[Episode] Why No, I Don't Dance But When I Do, It's Almost Criminal

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“Tell me something stranger… What is it like outside these farms?” the curious child inquired, while wagging her legs off the side of the stool, clearly twice her height.

“Adventure, among other things.” the three-eyed man responded, concealed face beneath his straw-hat, as he’d sip a local brew of herbal tea. It had a hint of mint to it, opening his sinuses, which were slightly bloated from the damp environment.

“Adventure...That’s so vague. We don’t get much visitors here. Momma said that you’re the first one to visit our lands in almost months.” the child said absentmindedly, though, to any average tourist that factor would’ve rung a warning toll internally.

“Is that so?” Castor inquired, continuing to gingerly sip his tea. Propped against the table was his trusty Summer Rain katana, which had taken quite a bit of damage in his conflict against Silver. “I won’t be here long. I’m just collecting something for a close friend of mine. A nakama.” Castor concluded.

“Minie! Come leave that man alone! I’m sorry sir! She gets so excited when customers visit our little tea-house.” the owner of the establishment declared, bowing her head frantically after noticing her daughter inquisitive nature rearing its ‘ugly’ head.

“Gashi Gashi… No need. Children are meant to be curious. I was too when I was a child.” Castor declared, finishing off his tea. Reaching into his pouch, the pirate would toss several stacks of berry onto the table.

“For your time and concerns, miss.” Castor stated, rising from his seated position and sliding his katana into his waistband.

Both the single mother and her child’s eyes opened wide at the absorbent amount given to compensate the cost of a single cup of below average mint tea.

“Sir! Your change-” the woman’s words were met with Castor’s warm smile, and a wave of his hand in dismay.

“Mister! You’re loaded! What’s your name? With this much… We can probably upgrade our living! I need to know… I’ll come find you when I go on my adventure one day! I promise!” Minnie shouted, the act of kindness seemingly ignited a flame deep inside her.

“Castor. My name is Castor O. Nox. You’ll do well to remember that… If you ever find me again on these seas one day… Only misfortune and unhappiness will befall you.” Castor responded as he’d shift the tea houses curtains which acted as the doors to the entrance.

As Castor’s image disappeared through the door, the girl ran out into the street to chase him and officially tell him her name as well but by the time she’d caught up, the man was gone, vanished like a thief in the night. Sitting on the roof of the tea house, Castor watched as the girl frantically scanned the streets for him, knowing she’d never think to look sky bound. However, ants never think about flying… Why would they? “Now then. Where do I begin my search?” Castor thought to himself, overlooking the farm lands. For as far as the eyes could see, paddies, patches, and personages placed intent in cultivating the best crops for export in the very small, rural lands. “Maybe the port cities. All I keep finding in these areas are the extremely poor. I’m sure Dax’s share of the treasure will keep their pockets… and their bellies warm. His punishment for abandoning me at Las Camp to fight Silver with that damn Candy Bastard” Castor thought to himself chuckling, as he’d begin to leap from rooftop to rooftop.

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“For that sinful man to send me this far out into the boonies… This item must be worth it.” Castor concluded as he descended from the ceiling of the last house his foot had stumbled upon. A single flip, sunk the man’s wooden sandals into the mucky dirt road, less than graceful but effective. Port-Town Toroa, where all the heckling from a farmer’s hard days work would come to a climax, the kind that could either end in that of a virgin's cherry popping ceremony or that of two veteran dancers, stepping in the right direction. Oftentimes, the farmers had merchant’s they’d built relationships with over the years, other times, they’d go sour which left free game open for budding entrepreneurs trying to get their feet wet, and their pockets swollen from the agriculture trade.  

Shuffling through the streets, many merchants began to light their lanterns to combat the sinking sun, bodies of personages filled the corners trying to heckle today’s produce, as tomorrow brought another day, and another sale. Finally, the place in question appeared before Castor’s eyes, a place that was as shady as Victor’s practices, a small corner store by the name of the ‘The Gentleman Farmer’. Standing outside the rustic one story building was a tiny old man in butler’s attire, who’d greet passerbyers with a toothless grin, and a spit filled call of:

“Come check out er’ market today!”

The contradiction presented between the man’s dress in comparison to the building’s look, screamed shady. However, Castor was accustomed to dealing with eclectic characters, and today’s agenda would be no different. It wasn’t often that the pirate captain would encounter anyone shorter than him but he’d take this occasion to bend down pridefully, with a smug look on his face in front of the old heckler.

“I’ll check out your market. ‘I’m looking for a good dance. Care to?’” Castor declared, repeating the code words given to him by Victor verbertum. The man paused momentarily, taking a moment to scan Castor from head to toe.

“Ah yes, Victor’s friend. The rookie who was humbled on the World Stage… Follow me inside.” the tiny tot retorted smugly, as he’d turn his back from the pirate towards the rustic building. Thinking momentarily whether to behead the twerp, a smile emerged on the youthful captain’s face, as he’d follow the senior citizen into the place of business. “A very bitter lesson indeed.” Castor responded, the words bitterly leaving his mouth like the aftertaste of fresh molasses.

