After stepping into the wless zone, Cudius could feel the chaotiergy that permeated the area. However, with Stussy apanying him and a few discreet guards trailing behind, no one dared to provoke him.

  Truth be told, the chaos in the wless zone rarely affected those eared to be well-off or of noble dest, like Cudius. Most of the violend crime targeted people who were destitute and alohose whose deaths would go unnoticed.

  People like Cudius, who exuded the aura of a noble, were seen more as potential patrons in the eyes of the scum of this area. After all, the lower rungs of society depended on these wealthy individuals for their ine. And sinobles were not to be trifled with lightly, trouble teo steer clear of them.

  There was no hassle when they ehe au house. Stussy handled iations with the aueer, and it wasn't long before Cudius and his group were led to the front row of the venue.

  Though Cudius didn't explicitly reveal his identity as a Celestial Dragon, he was seated right behind the reserved area for them, in the sed row, just shy of the most promi seats in the house. He g the two Celestial Dragons occupying those seats ahead of him. They seemed young, probably no more thawenties.

  Cudius couldn't immediately reize who they were just from seeing their backs, but he could already tell that they were of the same mold as his predecessor typical Celestial Dragons, wasteful and utterly useless.

  Uanding their nature, Cudius had no i in introdug himself or exging pleasantries. Instead, he simply sat ba his seat and waited for the au to begin, paying no attention to the chatter betweewo Celestial Dragons in front of him, who seemed to be boasting about their sve purchases.

  With nothier to do, Cudius closed his eyes and began to refle his iions with Dragohe past few days.

  Had he made any real impact? Yes, definitely. Through sheer persistend rhetoric, Cudius had at least pnted some seeds of doubt and introspe within Dragon. But expeg to fully rewrite Dragon's future would be naive.

  First and foremost, Dragon was a strong-willed individual. While he might aowledge some of Cudius's points in the short term, someone like him wouldn't be easily swayed. Cudius could sehat Dragon was more ied iing his own beliefs against Cudius's arguments rather than blindly accepting them. He was abs the versation, seeking on ground while still maintaining his own distinct ideals.

  But for now, this was enough. All Cudius wanted was to establish a rapport, a foundation of friendship. If he could guide Dragon iure, he would. If not, at least there would be some room fotiation instead of immediate hostility. Just having a space for dialogue was suffit for now.

  Thinking that he probably wouldn't see Dragon again for a while, Cudius let out a quiet sigh and put those thoughts aside. He focused oing and quietly waited for the au to begin.

  Soon enough, the au hall filled up, and the aueer wasted no time starting the event.

  Cudius had never participated in an au before, but he had heard plenty about their typical routines. As expected, the initial items were rather mundane and uing. Cudius paid no attention to the early bids for treasures and sves, finding nothing remarkable among them.

  The same held true for the two Celestial Dragons in front of him. They didn't bother bidding on anythiher.

  The oruly engaged were the nobles seated further back, eagerly vying for things Cudius couldn't care less about.

  "The gap ih and power is obvious. The nobles in this world aren't as sophisticated as I'd imagined… Celestial Dragons really are on another level," Cudius mused.

  Just as he began to question if he'd e to the wrong pce, the au finally presented something of i.

  The first majhlight of the night was a giant sve, t and muscur. The giant had a rough yet dignified air about him, giving off the aura of a seasoned warrior. His arms and legs were bound with thick s, and a massive sve colr encircled his neck.

  The moment the giant appeared, Cudius noticed the two Celestial Dragons ahead of him perk up with i.

  From what Cudius knew, aside from rare mermaid sves, giants were among the most valuable sves in the market, with a starting price of 50 million Berries.

  For most ordinary his was an astronomical sum. But for Celestial Dragons? It was a trivial amount.

  Even lower-tier Celestial Dragons like Cudius received a monthly allowance of 500 million Berries just as pocket money. And with the wover and tless wealthy merts stantly fawning over them, Celestial Dragons rarely had to spend their own money on luxuries or treasures.

  Instead, merts and officials would scramble to present these items as gifts. There was no way they would dare to ask the Celestial Dragons to pay for anything themselves.

  As a result, Cudius had barely touched his monthly allowan the past six months, saving up a substantial fortuhat he inteo use as seed money for his future endeavors.

  But for most Celestial Dragons, their biggest monthly expense robably their extravagant spending sprees on Sabaody Archipego, and this au was likely one of the prime outlets for them to blow their funds.

  Sure enough, Cudius had no i in acquiring the giant sve. But the two Celestial Dragons in front of him were more than eager. They started the bidding war at 100 million Berries.

