Here is the third chapter in this story released in accordance with my upload schedule for this story. After some interesting exchanges and meetings on Sabaody, the various rookie crews have decided to do their own things and several of them have opted to head to Grove 1 for a human auction for their own reasons. Some are full crews, some a few members, and two are sole gathering intel but they're there and this is a special auction as a prized species has been caught and about to be sold. However, said species just so happens to be friends with Straw Hat Luffy and he's not too thrilled at her capture as she's not for sale. Now he's on his way there too and who knows what will happen once the wildcard that is Monkey D. Luffy enters the auction house. That is all that I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and while there are no questions that need answers but there is a guest review that needs a response so I will do that now. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate.
To KGBeastboy (guest), thank you for your review and suggestions which I will address now. As you've pointed out with the first two, ice is the hardest of the powers to adapt in this story due to Aokiji's Devil Fruit and Gray and Esdeath are the hardest two in that regard. For Gray that is pretty much what my first idea for him was only a different name but I've had another suggestion that looks good so for the moment I'm holding off on Gray's fruit until One Piece drops more lore that can help me out on this front but this power and appearance could work well for Lyon should he appear in the story. As for Esdeath, let's just say that hers is going to be different and I'll explain more at the end of the next chapter as the Akame characters have a slightly different adaptation than the others do with Devil Fruits and I've actually got the fruit in mind for her but any fruit suggestion is good as it can be used for someone else if they fit and with ice that's a lot as I've not thought about what a character like Mariella might have. The idea of using Mythical Zoans like Human-Human Fruits (other than Chopper's) is one I've been toying with so it's certainly something to keep in mind. Next with Bakugo, that's actually a better name than what I had so that does work well and the description of it as a fruit is a good one so that's certainly going to be heavily considered. Todoroki, like Gray and Esdeath, has some issues due to ice but I've actually got a very specific and unique fruit for him that will be revealed next chapter and play into his backstory though I never thought of a fruit like that for him so I'll keep it in mind in case it's needed. With Ochaco, that's actually the name I've already given her fruit though I've slightly localized the English to be shorter so you've guessed correctly there though the apple based fruit idea is one that I'd never thought of for it and does work well with a gravity fruit. Similarly with Henry that is basically the fruit he has but the design is a good one though I might change it to dark brown to be more like how the hideout looks. They do come in weird shapes at times and some will look strange. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.
Anyway, that is enough rambling in this pre-chapter note so sit back and enjoy the third chapter in The Ultimate Worst Generation.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these great franchises.
Chapter 3: Extremely Satisfying Punch
Toru pressed herself against the wall at the base of the stairs that lead down either side, along with one down the middle and two more breaking up the seating area unto sections, to the stage at the base of the large theater style room in the auction house. She'd come straight here after getting the word from her Captain her power active the entire time and managed to slip in early though not before it began to fill up with patrons.
Still it was enough time to drop down and find a place to comfortably stand out of the way so that no one would bump into her while giving her a view of the attendees to see who had shown up at the same time. It was just what she'd been aiming for and with her skills it was easy to accomplish as she settled un to see if what she'd learned would come to pass.
Based on her intel there was a good chance that at least one of the 14 rookie crews would show up to do something. If she was a betting girl, which she was when she knew she'd win, Toru would bet that put it would be either the Night or Rose Pirates who'd show up and cause trouble as the former was known for killing slavers whenever they met them on the way to Sabaody and the latter for freeing slaves.
Why those two crews were so intent on doing those things Toru didn't know but she didn't really care as they did the right thing in freeing those who were enslaved by anyone but the World Nobles. A such their likely actions would free the slaves and punish those evil enough to own sentient flesh without Toru having to do so herself.
Naturally she'd do so if she had the chance but it was a huge risk and when others would do it for her she could focus on her mission and aid if need be. The only exception would be those bought by the World Nobles as no one was stupid enough to attack them, at least in a public setting like this, as far as Toru knew.
It was a good thing that crews like the Night and Rose Pirates were around to do the heavy lifting because if Toru was discovered she didn't have the power to do so herself. She wasn't like her Captain and the two mates who all possessed extremely powerful, offensive, Devil Fruits, nor was she a strong fighter without a Devil Fruit like several others on the crew. She was a spy and a thief who's role was recon and repurposing illegitimate funds for a better use, aka their crew.
Of course Toru wasn't defenseless, she had some combat skills that she was proud of and would serve her well in a pinch especially when combined with her Devil Fruit powers. Given what she could do, she had made sure to train in hand to hand fighting, which Mashirao had taken charge of though unlike him Toru couldn't use Fish-Man Karate, which alone was impressive as it made Mashirao one of the few humans able to use the style. In addition she was skilled with throwing knives and combat involving dual wielding daggers but that wasn't where her talents lay.
No, her talents were tied to the Devil Fruit that she'd eaten as a child and which her Captain had seen in her when the Might Pirates had passed through her home island on their way to the Grand Line. Like many who'd eaten a Devil Fruit in one of the Blues, Toru had been ostracized by those on her home island for her 'curse' and when you added in what the Camo-Camo Fruit did it made it a lot worse as no one felt safe unless she was visible.
Izuku, who was building his crew at the time and only had Katsuki, Tenya, Ochaco, Mashirao, Minoru, Ejiro, Mei, Fumikage, and Tsu at the time, and hadn't even decided on some of the roles on the crew due to the size, arrived on her home island and dealt with an issue there using his Devil Fruit power. That was when Toru saw that others had the same kind of strange powers that she did, and some were even stranger than hers, so she appeared to them with information that showed the issue was deeper than Izuku had thought and aided them in freeing her people from an oppressive organization running it in the shadows.