“Not to worry boy. Silver’s a monster. After all… A former member of ‘that’ man’s crew… Isn’t one to be trifled with. You’re lucky you escaped with your life this time.” the strange broker declared. “But I digress. What does that behemoth of a man want this time around?” the broker inquired. Inside the building was a thrift shop setup, rubbish, knickknacks, specialty items as far as the eyes could see scattered the room behind dusty glass cases. At the head of it all was a counter which the old man shuffled behind, climbing the tiers of the stool to sit atop as king of the cash register at least.

Choosing to ease his grip on Summer Rain, the slightly irritated prideful captain responded.

“Dance Powder. It’s supposed to be able to artificially summon rain clouds. Got word from an associate that a few ‘crates’ of it were passing through Toroa. Since I just happened to be fleeing Las Camp… I figured why not take a mini-vacation.” the Imp concluded.

“D-Dance Podwer huh? I see his tastes are still highly illegal and obscure. Whoever your sources are indeed correct. I have a client looking to sell at least two large chests full of it. However, they won’t negotiate with you directly unless you have a broker on your side.” the old man retorted.

“Maybe I should just kill them and take it all for myself then?” Castor said with the calmest of expressions.

“And have the entire underworld hunting you down… Our world has rules Mr.Nox. I wouldn’t expect a mere pirate to understand-” the man’s words were interrupted by the cold steel of Castor’s blade gently slicing into the surface of his skin. Leaving a tiny scar on the man’s cheek, “I just need the location of the trade. I’ll handle my pursuers. Besides, I don’t come empty handed. I come bearing treasure.” Castor concluded grinning.

Smiling to match the youth’s smirk, the old trader Goto met Castor with a smile of his own.

“They call me Goto, boy. I like your spunk. I’ll broker the deal for you personally. It’s at a plantation up the road from this rural area… The Powder will be sold in auction style… I’ll give you some time to get yourself a proper attire.” Goto stated.

Peeking at his clothes, “What’s wrong with my kimono?” Castor declared pouting. With the expression of a six year old and cheeks expanding widely like that of a puffer fishes body.

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Opening a dusty wardrobe, Goto searched around for various sharper assortments of garb for the Pirate Captain to wear. With the help of his trusty sliding stool, Goto zoomed around the messy shop, stripping Castor of his clothes bit by bit, each piece replaced with a new sleek suit piece. After hours of arguing on color, size and fit, the two finally settled on a tuxedo, close fit to accentuate the pirate’s muscular figure and with the straw-hat abandoned, his long flowing black hair was bundled into one.

Covering his third and left eye with a face mask, Castor assumed the role of Goto’s assistant/bodyguard. “We’re late! Let’s go whippersnapper.” Goto commanded. Attaching Summer Rain at his waist, and sliding Iris beneath his tuxedo’s shoulder segment, the duo left the dusty shop, putting up a ‘Closed’ sign for the foreseeable evening. As Castor and Goto walked up the street, Goto began to prep Castor about the venue and the people who’ll be attending.

“They’re no real big players in small isolated auctions like these. Usually, in the Blues, it’s a few agents to Kingdoms that need ‘help’ but can’t obtain it directly… Due to most of the items or weapons being seen as acts of treason or downright illegal.” Goto explained.

“What better place than somewhere unaffiliated with the World Government. How boring.” Castor responded, yawning as they walked up the dirt road strip.

“Ha! I assume to pirates like you who seek out glory and fame it’d appear so.” Goto stated, scoffing at the man’s ideals.

“Ah, if that’s how the public perceives me then, I’m doing a good job painting the wrong picture… Gashi Gashi…” Castor declared, chuckling at the end of his sentence.

Goto was puzzled, nothing about the man’s demeanor matched the reports that came out after Las Camp. Castor was pegged to be a violent and aggressive megalomaniac but from Goto’s keen eye, he’d seem to be a pretty calm character. However, people tend to flip switches when placed under pressure, so he’d save his reservations on the man’s true nature for a later date.

Reaching the end of the dirt road, a plantation came into view. Wide wooden gates as far as the eye could see, and a queue of sorts assembled by the main gate. It was an assortment of farming charts drawn by donkeys, loads of hay, carriages containing livestock: sheep, goat, horses etc. Giving Castor’s under shirt a slight tug, they’d deviated from the main path to cut through a gap in the wooden fence, that if you’d looked at it at first glance, it’d appear to just be part of the fence's design.

Travelling into the wood land, the former queue began smaller and smaller, and a giant barn house came into view. Suddenly, two gentlemen hopped out of the bush with black bags and gags in their hand to restrain the duo but before Goto could’ve issued Castor a warning, Castor had beheaded the two assailants in a matter of seconds. Their blood shot out onto the trees and shrubs of the woodland, and Goto’s eyes froze in fear for two reasons. One, he hadn’t even seen when Castor drew his blade, let alone find time to slay the men and sheath his sword. Two, the extremely calm expression on Castor’s face, as if, their lives were as insignificant as that of a mere fly or insect swatted.

