Chapter 40: Gomu Gomu no Mi

“Surely, there is still human trafficking?” Leiyin secretly thought to himself.

“….Her reserve price is…. 1 million belly!”

As soon as the host’s voice ended, the men scrambled to be the first to start bidding. Their male hormones were already mobilized by the pretty face of the young girl.

“I’ll bid 1.5 million!”

“I’ll give you 2 million!”

“I’ll give you 3 million!”

“I’ll give you 5 million!”

The last bidder was the fat man in the front row. The girl was auctioned off to him for 5 million belly.

When the cage was pushed down, the fat man even looked at the “prey” with a filthy look. At this point, the young woman next to the fat man was not satisfied and said, “You have 16 women, and you can’t be satisfied with them?”

The fat man pinched the woman’s thighs and smirked at her, “What do you know? To be a man is to enjoy. If I don’t buy her, that little creature will be bought by someone else. So, where should I spend my money on? Hahaha…”

After the young woman was auctioned off, the staff brought out a second item for sale.

A man in a suit brought out a fruit plate, which was covered with black cloth.

The host danced around in amusement and excitement, “Okay, the second item is next. If you eat it, you will immediately gain great power.”

After saying that, the host lifted the black cloth at once. What was shown to everyone was a purple fruit with a spiral pattern on it.

Devil Fruit.

The host then introduced this as Gomu Gomu no Mi of Paramecia Devil Fruit.

Wasn’t this Luffy’s fruit? Why was it here? As Leiyin was thinking, the host then introduced it.

“The fruit’s ability enables the user’s entire body to stretch and rebound within a certain range, making ordinary blows more powerful. The fruit is also immune to blows, bullets, artillery, and even lightning. So, if you eat it, you will immediately become a strong man!” The host was speaking eloquently on stage, and the audience’s eyes were wide open.

Leiyin knew in his heart that the Gomu Gomu no Mi wasn’t a powerful Devil Fruit because it was the fruit of the main character in the original One Piece story and was well developed. However, even if it wasn’t a powerful fruit, it was still a Devil Fruit, not an ordinary apple. An ordinary person could still become more powerful than the average person by eating it.

Besides, the number of Devil Fruit was extremely rare.

The reason why there were so many capable people in the anime and manga was that the world depicted in the anime was one of the strongest.

In that world, civilians were the vast majority.

Because of the scarcity of the quantity, the Devil Fruit price, no matter what kind, was so high that an average family couldn’t buy one without eating or drinking for ten lifetimes.

“The reserve price for the Gomu Gomu no Mi is… 80 million belly!”

As soon as the words came out, the room immediately boomed.

“I’ll give you 85 million!” 𝗈𝓥𝐿xt.𝑪𝒪𝓂

“90 million!”

“I’ll give you 98 million!”

“100 million, I’ll give you 100 million belly!”

While the crowd was arguing, a figure stepped into the air and flew up to the stage, snatching the Devil Fruit.

This action caused the audience to calm down.

It was Leiyin who flew forward and snatched the Gomu Gomu no Mi.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

When the staff saw this, they immediately took out their swords and firearms and pointed them at Leiyin.

Leiyin, on the other hand, said indifferently, “I’m sorry, but I’ll take this fruit.”

Leiyin was openly robbing, and no one knew what his pattern was.

The man in the front row said, “Who are you? How dare you? Do you know whose territory this is?”

In contrast, Leiyin pulled out his ears, carelessly, “I am a marine. You are trading illegally underground, so this fruit should be called confiscation.”

The man in the front looked at him with disdain, “What a fool who doesn’t know what he’s doing. A mere marine officer, how dare you to speak out in front of the Donquixote Pirates!”

BANG!

The man in the front row unceremoniously pulled the trigger in his hand. The bullet flew toward Leiyin, who dodged it with a single glance.

Did he just say Donquixote Pirates?

When the people bidding at the bottom heard the gunshots, they almost all ran away in fear. Only a few were watching the stage with interest.

When everyone backstage heard the gunshots from the front, they all rushed out with their guns, “He’s a marine. He’s here to ruin the show.”

The men in suits all raised their guns and fired bullets like rain toward Leiyin.

Leiyin saw the situation and used [Geppo] to step towards the ceiling. His hands were rapidly forming seals. He then put his hand over his mouth, and a ninjutsu move came out brazenly, “FIRE RELEASE – GREAT FIREBALL!”

A large fireball plummeted towards the crowd. It hit the floor with a roar, burning most of the staff.

“This guy, he has [Mera Mera no Mi] ability!” The remaining survivors were in a panic and made a wrong description.

“Quick… Hurry up and get the boss out!” The rest of the men abandoned their armor. They fled to find their bosses.

By the time Leiyin hit the ground again, the fire was already raging. He scratched his head, helplessly, “Looks like I overplayed my hand a bit.”

Then, he stamped his hands again, “WATER RELEASE – WILD WATER WAVE!”

As if a waterfall of water spurted out, the fire was extinguished cleanly in a short time. Leiyin wasn’t a good man or a believer, but he put out the fire to prevent it from burning up the place because he wanted to make more money here.

Leiyin unceremoniously put the “seized” Gomu Gomu no Mi in his pocket. At that moment, a merchant who hadn’t left the room approached him.

The merchant smiled at Leiyin and said, “I think you are not an ordinary person. Do you want to do business with me?”

Leiyin looked at him, “Business?”

The merchant said, “Well, how about selling me that fruit you’re holding?”

Leiyin thought for a moment, “Okay, how much do you want to pay?”

The merchant held up one finger: “100 million belly.”

Leiyin waved his hand, “Add another 10 million, or else no deal.”

The merchant was pensive.

In the market, the average Paramecia Devil Fruit, like this Gomu Gomu no Mi, had a price of 100 million belly. However, if he bought it at the auction house, the price would be raised by an unknown amount, and he was just an ordinary merchant.

He wondered when he would have to wait until he came across such a Devil Fruit again…