the rookie pirates arriving for the first time at the archipelago… or the Celestial Dragons themselves, it was that no matter how impossible something seemed, they would always try to obtain it. For that reason, the palace eventually turned into old news.

But, as the saying goes: “nothing lasts forever.” And today, rays of light shot toward the sky directly from the palace, finally scattering in every possible direction… and even in a few that made no sense at all.

“That’s definitely new,” commented a street vendor who happened to be near the palace and couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the brilliant beams of light rising into the sky.

Which made absolutely everyone realize what was about to happen—or rather, how much money they could make now that they could sell the news that the mysterious golden palace had just shown, for the first time since its appearance, what would undoubtedly be a novelty for which many Celestial Dragons would pay handsomely… or, at the very least, leave them in peace for a while. But hey, anything was better than being captured and enslaved by those bastard nobles.

However, despite all the optimistic and greedy thoughts swirling among most of the archipelago’s inhabitants, there were a few people who thought in a rather different way.

One such person, currently located in Area 13 of the archipelago, was an elderly man with long silver hair—a clear sign of his advanced age—wearing shabby clothes, simply staring at the golden letter in his hands. Or rather, the golden invitation that had descended from the sky straight into his grasp.

“Sky Auction House…” he couldn’t help but murmur as he read the invitation for the third time. “Looks like the seas are about to get lively again.”

After saying that, he simply finished off what little remained of the wine bottle in his hand, and only then did the Dark King step into the bar of his wife, Shakky, who was already waiting behind the counter.

“Looks like you received an invitation too,” she said, making Rayleigh realize that the woman held the exact same card in her hands.

“I’m not sure who owns that palace, but if there’s one thing I know for certain… whoever it is, they’re very powerful.”

Shakky certainly knew what she was talking about; after all, it wasn’t a secret that this place, more than just a rundown bar, was actually an information exchange hub. And as such, she had conducted an exhaustive investigation to find out who the owner of the palace—one that had stirred the greed of both pirates and nobles—really was: a man who had simply sent an invitation to every important corner of the world as nothing less than a boast of his power. If that wasn’t a sign that he was a big fish, then she’d eat her hat… if she wore one, that is.

Rayleigh could only nod at that. Certainly, the manner in which the message was sent made it clear, at the very least, that the owner had money and resources on par with the Celestial Dragons themselves. And the barrier that had repelled even the strongest of CP was further proof that his resources went far beyond that, though Rayleigh couldn’t help but wonder if it could stop an admiral… or even Roger, if he were still alive.

—At the same time, in the New World—

In the royal palace of Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had also received his own invitation to the Auction House. And, true to his usual self, he simply couldn’t stop laughing for a good while as he carefully read the golden paper between his fingers.

To be completely honest with himself, just moments ago he had been utterly bored, doing absolutely nothing. Or at least that had been the case until he noticed a golden light heading straight toward him, and naturally assumed someone was attacking him.

Only to discover that said golden light was nothing more than the strangest—and in some ways, the most insulting—way of sending mail, although something told him that that fool Morgans would pay a fortune for such a method.

“Ne, ne, Doffy, from what we’ve discovered, those things came from that strange palace in Sabaody,” reported his most faithful subordinate, Trebol, who—as always—had barged in the very moment he obtained the information his Warlord needed.

“From the palace, huh…?” murmured the Heavenly Demon before reading the golden invitation in his hand once again, his face slowly twisting into an increasingly deranged expression.

Elsewhere in the New World, somewhere across the vast seas, the only sound to be heard was the hearty, genuine laughter echoing from an immense whale-shaped pirate ship.

“Gurarararara!… This sounds interesting. Let’s go, brats, set course for the Sabaody Archipelago!” declared the man once known as the strongest in the world to his “sons,” who immediately began charting the course to said archipelago.

—Whole Cake—

“An invitation to an auction?” The already terrifying smile on Big Mom’s face became even more pronounced as she turned her gaze toward her strongest son. “Katakuri, go and take a look. If they have delicious food, bring it back for me!”

To tell the truth, Charlotte Linlin wasn’t the least bit interested in the auction itself, nor in how the hell the invitation had been delivered directly to her island in Whole Cake without her children being able to stop it. However, the mere fact that someone dared to send something from the Sabaody Archipelago straight into her home was more than enough to rouse her curiosity and send her strongest son to find out what was happening. After all, only a complete idiot would ignore what could very well be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

In the distant lands of Wano, things could not have been more different, no matter how one tried. To begin with, the captain of the Beast Pirates was simply so drunk that he had completely fallen asleep. And second, he hadn’t actually received an invitation at all.

Still, everyone had seen the golden rays streaking across the skies. And while every single one of them felt an immense curiosity to discover what in the world had just happened, the truth was that no one was stupid—or suicidal—enough to try waking Kaido.

