Trebol hesitated, weighing his options carefully. "At most, I can help keep an eye out, and if I'm lucky enough to find the right one, I'll trade it for you."
'The young master has finally mastered the method of quickly collecting Devil Fruits. The rise of the family is just around the corner, but I can't let the secrets leak out from me!' Trebol thought decisively.
At this moment, Lakeman's keen eyes captured the subtle changes in Trebol's demeanor.
'Wrong! Doflamingo must have mastered a method to quickly collect Devil Fruits! Otherwise, Trebol wouldn't be auctioning them. He must have a large stockpile to have the confidence to sell them publicly. This is a critical point in the rise of the Donquixote family!' Lakeman realized instantly.
His eyes sharpened suddenly.
Boom!
A fierce killing intent burst forth like a roaring mountain and a tsunami, instantly shocking everyone present.
"What an amazing momentum!"
"I have goosebumps all over my body..."
"I feel like I'll be killed in an instant..."
Employees, guards, and servants all looked at Lakeman in shock.
Trebol's expression changed drastically. He transformed into a mass of sticky, viscous substance, attempting to slip away using the abilities of the Sticky-Sticky Fruit.
As soon as Trebol turned into the sticky substance, he attempted to escape through a crack in the floor.
"Not good!"
"We can't let him escape!"
"Let's do it together!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several figures suddenly flashed and appeared at the location where Trebol was slipping away. Fists, swords, legs, and feet struck the ground in various ways, but they only hit the hard floor tiles, leaving a slight dent and failing to harm Trebol himself.
'Humph, it is because of my ability that I was sent by the young master to sell Devil Fruits!' Trebol smiled confidently in his viscous form. 'In terms of survivability, I am one of the best in the Donquixote family!'
The faces of the people present turned ugly. There was nothing they could do to stop Trebol from escaping.
"Master, we are incompetent..." the guard leader said in a low voice.
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Lakeman with a wave of his hand.
"He can't escape."
Lakeman raised his palm and patted it down gently. The movement seemed inexplicable, as if he was just beating the air without touching anything. But in the perception of his Observation Haki, a huge amount of highly condensed Haki exploded from Lakeman's falling palm, spraying to the ground like a torrent.
Boom!!
In an instant, the floor was lifted open. Countless bricks shattered and exploded, exposing the cement floor underneath.
Trebol, who was slipping away among them, felt as if he was being squeezed by a heavy hammer. His body made a cracking sound, numerous bones breaking, and he spat out a lot of blood.
"No, it's impossible..."
Trebol immediately lost his ability to move and was stuck in the dirt, unable to escape. His face was covered in cold sweat as he looked at Lakeman in horror.
"Haki is released, how is it possible?!"
"Even Marine Admirals are only at this level..."
"How old are you? You can't possibly have this level of Haki!"
There was silence.
Everyone looked at Lakeman with bewildered eyes.
"The young master just...showed his Armament Haki?"
"Isn't that an advanced skill of Armament Haki?"
"Yes, it's a skill that only the top experts in the sea can master..."
"Is the master so strong?"
Lakeman's move directly shocked everyone. No wonder they were shocked. People who have awakened their Armament Haki are one in a million.
Looking at the entire sea, very few can develop their Armament Haki to an advanced level. Often the top players who dominate a party have mastered Haki's advanced skills. These top powerhouses are all people who have been baptized by years of combat and survived countless battles.
Lakeman is only ten years old, yet he has mastered the advanced weapon skills that only top experts know! This made everyone present feel unbelievable, and their worldview was strongly impacted.
Meanwhile, in the high-rise offices of the auction house, Stussy suddenly sensed something. Her eyes froze, and she looked at her feet in confusion.
"Armament Haki? No, it's the Armament Haki that is released externally? Who is it?" Stussy couldn't sit still anymore. She stood up suddenly, ready to go down and check the situation.
She remembered that Lakeman was coming to the auction. If he ran into a strong person who had mastered advanced weapon skills, something unexpected could happen.
"Wait!" Stussy suddenly paused, sensing something. Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened as she looked at the floor under her feet. The direction she looked in, through the layers of the ceiling, was where Lakeman was.
In her perception of Observation Haki, the strong man who used his armament skills coincided with Lakeman's aura!
"This Armament Haki...is the power of the master?" Stussy was shocked and said to herself in disbelief.
Below, awe-inspiring looks came from all directions. Lakeman didn't take it seriously. He just looked at Trebol and said, "You can't make the decision, so let the person who can make the decision talk to me."
As he spoke, he waved his hand gently and asked a guard to come forward. "Go and find the phone on his body."
"Yes!" The guard solemnly accepted the order and stepped forward to pull Trebol out of the soil.
Trebol, hit by a huge amount of armament force, had most of the bones in his body shattered. He was in so much pain that he couldn't move. He had no choice but to let the guards search him and pull out the phone number to contact Doflamingo from his arms.
North Blue, Spider Miles Island.
"Fufu, by now, Trebol should have almost completed his mission." Doflamingo lay on the sun lounger, crossing his legs, and looked expectantly at the phone bug next to him.
Around him, the Donquixote family members sat, chatting.
"Yes, Trebol is very efficient in his work."
"He should have entrusted the two Devil Fruits."