That had earned her Izuku's trust and he offered her a place on his crew as he realized her talent, which she accepted immediately, and became the 11th crewmember and 6th member with a Devil Fruit power though others had since eaten one. From there the Might Pirates had continued to sail gaining more members and infamy, though only Izuku had a bounty before entering the Grand Line, until they'd reached Sabaody. Now they were 22 on the crew and while not all had specific roles making them what other crews would call officers, Toru did. She was the spy of the crew and ran the recon and intel team.
That was her role and why she had wanted to be here because she knew that a slave auction going on while there were 22 rookie pirates with bounties over 100 million berries on the archipelago at the same time was going to attract attention, which was perfect for both intel and of course money. They were a financially stable crew in large part because Toru stole from those who gained their money through vile means and filled their coffers with plunder and she took great pride in it.
It also helped that she could extend her power to anything, or anyone, that was in contact with her skin, which was why she didn't wear much, was covered in bags, and had several knives on her. She was more than ready for this and it all started with the intel which she noticed was there right away as she wasn't the first pirate present.
No that was reserved for the Heart Pirates who were already in seats relaxing and watching what was going on around them. Why Toru had no idea, she was unaware that the auction house was owned by Donquixote Doflamingo or that Trafalgar Law, the Captain of the Heart Pirates, had a history with the Warlord, but they were here which was interesting. It gave her a chance to see what the 200 million berry Captain was like and his crew, most of whom were unremarkable but for a bipedal polar bear in an orange jumpsuit holding a sword that was sitting behind Law.
Frankly, the bear was adorable and Toru wanted to rub his fur and snuggle into it but refrained herself. She was aware thanks to the library on the ship that the bear was a member of the Mink tribe. It wasn't the first time that Toru was grateful that Momo kept the library well maintained and made sure to give lessons to the other crewmembers on things so that they were prepared for what they'd see on the Grand Line. The crew's scholar, and doctor for that matter, was big on the benefits of knowledge and preparations which as the spy Toru fully agreed with.
It also meant that Toru knew that the bear came from the phantom island of Zou in the New World and was effectively a mammalian version of a fish-man only with different racial benefits to those that fish-men and merfolk had. It made him a good crewmember to have and Toru supported that Law didn't discriminate with his crew.
It also meant that Law was likely not here for slaves but for his own reasons which Toru was fine with so long as they didn't interrupt her reasons for being her. She just needed the distraction and as she stood there she saw the first of the likely causes for it walk in as 4 women strolled in and began to walk down the stairs to find a spot.
Toru had fastidiously studied all the wanted posters they came across to know who the big names were so when she saw a girl worth 272 million berries stroll in as if she didn't have a care in the world looking happy and chatting animatedly with a primly dressed white haired girl, she knew exactly who'd arrived. The fact that there was also a well-endowed blonde with hair Toru couldn't help by be impressed by, and a raven haired girl with a lithe build who favored black and had a bow on her head only added to it.
The Rose Pirates were here and there was no way that their cook and enforcer wouldn't punch someone while their Captain helped out and ended up in the spotlight. That said Toru was surprised at how short Ruby Rose was.
The girl barely exceeded 5 feet, about Toru's height, but she'd gained her notoriety, and her initial 85 million berry bounty, by taking down a Warlord and liberating a nation from him. Since then she'd only increased her reputation and bounty to the level it was at now. There was no question that Ruby was a skilled fighter, one who used an unusual weapon apparently though there were no reports on whether she had a Devil Fruit or not. Toru might be able to find that out today but she was more startled by the girl's appearance and the fact that she looked to be the youngest of the 4 despite being the Captain.
That and her considerable bounty, the second highest of any female rookie and one that made her not just a Supernova but a top tier one at that, really showed how good the Red Reaper was. She may not have Izuku's bounty, Shoto's was slightly inflated due to who his father was though he did deserve to be over 200 million, but to be worth that much meant that she was already a serious threat to the World Government. If chaos happened then right now, absent of one of the three destructive crews showing up, Toru would put her money on the Rose Pirates being the cause of it.
Destructive was good though, Toru could really work with that. She didn't doubt for a second that the moment they could the Rose Pirates would start something. It was as Toru was thinking this and looking at the them that she felt an ominous presence enter and a chill ran down her spine. It was a feeling that she associated with violent, deadly, danger and she turned to the entrance in time to see a pair of teens walk in.
One wore a white coat with a hood pulled over his head hiding his features with a sword strapped to his back though his build screamed male but the other wasn't hiding and the moment Toru saw the straight, knee length black hair and piercing red eyes that took in everything at a glance she knew who'd arrived. The One Strike Murderer, Akame, the assassin of the Night Pirates. They were here which meant that death was sure to follow.
Toru was no stranger to death, no one who'd made it this far on the Grand Line was, but she avoiding killing when she had to fight and so did her crew for the most part. Sure death happened at times, even she'd killed a truly evil person or two in her time as that was the only way to put the person down and save innocent lives, but for the Might Pirates it wasn't something that happened often. For the Night Pirates, well it was left in their wake and the source of their infamy.
