One Piece: Starting with Coercing and Enticing Nami

However, business was of the essence. He took a deep breath and, sensing the strange atmosphere in the room, subtly changed the subject, bringing the second-to-last item to the stage.

Karina tugged at the sleeve of La Tot's shirt and leaned closer to ask if she wanted this item.

Thoth glanced at the document, which was a document proving ownership of a rare mineral on an island in the East China Sea, and shook his head. "We wouldn't have any use for this."

Although it's very valuable, we don't need to buy it.

However, in the end, this item strangely failed to sell at auction.

Dragu's smile froze, but he quickly composed himself, and then the last and most precious item was brought out.

"I'm sure all the gentlemen and ladies here know about the wonders of Devil Fruits, right?"

I won't say much more, this Devil Fruit is the Paramecia-type Steel Fruit.

It grants the user the ability to transform their body into high-strength steel.

Furthermore, after the body is made of steel, it can also achieve a certain high-temperature state.

Think about it, a body of steel, impervious to swords and spears, how powerful your body is.

In short, this is an extremely powerful and precious Paramecia-type Devil Fruit.

Its starting price is 100 million Berries, with each bid increasing by at least 10 million. The final auction of the day has officially begun!

Almost everyone present stared intently at the Paramecia-type Steel Fruit he had taken from the small treasure box on the display stand in front of him. The fruit was covered in spiraling arabesque patterns.

And for almost everyone, it was the first time in their lives that they had seen the Devil Fruit, this treasure of the sea, up close.

Their breathing became heavy, and their eyes revealed an undisguised desire, greed, and determination to possess.

"I'm offering 100 million Berries! Don't fucking try and take it from me."

"One hundred and ten million! Who do you think you are?"

"One hundred and twenty million! The Iron-Steel Fruit is mine."

"One hundred and thirty million!"

In the blink of an eye, the price of the Iron-Steel Fruit reached 180 million Berries. Dracula smiled broadly, still teasingly saying:

"One hundred and eighty million once, you should know that people with skin as strong as steel are considered superior on the Grand Line!"

"With the power of the Steel Fruit, you can do everything you couldn't do before, whether it's in life or in battle!"

He kept flirting with her.

Upon seeing this, Toth's lips curled into a slight smile, and his voice, neither too loud nor too soft, instantly carried throughout the entire hall:

"The Iron-Steel Fruit, how terrifying! But I'm a swordsman, a man who can cut through steel."

Mad Torega's Iron-Iron-Chain Fruit was still easily chopped into pieces by my sword!

I've heard that there are countless swordsmen on the Grand Line; could this Devil Fruit be just for show?

Suddenly, the entire room fell silent. Dragu's smile vanished, and all eyes turned to him, their expressions both strange and complex.

Thoth smiled faintly: "Why are you all looking at me? I'm not making this up. Mr. Dracula from the Grand Line, aren't there plenty of swordsmen on the Grand Line?"

Suddenly, the gaze shifted, and Dragu's face turned ugly, his eyes twitching violently.

Like a bucket of cold water, the high enthusiasm of the people in the room was dampened considerably.

Seeing Dragu's murderous glare, Thoth grinned broadly:

"However, this fruit still has some value in the East Sea, where there aren't many swordsmen."

"Alright then, I'll offer 200 million Berries to buy it for fun. Anyone interested can keep bidding; I don't mind. Highest bidder wins. Okay, your turn!"

Looking at Thoth, who had been completely overshadowed, Dragu gave a forced smile:

“Mr. Thoth, you don’t seem to understand this fruit very well. It can bring about a melting temperature of at least nearly a thousand degrees!”

"Thousands of degrees! That's enough to burn a person alive to ashes!"

Seeing the opponent counterattack, Toth sneered: "Steel can heat up, but it can't be released outwards. What use is it if it can't hit anyone? Just a turtle shell?"

"You think you can just hold your opponent in your arms and let them slowly turn to ashes?"

Dragus was speechless.

However, even now, some people still yearn for this Iron Fruit.

"I'll offer 210 million."

All eyes turned to that direction.

The man was smiling. Thoth looked over and wondered if he was a shill.

But it doesn't matter, just keep watching.

With someone taking the lead, the atmosphere gradually warmed up, and soon the price for the Steel Fruit reached 300 million Berries.

However, once they got here, only two people remained to fight over it.

