"Excuse me, sir, there is a fee of one hundred thousand Berries per person to enter the auction house."
The security guard at the entrance of the auction house stopped Nox and the two others.
Nox paid the guard and walked in. He was here to visit, not to cause trouble. It was just a small amount of money, and he had it.
"So expensive!"
Nox hadn't said anything yet, but Athena already felt it was too expensive.
She had only spent less than a thousand Berries on all the delicious food she bought before, and now the entrance fee alone cost them three hundred thousand. This was practically robbery.
"Ladies and gentlemen, next up for auction is a brilliant night pearl. This is a cherished item loved by many women, originating from Fish-Man Island, with a starting bid of three hundred thousand Berries!"
The auctioneer on the stage took out the night pearl and announced loudly.
Even in broad daylight, the night pearl still shone with luster, giving off a beautiful and enchanting feeling that greatly attracted women's attention.
"So beautiful!"
Needless to say, this was Athena's first time seeing something so beautiful, and she was naturally captivated by the night pearl.
"If you think it's beautiful, then buy it."
"Three million!"
Seeing this, Nox directly raised the price from three hundred thousand to three million, and no one competed with him for a while.
"Congratulations to this gentleman for winning this night pearl for three million."
Seeing that no one else added to the bid, the auctioneer struck the hammer, finalizing the buyer of the night pearl.
"Three million, isn't that too expensive?"
Athena said with some heartache.
"It's fine, it's just three million. If it can make you smile, thirty million would be worth it."
After giving the night pearl to Athena, Nox uncharacteristically said a cheesy romantic line.
"You only know how to make me happy!"
Although she knew Nox was exaggerating, Athena still felt very happy. Perhaps, this was what they meant by beauty being in the eye of the beholder.
"Next up for auction is a batch of female slaves. Ten female slaves, each of exquisite beauty and still pure, with a starting bid of one million!"
Immediately after, the auctioneer presented another auction item.
"How can this be? There's actually a slave auction!"
Seeing this scene, Athena's happy mood from earlier instantly plummeted.
She had thought that the slave ship incident before was the darkest thing in this World, but she never expected such a dark practice to be openly displayed!
"Can we..."
Athena looked at Nox. She wanted to save the ten girls on the auction stage.
"Tsk tsk, truly beautiful women. I bid six million!"
"You want to buy them for just six million? Pipe dream! I bid eight million!"
"Eight million five hundred thousand!"
"..."
Before Athena could finish speaking, people started bidding non-stop. Such exceptionally beautiful female slaves were among the most popular slaves.
Many nobles liked this type of slave, so the prices were ridiculously high.
"No!"
"Even if you save them, they are only a part. The ten on the stage are just a part."
"There are hundreds more below the stage, and at least a thousand female slaves on this island. Do you want me to save every single one of them?"
"Athena, I brought you out this time not just for fun, but also to let you see the true face of this World."
"This is the darkness of the World. Darkness exists everywhere in the World. You cannot, and do not have the ability to purify all this darkness."
"Then you can only adapt to the darkness and not let yourself fall into it, that's all."
Nox directly refused Athena's request.
Even if he had the ability to do it, he wouldn't. He was a Pirate, not a Marine, and he wouldn't do something that brought him no benefit out of kindness.
"Karoo, take Athena back to the ship first."
Looking at the dejected Athena, Nox said.
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Karoo replied.
Meanwhile, Nox's gaze was fixed on another part of the auction house.
The person Nox was staring at also sensed his gaze, turned his head, and looked towards Nox.
He had long white hair, with two braids falling down his chest, a red suit with a high-collared cape.
A blue flower was pinned to his left chest, and in his hand, he held a bat-shaped umbrella that resembled a cane.
"The Lonely Red, or rather, Red Count, Patrick Redfield!"
When Nox clearly saw his face, he confirmed who he was.
A famous lone wolf from the original story, a figure who could rival the entire Roger Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates by himself.
He was also the one who obtained the Mythical Zoan Vampire Devil Fruit, restoring his youth from an old age.
"Hmm? Interesting!"
The moment Redfield saw Nox, he instinctively used Mind Reading to see who Nox was, but unexpectedly, his Mind Reading failed.
This was the first time his Mind Reading couldn't read a person's inner thoughts. Because of this, Redfield really wanted to know why.
"From you, I sense the aura of a strong person. Are you interested in a spar!"
Nox walked up to Redfield, staring intently at him as he spoke.
Redfield looked very young now. Although he didn't know why Redfield was here.
But he really wanted to know how strong Redfield was now, and if he was stronger!
"You are very strong, I am very interested."
Redfield enjoyed sparring with strong opponents, so he naturally didn't refuse Nox's suggestion.
"Good, let's go then. This place is too small, we can't fully utilize our strength."
With that, Nox left the auction house and went to the wilderness area on the edge of Greenery Island.
This was an undeveloped area on Greenery Island, deserted and uninhabited. No one would come to this godforsaken place.
After arriving here, Nox's disguise had completely faded, restoring his original appearance.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself, I am Nox, an Executive Officer of the Rocks Pirates."
Nox tightly gripped his Seven Star Sword, looking sharply at Redfield as he spoke.
"So you are Nox. I've seen reports about you before. I am Patrick Redfield, it's a pleasure to cross swords with you!"
Redfield said in a very gentlemanly manner, holding his bat umbrella sword.
"Buzz!!!"
After speaking, a violently powerful purplish-red Haoshoku Haki suddenly erupted from Redfield, sweeping towards Nox like a raging tornado.
"Buzz!!!"
At the same time, Nox also unleashed his reddish-green Haoshoku Haki. His Haoshoku Haki also carried Nox's powerful Sword Intent.
As a result, wherever Nox's Haoshoku Haki passed, the ground looked as if it had been struck by countless swords, with sword marks everywhere.