Sighing, “Those men were meant to escort us to the auction! No one is allowed to know the actual directions to the place!” Goto shouted. Closing his eyes, Castor tuned into sound-waves being omitted over the next mile or so, about fifty meters from their current position, east south east was a series of stairs hidden behind what seemed to be a giant boulder. Behind this boulder was a variety of voices, and they’d seemed to be talking about speciality items. In Goto’s perception, Castor had gone mad, and was basking in his insanity.

Grabbing onto the collar of the man’s cheap mahogany suit, Castor bent his knees and launched himself into mid-air. From the single push off, Castor went flying in the direction of the gigantic boulder, landing inches away from it. Dropping the man onto the ground, Castor drew Summer Rain once more, this time, releasing a single wind blade that’d cut the boulder into two. The security hired for the event emerged in their numbers, all gawking at Castor with extreme malice. As the auction participants started to murmur amongst themselves, the curator for the event, a man simply known by the name of ‘Juice’ emerged.

“Well well… If it isn’t old man Goto. You seem to have quite rambunctious company this time around. Odd. You’re usually such a lowkey player too.” Juice declared, cleaning out the inside of his ear with his pinky finger’s tip.

“Forgive me. My company is new to the way we do things. He’s a big buyer. A pirate with a lot of treasure to offer.” Goto explained.

Juice was a tall man, well, tall was an understatement. Juice stood about twelve foot, taller than even the Nox’s Pirates Dr.Abio. Bending down to look at the two shorties, similar to toddlers as they hover over action figures, Juice shone the crooked yellow teeth in his mouth, as he couldn’t identify Castor’s true identity from the get up.

“He doesn’t look very intimidating but… seeing that he has enough balls to disrupt my ceremony… I’ll let him slide. I like jackasses like him. They make auctions interesting.” Juice declared, waving his hand to his men to put down their weapons. Juice would dig into his pockets, removing candy, shackles, severed fingers, among the list, and finally, he’d stumble upon two ID cards needed to enter the auction.

He’d toss them to Goto.

“Those are two VIP passes. Once you get inside, they’ll escort you to a private booth. I can’t wild cards like you two running around with the regular participants. Rest assured, every room is guarded by a Three Star Bounty Hunter. Your safety is secured.” Juice concluded.

Castor had remained silent the entire interaction, leaving Goto to do most of the talking. As Juice turned his back, a smile emerged on Castor’s face.

“I can feel your bloodlust from here. I’ll have time after the auction. Is it about those worms I smushed in the forest?” Castor declared, taunting the auction organiser.

“In this world kid… I generally meet two kinds of people. The Brave and The Daft. I can’t tell which one you are… and the last man I met who blurred those lines of perception for me… Ended up conquering the New World… Enjoy the auction. If you really want to be a Big Named Pirate One Day… It’s something you’ll have to attend readily.” Juice declared, biting his lips until the point he drew blood, something about Castor’s attitude reminded him of someone he’d long forgotten.

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As Goto and Castor were ushered into the underground venue, they descended several steps until they’d come upon a basement. The room was expansive, with several staircases at it’s base, and each entrance had an attendant guiding patrons to their designated area. However, it’d been dusty, as if it hadn’t been used in years. Scoffs and whispers from the nobles among the flock that weren’t accustomed to these kinds of rustic settings, but to the real bottom feeders of society, the floor could’ve been covered in blood for all they cared, as long as the path ahead led to rare trinkets for the road. After a few minutes, a small woman, girl, child?... Approached them carrying a large parasol on her shoulder. Dressed in a combat suit skin tight, of black and silver color scheme, the four footer introjected herself.

“This way.” she’d announce with little woman command, pointing to the North Eastern Section of the basement.

“Lost little girl?” Goto inquired.

With a single swing of her parasol, the woman aimed to crush Goto with the seemingly light umbrella. Drawing his blade instantly, Castor blocked the strike with his Summer Rain, which began to screech under the weight of the iron maiden’s weight. The Imp whistled as he’d reject the impact of her strike, sending the half-pint sliding several inches back.

“That’s no regular umbrella… Feels like it’s made of pure steel.” Castor announced.

“As expected of the Super Rookie… Sanpaku… Castor O. Nox. If it wasn’t for my job attachment… It’d hunt you now.” the woman retorted sighing. “Also, I’m not a little girl. I’m Twenty-Seven.” she declared pouting. “Rude. You know who I am but I’m still absolutely lost to who you are.” Castor retorted, smirking.

“Three Star Hunter - Babyface - Minerva… At your service… Tee-hee.” Minerva declared very energetically striking a ‘cute’ pose by shooting the peace sign and winking her right eye as idols often would do. Walking away from the woman’s dramatic pose, Castor and Goto approach the Northern Area, completely over the entire ordeal.

“I wonder what they’ll auction off today.”

“Eh. I’m just here for the Dance.”

“Whose rude now?! Wait up…” Minerva declared in a not so loud but authoritative voice.

Ascending the staircase, the trio would arrive at a much more hotel themed waiting area. Each of them were given card passes, Minerva’s slightly different as she’d be their allotted bodyguard. Key cards obtained, the trio walked along the hallway, currently filled with potential customers.

