Sss!
Just as she finished speaking, her hair began to wriggle, transforming into three snake-shaped strands that pierced the black-clad attendant and two armored guards poised to act, then swiftly wrapped them up and tossed them out the door.
Charlos had been drawn in by the distraction, believing the gentle long black-haired woman to be a beauty, and was about to consider her as a wife when this scene unfolded.
"You dare defy me! I hate you!"
Charlos drew his handgun and aimed it at Marika, "Die!"
Shiiiing!
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a cold glint swept over the handgun, instantly slicing the barrel in half. Simultaneously, the cold light darted forward, appearing behind Charlos' head, and struck him, instantly bursting the bubble on his head, slamming him to the ground.
The sharp sword blade pressed against Charlos' neck, forcing him down and preventing him from getting up.
"He-Heavenly Celestial Dragon has been hit!"
The sudden scene caused panic within the venue, prompting attendees to instinctively flee outside.
"You're not going to escape, so just sit back down."
Renedia pursed her lips, but then blissfully skipped over to Sage's side.
Now there's a seat available.
Bang bang bang!
The avant-garde individuals who had rushed out the gate were halted by the lead shots fired at their feet.
"Get back in."
Gin stood menacingly at the entrance with his fierce-looking subordinates, pushing in en masse and forcing the wealthy aristocrats back inside the venue.
Besides the two hundred guards stationed on the ship, the rest were summoned here, and Gin had left his ship-guarding duties to surround the venue.
"Sit in your seats, standing is fine too."
Gin grimaced and instructed, "You won't be leaving here for now."
"Gin!" Sanji called.
"Mr. Sanji, we meet again." Gin flashed a smile at him, though his face made the smile somewhat less appealing.
"'Devil Man' Gin, huh? The guy with a 60 million bounty..."
Kid leaned against the wall by the entrance, glanced at him briefly, and snorted, "There are so many bountied characters in Disaster Pirates."
"After all, it's a large great pirate crew," Law laughed, "With that kind of lawless captain, of course these folks would have bounties."
"Things are getting lively."
Bege bit into his cigar, glanced at the Heavenly Celestial Dragon pinned by the sword, and noted, "That's the third one..."
"He-Heavenly Celestial Dragon has been hit!"
Starfish shoulder-to-shoulder with Hatchan exclaimed, panicking, "An admiral will come; it's trouble now!"
Boom!
As soon as they finished speaking, a portion of the wall near the entrance suddenly got blasted open, and amidst the rising dust, a peculiar fish landed on the ground, next to it emerged Luffy and Zoro, rubbing their heads as they stepped out of the smoke.
"Ouch, ouch... Hey, Nami, Sanji, everyone! Found you all!"
Luffy shouted, casually walking forward.
"Huh? Gin?"
Similarly, he noticed Gin blocking the venue, "Why are you here too? Shopping?"
"Really... Mr. Luffy, you've blown a hole, violating Master Sage's command, making things difficult for me." Gin sighed.
"Ah... Sorry!"
Luffy froze, bowed, and apologized.
"Uh, it's not beyond remedy, no need to do that." This brought some awkwardness to Gin, who just waved his hand.
"The auction... totally confused!"
Bam!
The venue entrance buzzed with activities, whether pirates or crowded buyers—it was amidst this noise that a dull thump echoed from the bottom, causing everyone to turn and see that the Heavenly Celestial Dragon flew high, landing before the central luxurious seat.
Sage stood up, strode toward the luxurious seat, stepped on the head of Charlos with the footprint on it, and loudly declared:
"Gin, make sure they all take their seats; the auction isn't over! You!"
Sage pointed at the trembling host, pale-faced with fear, "Continue hosting, bring out the remaining auction items."
"I-I... but he's Charlos!" Disco shook his head fiercely, shouting:
"Let Charlos go! Are you mad!"
Though it wasn't direct conflict with him—the one assaulting the Heavenly Celestial Dragon wasn't him, but this wasn't as simple as an assault; he's stepping on the Heavenly Celestial Dragon's head!
If the Heavenly Celestial Dragon retaliated, not just the shop, even his life...
Bam!
A lead shot hit him squarely in the chest, and the power of it blasted a small hole in him, causing the host to collapse instantly with blood pooling on the floor.
That shot silenced the cacophony, causing the wealthy aristocrats forced inside to cover their mouths, not daring to make a sound.
"Good power, Reni."
Sage glanced at the smoking flintlock guns and praised.
No special powers, just pure gunfire with power surpassing regular handguns, even longer guns couldn't match this might.
"Of course, you don't see who made it!" Renedia puffed her chest proudly.
Sage laughed and ruffled her hair, then beckoned to the high-ranking officers behind him, "Come sit here, Urouge, you too. Gin, have them sit back down."
"Right away, Master Sage."
Gin waved his hand, and his subordinates hustled the door-clustered people back to their seats.
Sage stood up, directly stepping on Charlos' head as he walked onto the stage, glanced at the corpse, "Clean it up."
Several subordinates hurried on stage, dragged the corpse away, and somehow produced cloths and mops, swiftly wiping clean the blood.
Sage gazed at the seated guests and pirates standing at the entrance, picked up the microphone on stage and said:
"My apologies, this timid fellow dares not continue hosting, interrupting your enjoyment. However, the auction must go on. As a man of my word, when I set my mind on a completion, it shall be concluded perfectly."
"Now, I, Norton Sage of Disaster Pirates, will temporarily act as your auction host, rest assured, when I do something, I do it at the pinnacle of the field. You won't be disappointed, ha ha ha ha!"
Sage pointed backstage, "So... how many items are left? Pearl, take some folks to the back and check, and push the new items forward."
"Yes, Master Sage!"
Pearl led some folks to the back, and shortly returned with a guy dressed in captain attire.
"Master Sage... including him, there are four left," Pearl said, "There were guards at the back, but we dealt with them, he's number 16."
"Alright, then you act as a temporary guard."
Sage waved Pearl away, pointing to the pirate captain:
"Number 16, introduce yourself; besides everyone here buying you, you may also buy yourself. Human prices? Fifty thousand Belly is it, fifty thousand starting bid, highest bidder wins."
"I-I-I..."
The pirate captain initially had resolved for death, but upon hearing this, he instantly saw hope for survival.
He could purchase himself?
He saw a group of diverse people storming in and handling the guards, which represented a change of control, maybe, maybe...
"I used to be a Pirate Captain. I have a Treasure Map. I buried a lot of treasure, worth more than twenty million Belly! I'll offer twenty million to buy myself!" the former Pirate Captain shouted.