Another boring hour passed since Sabo shamelessly invited himself inside the booth. To his credit, Sabo, at least, didn't bother during this time, as he seemed content to chat with Kozue while the auctioneer continuously showcased and sold different items at the stage.

There were antiques, paintings, and art pieces, but that's not all. There were deeds to buildings and even ships. Still, none of that piqued my interest, so I kept my focus on the whisky bottle in my hand.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for," the auctioneer exclaimed while gesturing grandly after selling some ancient painting.

"Our next item is one of the twenty-one great grade swords," the auctioneer stated grandly, yet again, pausing and waiting for the tension to build up the suspense in the atmosphere.

Suddenly, an auction employee appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, making his way towards the stage while carrying an ornamental rectangular container as soon as the auctioneer finished his sentence.

"Sokushi," the auctioneer declared, waving his dramatically above the sword after the previously mentioned employee placed the container he was carrying on a wooden pedestal and opened it.

Inside the container lay the unsheathed form of Sokushi next to its sheath. Sokushi was a katana with a white handle wrapped in a brown leather braid. Sokushi's sheath was a simple wooden scabbard wrapped in purple cloth in the middle.

Its pummel, covered with a golden ornamental cap, and its guard shaped like a white flower. Its blade was made of steel that glinted coldly under the light, with a purple hue to its glow.

"It is said to originate from a country in the new world..." The auctioneer then began exaggeratedly explaining the sword's origins, attempting to raise its value as much as possible by mystifying its origins.

"Is this it?" I turned around and asked Kozue in the middle of the auctioneer's explanation, as I didn't care enough to listen.

"This is definitely one of the swords that went missing after Kaido came to Wano country," she replied, her words coming out from between gritted teeth.

"Good, now we can finally leave this god-forsaken place," I remarked with a smile as I got up. "Hold my drink," I added in a leisurely tone as I handed my whisky bottle to Kozue, who took it with a confused expression.

"What do you intend to do, captain?" Kozue asked in a confused tone, leaning her head to the side with Sabo, mirroring her expression.

"I'm going to get you the sword, of course, silly," I replied with a beaming smile as I channeled my impact fist through my hand, punching the booth's wall and smashing it to smithereens as I jumped down into the auction hall.

"Everybody freeze, this is a robbery," I exclaimed with a smirk as soon as I landed on the ground.

Suddenly, there was silence as my words resounded through the auction hall, but that only lasted for several seconds as armed guards burst into the hall, rushing towards me.

'I've always wanted to say that,' I smirk internally while watching the armed guards charge towards me. 'Might as well make this as fun as possible after all that boring waiting time,' I concluded with a nod, having just the thing in mind to make this a little more fun.

"That's life, that's what all the people say," I hummed with a smirk as I began walking towards the stage, uncaring about the people rushing me. (I couldn't resist after making that Jared Leto's joker reference last chapter XD)

"You're riding high in April, shot down in May," I hummed as the first five of the guards to enter the room finally reached me, causing me to release my conquerors, Haki, knocking them out along with everyone else near me.

"But I know I'm gonna change that tune when I'm back on top, back on top in June," I sang a little more loudly as I began dodging bullets shot at me from a distance by guards who were holding guns.

"I said that's life, and as funny as it may seem," I sang, my hand moving at incredible speed, catching the tip of a spear aimed at my face and yanking it towards me.

"Some people get their kicks, stomping on a dream," I hummed with a smile while looking at the spear-wielding guard that I pulled towards before kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying.

I kept singing as I continuously dodged bullets, sent people flying left and right until I reached the stage. "I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn, and a king," I sang in a loud tone as I picked up the sword, unleashing my conquerors Haki, again, but on a larger scale knocking everyone unconscious.

"I've been up and down and over and out, and I know one thing," I returned to softly humming as I inspected the sword appreciatively.

"Each time I find myself flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race," I concluded my song, putting the sword into its sheath and making my way back to the VIP booth.

"Did you enjoy the show, Kozue?" I ask with an unabashed smile at my cringe-worthy performance.

"It was something else," Kozue replied with twitching eyes as I handed the sword to her.

"Thanks, captain," she said as she unsheathed the sword, inspecting it with a smile. "But it looks like your friend here was a little too shocked by what you just did," she added as she sheathed the sword back in its sheath and tucked it into her kimono belt while looking at Sabo, who was staring speechlessly at the auction hall.

"Leave him be. I'm sure he'll come back to his senses, eventually," I remarked in a careless tone while shrugging my shoulders. "We have what we came here for, so let's go," I added as I began making my way towards the exit.

"Please wait a minute," Sabo, who had just gathered his wits, hurriedly exclaimed. "There is something I need to talk to you about!" he added as he rushed behind Kozue and me.

"I figured as much," I replied with a scowl. "Come to my ship if you have something to say. I'm sure that finding its location won't be too hard for the revolutionary army," I added sardonically with an unimpressed expression.

"Or follow me there. I don't care," I concluded with a shrug of my shoulders, causing the blonde to sigh in exasperation as he began following us.

-0-

"Alright, blondie, tell me what you want," I remarked while leaning on the black pearl's railing as I looked at Sabo, who was standing in front of me along with the rest of the crew, listening curiously.

"Well, you said you had no reason to help people you know nothing about," Sabo said with a smile, causing me to nod. "Then I just need to give you a reason to fight them, right?" he asked with an honest smile.

"That's not how things work," I replied with an amused smile at his naive way of thinking, causing his hopeful expression to falter. "But you're already here, so let me hear what you have to say, anyway," I added with a sigh.

"I'm willing to pay in Berry in exchange for temporarily hiring you and your crew," Sabo explained with a smile.

"Now you're talking my language," I replied with a smirk. "But let me hear what you want me to do and how much you're willing to offer first,"

(Author's note: discord gg/sEtqmRs5y7 <—- the link to my discord server. It already has a couple of awesome guys with memes and constant discussions about one piece)

...

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