“Over here.” Minerva stated, pointing to the door at the end of the hall marked ‘33’.  

As the trio settled in, the room carried a very fine dining restaurant type feel. Who knew that something like this even existed in this back water of an island? The room had a glass window which peered out towards the auctioning floor. Sitting in the provided seats, Castor folded his legs over each other, and peered out onto the auction’s crew setting up the stage. Among them was Juice, barking orders in a very cool, calm, sleek way. Anyone could tell at first glance this wasn’t his first rodeo, Castor’s interest in the man drew Minerva’s attention.

“It’d leave Juice alone. He’s a man who's connected to the ‘Shaker’s’ of the seas.” Minerva chimed in at the man’s seeming want to challenge the miniature giant.

“I’m coming off a pretty confident campaign in the North Blue. Interested to see how my blade would fair against his. However, I shall behave. I am here for my crewmate after all. His will comes first.” Castor started shooting the loli of a gal with a grin.

"It'd keep those thoughts to yourself. One more group will be joining us in this room. It's randomized to make sure neither buyers consort with each other to control the auction's flow. Be on your best behavior... I hear another man from your generation is meant to join us." Minerva declared.

"My generation?" Castor inquired, puzzled at the woman's words. Somewhere, Newport cried at the fact his student didn't keep up with world events and titles.

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As the two personages entered into the room, the lanky slickly dressed six footer definitely attracted the young pirate captain’s attention. However, Castor wasn’t one to gaze, and he also wasn’t one to keep up with worldly events, even though being so famed in the papers himself. In retort to the man’s comments, “I have that kind of face, I'm told.” Castor responded with a slight smirk, rubbing the bandage that covered his third eye, “However, alas, I’m not much of a newspaper reader. I find it to be the lowest kind of literature. I would indeed spend my time with an author’s work.” Castor expounded. Minerva kept her eyes on the two, who now sat seated, peering through the glass window that sat on a peak above the actioning stage. After everyone was settled in, Minerva and the gorilla of a man exited the room to speak privately. The contents of the conversation was pointless, in the sense that exiting the room to speak would’ve still put them well within range of the Logia’s invisible ears.

Placing their two card keys into the door, the two escorts locked the buyers inside the small booth, and stood guard. Before either parties would have asked for an explanation, the stage below had been set. Juice stood in the center of a cascading spotlight, dressed in a three piece suit and a black top hat. On his teeth, a gold was molded and branded with the words, ‘Juice’, and the man reached behind his back, and like magic, mostly the angle, he’d reveal a long staff with orb at its peak. Speaking into the staff, the man’s voice boomed in all of the auctioning points.

“Welcome to all of our auctioneers. Whether here with us in person or via Den Den Stream, your time is indeed valuable. I am Juice. At times a pirate, at others an ally but tonight, I am a host. Tonight we’ll be auctioning off three items. The system is simple. In your room, you’ll see a small interface on a kiosk in front of you. On this device, compliments of the New World Scientist, you can enter whatever amount you wish, and confirm with the ‘green’ check or decline with the ‘red x.” Juice explained.

“For those at home, a predetermined device - a special Den Den Mushi has been provided. The first time… is well… a very rare personality. From the Mighty Giant Clan, the man known as the ship sinker, the Rogue Pirate of the Giant Pirates, Groz!” Juice announced. A space in the stage opened, and from beneath it, a large cage surfaced. Inside the cage was the famed New World Pirate, Groz, covered in bruises, wounds, and barely alive, if you'd call it that.

“As Groz was worth almost 200,000,000 in his bounty, I’ll start the auction at a little under that. We’ll commence in ten.” Juice concluded, pointing his staff to a screen behind him which a short ten second countdown appeared.

Analysing the situation, Castor looked on as he’d noticed the collar around the slave’s neck.

“Those things look similar to the collars those slaves we stole the ship from had.” Castor thought to himself. Castor was neither here nor there about slavery but Goto openly expressed his disgust for the act.

“How cruel… In this era of ‘freedom’, pirates who pride themselves as spokesmen for freedom would dabble in enslavement of life.” Goto stated, almost spitting out the words.

“Freedom is a privilege. You have to fight to be free. Clearly, he lost.” Castor responded. “We’re criminals, not boy scouts. Such lofty ideas of freedom was romanticized by the early flock who chased after the Pirate King’s coat tails. Kings are made and no adventure alone can make you one.” Castor concluded.

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Outside the Room - Minerva & Gorilla Face’s Conversation

“To think that two Supernova’s would arrive in Toroa…. We have to be careful Nerva.” the gorilla-faced man, Connor declared.

“As soon as this auction finishes, we’ll no longer be under contract. Sanpaku and The Plague Rat… will be free game.” Minerva declared.

“The slim one is fine but the runt… He has a malice to him. He’s dangerous Nerva.” Connor retorted.

Meanwhile in the room, all three men seemed to be in agreement of passing on the first item due to varying opinions on the product. Once again, the slender man probed for information about Castor and Goto’s interests, whether it be for personal gain or simple small talk. Castor hadn’t much reason to hide, while Goto gawked intensely at the male in hopes of silencing him.

