"Devil Fruit powers? Don't even think about it!" the auction house's manager roared.
The sudden appearance of a small hand startled him for a moment, but he had seen enough of the world to quickly regain his composure. His scepter lashed out with lightning speed, striking the mysterious hand.
In an instant, the hand scattered into countless petals and vanished.
"As expected of the great bounty hunter who once captured a pirate worth a hundred million Berries! Lord Ant, you truly haven't lost your edge!" Joya quickly flattered him.
"Hurry up and put shackles on her — don't let her escape!" Ant, basking in Joya's praise, immediately ordered the auction house guards to put iron shackles on Robin.
"Let me go! Let me go, you bastards! Rosinante-nii will definitely come for me! Let me go right now, or Rosinante-nii won't forgive you!" Robin struggled desperately, refusing to let them lock her up.
Smack! Suddenly, Ant slapped Robin across the face.
The force of the blow stunned her, leaving her frozen in shock.
Ant grabbed her by the mouth, a cold and cruel smile twisting his face.
"I don't care whether it's this 'Rosinante' or the King of Heaven himself — once you enter this place, there's only one way you're leaving: by being auctioned off. Otherwise, even if the gods themselves descend, they won't take you away," Ant said with a sinister chuckle.
"This is the largest human auction house on the entire Sabaody Archipelago. Behind us stand the great powers of the underworld — even the Celestial Dragons are our clients. If your precious Rosinante tries to storm this place, the worst that will happen is that we'll simply gain one more product to sell. You'd better pray he doesn't come. Otherwise, his fate will be even worse than yours!" Ant sneered.
"That's right, that's right! Who would dare cause trouble in Lord Ant's territory?" Kela and Joya chimed in eagerly, fawning over him.
Listening to Enel's report, Rosinante's forehead veins throbbed, an overwhelming, tyrannical aura surging from his body like a tidal wave. The clouds above were instantly blown apart.
This is His Majesty's Conqueror's Haki? Enel's pupils shrank. Such an overwhelming will! I've heard of it before — that only one in a million is born with it — but I've never had the chance to witness it. Now I finally see it with my own eyes.
As expected of His Majesty — this aura alone was enough to crush any thought of resistance. It was so powerful it made Enel tremble.
The sheer force of the Conqueror's Haki left him staring at Rosinante with something close to reverence.
"So, what do you say, Your Majesty? Should I just go and slaughter them all, and bring Robin and the others back?" Enel's expression twisted into something feral, his tone hungry for violence.
He didn't care about Robin one way or the other — anything that dared anger his king was something he wanted to destroy.
"No need. Didn't they just say it? That even I must buy Robin back if I want to take her from here? Very well, then. I'll play by their rules," Rosinante said evenly.
Enel froze.
He hadn't expected Rosinante to hold back — a wave of disappointment washed over him.
To him, Rosinante was someone who towered over the world, unstoppable, unyielding, a man whose march could never be halted.
But now? Things had come to this, Rosinante had even lost his temper a moment ago — so why endure it now? Was His Majesty… afraid?
The thought made Enel's heart sink. Could it be that Rosinante was no longer the man he revered?
"To dare kidnap my people — and then demand that I buy them back? Fine. I'll buy them back. But then I'll see for myself just how powerful their so-called backers really are, and whether they can actually make me afraid." Rosinante's voice was cold, his killing intent sharp enough to pierce the air. A surge of even more oppressive aura erupted from him, shaking the very atmosphere.
Enel's eyes lit up.
Ah — I was wrong!
Rosinante wasn't letting them off — far from it. He wasn't just planning to destroy the auction house and the slavers, he intended to wipe out the powers behind them as well.
As expected of His Majesty!
Commander Ryan was right — His Majesty was truly enraged this time, and that meant destruction was coming.
Enel's blood boiled with excitement. He hadn't followed the wrong man after all. Only a king like this was worthy of his loyalty.
At the same time, Enel silently reevaluated Robin's place in Rosinante's heart — clearly, she mattered more than he'd realized.
"Your Majesty, what do we do next?" Enel asked, barely containing his eagerness.
"What else? We go see for ourselves just how powerful this so-called human auction house really is, and just how strong the underworld's giants think they are!" Rosinante replied coldly.
"But… we're just going to sit back and watch them auction off our people like merchandise?" Enel was still reluctant.
Ever since Gray Kingdom crushed Pica and swept through Skypiea, Enel had considered Gray Kingdom's honor to be sacred and untouchable.
Years of indoctrination from the Bloodsworn Guard had only deepened this sense of loyalty.
And now, someone dared to treat Gray Kingdom's people like goods to be sold — this was an insult he could not tolerate.
Even knowing that Rosinante was planning to turn the entire auction into a bloodbath, the mere thought of waiting for the auction to proceed left a bitter taste in Enel's mouth.
Rosinante reached out and ruffled Enel's head.
"Enel, you need to remember this — brute force can solve most problems, but there is one thing it can never solve: human desire. Desire clouds the mind. Even if you destroy the auction house now and save Robin, the powers behind it will lose nothing. Destroy the building, they'll build another. Kill the manager, they'll appoint a new one. To them, all of this is expendable — it won't hurt them at all. In fact, they might even laugh, saying that this is all you can do." Rosinante's voice was calm, but every word struck deep.
"Only by making them feel pain, dragging them out of the darkness, and breaking their bones can we suppress their desires. That is what I call killing the chicken to warn the monkeys. I will make sure that everyone who dares to set their sights on us understands that touching my people comes at a price — a price so steep they can never afford it. Only then will they think twice next time they dare to move against us." Rosinante's eyes were like ice as he spoke.
"And besides, it's time Robin learned just how cruel this world truly is. Without strength, there's no way to survive in this world. Even with my protection, there are times when I won't be there in time. Only by becoming strong herself will she be able to freely pursue her own path of discovery."
Robin and the others hadn't exactly been slacking in their training, but without real pressure, something had always been missing. Rosinante believed that after this experience, their training would advance by leaps and bounds.
If he could, Rosinante wouldn't want Robin to go through something like this — but this incident had reminded him of a painful truth: no matter how much he protected her, accidents could always happen. And Robin was never meant to be just a pretty vase standing idly by.