Chapter 339: The Auction
The Straw Hats were in a hurry, after all Mermaids were quite valuable when it came to slaves.
In fact Sanji was reading such a list about slaves that Duval gave him and he was pissed.
"What is with this last?" growled out Sanji.
He wanted to kick someone so hard after seeing this list of the prices of various slaves.
And the most expensive were young mermaid.
"Now you use why everyone want to catch mermaids their so valuable." Said Duval.
"Why do you even have this list, I thought you said you were just kidnappers?" asked Sanji glaring at him.
"Look that's not important." Said Duval, "What is important is saving Camie."
Sanji bit down on his cigarette.
"Their popular, rich people like using as ornaments. They live the rest of their lives in small tanks." Said Duval.
Needless to say Sanji was horrified by that prospect.
Meanwhile at the same time a clone got to the auction house.
"Hey what is this place?" asked the clone to a group pf people.
One of them was Kid.
"That's that brat Shadow Fox." Said Kid looking at him with a smirk.
That was when some of the workers of the auction house saw him.
"Oh you're Shadow Fox Naruto aren't you?" asked one of the workers as the auction house.
"What is this place?" asked Naruto's clone.
"This the human auction house, didn't think you'd be the type to be into human auctions!" said the worker, "Since you're just a teen you'd be protesting the streets about this sort of things."
That worker didn't have high opinion of teens.
"IS there a mermaid here?" asked Naruto glaring at the worker.
The worker froze.
"So there is. Thanks for the information." Said the clone who then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"What the!" yelled the worker who was unaware of Naruto being a clone user.
"he's a clone user you idiot." Said another worker.
At the same time Ino and Usopp were interrogating a group of kidnappers.
Well interrogating a bit of a strong word.
They were just complaining about how a group with a mermaid showed up at the last second right before the auction when they showed up with a giant.
An getting drunk.
"That's really sick." Said Ino.
"Hey babe you want a night together!" said one of the kidnapers.
"I'm 14 you sicko!" yelled Ino.
However one of the Flying Fish Riders began to call the others.
At the same time with Naruto got he got back the memories of his clone.
"I know where they've taken Camie." Said Naruto.
"We already found her too, the human auction house!" said the Flying Fish Rider with Ino and Usopp.
"That's right!" said Naruto.
All of the Flying Fish Riders began to head there as the human auction began a half hour before hand.
However a Mermaid wouldn't be in the first half of the auction so there was still hope.
A good chunk of the Straw Hats gathered at the auction house, with Nami, Chopper, Gaara, Sanji, Hinata, Isaribi and Kiba all there along with Hatchan and Pappagu, getting into a fight with some workers.
"What do you mean you won't give her back!" yelled Nami, "You have no right to sell her!"
"The one who has no means to stop her is you." Said one of the worker, "You're the one obstructing business. Keep this up and we'll use legal means."
"What sort of legal means?" asked Hinata, "You're selling people."
"She's right it's slavery." Said Sanji ready to attack.
"Lawless pirates have no right to preach morals." Said the worker.
"Selling people is taboo the world over." Said Nami, "how much are you paying the governed?"
"That's not a nice thing to say, but yeah. The government and military talks to us. They don't know that human trafficking or this business exists." Said one of the workers.
"Almost every day I hate the world government more and more." Muttered Isaribi.
"Can't really blame you." Said Kiba.
Franky had arrived.
"The mermaid's inside so I'll have to do it myself." Said Franky.
Franky was about to attack.
"No Celestial Dragons are inside." Said Hatchan.
Hinata flinched when he said that.
"If they have taken ownership of her then she's wearing a collar." Said Hatchan.
"The kind that explode!" yelled Chopper.
"Wait… explode?" asked Isaribi.
"You don't want to know." Said Kiba.
"Now won't you please leave?" asked the worker.
The straw hats were angry.
Nami headed towards the entrance to the Auction House.
"If we can't do it this way then we'll just have to play at their game." Said Nami, "It's a good thing you're here Gaara."
Gaara's eyes widened when she said that.
He knew was it meant.
The emergency funds.
"I'll give you how much you need." Said Gaara.
"Along with everything on the ship I'm sure we'll be able to out bit anyone here." Said Nami.
"There's no way I can pay you back." Said Hatchan.
"What are you guardian or something?" asked Kiba.
"That's not what I meant." Said Hatchan.
"It's okay… there's plenty of gold in my gourd." Said Gaara, "It was the only way we could bring that pillar with us."
"Oh yeah! I forgot all about that." Said Kiba.
"What?" asked Hatchan.
"Long story." Said Kiba.
"And unable one too." Said Hinata.
"But seriously Nami…" said Kiba.
"It doesn't matter." Said Nami," We're using that money to get back a friend no matter what."
Everyone was surprised by this, but didn't say anything.
They headed into the auction house to wait for when Camie should be called up.
With the other members of the crew hoping that they would make it in time to rescue Camie.
Meanwhile with another of Naruto's clones he saw newspapers begin given away from free being flung from the skies.
He ran over to try and get one, but how he tripped and hit is head on the rock.
"What the heck!" yelled a random pirate nearby.
"Probably just a clone." Said another pirate grabbing the newspaper that clone tried to grab.
Which was news about an upcoming execution being planned… one for Portgas D. Ace.
Who knows what would have happened had Naruto's clone read the paper… It might have changed everything…
But he didn't…
Though Naruto was grumbling about his clone's undignified death for a bit, there were other things.
Namely if the money would be enough… or rather what was going to happen when Luffy and Naruto got to the auction house…
Because was going to cause a gigantic mess, whether they meant to or not.
Next Time: They enter a bidding war for the poor mermaid. But things get complicated... very, very, very complicated. What will happen? Find out next time!