At least they didn't kill civilians, in fact all reports that Toru had seen had indicated that the Night Pirates went out of their way to protect civilians from corrupt powers and leave places better off and more prosperous than they found them, they just had no compunctions killing their enemies. This extended to the marines who tried to stop them though, that seemed a bit much to Toru as most were just rank and file grunts who weren't responsible for the crimes of their superiors, and was no doubt why they were the other crew with a trio of Supernovas despite their crew size being only 10 people.
They were definitely a group to keep an eye on though and Toru made sure to do just that. While they would likely not cause the major disruption as their methods tended to be subtler, so far that disruption honor was likely the Rose Pirates', they'd still be people to pay attention to and any deaths, like the auction manager for sure, would be at their hands. As such Toru was going to make sure that she knew who in their crew was present and thanks to the fact that all 10 had bounties she was well acquainted with their faces though she was unaware that one of their posters was inaccurate.
That was confirmed a few moments later when a boisterous and voluptuous woman with short blonde hair and who's breast band was barely keeping in a pair so impressive that Toru felt would even give Momo a little envy bounded in and made her way to the pair. She may be all happy and carefree but Toru recognized her at once, the Beast Woman Leone. She was notorious for killing with her bare hands, likely a Zoan type Devil Fruit user if Toru had to guess, and had a bounty of 87 million berries.
Leone was shortly followed by a woman in a black suit smoking an equally black cigarette with a clunky green mechanical right arm and eye patch over her right eye and a tall, muscular man wearing green armor over a tight black shirt with a cone of impressively styled black hair. Both had the bearings of soldiers and Toru knew that to be true.
The woman was the big one, she was the Captain of the Night Pirates, General Najenda, a former Navy Vice Admiral who'd defected due to the corruption in the Navy after she wasn't promoted to admiral. The man with her was the 100-Man Slayer, Bulat, a former Navy Captain who'd also left for similar reasons though not at the same time, or with, Najenda. Their bounties were 289 million and 95 million respectively.
That meant that the 5 highest bounties on the Night Pirates were present and sitting together so it was clear that things were going to go down. However, as they sat another man walked in with a handful others and instantly the bounty, and danger, level in the room jumped as the Kid Pirates had arrived.
That had been really unexpected to Toru, she had no idea what they were doing here. Unlike the Night Pirates, the Kid Pirates had no qualms shooting at innocent civilians and their Captain's bounty of 315 million reflected his brutal nature. Only Destruction God Yami, the Captain of the Black Bull Pirates, had a higher bounty of the top rookies. To add to that Toru saw a muscular and masked man with an absurd amount of blond hair next to Kid that she recognized as the Massacre Soldier, Killer, another Supernova and crewmember of the Kid Pirates with a bounty of 162 million.
It was a veritable who's who of the Super Rookies and Toru made sure to note all of them as the Kid Pirates opted to just stand at the back to the right of the door and watch what was going on. So far 7 had arrived along with at least part of their crews so if there was any chance that nothing would happen at first now it was all but certain to occur and it wasn't even done yet.
That was because as Kid was bantering with Law for some reason, Toru couldn't hear it, two Celestial Dragons walked in with their entourage and made their way down to specially reserved seats with a box around it front and center so that they'd have the best view of the auction while those they walked past bowed and turned their heads away lest they anger them. That caused Toru to tense, these monsters used their nobility to justify their great evil and with them here things wouldn't escalate, at least not during the auction itself while the Celestial Dragons were present.
After all, no one was stupid enough to strike one as far as Toru knew due to the repercussions such an action would bring, but it did add a whole new level of tension over the auction. Plus, with them now here it was clear that the auction was going to start soon, after all one didn't keep a Celestial Dragon waiting when they wanted something.
That was just what happened so Toru pressed back against the wall and watched the crowd as the auction began wondering not if there'd be an issue but when and what kind of issue would it be. She wasn't the only one thinking this as the first slave was led out and the auctioneer, a man called Disco, began the human auction.
In the shadows along the wall not too far from where Toru had placed herself, another man was hidden watching the various pirate crews enter only in his case it wasn't because he was invisible but because he was one with the shadows thanks to his Logia type Devil Fruit. Nacht, the first mate of the Black Bull Pirates, had been here even longer than Toru had as he got waited to see if something went down, and if so what it was.
The moment that Nacht saw the Night Pirates arrive he knew that something interesting would go down. True the Heart and Rose Pirates were here but the former weren't the kind of crazy bastards to attack this thing and while the latter were they were more of a hammer that would smash through things and that wasn't interesting. However, a crew like the Night Pirates who actively killed those evil enough to own another sentient being were a different matter.
This was too good an opportunity for Nacht to pass up and so as the Kid Pirates entered, another group that might get rowdy and violent, he slipped through the connected shadows under the seats and positioned himself in the shadows beneath the Night Pirates listening to their conversation. It should be useful in understanding their goals and when he did he could check in on the Rose Pirates as well just to see if they were planning anything that would be worth watching for intel on how they operated.
It was always good to be well informed of one's rivals after all, especially if it could bring heat down on them, which would mean that the crew would have to leave right away. Plus, something told Nacht that things were going to get interesting here so he wanted to be right here he was best, in the shadows watching and gaining intel on the shitstorm that was going to happen.
"How'd it go boss?" Leone asked quietly, which for her was still louder than it should be, as Najenda and Bulat sat in the row behind her, Akame and Tatsumi and leaned forward so that they could all speak without being overheard. "We good to go?"
"Yeah, confirmed the person was legit and high ranked at that." Najenda said with a small smile on her face. "The deal's there. There was also an offer to become part of the wider group but I refused because we are a solo outfit."