"Haha, I wonder what an auction managed by the World Government looks like."
"Trebol will bring us detailed information."
Everyone was full of expectations. After yesterday's analysis by Doflamingo, they saw the auction as a piece of fat pork that could be snatched away at any time. They completely disregarded Lakeman, thinking a ten-year-old kid couldn't fight them.
"Trebol will not let me down..." Doflamingo was smiling when his voice suddenly stopped and his brows furrowed. He lowered his head and took out a piece of white paper from his pocket—a piece of life paper. This piece of life paper was burning, and the flames had burned two-thirds of its area into ashes. The remaining one-third was slowly moving in a certain direction—the direction of the Sabaody Archipelago.
This piece of life paper shocked the Donquixote family members.
"Young Master, could this be Trebol's?"
"It looks like Trebol is seriously injured."
"Impossible. He is a Sticky-Sticky Fruit user. If he wants to leave, it will be difficult for him to stay."
"Could it be a sneak attack?"
"Who is the enemy? The World Government?"
"Impossible. How could the World Government take action against us..."
The members looked at the burning life paper in amazement.
"Trebol..." Doflamingo looked at the burning life paper, his face darkened.
Duuludulu—
At this moment, the phone rang. The other members fell silent immediately.
Doflamingo picked up the phone and asked, "Trebol, how are you?"
"He's okay, he can't die."
What came from the phone bug was an unfamiliar voice.
"Who are you?"
A cold look appeared on Doflamingo's face. "What did you do to Trebol?"
"Haha, to answer your first question, I am the new owner of the auction. You should know my name, Doflamingo." Lakeman said with a chuckle.
"Saint Lakeman?" Doflamingo's expression changed slightly. The other members listening around also showed surprised expressions.
"Yes, it's me."
During the auction, Lakeman held the phone and looked at Trebol, who was seriously injured and gasping for breath. He smiled and said, "Your men deceived me and then ran away. It was just a small misunderstanding. When he returns, you can ask him for details."
Hearing this, Doflamingo breathed a sigh of relief. He values his family very much. Trebol, Diamante, Pica, and Vergo were the first to join him and are the most important part of the family. Trebol ran for him and went to the Sabaody Archipelago. If something happened, he would be completely out of reach across the sea and helpless to do anything.
"Thank you for your kindness, Saint Lakeman." Doflamingo thought for a moment and then said, "Since you caught my subordinate, you must have something to ask of me, right? If you have any orders, just tell me."
"Sure enough, I can't hide anything from you, Doflamingo. Let's make a deal." Lakeman laughed.
"Tell me," Doflamingo said.
"You need a lot of precious materials. Some are controlled by the World Government and some are circulated among nobles. These are what you need, and I can get them easily," Lakeman said calmly.
He didn't have a complete list of materials, but he just threw out some general requirements. This is not a big problem for Doflamingo. There are so many categories of precious materials that it is difficult for one person to grasp them all. Lakeman only needs to provide the general category, and Doflamingo, who has a lot of channels, can naturally provide the detailed category and a solution.
"Precious materials?" Doflamingo was slightly startled.
"That's right, like top-quality seastone, platinum-lead, and other materials."
Lakeman said casually, "You can also provide me with Devil Fruits. As long as you can meet my requirements, I will pay for your efforts at the market price. You know my net worth, so there's no need to worry about going back on payment."
Doflamingo laughed, "Saint Lakeman is willing to trust me so much. It's better for us to become close allies. If you need anything, you can contact me anytime. I will provide everything you need."
He said it beautifully, but he didn't actually agree. The auction house is an important source of income, and it must be secured If he rashly agreed to Lakeman's request and lost the supply of Devil Fruits, he would be unable to explain it to the other family members.
But this didn't affect Doflamingo's desire to win over Lakeman.
Lakeman listened to his words and smiled. "Haha, yes, let's have a deep friendship."
Beep beep.
After finishing the call, Doflamingo lay back on the sun lounger, crossed his legs, and squinted his eyes, saying, "I didn't expect Lakeman to have such abilities. It's really interesting. I have to get in touch with him."
With the ambition of the Donquixote family, if they can get close to Lakeman, it will naturally be beneficial.
"Master is wise!" Diamante flattered him.
"Young Master, it's better to keep an eye on Trebol, and if possible, find a way to get him back," Vergo said.
Doflamingo nodded.
His men started discussing a plan to get Trebol back.
On the other side, in the Sabaody Archipelago, Lakeman put down the phone and turned to look at Trebol, saying, "I have talked with Doflamingo, and it went very well. He agreed to cooperate with me. You can go back and report now."
Trebol looked at him with a complicated expression and said, "I didn't expect you to have such strength at such a young age. You really deserve to be a member of the noble Celestial Dragons. Thank you for letting me go."
Lakeman laughed, "Don't worry, I'm a businessman, and business is business. Your young master will benefit greatly from this cooperation. I believe we will have more opportunities to work together in the future."
Trebol nodded, and with the help of the guards, he stood up and prepared to leave.
The auction house returned to normal, but the incident left a deep impression on everyone present. The name Saint Lakeman would be remembered, and his influence would continue to grow.
Lakeman looked at the sky and took a deep breath. This was just the beginning. The world of One Piece was vast, and he was ready to carve out his own legend in it.
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