One of the Fifty Skillful Grade Blades—Kariumi!
The moment the first auction item appeared, the entire venue erupted.
As the spotlight's dazzling beams hit the long glass case displaying the sword, greed lit up in everyone's eyes, their eagerness barely restrained.
Many of the swordsmen in the crowd stared at it with burning intensity, some even itching to leap onto the stage and snatch the blade for themselves.
Under the spotlight, the famous sword "Kariumi" gleamed with a faint, sharp glint. Its blade shimmered with a silvery-white luster.
The auctioneer, dressed in a black tailcoat, seemed quite pleased with the crowd's reaction. His impassioned voice echoed through the microphone:
"This 'Kariumi' is a masterpiece forged over ten years by a renowned craftsman from the South Sea. It once displayed the fearsome might of 'splitting the sea with a single stroke' in the hands of a master swordsman. Because of its fearsome reputation for 'hunting the sea,' it was given the name 'Kariumi.'"
"The blade is at least 30% heavier than a typical Ryōwazamono sword, significantly enhancing its cutting force... As for Kariumi's value, being one of the fifty Skillful Grade Blades, I don't believe I need to say more."
"So let's skip the formalities. The starting bid for this item is..."
The auctioneer dramatically raised both hands, his gestures slightly theatrical:
"One hundred million Belly!"
The moment he spoke, a pirate with a long sword at his waist—looking every bit like a ronin—suddenly stood up and shouted with blazing eyes:
"One hundred twenty million Belly!"
"Hahaha! 'Beheader' Kenshin, you think this sword's yours? Not a chance!"
A deep, menacing laugh rang out from another direction.
It came from a bald giant with a massive axe strapped to his back, built like a bear and reeking of bloodlust.
"One hundred thirty million Belly!"
He locked eyes with the ronin, hostility radiating from his glare.
"Barbarian, what's your problem?! You're not even a swordsman!" Kenshin growled through gritted teeth.
Barbarian sneered:
"So what? I've got plenty of swordsmen under me."
Watching this unfold, the rest of the room immediately realized—these two clearly had a grudge.
…
The bidding continued below.
In the luxurious box at the top, Sengoku held two lit cigars in his mouth, filling the room with thick smoke.
"It is indeed a very good Meito."
He glanced at the Skillful Grade Blade "Kariumi" and praised it.
Skillful Grade Blades were ranked among the "Meito" in this vast sea.
After all, the "12 Supreme Grade Blades" and "21 Great Grade Blades" above this level were extremely rare, and most of them had already fallen into the hands of powerful people.
For example, the birthday present he had found for Gion, the "Konpira," was ranked among the "21 Great Grade Blades."
But even among the "Great Grade Blades," it took a lot of time and connections for Sengoku, a high-ranking Admiral of the Marines, to finally get his hands on it.
This shows how precious and rare Meito are in these seas.
And now, at Lu Feld's auction, the first item up for auction is a Skillful Grade Blade!
As everyone knows, at auctions like this, the items that are auctioned first are generally of relatively low value.
It is common sense that the later in the auction, the more valuable the items are, as they are the grand finale.
This made Sengoku sigh with emotion, realizing that the resources controlled by the underworld were indeed immense.
"But I still feel like the bidding is a little high. Even for a Skillful Grade Blade, the price is usually around 100 million Belly at most..."
Sengoku listened to the bidding below, which had already reached 150 million Belly, and couldn't help but shake his head.
In particular, the competition between the ronin and the giant bear man had gone beyond the realm of bidding and had developed into a new feud, clearly stirring up anger.
"Pirates are really a bunch of impulsive fools..."
Sengoku shook his head in disapproval.
"I'll bid 200 million Belly."
A calm voice suddenly rang out.
Sengoku: ???
He turned his head in confusion and looked at Daren, who was calmly bidding, his eyes wide open.
"The VIP in the 3A box is bidding 200 million Belly!"
Hearing this bid, the auctioneer shook all over and shouted with a loud laugh.
"This guest is truly our distinguished VIP! What a generous bid!"
The bustling auction hall fell silent.
The guests in the auction hall were stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.
Especially the two men, Kenshin and Barbarian, who had been arguing fiercely, immediately fell silent, standing there dumbfounded, looking completely confused.
Wait, is that how you bid?
They couldn't help but look up at the luxurious VIP box labeled 3A, their curiosity about the identity of this person growing uncontrollably.
Everyone else was bidding in increments of a few million or tens of millions…
How could you just add 50 million Belly like that?
Are you trying to show off?
...
In the luxury box.
"You brat, are you out of your mind? That's just a Skillful Grade Blade—not even a Great Grade one!"
Sengoku grabbed Daren by the collar, looking extremely frantic.
"200 million Belly! What are you going to do with 200 million Belly?"
"This sword isn't worth 200 million Belly!"
However, in the face of Sengoku's rage, Daren remained calm and said,
"It's only 200 million Belly. I think it's reasonable."
Sengoku was struck as if by lightning.
200 million Belly... that's all...
His mind raced, frantically calculating what 200 million Belly could buy.
He could build two warships, equip 200 elite Marines with weapons, or even pay the salaries of 2,000 Marines...
"But you clearly don't know how to use a sword!"
Sengoku almost gritted his teeth.
Daren smiled and said,
"Collecting Meito swords is my hobby."
A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
This "Kariumi" had the attribute of "heaviness," which could increase the power of slashes, something Daren valued greatly.
He had become increasingly skilled at controlling his magnetism with his sword, and although Enma was powerful, it consumed too much Haki.
If he had another good sword as a backup, his tactics might be more flexible.
Most importantly, one Enma was not enough to cope with the needs of a large-scale battlefield.
If possible, Daren wanted to collect more Meito swords.
A "sword array" consisting of dozens or even hundreds of Meito swords would be an extremely terrifying weapon on a large battlefield, turning into a rain of swords filling the sky.
Even without Haki, the sharpness and cutting power of the Meito swords themselves, propelled by the magnetic field, would be many times stronger than ordinary cannons.
As for the price?
What a joke! Daren, who had obtained the treasure of the City of Gold on Sky Island, was now so rich that he was only left with money.
He couldn't even spend it all.
Not to mention that collecting Meito was a great pleasure in itself.
It had nothing to do with the value of the items themselves.
There were only 50 limited edition weapons in the entire world, so no amount of money would be too much.
And for the wealth he possessed, 200 million Belly was just a drop in the bucket.
It was well worth it.