"Wait you actually spoke with the person on top?" Tatsumi asked. "Given what's up that's a massive risk, especially in these parts."
"No, they've all gone dark to make sure that the marines can't track them." Najenda said with a small shake of her head. "But the contact is one of the trusted officers who's in this area, that was who gave us the opportunity to join. In the New World you either join with one of the strongest crews or fight to survive. I said we'd fight but seeing as we don't care about other pirates unless their absurdly cruel to innocent civilians we'll be fine."
"That is how we role." Leone said. "But they're still willing to let us tag along."
"The offer was simply that though if this goes well we'll probably get the offer again in the New World though my answer will still be no." Najenda said. "But yes we can tag along. Our track record when it comes to dealing with those who oppresses innocents can't be ignored. Expect our bounties to go up if we survive this though."
"Fine with me." Tatsumi said. "I take pride in my bounty."
"As do I sugar." Bulat said with a smile at Tatsumi. "Maybe I'll finally hit 100 million like you."
"Possibly bro." Tatsumi said not rising to Bulat's flirtations as he was straight and Bulat knew that he was just messing with Tatsumi. "Depends on how you do and how much I outshine you in the fight."
"Tatsumi, given what you can do it's hard to outshine you." Akame said simply. "You kinda stick in the memory and people forget who else is around you when you do what you do in battle. I'm not concerned though, I'm more worried about something else. Will she be there?"
"Yes, all 5 will be present for this." Najenda said. "Given what's going down they'll have to be. You'll have to fight her Akame but be careful."
"I will be." Akame said. "I've worked on my Haki; I can handle her when the time comes."
"And you're extra motivated." Leone said low enough so that only Akame could hear while elbowing her friend in the side with a grin. "She is after your man and has been very public about her desires. He really made her fall for him during that tournament she was the guest of honor at."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Akame said flushing a little and glad that Tatsumi couldn't hear it. "But I will protect him from her no matter what and I'll make her pay for trying to take Tatsumi from me."
"Wait she's there?" Tatsumi asked a little pale having not heard Leone and Akame's exchange. "Even with my power she's too much and she's obsessed with me. Hell, I'm sure my bounty is slightly inflated because she wants more people after me."
"You're a lady killer Tatsumi and you slew one of the biggest prizes in that regard by winning over her cruel heart." Najenda said. "Shame she's too far gone to be brought in as she'd be a great ally but ever since our days in the Navy together I've known that she'd never change. Also don't worry about any bounty inflation, you've earned the more than 200 million that is on your head."
"True and thanks, I know I've earned my bounty and status just a bit of it being inflated because a psychopathic admiral has the hots for me is rather annoying." Tatsumi said. "Let's just leave that for now though, we'll need a plan for the time but right now we should focus on this."
"Yes, is the plan the usual one?" Akame asked. "We don't have Chelsea right now so we can't get pictures the way she can."
"Yup, pay close attention to who buys slaves." Najenda said. "Then, when it's over, tail and kill them, free the slaves that they buy and regroup. Unfortunately there will be Celestial Dragons, Chelsea informed me that she overheard two of them, Saints Roswald and Shalria, discussing coming here to see what was on offer in the Groves earlier. If they're here than that fiend who is bad even by Celestial Dragon standards, Saint Charloss, is going to be as well. He's a prime target out of the three but you know the rules for dispatching one with them."
"Only if we can't be seen and when we can make sure that we won't leave witnesses." Akame said recalling earlier. "Understood."
"Good." Najenda said as the aforementioned Celestial Dragons walked in. "And here they are now, yup that's Roswald and Shalria so his son and her brother will be here eventually. This will start soon now that they've arrive. Oh, the guards and the man running it are also on the kill list with the latter being a must kill. This whole thing will be shut down."
The others nodded at that as they settled back and scanned the crowd to make sure that they could see who was buying human, and probably other species', misery today. None of them realized that they'd been overheard or the shadows move under them but they did as Nacht moved down to see what the Rose Pirates were up to certain that shit would hit the fan today but not sure what exactly the Night Pirates were up to in the long run as he'd not understood what they were talking about at the start.
"This is utterly vile." Yang spat as she sat between Ruby and Blake in their seats arms across her chest as she glared at the auctioneer as the bids were made and scanned the crowd for the bidders so that she knew who she was going to punch later. "I'm going to break the buyer's face, and the bidders' as well for that matter."
"I agree but patience." Blake said as the human, a pretty woman, was sold. "We've got two Celestial Dragons here. We have to wait. Then we can follow and free them."
"Yeah and when that happens go wild." Ruby said. "Anyone who dares even bid on a person deserves the beating and robbing that they get. This is a crime and if the world sees us as criminals then we'll show them what these criminals can do to those who commit actual crimes."
"Agreed." Weiss said easily able to understand Ruby's slight tongue twister. "To think that my father would have supported this barbaric practice when my grandfather was so against it but then again he did marry into the family. It disgusts me to be his offspring."
"You've come a long way Weiss." Ruby said patting Weiss's hand as another girl was sold. "And we always make sure that we stop this whenever we see it. The only ones we won't go after are the Celestial Dragons and that's only because of the blowback otherwise they'd be fair game as well."
"Yeah I can't wait to pound these bastards into the ground." Yang said. "And then take their money for good measure. They're not entitled to it if they're going to use it for this so it's better in our pockets anyway."
"I agree." Weiss said as there was a creak and the door opened and she turned to it. "Huh looks like there's some late…oh, oh this isn't good."
