Reincarnated into the world of One Piece, in a land of giants with open eyes?!

26: The Last Lot

Inside the bullring auction hall, the air still carried the lingering heat of the previous record-breaking sale of three billion pegories.

"...Next up is lot number 17, a permanent pointer from the ancient island of 'Little Garden'!"

"It's said that the island still retains its pristine ecology, making it a dream destination for explorers!"

Not many people are interested in this; most are simply dressed explorers or leaders of small pirate crews.

The bidding proceeded slowly, with the price hovering around ten million Berries.

At the last minute, Auro casually raised his paddle once and announced a price that was slightly above average.

There were originally one or two competitors, but after seeing his box number, they seemed to have weighed their options and ultimately chose to give up.

Oro easily pocketed the pointer.

"Distinguished guests!"

The auctioneer's voice rang out again.

"Next up will be one of the most anticipated items in this auction!"

"A treasure containing the great power of nature, the Devil Fruit!"

The lights in the center of the booth suddenly focused, and a waiter walked onto the stage carrying a velvet-covered tray with a fruit placed quietly on it.

The fruit is grayish-black all over, covered with metallic spikes, and wrapped with yellow rings. The stem is lightning-shaped, giving off a subtle, cold, hard metallic feel.

"Paramecia-type Magnet-Magnet Fruit!"

The auctioneer's voice was highly inflammatory.

"Control the power of magnetism! Imagine it, everyone!"

"Manipulate steel, master metal, everything can be a weapon!"

"At sea, the enemy's swords will become your toys, and even the strongest ships can crumble in the blink of an eye!"

"This is a powerful capability capable of building an invincible army and even overturning the course of a war!"

Before he finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the audience.

Especially those members of the Metal Cult who wore robes adorned with metal decorations, their eyes blazed with an almost fanatical light.

The leader stood up straight, his eyes fixed on the fruit.

"Starting bid: 150 million Berries! Each bid must be at least 10 million Berries higher!"

"One hundred and sixty million!"

"Two hundred million!"

"Three hundred million!"

"Damn it! Five hundred and fifty million!"

Bidding was in full swing, with representatives from several underworld factions joining in, in addition to the Metal Cult.

The price soared rapidly, like oil thrown into a blazing fire, and soon broke through the 500 million pegg mark.

At this price point, the bidding slowed down significantly, leaving only the representative of the Metal Cult and a mysterious hooded man with a hoarse voice locked in a tug-of-war.

"One billion thirty million!"

The representative of the Metal Cult gritted his teeth and shouted, veins already bulging on his forehead.

"1.13 billion..."

The hooded man's voice carried a hint of hesitation.

The auctioneer surveyed the room: "1.13 billion! Anything higher?"

"1.5 billion."

That calm, young voice came again from the private room on the second floor.

Like a drop of cold water falling into a boiling oil pan, it instantly caused an uproar in the entire venue.

He raised the price by nearly 30%! It's him again!

The Metal Order representative abruptly turned his head, his gaze sharp with rage, shooting straight at Oro's private box, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

He opened his mouth as if to say something or raise the price again, but an older companion next to him pulled him back forcefully and whispered a few words in his ear.

The representative's face flushed red with anger and frustration, but he ultimately refrained from retaliating, sat back down heavily, and withdrew from the auction.

The hooded man had already fallen silent.

After a brief moment of shock, the auctioneer quickly recovered, excitedly shouted three times, and brought down the gavel.

"Congratulations again to this distinguished guest! The Magnet-Magnet Fruit is yours!"

Oro remained calm, as if he had simply photographed an ordinary item.

The auction seemed to be drawing to a close, and many bidders had begun to relax, whispering about the exciting moments from before.

However, at that moment, Count Jupiter, who had been sitting upright in the soft chair to the side, slowly stood up.

He walked over to the auctioneer and gestured for him to step back, instantly silencing the entire hall.

Count Jupiter surveyed the room, his affable smile fading, replaced by a deliberately serious and mysterious air.

He cleared his throat, and his voice carried throughout the venue through the amplification equipment:

"Ladies and gentlemen, what we are about to present is the real highlight of this auction."

"It has nothing to do with individual force, and it doesn't provide direct destructive power, but—"

He paused deliberately, whetting everyone's appetite.

"It may contain the power to overturn the existing world order!"

Upon hearing this, many people in the audience showed expressions of disapproval or doubt.

But what Count Jupiter said next froze their expressions.

The waiter brought out a silver-white safe that was heavier than any of the previous items and had a complex mechanical lock.

Count Jupiter himself opened the key and took out not some glittering treasure, but a few tattered pages of paper with yellowed edges.

The paper was covered with densely packed, extremely complex formulas, chemical structures, and incomprehensible data records.

"What you are seeing are fragments of experimental records from a mysterious research organization called 'MADS'!"

Jupiter's voice had a seductive quality.

"According to the preliminary assessment of our top scholars, the content recorded on these few pages relates to a topic called 'Targeted Intervention of Bloodline Factors and Personality Reshaping'!"

"Bloodline factors?"

Some people in the audience looked bewildered.

Simply put...

Count Jupiter lowered his voice, as if he were telling a shocking secret.

"It touches upon the mystery of the creation of life!"

"It explores how to modify the essence of a life at the most fundamental level, and even... reshape its thoughts and personality!"

"This is the key to the 'realm of God,' the prototype of technology truly capable of 'creating' and 'defining' life!"

"Whoosh—!"

This time, the uproar in the venue was unlike any other time before.

Most pirates and ordinary nobles were still clueless, only feeling that it sounded impressive, but they didn't understand exactly why it was so impressive.

However, among the few who truly know the inside story—

The atmosphere instantly became tense!

Oro's first reaction was:

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

What gives Dressrosa the right?

What gives this young count the right to do this?

They even threatened to overthrow the world and invade the realm of gods; every single word they uttered touched a nerve with the world government.

King Riku has gone mad?!

Even if Dressrosa were to be controlled by Don Quixote Flando Mingo in the future, it would never auction this thing!

Where's the king of loan sharks? Your things got stolen!