“I’m after Dance Powder. My nakama desires it. I plan to trade off the treasure I have stashed on this island for the product. Why he’d be even interested in creating rain is beyond me? What about yourself, friend? If it's not slaves that tickle your appetite, what does? They say every man has his vice.” Castor explained, pausing in between his sentence to carefully plot out his statement. Mentioning the treasure was bait, he’d see if the man picked up on his trap. Most pirates seem to obsessed with it, and it is a perfect ice breaker for Castor to judge the man’s character.

However, the second item on the menu broke the man’s composure slightly.

“Straight from the Three Eye Clan’s Motherland, a book seemed to be passed down through the generations of its leaders. It’s even written in a special text, with a codex provided by our team’s translator’s, it apparently tells the tale of an old myth that exists among their folk.  We’ll start the bidding at 50,000,000.” Juice shouted.

Leaning forward to the kiosk, Castor made his first bid of the evening. A strong bet of 65,000,000 Beli.

“Easy on the betting kid.” Goto murmured in response to the man’s offer.

“Quiet old man. This auction has finally gotten interesting.” Castor declared, his once calm collected smile, morphed in a cold and sinister one.

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Plotting and the conniving inner nature of Castor danced in glee at the situation that unfolded before him. Not only would he be able to potentially retain his Tribe’s heirloom, he’d also be able to score Victor’s Powder, all in one interaction. However, the body language displayed by the sleekly dressed salesman did set off a few alarms in Castor’s head but as said earlier, pirates aren’t boy-scouts, security is a perk reinforced by violence.

“Five crates eh? Alrighty. How about 10 Million Beri in treasure per crate?” Castor declared, navigating the kiosk to place his bid for the book. On the screen he’d open the bid with almost double the amount asked as the beginning offer, waiting for the shock among all the buyers present. “Senor Brown… was it? You wouldn’t happen to be lying to me? I can hear your heartbeat from here… It’s a magic trick of mine. See. When human beings tell lies their heart rate accelerates a bit… but I can’t tell if it’s from the mention of my treasure or from the product’s quality you’re trying to pedal me?”Castor rattled on.

“That’s a hell of an opening offer kid. Gambling’s like courting. You can’t start off by whipping out the main event-” Goto declared but was interrupted by an even larger ridiculous offer.

“From 100, to 200 Million! We’re off to the races?! Can I get a 250?!” Juice shouted.

Castor’s focus shifted from Senor Brown momentarily to the platform below. Looking at the Kiosk, the anonymous buyer had offered four times his offer easily.

“That’s way above what I was planning to spend today. If I buy these five crates, at ten million each, that’s fifty million. The treasure I took with me from the crew only only amounts to around 300,000,000 Million. I need to proceed smartly.” Castor thought to himself.

“Going once… Going twice…-” Juice announced, as his claim was interrupted by an offer from Castor’s party.

Goto shuttered as he’d look at the number on the screen.

“275,000,000 Million Berri! For a single book? Are you a madman?” Goto shouted. “What about the Dance Powder? Surely you don’t mean to buy them from this completely stranger? Who's going to validify the quality of his offer?” Goto shouted annoyed at Castor’s nonchalant attitude.

Castor stared intensely towards Goto, silencing him instantly before switching to an empty minded daft expression. “You. You’ve been in the game for awhile. If the Dance Powder is indeed real… I’ll give you a portion to sell for yourself. However, Mr.Goto… and Mr.Brown… If Mr. Brown’s offer turns out to be fake, he’ll just end up like our two friends from the forest earlier.” Castor declared, speaking in code to the old man. Shifting his eyes to Mr.Brown, “Just like our friends from earlier, you’ll receive the ultimate treasure that all men seek in the world.” Castor concluded, turning his attention back to the auction.

“Eternal Peace.” Castor thought to himself smirking, however, his confidence in the situation was about to be shattered completely.

“275,000,000 Million Berri! No one’s matching that! Going once! Anyone for 300,000,000 Million? Going Twice!-”

An offer came over on the monitor next that shook the whole room, and all the buyers involved, even Castor opened his jaw a bit slightly in awe at the claim. Juice knew exactly who this anonymous buyer was so his shock was a bit delayed than others, mostly because it was fake. The person who outbid Castor was known in the underworld for collecting items - and was closely tied to a Shichibukai, The Smartest Man in The World...

“5-5--5-500 Million Dollars!” Juice shouted.

Flabbergasted, Castor plopped back into his seat annoyed.

Doing his usual call, Juice knew no one would out beat the offer placed. In seconds, the anonymous buyer now came into possession of The Three Eyed Tribe’s family heirloom.

“Welcome to the big leagues… Kiddo.” Juice thought to himself, smirking as he’d peer over at Castor’s room.

“And now… for the final item. Tonight’s bidding has been a sight. This powder is known to cure droughts across the seas. However, the world government has put a tight lock on its use… so tight… Simply possessing it might put you in jail… I’m talking about Dance Powder!” Juice announced.

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Castor was still stunned by the results of the last auction sale. So much so that he hadn’t even heard Juice’s announcement for the next item. It was Senor Brown’s ridiculous offer that brought him back to his senses but before Castor could protest, Goto jumped in promptly.