After all, the man was simply unpredictable when drunk, able to shift from a happy drunk to a bloodthirsty monster in a matter of seconds… and no one was about to risk their neck just to satisfy their curiosity.

—Marineford—

At Marine Headquarters, which was normally tense enough on its own, things were even more strained than usual. In one of the conference rooms, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was contemplating the three invitations that had arrived by means of those strange golden rays of light to different parts of the base.

They hadn’t managed to figure out much, but what little they knew was that the origin was directly from that strange building. Which, of course, made Sengoku unable to shake the feeling that something was definitely about to happen. And he didn’t know why, but something inside him told him that whatever it was, it would be even worse than Roger’s final words to the world.

Tsuru, who sat beside her old friend, actually had a similar premonition, though for a very different reason. For the woman known as the strongest in all the Marines, the matter was simple: she had been there when the mysterious building appeared on the archipelago, had seen how the Celestial Dragons became infatuated with it, and had witnessed even Kizaru himself fail to break through the golden barrier. And if that barrier truly fell to allow entry, she had no doubt that those greedy idiots would, without question, do something completely stupid.

Which, sadly, was their modus operandi.

Of course, Sengoku knew this, and had in fact prohibited any admiral from continuing to attack the damn barrier. But that was a separate issue. The matter now was that the fleet admiral couldn’t help but imagine the problems he would face once the mysterious palace finally opened its doors.

And, of course, the fact that not only Marines but also others had been invited was a damned nightmare he wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with. For, according to what his informants embedded in the Yonko crews had told him, the only one of the four who had not received an invitation was Kaido of the Beasts.

Even so, he had been forced to summon this meeting with the strongest vice admirals, as well as the three admirals, to choose the few Marines who would be sent to oversee the event.

“Of course we must go,” and naturally, Akainu, the most belligerent of the three admirals, couldn’t help but be the first to raise his voice. After all, in the opinion of the Marines’ attack dog, no matter what the purpose of that mysterious building was, the Marines had no reason to ignore it. And, of course, he also salivated at the idea of cleansing the seas of some of the pirate scum that infested them.

Indeed, in Sakazuki’s view, if a group of great pirates were gathering in the Sabaody Archipelago, the most logical thing was simply to send as many Marines as possible to arrest whoever they could. Although, of course, he wasn’t an idiot… at least not all the time, and he knew that with all the big names that had been invited, it was impossible for the Marines to capture all of them at once with only a small group.

Still, that didn’t stop the possibility of capturing a few, which, in his somewhat biased opinion, was better than catching none.

“That would be quite dangerous… the Celestial Dragons won’t pass up the opportunity to exploit the situation, and I have no doubt that if we tried anything, at least one or two would end up injured… or perhaps worse,” commented Sengoku after having pondered Sakazuki’s proposal for a couple of minutes.

However, he wasn’t called the Great Strategist for nothing, and eventually he believed he had found the best course of action—or at least one that would be as neutral as possible for everyone involved.

—At the same time, Revolutionary Army’s secret base—

Of course, the Revolutionary Army had also received an invitation to the event… in fact, they had received more than one, but that wasn’t the issue right now, for Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, had quite the dilemma on his hands. On one hand, attending could mean acquiring some truly valuable resources.

But on the other hand, the Sabaody Archipelago was far too close to Marineford for his liking, not to mention Mariejois. If his identity were to be discovered… it would simply be a complete and utter disaster no matter how you looked at it. Yet once again, the possibility that this mysterious auction house might hold truly worthwhile items was a damned temptation he simply couldn’t ignore. In his plan to free the world from the tyranny of the World Government, any aid they could secure was essential.

What’s more, the invitation had made it abundantly clear that its grounds were neutral territory. That is to say, it didn’t matter if you were pirate, marine, or civilian: as long as you were under its roof, nothing and no one would be able to start a fight. Of course, it also made it clear that whatever happened beyond its walls would be another matter, outside its control.

“Leader, I think in this situation it would be best to send me,” and, as could only be expected, it was at that moment that Sabo couldn’t help but take the initiative and rise to his feet.

After all, this was an opportunity they simply couldn’t afford to miss. And within the entire Revolutionary Army, there was no doubt that if anyone besides Dragon himself had the power to escape should things go terribly wrong, it was none other than Sabo, Dragon’s right hand.

So, after thinking it over for a good while, Dragon agreed to let him go, on the sole condition that he remain as inconspicuous as possible.

—At the Auction House—

Of course, the owner of the building knew exactly what he had set into motion. He was a son of the most chaotic bloodline of all known universes—and surely of those yet to be discovered. And, naturally, the fact that his actions had already become the cause of some of the fiercest debates across the seas was almost a gift from the heavens for the golden-haired youth, who now watched as his servants put the finishing touches on the auction hall, all the while with a single thought in mind:

“How much chaos can I cause?”

End of Chapter.