Hearing this extreme insult, dragging the Celestial Dragons through the mud and saying they were worse than livestock, all the surviving guests were stunned, mouths agape, momentarily forgetting their fear.
What scathing words.
But honestly, they weren’t entirely inaccurate.
Weren’t the Celestial Dragons exactly like that?
Saint Charlos and Princess Shalulia trembled with rage, tears mixing with snot from sheer terror.
Beyond their fear of death, their eyes held venom and humiliation.
Saint Rosward clenched his jaw so hard that blood seeped from his clenched teeth.
Behind his sunglasses, his eyes burned red.
The murderous intent surging within him almost took physical form in the air.
In his heart, he had already imagined Moren being tortured to death a thousand times over by the cruelest methods imaginable!
They had to catch him.
They must catch him.
They must make him suffer a fate worse than death!
Just as Rosward was consumed by hatred, dreaming of revenge, that damned voice spoke again.
“Alright, time’s almost up.
Well then, thank you all for playing your part tonight.”
“Oh, and a friendly reminder.
If you get the chance to be human again in your next life, try to be decent people.
Don’t be something even worse than beasts.
You’ll die a very ugly death.”
The moment the words faded, the atmosphere inside the auction hall turned to ice.
Every face went rigid.
What?
Next life?
What did he mean by that?
At the same time, at the edge of No.1 Mangrove Area (Grove 1), inside an abandoned wooden house.
Moren watched the image projected by a Visual Den Den Mushi and curled his lips slightly.
He had never been inside the auction hall to begin with.
The “Black Cat Inspector” up on the dome and the bombs under the seats had all been set up days in advance.
He had been cautious at first, even going so far as to interrogate people for information.
But when he finally got there, he realized it wasn’t even necessary.
Because of their long-held, untouchable status, no one had ever dared to cause trouble.
The Human Auction House normally had barely any security at all.
The closest thing to “respect” they could show him was tightening security for the auction itself.
But they never imagined that Moren didn’t need to enter on the day itself.
All he had to do was follow the plan and activate the traps he had already laid.
That was why he was still staying near No.1 Mangrove Area .
With his current Devil Fruit ability, he couldn’t be too far from the special stickers he had placed.
If he went too far, he couldn’t control or activate them.
Inside the Human Auction House.
As Moren’s voice fell, Saint Rosward’s mind went blank with a deafening buzz.
He couldn’t even process the meaning of the words at first.
Princess Shalulia and Saint Charlos were completely paralyzed with fear.
Their mouths opened, but no sound came out as they froze in terror.
No!
The slaves had been freed.
Wasn’t he supposed to run away?!
What was he trying to do?
Wasn’t he up there too?
Was he not afraid to die?!
Doubt and terror consumed everyone present.
“No!!!”
The black-clad captain of the guards reacted first.
A chill shot straight up his spine.
Ignoring the death-sentence beeping, he roared and used Shave at the fastest speed of his life, his body blurring into a dark streak as he launched himself toward the figure on the dome!
Damn it!
He had to catch that madman.
He had to stop him!
Catch him.
Catch him.
He must catch him.
He must make him suffer a fate worse than death!
But unfortunately, fast as he was, the explosion was faster.
When he tore through the spotlight’s glare and grabbed the “figure,” his hands met only light fabric and stuffing, and a Den Den Mushi deliberately mounted on the dummy’s shoulder as part of the setup, its eyes wide open.
The ridiculous Black Cat Sheriff mask on the dummy’s face reflected cold light under the spotlights, as if mocking him.
“A fake?!
He was never here!” The guard captain’s eyes nearly split with rage.
His heart turned to ice.
There was no time to think, no time to rage, and not even time for proper despair.
The next second, BOOM!
A blinding red light exploded outward from the area where the Celestial Dragons sat.
And it wasn’t just that section.
The entire auction hall detonated like boiling water, countless columns of fire blasting skyward.
Walls, floors, ceiling, chandeliers, finely crafted seats, terrified guests…
Everything in sight was instantly devoured and shredded by the searing orange-red light.
The massive auction house, in an earth-shattering roar, became a giant mushroom cloud of debris and flame.
Fire shot into the sky.
The shockwave, like an invisible tsunami, swept across kilometers, toppling nearby buildings and ripping them apart, throwing people into chaos as they staggered and crashed in every direction.
Half of Sabaody Archipelago was drenched in a blood-red glow, as if the sky itself had caught fire.
Many thought their eyes were deceiving them.
Why else would there be two suns in the sky?
In the No.3 Mangrove Area (Grove 3), Rayleigh, who had already reached a safe distance, stopped and turned.
He looked at the still-expanding mushroom cloud and the burning sky in silence.
After a moment, he removed his glasses, wiped them on his shirt, put them back on, and sighed.
“The young people these days really dare to think and dare to act.
This gift will keep the World Government busy digesting for quite a while.”
Then, with one last look at the sea of fire, he turned and disappeared.
At the same time, above the clouds over Sabaody Archipelago.
A golden light condensed and stretched into the figure of a tall man in a Marine Admiral’s “Justice” coat, yellow-and-white striped suit, and amber sunglasses.
Marine Headquarters Admiral Borsalino, also known as “Kizaru.”
He looked down at the burning ruins of Grove 1, his expression unreadable behind the glasses.
His killing intent was so intense it seemed to solidify into reality around him.
“Oh my…
looks like I was a step too late.
This is a really big incident, isn’t it~”
His voice remained slow and lazy, as if nothing in the world could truly wake him up.
He didn’t descend.
He knew very well that whoever orchestrated this had either extreme ability, meticulous planning, or strong escape support.
Going down now would only mean dealing with the aftermath and political fallout, what passed for “respect” in their eyes, without any guarantee of catching the “Black Cat.”
More importantly, simply showing up was already a statement.
That alone was enough.
“Oh well~ The Celestial Dragons are…
anyway.
What’s done is done.
I’ll just deal with the aftermath and political fallout later~” Kizaru muttered casually, pulling out a Den Den Mushi.
“Moshi moshi…”