Ruby heard her best friend's tone shift and she also turned to look and saw that the door to the auction house that had just opened and in walked a group of people. They were led by an attractive woman with short red hair in yellow top and white shorts. With her was a blond man in a suit and green shirt, a dude in just a speedo and open floral purple shirt with blue stars tattooed on his bulbous forearms, what looked like an oddly hairy buff guy in maroon shorts wearing a pink hat and what had to be a pink skinned fish-man of sorts with a starfish wearing a rasta hat on his shoulder and a bandage on his forehead.
To say that it was an odd lot was an understatement but other than the odd guy, the fish-man and the clear pervert being unusual to most people, it shouldn't have caused that kind of reaction out of Weiss. That's what confused Ruby so she turned and whispered to her first mate.
"Weiss, what's not good about that?" Ruby asked. "I mean this doesn't seem like it's a great place for a non-human to be but other than that they just seem like a strange bunch."
"Because at least three of those people who just walked in are members of the Straw Hat Pirate Crew." Weiss whispered back as the next lot came out, a human woman in her early 20s in a green maid dress that was getting a lot of attention from the audience but none from the Celestial Dragons so Yang and Blake were paying close attention to who bought her though they were listening to Ruby and Weiss's conversation as well. "The woman leading them is Cat Burglar Nami, their navigator. The man in the suit is one of their top combatants, Black Leg Sanji their cook though he looks nothing like his wanted poster for some reason. Finally, the disturbing pervert in the speedo is Cyborg Franky, a shipwright wanted after the Ennis Lobby incident who joined their crew then."
"Huh so who are the other two?" Ruby asked as the bidding started and the Straw Hats got visibly pissed at it, as were the others with them, though every single person who bid was marked by the Night Pirates for disposal afterwards, not that Ruby was aware of that. "The big guy and is that a fish…"
"Shh, of all the races their the ones who have to be the most careful here." Weiss said quietly and Ruby heard the seriousness in her tone and made a mental note to do just that. "But yes the guy with the starfish is probably one though what specific species I can't say from this far out and his large coat isn't helping things. As for the final one, if I had to guess he's some kind of deer mink though he's rather buff and human-like for one. Blake, is he a faunus?"
"No, to animalistic." Blake said looking over as Yang growled as the price for the current girl on auction began to rise. "Faunus have a singular animal trait and though not visible they have heightened senses and physical strength compared to humans. Minks are basically a fur covered, mammalian, version of fish-men. I saw a Polar Bear Mink earlier in fact, an extreme rarity here as they aren't a common species, which would show it. Still, that guy with the Straw Hats is a bit different to what a mink typically is."
"I'm confused by the whole deer mink thing." Ruby said as the bidding reached 3 million berries. "I didn't think that they had one. I thought they had a cute racoon mink on their crew, the one listed as a pet but clearly doesn't look like one."
"No doubt that's inaccurate, the World Government tends to equate minks to pets for some, likely prejudiced, reason, but you're right it's a racoon or a racoon dog." Weiss said. "So either that's a new member, a new friend, or that racoon isn't a racoon and has some kind of odd Devil Fruit power that was unreported."
"Huh they are a strange bunch, must be a great fun to be around them though." Ruby said as the girl was sold for 3 million and the Straw Hats were as pissed as the others in the crowd who found this all repugnant. "But that's only three of them. They've got others like that insane Captain of theirs."
"Straw Hat Luffy, his bounty is 300 million berries making him third on the Groves and the number 2, Eustass 'Captain' Kid, is here right now." Weiss said glancing at the red haired man with his crew by the door as the Straw Hats conferred before moving to stand on the other side of the door from the Kid Pirates. "But you're right, Straw Hat is as crazy as they come given what he pulled at Ennis Lobby. His right hand man is also a Super Rookie, Pirate Hunter Zoro, who's bounty is 120 million. It's a testament to their crew's strength that they have multiple Super Rookies. To add to it, like us, they all have a bounty which for any crew is impressive."
"Damn that is impressive and neither of their Super Rookies are here yet." Ruby said as the next human was brought out, a stunning 20 year old dancer who was clearly crying, while outside the news that the commander of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fire Fist Ace, was set to be executed began to be disseminated. "But if their crew is here then…"
"Straw Hat is bound to show up along with Pirate Hunter Zoro and the remaining members which also includes the third highest bounty on the crew." Weiss said unaware that Luffy and the rest of his crew were indeed on their way. "Which begs the question, why? Why are they coming here?"
"Huh?" Ruby asked as the bidding shot up to 3 million quickly and Blake and Yang were getting visibly pissed next to them now solely focused on the auction, which was fine, they were the ones who'd lead the chaos when it happened. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, from what I've read on him and his crew, Straw Hat may be a crazy bastard but he doesn't do things without reason." Weiss said. "He went to Ennis Lobby to rescue a crewmate and picked a fight with the World Government just to save her, which of course we'd do as well, so it was crazy but not without reason. Then there is the fact that his crew is mixed gender and apparently inter-species so he's not a prejudiced asshole like my father was, which means that he's almost certainly against slavery. That means that likely a crewmember was captured and is about to be sold."
"Oh then that will cause more chaos than even Yang can create." Ruby said as the bidding for the woman named Pasha ended at 7.2 million berries though Yang didn't hear her given what was going on. "Not even she could do what Luffy did in Sabaody."