  Despite the other nobles beihy, none dared to pete with the Celestial Dragons. The two young men seemed to get into a heated argument, raising the bid repeatedly until the price soared to nearly 200 million Berries. Eventually, one of them ceded, clearly upset.

  The au tinued, showg various intriguing items like brawny fishmen sves and rare treasures, keeping Cudius eaihe Celestial Dragons in front, however, did not bid on anything else.

  It wasn't until a Devil Fruit was brought onto the stage that Cudius's eyes lit up. With a smile, he gestured to Nya to raise his paddle.

  "One hundred and fifty million Berries, for the first bid! Any other takers?" the aueer called out, trying to stir up more enthusiasm. "This Devil Fruit is a rare Logia-type! Even if the price were doubled, it would still be an excellent deal…"

  Cudius paid no attention to the aueer's words. He was genuinely ied in this Devil Fruit because it was the S-S Fruit, a Logia-type fruit often regarded as the "weakest" of its kind.

  This fruit wasn't sought after because of its ckluster abilities and the fact that it did little to enhahe user's appearance. But even so, it was still a Logia-type, making it ily valuable.

  The Fruit had potential in the right hands. And if Cudius couldn't find someone suitable to eat it, he could always give it to the Marine's sce team ohey acquired the brilliant stist, Vegapunk. In time, they'd develop the teology to transfer Devil Fruit abilities into objects.

  At the very least, this fruit could be turned into a tool effectively creating a piece of equipment with a 'ste' capacity simir to a bag of holding. If nothing else, it could even be used to set up someone Cudius didn't like perhaps in a manner remi of how he had bee in the past.

  Being a Celestial Dragon for the past six months had rubbed off on Cudius in some ways. He wasn't above using underhaactiow.

  Logia Devil Fruits, no matter how "trash" they seemed, were still worth hundreds of millions. They were valuable and rare, so why not grab it?

  Without revealing his identity as a Celestial Dragon, Cudius's bids weren't met with any special treatment. But after a few rounds, he secured the S S Fruit for a final bid of 300 million Berries.

  The wialized his i in the au. He leaned forward slightly, eager to see what would e up .

  Soon, the item made its appearance a beautiful, ominous sword.

  "Ladies alemen, please feast your eyes on this extraordinary bde one of the 21 Great Grade Swords. This is the famed Demon Bde, Shindō!"

  The aueer's voied with excitement. "This bde was acquired at a high price from the bck market. But be war's not just any famous sword. Shindō is a cursed bde. Acc to legend, it was fed by a notorious pirate bcksmith turies ago. The bde has beeo it tless atrocities, being imbued with a dark, malevolent aura."

  "However, as the years have passed, the curse seems to have weakened. We believe it's time for this demoo be reborn, and we are seeking the oio wield it here tonight!"

  The aueer's fervor alpable as he introduced the sword.

  Cudius's gaze settled on the bde. At first g looked exquisite. The scabbard was crafted from ebony wood, deep bck with subtle golden patterns that gave it a, almost mystical aura. A few dark greeones adorhe sheath, enhang its beauty without seeming ostentatious.

  The handle, ed tightly in blood-red threads, exuded a low-key sense of luxury. Even from a distance, Cudius could feel the faint, lingering malevolence emanating from the bde.

  "This truly is one of the 21 Great Grade Swords... A top-tier on," Cudius murmured, his i growing. He'd already made up his mind he had to get his hands on it.

  Seeing the look in Cudius's eyes, the butler Nya hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "Yhness, this sword may look magnifit, but it's a cursed bde. They say cursed swords bring misfortuo their wielders. Are you sure—"

  "Hahahaha, what's there to be afraid of?" Cudius interrupted with a hearty ugh. "I refuse to believe that a sword, no matter how cursed, be my undoing."

  The starting price for Demon Bde Shindō was set at an impressive 300 million Berries. Cudius didn't bid immediately but instead observed the room, assessing his potential petition.

  Initially, a few of the wealthier nobles ehe bidding, and the price quickly rose to 400 million Berries. However, before long, the Celestial Dragon who had previously bid for the giant sve joined in. With a single bid, he raised the price by another 50 million Berries, clearly showing his io cim the bde.

  The rest of the attendees, intimidated by the involvement of a Celestial Dragon, soon fell silent, unwilling to risk offending such a powerful entity. But just as Cudius was about to make his move, a new voice suddenly called out from the back of the au hall.

  "500 million Berries."

  Cudius turned, his gaze log onto a strikingly handsome, middle-aged maed i row. The man's presence radiated fidend posure, his aura distinct from the rest of the audience.

  At first gnce, Cudius was taken aback by how good-looking the man was. But on closer iion, he realized something even more shog.

  "Silvers Rayleigh?" Cudius muttered to himself, eyes widening in reition.