At Caelan's signal, Morgans, the host, immediately stepped into position.

"Dear guests, all of you renowned figures of the New World, I know you can hardly wait. Without further delay, the auction will now begin!"

Morgans gripped the microphone, his voice full of energy.

"Everyone is here for the artificial Devil Fruit technology, but before seeing its effects, I'm sure many of you still have doubts. Do artificial Devil Fruits really exist? What kind of results do they produce?"

"That makes sense."

Several underworld kings nodded in agreement.

They were all seasoned figures. It wasn't in their nature to trust one-sided claims easily.

They did indeed harbor suspicions about the effectiveness of artificial Devil Fruits.

"To eliminate any doubts, Caelan-sama has already made arrangements! Before auctioning off the artificial Devil Fruit technology, five artificial Devil Fruits will be auctioned first so everyone can witness the effects firsthand!" Morgans explained with a smile.

"That's a good idea."

Everyone agreed with Caelan's approach.

Seeing it in action before deciding to invest, now that was reassuring.

"The starting price for each artificial Devil Fruit is 100 million Berries, and each bid must increase by no less than 10 million Berries!"

"Wealthy guests, please raise your number plates and bid enthusiastically!"

Morgans held the microphone and worked up the crowd.

However, the guests didn't start bidding wildly. Instead, many looked surprised.

"What the hell!?"

Peclo shouted in disbelief.

A starting price of 100 million, with a minimum bid increase of 10 million? This was blatant robbery!

Everyone knew these artificial Devil Fruits had defects and were far inferior to natural Zoan-type Devil Fruits.

What they were really after was the technology to mass-produce artificial Devil Fruits, to form a stable army of ability users. Not because the artificial fruits themselves were amazing.

The average Zoan-type Devil Fruit was worth about 100 million Berries.

But a defective artificial fruit being auctioned at that same price and with bidding required on top of that? This was nothing short of scamming the buyers.

Even if they had money, this wasn't how they wanted to spend it.

"Ahem."

Caelan lightly coughed and glanced at Morgans.

Morgans immediately got the hint and turned to Peclo, the assassin king who had just spoken.

"If you can't afford it, you don't have to bid. You think 100 million Berries for an artificial Devil Fruit is expensive?"

"What's expensive? Maybe instead of thinking our stuff costs too much, you should think more about your own problems. Have you worked hard to earn money? Have you saved anything after all these years?"

As he spoke, Morgans gave Peclo a look full of disdain.

"You!"

Peclo was furious.

Damn bird, was he mocking him for being poor?

Who was he looking down on?

"One hundred million Berries plus ten million. I'll take one and show you, birdman, what real strength looks like!"

Peclo roared.

When it came time to pay, he planned to smash a sack of Berries over Morgans' bird head.

"Major Undertaker Peclo bids 110 million Berries! Any higher bids?"

Morgans ignored Peclo's outburst and continued as if nothing had happened.

"One hundred million Berries, fifty million."

Lu Feld silently raised his sign and offered his bid.

Although the price was steep for a defective artificial Devil Fruit, it was still worth spending 200 million Berries to verify the true value of the technology.

"The God of Fortune is truly generous. He's raised it by fifty million Berries! Any higher bids?"

Morgans announced happily, glancing at Peclo as he did.

"You idiot, you actually spent that much on an artificial Devil Fruit. Wouldn't it be better to just buy a real one?"

Peclo grumbled through clenched teeth.

"If you can't afford it, don't talk. Feld is a known tycoon. You can't even be compared to him."

Morgans showered Feld with praise.

A competent auctioneer should make the big spenders feel valued.

"That's right. Don't whine, poor guy. I'll bid 200 million Berries!"

The Golden Emperor, looking every bit the wealthy mogul, casually raised the bid by another 50 million.

He lacked love and power, but certainly not money.

He wanted the first artificial Devil Fruit just to test it out.

"Golden Emperor bids 200 million Berries. Anyone willing to follow?"

Morgans' eyes lit up as he looked at Feld.

"I'll wait for the next one."

Feld shook his head and dropped out.

If it had been Peclo bidding, he might have tried to drive up the price.

But his opponent was the Golden Emperor, a man who controlled 20% of the world's wealth. Competing in money with him would be insanity.

If there's any point in competing, it would be during the auction for the actual technology.

"Then congratulations to Mr. Golden Emperor, Tesoro, for winning the first artificial Devil Fruit with a bid of 200 million Berries!"

Smiling broadly, Morgans confirmed the winning bidder.

After Tesoro paid the 200 million Berries, the artificial Devil Fruit was delivered to him.

"It's kind of ugly."

Tesoro looked at the fruit in his hand with distaste.

Compared to his Gold-Gold Fruit, this one was downright hideous.

But it didn't matter. He wasn't the one who would be eating it.

He casually handed the artificial Devil Fruit to one of his subordinates and ordered him to eat it.

Everyone's attention turned toward Tesoro, observing the changes in his subordinate.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

The moment he bit into the artificial Devil Fruit, the subordinate screamed.

Veins all over his body bulged, surging like dark red worms across his skin.

A few moments later, the pain subsided, and the man stood upright, face blank and expressionless.

He was fortunate not to explode, but the side effects of the artificial Devil Fruit still stripped him of all emotion, except for a forced smile.

After a brief test, Tesoro confirmed that the artificial Devil Fruit was real. Though it was weaker than a natural Devil Fruit, it was functional.

"Artificial Devil Fruit technology, I want it!"

The moment he confirmed its effectiveness, Tesoro made up his mind.

No matter the cost, he was determined to get the technology, build an army of ability users, and sweep everything before him.

Four billion Berries, five billion Berries?

His wallet was already open, waiting for Caelan to take it.

(To be continued.)

***

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