"Yes, not even Yang can cause that much chaos, Straw Hat is a master at it." Weiss said. "He's notorious for…"
Before Weiss could finish what she was saying the door opened and a third Celestial Dragon walked in. That shut them up as they noticed that the Celestial Dragon was a pudgy, snot nosed, man with black hair done in the typical style for Celestial Dragons who led a blond man who walked on all fours along two scantily clad slave girls by chains attached to metal collars around their necks.
It was a vile sight indeed and it only got worse as he began to kick the man in the head and berate until he collapsed to the ground unconscious. It was a hard sight to see but the man was a Celestial Dragon so there wasn't much that they could given that a Navy Admiral would come if they did anything.
All they could do was shut up and watch, scowls on their faces, which was uniform for all pirates present no matter their reputation or past actions, as the man, Saint Charloss, was lead down the stairs to his seat with the other Celestial Dragons. As he passed them they all looked away from him with the girls making sure to look as inconspicuous as possible as plenty of Celestial Dragons of both genders had a habit of just taking people they were attracted to as slaves the moment they saw someone they liked regardless of their status so it was best to not be noticed.
Thankfully this Celestial Dragon had his own plans and just walked down to the box with the other two who seemed to be his father and sister and joined them. With him now present and seated the auction continued with the next captive, a former pirate Captain with a 17 million berry bounty who was being hyped up by the auctioneer as his face looked pale while standing on the stage chained and collared like all the captives.
However before the bidding could start the man fell to his knees blood running from his mouth and then collapsed face forward onto the stage and twitched on it. The moment he did the auctioneer called for the curtains to be drawn and the stage hidden from them and as the lights were on the stage the room dimmed around them.
"What happened?" Ruby asked confused. "Why'd he collapse like that?"
"He bit off his own tongue." Yang said her arms stiff folded across her chest as she looked down at the stage. "He decided that death was a better option than slavery, can't blame him really as he doesn't realize how close to freedom he is but today is an exception because we're here."
"It was the smart choice." Blake said. "Death is preferable to a life of slavery."
Ruby nodded understanding it as the crowd reacted in a mix of horror, anger, and annoyance at what had just happened. It was a clear sign of how desperate people were and drove home the need to end this barbaric practice while also showing how despicable the buyers were at the same time.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough to stop the auction, not even close, and the auctioneer came out a moment later to explain that the issue had been a collapse due a nosebleed that alleviated the crowd. The pirates present knew that it was bullshit but they left it at that as the next captive was up and this one got a massive hype accompanied with a drumroll.
"This can't be good." Ruby said as the drums went off, the lights that were directed at the stage dimmed until a disco ball appeared before fog filled the stage and even a set of symbols were clanged. "They're going through all this for one person so whoever it is it's someone this monster expects to sell for a lot."
"No, whoever it is has to be someone who's value is great." Weiss said as something was rolled onto the stage and she hated herself for realizing what was coming as the item was stopped in the middle and the auctioneer continued to hype it up. "And there's only one species that can get both this kind of hype and need to be wheeled out to properly display it to a crowd."
"What?" Ruby asked and Weiss answered only a second before it was confirmed by a silhouette of the poor girl through the sheets that confirmed it.
"A mermaid."
The moment that the mermaid was revealed Toru knew that shit was about to hit the fan. The fanfare beforehand was enough to tell her that this was going to be something big and when they rolled out the captive Toru couldn't think of what else it could be as not even a normal fish-man, or merman for that matter, would get such a reaction. That was confirmed with the silhouette and the excitement in the room was palpable at the revelation of what was about to be put on sale.
One thing that Toru noticed amidst the disgusting jubilation and cheers at a young mermaid being in the auction was that the Straw Hats were the most affected by it. She'd noticed the arrival of at least three, likely four as she was sure that the big brown guy was Cotton Candy Lover Chopper, which had other questions that Toru had about him but couldn't answer, members of their crew that something was going on.
The Straw Hats may leave chaos in their wake but they never seemed to do something without reason. Even their attack on Ennis Lobby was due to one of their crew being taken there so if they were here it was clearly for something important.
That something was obviously the mermaid, Camie as the auctioneer called her so that's what Toru would as well as she was a person not a fish as the many prejudiced humans present saw her. Why they cared Toru didn't know but she was more than supportive of it as this was a vile practice and mermaids were the most desired of all species, providing that they were under 30 years old, so if they were here to save her then if she could Toru would lend her aid if it came to it.
Unfortunately, the third Celestial Dragon to arrive, a snot nosed man that gave Toru so many creeps that it made her extremely perverted crewmate Mineta look like a chaste holy man, was clearly desiring her which could be bad. No one messed with the Celestial Dragons and what they wanted and in an auction no one could outbid them.
Toru was broken by the auction gavel banging to start it and focused on the auction itself. This was the one that would tip the scales in the room, there was no question in her mind about that. While the Night Pirates were killers they were also assassins who wouldn't cause a scene when they acted, the Heart Pirates weren't impulsive, the Kid Pirates were bastards but they had no skin in the game, and the Rose Pirates were a wildcard.
The Straw Hats though, they were the ones who had a purpose and a clear personal reason to be involved so they'd almost certainly act on it. Toru was ready to pay attention as the bidding got underway. It should be around…
"500 million!" The snot nosed Celestial Dragon yelled standing up at his seat in the special area reserved for them causing the whole room to go silent at the number he just threw out, a number he almost immediately repeated. "I bid 500 million on the mermaid."