Thoth looked over and saw one was a well-known gang leader from another sea area, and the other was a strange guy whose name Thoth couldn't recall.

The gang leader, his face ruthless, stared intently at his opponent and gritted his teeth as he said:

"310 million Berry."

The price surprised everyone present, while his opponent, with a dark expression, did not continue to bid.

When Dragu saw this, he looked somewhat dissatisfied; the price did not meet his expectations.

I couldn't help but glance in a certain direction in the room. Then, the middle-aged man from before slowly raised his placard, looking particularly troubled:

"Three hundred and twenty million! I hope this gentleman will part with it?"

The gang leader, his face flushed with rage, began to hurl insults:

"I'll fucking scare you. Are you looking to die? I'll pay you 350 million."

Immediately, the man glanced at Dragu without making a sound, then smiled wryly, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and shut his mouth.

The gang leader was panting heavily, and Thoth had seen it all. Karina nudged Thoth lightly with her shoulder.

Her gaze was strange. Thoth looked over and smiled slightly, indicating that he had noticed it too. At that moment, Dragu glanced at Thoth, then looked at the gang leader:

"350 million per time, are there any higher prices?"

Thoth then calmly spoke:

"Three hundred and sixty million."

The gang leader glared at Thoth, but Thoth looked at him calmly, causing the latter's eye to twitch violently.

Several seconds passed without anyone raising the price. Drago looked at Thoth, then at the gang leader, and just as his gaze was about to shift elsewhere, Thoth calmly spoke:

"This Iron-Steel Fruit is worth at most a little over 300 million. It's already overpriced. Does anyone want to raise the price? Whoever makes an offer, I'll let them have it."

Threat?

Although it didn't seem like it, that's what they believed in their hearts.

Dragu's eyes were unreadable; he was fairly satisfied with the price. At that moment, he noticed Thoth's ambiguous smile.

His eye twitched, as if Thoth had already seen through his little trick.

He took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Three hundred and sixty million per time, anyone else want to raise the price?"

However, this time, there was no price increase.

In the end, the Iron Fruit fell completely into Thoth's hands.

With a stiff smile, Dragu announced the successful conclusion of the auction.

It was announced that those who did not win an item could stay at the bar for drinks or leave on their own, while those who won an item would be led by waiters to the back to complete the transaction.

After a while.

Thoth and Karina, along with Bailey, were led by a waitress to a meeting room behind the bar.

Dragu appeared here, looking at the six briefcases in Thoth's hands, a greedy look appearing deep in his eyes.

Thoth's eyes were calm. After glancing at him, he spoke softly:

"Let's make the deal first. If you have anything else to do, wait until I leave. You don't want to cause trouble, do you?"

Dragu's face darkened as he stared at Thoth, a forced smile on his face.

"Heroes emerge from among the young, I must say, you're quite something. Before the deal, I have a question for you: would you be willing to join our Feld Company?"

Our company president, Lord Fukujin du Feld, greatly admires talented people.

Thoth smiled upon hearing this, then waved his hand and said, "Let's make a deal! I have no intention of joining someone else's team at the moment."

Upon hearing Thoth's refusal, Dragus's expression suddenly calmed down. Thoth glanced at him, his expression filled with malice!

But it doesn't matter.

Karina and the maid who brought them finished counting the Berries, totaling 398 million, with 388.4 million Berries actually paid, settled in one lump sum.

Thoth looked at the iron-black steel fruit in a small treasure chest in front of him, and the demonic sword Tyrwind in a sword box.

The money and goods were settled.

The Iron-Steel Fruit was stuffed into one of the briefcases containing money, and then the sword case was slung over their shoulders. Karina picked up the last briefcase, and the two turned and left.

Just as he reached the door, Dragu's cold voice rang out:

"Weapon Master Tot, you're pretty arrogant!"

Thoth turned to look at him, his eyes calm, then suddenly grinned:

"Arrogant? Is that illegal?"

Author's note on the product launch!!!

Before we knew it, it was time to go on sale again.

The notification to launch the product arrived yesterday, but considering it's almost the end of the month, I decided not to launch it. I'll officially launch it tomorrow, the beginning of the new month, hoping for good luck.

Well, the book didn't do well, but I think that once a book is published, it should be finished.

I hereby promise that, regardless of the subsequent results, this book is, after all, a story I wrote that I really love, and I will write a perfect ending for it.