“250,000,000 for Dance Powder… For that money, I could hire mercenaries to steal that much from Paradise and back.” Goto chimed in.

“I wasn’t paying more than 100,000,000 Million anyway, old man.” Castor responded to Goto. “The next move is quite simple. I’m glad you suggested it before I did. After this auction, we’ll find the storage room for the merchandise… and steal it before it gets to its owner’s hands. Anyone who has that kind of money to throw around on a book… Isn’t someone I’m interested in messin' with directly. However, I am curious about interfering with Mr.Juice’s organization.” Castor declared.

“So Senor Brown. The deal is this. I’ll give you a guaranteed 150,000,000 Million… Once the book and the half of the Dance Powder being auctioned here today comes into my possession. As I mentioned earlier… I have very sensitive hearing. I regret to inform you that those two Three Star Hunters outside that door are plotting to hunt us the moment their duties of guarding us as guests ends. Guess exactly what happens when we leave this area? We’re no longer auction participants… We are food to them.” Castor explained.

The Imp was careful, not to reveal his actual Devil Fruit ability, not to threaten the salesman too much, as he’d seem to be the type to flee on his own and finally, not to price his offer lower than the original amount he’d mentioned. In reality, Castor had no treasure on the island, or any money to really offer in this auction. His true intentions were much more sinister, kill anyone who’d object to him taking these items at a super discount price. Free. The only price he was willing to pay was the energy invested in leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

“So. Mr. Brown… Do we have a deal?” Castor inquired, smiling broadly, extending his hand to participate in the betting game, as the numbers on the monitor climbed gradually.

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Gashi Gashi Gashi

Castor chuckled slightly with the acceptance of his offer. If signing a deal with the devil had a sound, it'd resemble Castor's laugh in someway.

“Now things are about to get very interesting.” Castor declared, raising his hand above his head, extending his palm towards the direction of the ceiling. Suddenly, the air around the shrimp’s body began to increase in temperature, so much so, that Goto sprung up from his chair and lunged backwards several feet to the other side of the room. An azure thread flickered around Castor hand, shooting off and across to the mechanical elements of the room, slowly extending to all of the booths on the same floor. Juice started to notice a disturbance in the technology, as the numbers from the auction poll began to blur.

Murmurs around the other booths became loud, like chatter in a fish market street. Concerned members who had been promised a smooth and hiccup free experience, started to bat their eyes in annoyance. Turning up the voltage on the electrical charge, once Castor could feel his electricity surging throughout the building, he’d release a burst strong enough to short circuit the technology. The lights in the building went out, it was now completely dark. “Grab the old-man.” Castor commanded, lunging up from his seat, the red and white kimono pirate captain drew his blade, releasing two single wind blades towards the adjacent room. The commotion could’ve been heard from outside the door but the room’s mechanics were offline. Card keys were now just pieces of scrap metal at this point, so the Hunters resorted to violence.

Creating an entrance into the next room, Castor lunged through the hole in the wall. Immediately dashing to open the room’s door with another wind blade slash. The woman in the room, a Duchess from a neighboring island let out a screech, as her security was also standing behind the door. The force of Castor’s wind blade however cut through the door, and him, rendering the man unconscious. “I hope you can keep up with my pace Senor Brown.” Castor shouted, lighting his path with slight electrical sparks, acting as a night light for the long journey ahead.

The timing would be perfect, as Minerva and the Gorilla faced hunter entered their old room, Castor and Brown would’ve already fled through the door of the neighboring room, dashing down the hallway pitch black hallway, illuminated singularly by Castor’s sparks. Sheathing his blade, “Now. We need to figure out the fastest way to the storage room.” Castor stated, as he wasn’t truly able to make out Senor Brown’s position in the hallway.

Meanwhile on the platform, Juice handled the situation with grace. At auction’s like these, minor hiccups are bound to happen. Reaching into his pocket, he’d reveal a baby Den Den Mushi. “Dandy. What in the world is going on here?” Juice spoke calmly, and clearly. “The gears were overloaded by an electrical current-” Dandy, the voice on the other side retorted beginning to ramble as he'd been known to, only to be interrupted by Juice’s loud sigh. “In English… You junkyard nut.” Juice declared.

Clearing his throat in embarrassment, “The system is offline due to unknown sources. Give me ten minutes. I’m working on restoring power. Some of the gears are broken but I’ve built in protocols for situations like this. Tell your guests it’ll be up in ten.” Dandy responded frantically.

“Super.” Juice stated grinning, grabbing towards his loud speaker to relay the information he’d just received.

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Castor was impressed at Senor Brown’s speed, it wasn’t often that many people could’ve kept up with him, especially when carrying an entire human and a suitcase. “Down the stairs it is. I’ll get us some more information in a minute. Right now, all I’m picking up is a bunch of disgruntled customers.” Castor declared.

Back in the auction room, Minerva slammed her metallic weighted umbrella into the ground in frustration. While Juice calmed the audience, advising everyone that the auction would resume momentarily, the prideful Three Star Hunter called the organizer to report the situation on the floor. As Minerva talked, a pulsating muscle in Juice’s face began to rear its ugly bulk.