The number was so shocking that Toru almost lost focus and dropped her power for a moment as she gawked at the offer her eyes bulging out of her head. It was so quiet after the Celestial Dragon repeated the bid that she could hear the sound of an auction paddle hitting the ground though Toru barely heard it due to still being stunned by the bid.
That was because the bid was outrageous. Yes, a mermaid was the most expensive slave out there but the usual price for one that was under 30 so in her prime before her tail parted, like Camie clearly was, was 70 million berries. Half a billion was absurd and a price that few could pay.
True they could, Tenya's religiously anal accounting as the Quartermaster meant that the Might Pirates had close to 1 billion berries in a mix of cash and treasure in their reserves but they also had Momo's Create-Create Fruit power that offset a hell of a lot of costs that they might have and Toru's thief skills added to their reserves. However, they were rare amongst rookie crews to have that much money on hand, the money being bandied about was the kind only those of extreme power had.
This room had a lot of wealthy people, they were bidding millions on several of the humans for sale, but none of them could compete with 500 million. Even if they could match that, and for that matter wanted to as it was an exorbitant price to pay for a mermaid, the Celestial Dragon could just exceed it if he wanted to.
Clearly the shock and reaction got to Camie as well as Toru heard a sound coming from the stage and turned to see her banging on the thick glass of the tank that she was in, which had a metal lid over the top so she likely couldn't hear what was going on. No doubt she was trying to get her friends to rescue her but with a bid from a Celestial Dragon, you'd have to be a reckless fool with no regard for consequences to defy his will. It seemed like it was over but the auctioneer was still a professional and asked if there was a higher bid, though he couldn't hide the shock from his voice, but no one made one.
It was tense moment but no one challenged the outrageous bid and Toru didn't notice the reactions from the Straw Hats at it as she focused on the end of the bid. It was a formality but the auctioneer still had to bang the gavel and confirm the sale of Camie to the World Noble, Saint Charloss. It was all over for Camie and the auctioneer was about to bang the gavel to confirm it but with spectacular timing, the moment that he did the wall at the top of the auction house exploded sending several people in the top rows flying. Toru felt no sympathy for them as they were all here to buy slaves, and disrupted the auction.
She had no idea what had happened until the dust cleared and she blinked at who had arrived. Standing just a few feet from his crew was Straw Hat Luffy himself as he yelled at, of all things, a flying fish rider who'd crashed said fish through the wall and was clearly rattled by it. As he was yelling Toru saw another person appear and complain to Luffy about what happened, a person with green hair and three katanas on his right hip showing that it was Pirate Hunter Zoro. The numbers 1 and 2 on the Straw Hats had arrived and right as Camie was sold which meant that things were about to get very interesting.
This was the perfect time for Toru to slip behind the stage, find the office, and raid it of all money, intel, and other valuables, and if possible the keys so she could slip them to whoever was freeing the slaves, before leaving but she couldn't do that just yet. This was too juicy and opportunity to pass up. They'd not traveled the same route as the Straw Hats but they'd heard the stories about their exploits in the papers so it was time to see them in action. It wasn't just Toru; all the pirates present were looking to Straw Hat as he turned and realized the situation.
"Camie!" Luffy yelled getting everyone's attention, not that he didn't have it already thanks to his unorthodox arrival. "We're here to rescue you!"
At that Luffy burst into action and charged down the nearest set of stairs to him yelling about how he'd been looking for her everywhere and were here to save her. As he ran the pink skinned man with a long mouth who'd come with the Straw Hats called out to Luffy to stop him.
Toru wasn't 100% sure as one of her crewmates had pink skin despite being human though that was due to strange side effect cause by a Devil Fruit, but she had a feeling that the man was a fish-man especially given how he and the starfish had been the most affected by Camie's predicament. He also likely had the best understanding of the situation hence why he was trying to stop Luffy.
Words weren't working though o the fish-man leapt after Luffy and grabbed him to stop him. As he did the man tried to explain why they couldn't act to Luffy but Luffy wasn't listening, which told Toru that he was as crazy as he seemed, so the man acted by throwing off his coat and grabbing Luffy with 4 more arms.
"So, I was right, he was a fish-man, an octopus fish-man." Toru noted to herself as the revelation caused the expected bigotry and disgust from the crowd that made her sick to hear. "Useful friend to have."
The pirates present all understood that fish-men were equal to humans and in a lot of aspects they were superior given their ability to breath underwater and strength compared to humans, but prejudice ran high with this crowd. They were causing a scene around the poor fish-man yelling disgusting things about him that were just wrong and throwing stuff at him but Toru was focused on Luff as he charged to Camie now that he was free and tossed off a few of the guards that tried to stop him. Toru was so focused on that that she didn't notice anything else until she heard the gunshot.
That got her attention right away and she turned to see that the World Noble, Saint Charloss as the auctioneer had called him, had gotten up from his seat and headed up to the fish-man and shot him in the chest with a gold gun. He was grinning at that as the fish-man collapsed and fell forward tumbling down the stairs before coming to a halt a few steps above Straw Hat the whole room once again silent as the stairs began to run red with the fish-man's blood.
Over the silence they could hear the chuckles of the World Noble as his gun smoked before he began to leap from side to side on the stairs looking down on them as the fish-man's blood stained them below him. It was a disgusting act and showed the sadistic cruelty of the World Nobles and it was only going to get worse as Saint Charloss began to speak.
"I did it, did you see? I shot it! I took down a simple fish all by myself." Saint Charloss said happily as Toru heard Nami yell the name 'Hachi' which had to be the fish-man's name. "That was all me!"
