A deafening silence swept the entire auction hall.
All eyes were fixed on the tight-fitting dress in the glass case... and the two Charlotte high-ranking officers storming out of Suite 2A, their rage palpable.
Inside the luxury suite:
Black worry lines appeared on both their foreheads.
"Scary... the killing intent radiating from those two..." Borsalino remarked, smirking faintly.
"They’re... quite effective auctioneers," Darren finally managed to say after a tense pause.
Is this... "original scent"?!
But this is Big Mom we’re talking about!!
A vivid mental image flashed into Darren’s mind—a grotesque, massive figure ravenously devouring enemies, sending shivers down his spine.
Who in their right mind would buy that?!
Darren’s instincts screamed.
He focused sharply on the dress in the glass—sleek, blood-stained, clearly made for a curvaceous figure.
The size was all wrong...
There was no way the bloated, misshapen form of today’s Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin—could ever fit into such a tight, seductive dress!
Then he remembered his timeline.
Sea Circle Calendar 1493 — nine years after the God Valley incident, and over twenty years before the Summit War...
"Admiral Sengoku," Darren asked, voice low. "Do you know what Charlotte Linlin looks like now?"
Sengoku was silent for two heartbeats, then motioned for a Marine beside him.
The Marine produced a bounty poster, tore one sheet off, and slapped it on the table with a loud slap.
He could almost understand now.
Still—who would actually bid on that?
And with the entire Charlotte Family already issuing threats—it seemed unlikely.
"Who do you think you are?! I’ll bid two hundred and ten million Berry!!"
A pirate with a cocked mohawk jumped up, defiant, glares aimed straight at Perospero and Daifuku.
"This dress is mine!"
A wave of bids crashed forward like a tidal surge.
"Who are you!? Two hundred and thirty million Berry!!"
A rotund man in a Mafioso suit lit a golden cigar.
He eyed the dress with raw, unapologetic lust.
"Heh heh heh—I’m at two hundred and forty million."
Another voice—this time soft and noble—joined the bidding.
The roar of offers exploded among the crowd, breath ragged, pulses racing:
"Two hundred and fifty million Berry!!"
Hearing the skyrocketing bids, the Charlotte brothers’ blood ran cold. Their chests heaved as their whole bodies trembled with rage.
"Charlotte Family—three hundred million Berry!!" Perospero snarled, voice cold and eldritch.
"If someone else gets this dress, we’ll be laughed out of the seas!!"
This isn’t money anymore—it’s pride!
"...They’re true gentlemen," Darren mused, lips twitching, voice flat.
The higher-ranking you are, the weirder your fetishes.
Just look at the Celestial Dragons.
And now this—the reigning terror of the seas, Big Mom... and her dress?
At three hundred million Berry, Darren smirked inwardly: "Some people sure know how to play..."
Three minutes later, with a final bang of the gavel:
The dress once worn by Charlotte Linlin—the "original scent" intact—was sold to the Charlotte brothers for an astonishing three hundred and forty million Berry.
The auctioneer’s hammer fell.
Brows knitted with disappointment by many.
But the Charlotte pair? Their faces were deathly pale.
"Odd, isn’t it... They got what they wanted, yet look like killers standing there..."
Borsalino’s timely commentary broke their silence.
The auction resumed its "normal" pace:
Finely crafted armors entered the stage;
Hallucinogenic elixirs followed;
Strapping human slaves paraded by;
Exquisitely beautiful mermaids displayed like jewels.
Forbidden items of all kinds shone brightly—tempting every gaze.
Darren bid on a few select items himself. The other bidders backed off as he paid them no mind—ah, the sheer power of someone who holds "money beyond measure."
By the time the event concluded, Suite 3A had spent over a billion Berry. A sum few could match.
Meanwhile, in a shadowed corner—
Marco watched, quietly agape.
Over a billion Berry... that’s enough for my crew to survive for years...
The Charlotte brothers, face-to-face with Darren’s suite, harbored deep-seated hostility.
"This guy... he’s not ordinary."
Perospero’s voice was grim. "Even our family brought only five hundred million Berry total..."
To casually spend over a billion.
They exchanged glances—and formed a chilling vow:
Once the More-More Fruit appears, deal with that 3A guy first, then handle King!
Meanwhile, King’s icy gaze toward Suite 3A sharpened.
As the auction neared its end, tension became suffocating.
Every organization in that room knew—
A brutal struggle was looming.
And the owner of Suite 3A—the mysterious, resource-rich target—was about to become the focus of countless threats.
Even if they failed to seize the More-More Fruit, attacking that man would be just as valuable.
Perhaps he was worth even more than the Fruit itself!
In that instant, countless hostile stares, laden with malice, shifted toward Suite 3A.
"Let us congratulate the guest in Suite 3A for obtaining this item. And now—finally—the grand finale!!"
Nagging drumbeats rose.
Spotlights multiplied.
The man in the tailcoat stood center-stage—arms open, presiding like a conductor over one last symphony. His eyes glowed.
"Ladies and gentlemen—"
With a sudden motion, the stage floor opened. A platform ascended, holding...
A glass box, eerily illuminated—and inside...
A Devil Fruit pulsed with an unsettling aura.
The audience gasped collectively.
"—The More-More Fruit!!"