Taking a deep breath, Juice began to speak covertly into the Baby Den Den.

“Where are they now?” Juice inquired.
“Heading west bound towards the storage area.” Minerva reported.

Sighing, “This place isn’t ours… It belongs to the Underworld Bosses. It’s a safe space that’s neutral to brokers like us. It won’t be anyone’s heads but mine- Look. Those containers don’t only have our merchandise but products of other brokers in the entire West Blue. Our container is number ‘33’ through ‘35’. Instead of chasing them around, guard those doors with your life. The ‘in-house’ security will eliminate those bugs.” Juice informed.

Seconds later, power was restored to the building, and the buyers polled to join back into the Den Den Feed. “Minerva. This auction will be over in the next thirty minutes. I have it you’ll have both of those rookies handled. If not… I’m going to have to punish you again. Not only did you run away from the boss's crew but you became a hunter. It’s on my word alone that the little life you built on Alabasta isn’t-” Juice’s speech was interrupted by the sound of the Den Den Mushi being hung up abruptly.

The once unwavering stillness of Minerva’s face fled, and was replaced with a panicked and crazed expression. “We must eliminate those brats.” Minerva declared, her right hand trembling in fear at Juice’s threats. Dashing into the lit hallway, Minerva and the Gorilla Faced Man followed the trail of the Supernova’s.

From the control room, Dandy tapped into the Den Den cameras to fully assess the situation. “Ah. They’re in Section A.” Dandy said, scratching his itchy beard for comfort. Dandy was a middle aged gentleman, with a fully nicely trimmed beard, and generic scientist attire, a messy undershirt, stained from experiments, and an even messier white lab coat. His thick glasses stared at the screen, as he’d gently tap his fingers against the keyboard, shifting from Den Den to Den Den to follow the rebel auction buyers path. “Let’s send my ‘buddies’ to keep them company until Minerva catches herself.” Dandy stated grinning.

Heading down the stairs of Section A, Castor tapped into his electric-wave radio to assess all the conversations that were going on within a mile’s radius. Listening to the murmurs of the guards who secured the upcoming storage rooms, it seemed that each of these rooms carried valuable merchandise of various organizations. Gossip had a funny way of revealing the truth, once all the right pieces of information are puzzled together. “I see.” Castor exclaimed talking to himself. Entering into his elemental state, Castor jolt ahead about several feet, to a worker who’d been sleeping on the job, in front of a container labelled ‘3’.

Basically reappearing out of thin air, Castor pressed his Summer Rain katana’s blade against the guard’s neck. Sending a jolt through the man’s shoulder, the guard jerked, reaching for his weapon but what awaited him, was a fine piece of steel, and a sadistic Imp’s grin. “Good-day. I’m looking for a specific container. It belongs to a seller by the name of Juice, ring any bells?” Castor inquired.

The man’s facial expression frightened more so by the name mentioned than the blade that was inches away from cutting open his windpipe.

“Look. I don’t know what your angle is kid. Juice… He’s not a man you want to make enemies with. Do you know who his Captain-” the guard’s response was interrupted by Castor shoving his finger into the man’s shoulder like a pin. “Did you know… It takes only about fifty bolts to consider a lethal charge to the human body? Humans are actually quite resistant to electrical surges… On average, I think I’m able to create about 1 Million Volts on a bad day. It’d be interesting, seeing this close… How the body reacts to that much current…” Castor declared, giving the man a slight jolt from his finger.

Squirming, the man’s breathing began to become frantic. “P-Please… I don’t know what you’re doing… but- I’ll tell you anything you want.” the guard cried out. Smirking, “Sounds more like it good sir. Tell me a story… Where is Juice’s storage room?” Castor inquired. Just then, the light was restored to the entire building.

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33. 34. 35.

As the storage room numbers miserably fell from the lips of the pressured guard, Castor watched as Senor Brown shot off like a rocket. His sense of hearing, reflexes, and quickness were something to be noted, however, the smell of cigarettes caused the Imp to recall his own mentor, Newport’s pipe. The odd things people think about in the heat of turmoil. Proceeding with the plan, Castor dropped the guard, not before leaving him with an early Christmas present, and it was mid-February, so of course, Santa came earlier. A. Nice. Deep. Sleep. Shortly after, a hole in the ceiling opened up, well, that’s how it appeared to Castor’s eyes. Really, a mechanism triggered the opening of a compartment, and what followed was even more…. Disturbing.

One. Two. Three. Four. After a while, Castor would stop actively counting, until the dozen total was reached. Eight legs and eight eyes of mechanical glory, an oil junky’s dream and a nightmare to those who didn’t know their worth. The spiders divided and conquered, six for Brown, six for Castor, and their speeds were negligible but their leaping ability was superb. Each mechanical denizen was about ten feet in width, four feet in height, and carried large legs which length stood about somewhere in between the two. “Interesting. Never thought it’d be seeing something like this in a back water hole like Toroa.” Castor thought to himself.

The smell of the gears churning, the movement of the cogs, the majesty that were the creations in front of him, even the sound of the spiders, whether it be his imagination, the sound of the cogs or a purposely placed aesthetic, chimed in unity with the spider’s red glowing light bulb eyes. In pairs of two, the other four sitting ominously behind, the metal arachnids lunged in violence. Swinging his Summer Rain, to cut the arachnid’s leg, the sound of a similar sturdy metal reverb as Castor’s eyebrow raised. Entering into a struggle battle with one, the other spider rose up  on its hind legs, and stomped down on Castor’s body viciously. However, the Logia’s body split apart, the legs tips simply being stuck in the ground beneath. “They are strong too and fast... These things are well made.” Castor thought to himself once again. Entering into his elemental form, the Imp shot towards the sky, electrocuting the surveillance Den Den, one by one, following the path that Senor had progressed, had Castor moved any second later, he would’ve lost visual sight of the lanky man, but his electric radar couldn’t ever miss that smoker’s breath of his.

The six spiders who were once in combat with the pirate captain looked around dazed, as he’d physically disappeared. After about ten seconds idle, their attention turned to reuniting with their other brothers/sisters in hot pursuit of Senor Brown. The new man of the hour. Meanwhile in Dandy’s control room, the man stared at this screen, watching the action until one by one, in correspondence to the Logia’s covert assault, a grey screen scrambled virtual ants before him. “This kid… Is that a Logia ability? These rookies are getting scarier by the years.” Dandy declared, sighing, turning away from his screen to grab himself a hot cup of joe. Sliding his wheeled chair away from the monitors and towards the hotpot, the scientist filled his cup, smelling the aroma for a moment of bliss.

“Not like being a Logia truly matters in the ‘real’ world. It’s still a nifty asset.” Dandy declared to himself, all alone in his technological kingdom.

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After finishing his caffeine beverage, Dandy slid back towards the keyboard. After switching around a few commands, the man was able to use the camera Den Den built behind the spider’s eyes to get a front row view of the action. However, his vision was temporarily disabled by the hailstorm of flames. “Ha. Fire doesn’t work on my babies. You’d need something as hot as magma to melt through-” Dandy frozen at the end of his statement, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. “Judging by the images from before, that brat can control lightning. If that’s the case… My babies might be in a bit of difficulty.” Dandy concluded sweating lightly.

Maintaining his logia form, Castor continued his assault on the Surveillance Den Den Mushi. Taking a look at the ground below, he’d noticed that Mr. Brown had ditched Goto, using him as a sacrificial piece. This action taught him two things about Mr. Brown, one, he was the self preservation type, similar to his crewmate Victor, and two, the spider’s commands seem to do with the detaining of them both. However, with the chances of them using Goto as a hostage, Castor descended from the ceiling, towards the point where the old man now lied, covered in dirt from the rolling against the dusty floor.

“I guess this is where we cut our ties old man.” Castor declared, drawing his Summer Rain, and lashing the old-man against his shoulder, causing him to bleed out. By this time, the remainder of the facility's human security had caught up, watching the heinous actions of the rookie cutting open the Black Market veteran. Leaning in close to whisper, “No use dragging you down with us. I can only ensure my own safety at this point. If they ask you anything, tell them I held you and your family hostage.”

Screaming out in agony, the Oldman laid it on thick, “You little brat!” Goto shouted, headbutting Castor in his forehead, causing the kimono swordsman to flee in the direction of Mr. Brown. Grinning, Castor turned back into his logia form, dashed with great haste to Mr. Brown’s location. With a crackle and flicker of pizzazz, Castor reappeared next to the shrieking snake oil salesman. “Gashi Gashi… Did you miss me?” the Imp declared, chuckling openly at the man’s feminine screech. “Those things are pretty tough. My Meito graded blade couldn’t even cut through their legs.” Castor declared dramatically.

Searching the numbers on the containers as the duo advanced, finally, they’d reach the 30’s, and in the distance, the two Hunters from earlier figures could’ve been seen. “I’m not sure how useful in combat you’ll be… with these spiders and that umbrella loli… I’m hoping you can at least handle the Gorilla face.” Castor inquired, though, he’d really intended it to be a statement. Meanwhile on the auction floor, Juice concluded the auction, urging the respective sponsors or buyers of the auctioned items to meet him at Section B to collect their artefacts. Two sponsors appeared, each from prominent members of pirate crews across the West Blue, and finally, a sponsor from the New World, who was all too familiar with Juice and his affiliations.

Walking close to Juice, the man embraced and hugged him, laughing merrily. “It’s been awhile ‘Juice’.How’s that Ogre of a Captain of yours?” the stranger who stood at eleven feet tall, around the same height or maybe a tad shorter than Juice declared. “I’m not sure who or what you’re insinuating. You know, I am a man who acts on his own accord.” Juice responded smartly. “Tra-ra-la-la-la…. As expected. Still denying your connections to that man.” the hooded stranger inquired, laughing at the man deflecting. Ignoring the man’s statement out of the need to not break character, Juice turned to the other sponsors and directed them towards the holding area.

Smirking to himself, content in disrupting the man’s peace, the final sponsor followed Juice.