That led to some more chatter about what happened and how it was good that Hachi had been shot as he was a threat to everyone because of his intelligence and the diseases he spread, which were both wrong. Of course they used slurs like sea beast and called him and it and that it had a fish's brain while they were talking so it was really bigoted stuff.
Toru was pissed, while they didn't have fish-men on the Might Pirates they still knew many and while some where bad the same could be said for humans and other races, the humans here were clear examples of bad humans, they'd met plenty of good fish-men on their travels. Hell, while one Toru's crewmates, Tsu, wasn't fish-man she had grown up with a good number of them and she always told them stories of the antics her and her fish-men friends got up to before she joined the crew when the girls relaxed together. This was just disgusting and it was about to get worse.
"Look father, I did it, I shot that fish." Saint Charloss said as if he was a child, which he clearly was an overgrown and spoilt child who knew that he'd never be denied what he wanted and could do as he pleased, as the older male Celestial Dragon looked over confirming that the man was his father before Charloss started to sing. "I shot it so I caught it all by myself. That means that it's free, I don't have to pay a berry for it. It's free, free, and octopus for me! I caught a fish-man by myself, an octopus for free! What a deal, what a deal, an octo-slave for free!"
As he was singing Straw Hat began to walk up the stairs a serious look and his face and Toru's eyes went wide as she watched him move towards the World Noble his intent clear to everyone. She'd heard of the man's reputation, his bounty alone proved that it was true, but this was beyond crazy and yet she couldn't not watch as Saint Charloss sang. Hachi even tried to stop him and grabbed him with one of his arms despite the bullet wound in his chest.
All Toru, or anyone could, do was watch as Hachi tried to stop Luffy reminding him of a promise he'd made to Hachi not to defy the Celestial Dragons and talking about his own time as a pirate. It seemed that the fish-man had a checkered past where he'd done some bad things which he seemed to see as why he deserved this and took blame for the situation that he'd landed the Straw Hats in.
It was hard to hear but no one else was doing anything, other that Saint Charloss's singing but they were ignoring that now, so they had to listen as Hachi spike about wanting to make amends to Nami, which showed that there was some bad history there as well that Toru would have to look into. Regardless, it was clear that this Hachi guy bore a lot of guilt and pain for what he'd done in the past, Toru understood that even if she herself hadn't done bad things as some of her crew had deep regrets they lived with and tried to overcome, but Hachi seemed to feel like he failed to atone for his past.
However, as he spoke, Luffy turned to him and knelt down putting the hand that grabbed him on Hachi's chest as he said he wanted to show how sorry he was to Nami for what he, and likely others, did to her in the past. He was crying about all the trouble he'd caused and was asking for forgiveness as he apologized.
Toru had no idea what was rocking the man's soul but it was clearly bad and hard to watch. For as emotional as it was, it was not touching a cold, rotten, heart like Saint Charloss who'd finally stopped singing.
"Stop all that babbling fish, it's annoying." Saint Charloss shouted interrupting the moment. "You're mine now so if you continue I'll shut you up for good and that would be a waste of a good slave."
At that he leveled his pistol at Hachi but Luffy but his body in the way. Toru had heard that it was made of rubber so a bullet wouldn't do anything to him which meant that he was a great shield but that wasn't what he was going for as Toru could feel the aura coming off him and so could Charloss is seemed as he told Luffy not to look at him like that. Well that or more likely the World Noble just hated that someone was daring to defy him.
Luffy clearly didn't care what Saint Charloss thought as he got up and began to ascend the stairs toward the Celestial Dragon as the starfish tried to tell him not to do it. That didn't stop him though as he continued to walk towards Charlos despite orders not to, his right fist clenched.
"No, he wouldn't." Toru whispered her eyes wide and she wasn't the only one who spoke. "No one is that crazy to attack one in such a public place."
"Straw Hat Luffy." Law said from his seat. "Looks like the stories about him were true."
"He's serious." Kid added.
"Is he really going to do what I think he's about to do?" Ruby asked from her seat.
"Well, looks like all our effort earlier was a bust." Najenda noted to her crew. "This is about to get interesting; I wonder who they'll send."
"Now you're annoying me too!" Charlos yelled. "Die!"
At that he fired off two near point blank shots at Luffy but he impressively dodged them before the 300 million berry man stopped and roared as he unleashed a savage punch that slammed straight into Charlos's face. It was one of the most impressive punches that Toru had ever seen as it burst the bubble around Charlos's head and seemed to cave his face in and around Luffy's fist before Luffy pushed through it and blasted Charlos back through several rows of seats until he came to a stop unconscious his face bloody and messed up with several teeth missing.
It was a supremely satisfying and well deserved punch that couldn't have happened to a better person but it did mean one thing as the room processed what had just happened. Shit just hit the fan in the hardest way possible and Sabaody was about to be plunged into utter chaos.
Well there it is, the first half of the auction house incident as told by the new crews in attendance. I had initially planned to have the entire auction house scene in one chapter but by the time I reached this point I realized that the draft would likely push 20k words so I decided to break it up into two chapters at least and end this on one of the most satisfying punches in anime history. I will probably end up doing this more often with how long I expect chapters to be which does mean I might get more out for y'all. Anyway, this was a nice little setup for the chaos to come so next up is the aftermath in the auction house and all that that is which does mean we'll soon see some of the new members of the Worst Generation in action. There really isn't much more to say about this chapter so I will leave it off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and if there are any questions will posed in reviews and PMs I will try to answer them as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog