"Ding! Congratulations, host. Reputation points +99,999!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host. Reputation points +99,999!"
...
As Lin Xuan strolled through the streets, his mind was filled with the pleasant chimes of the system notifications.
The chaos across the entire Sabaody Archipelago had earned him several hundred thousand reputation points!
Lin Xuan noticed a pattern in the system: the reputation points would only notify him once they accumulated to 9,999 or 99,999.
But that was fine—too many notifications would have been annoying anyway.
Of course, if he wanted, Lin Xuan could trace the source of every reputation point and find out exactly who had contributed them due to strong emotional reactions triggered by his actions.
While Lin Xuan and Uchiha Madara leisurely "walked their dog" (the enslaved Celestial Dragon) and enjoyed the scenery and the lively atmosphere of the island, he suddenly spotted a person fleeing in panic, dropping something in their haste.
A glance revealed it was a few newspapers.
Lin Xuan's interest was piqued, and he casually picked them up.
Uchiha Madara, seeing this, was puzzled. "Why are you picking up some scraps of paper?"
Lin Xuan smiled. "Just killing time. Reading the news isn't bad. I bet what we did today will make the papers soon!"
Madara glanced at the newspapers but quickly lost interest.
After all, as a transient in this world, whether he appeared in its newspapers or not meant nothing to him.
Of course, he didn't realize that Lin Xuan's real purpose for reading the papers was to confirm the current timeline of this world.
As Lin Xuan skimmed through the news, Madara noticed someone secretly following them—Disco, the manager of the auction house.
However, Madara paid no mind. He was sure Lin Xuan had noticed too, and since Lin Xuan wasn't reacting, neither would he.
After shadowing them for a while, Disco slipped into a secluded corner and pulled out a special Den Den Mushi (transponder snail).
This Den Den Mushi was his direct line to the auction house's true mastermind.
In reality, the auction house was a joint venture between the Celestial Dragons and another party—none other than Donquixote Doflamingo himself!
Doflamingo was a figure who operated in both the underworld and the surface world. A former Celestial Dragon, he had seized control of a nation and crowned himself its king.
His connections with the World Government were murky at best, and he commanded a vast criminal empire. Among his many illicit ventures, the human auction house catering to Celestial Dragons, nobles, and the wealthy was one of his collaborations with the Celestial Dragons.
The Celestial Dragons valued Doflamingo's far-reaching influence, which allowed him to procure all sorts of "slaves."
Beyond the auction house, Doflamingo also ran other shady businesses behind the World Government's back.
The most significant of these was his underground arms trade. He also harbored the rogue scientist Caesar Clown, who produced artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits, maintaining close ties with one of the Four Emperors, Kaido.
Yet, even a man as untouchable and lawless as Doflamingo was utterly stunned when he heard that someone on Sabaody Archipelago had not only beaten up a Celestial Dragon but also slapped a slave collar on them and paraded them around like a dog.
What kind of lunatic would dare do such a thing?!
Doflamingo refused to believe it at first. After a moment of silence, he burst into wild laughter. "Hahaha! Disco, has managing the auction house gone to your head? How dare you joke with me like this?!"
Disco was nearly in tears. "Boss, I'm not joking! I still can't believe it myself, but it's true! The Marines are probably on their way already. You've got to do something!"
Only then did Doflamingo grasp the severity of the situation.
After all, who would dare joke about something like this? That would be suicidal!
So... it was real?
Someone had actually beaten a Celestial Dragon and was now parading them around as a slave?
Who the hell had the guts to pull this off?! Were they trying to ruin him?!
After mentally cursing a dozen times, Doflamingo suddenly had a thought and asked coldly, "Disco... you're alone right now, aren't you?"
Disco didn't understand why he was asking but answered truthfully, "Yes, Boss. I hid in a secluded spot before calling you."
Doflamingo relaxed and let out a sinister chuckle.
Thinking his boss had come up with a solution, Disco quickly asked, "Boss, what should I do now?"
Doflamingo replied, "What you do has nothing to do with me. Since when were we close?"
Disco froze, his face turning deathly pale. "B-Boss! You can't do this! You can't just abandon us!"
Over the Den Den Mushi, Doflamingo laughed heartily. "Hahaha! Disco, from now on, that auction house is yours. It has nothing to do with me. So don't call me again. Hehehe..."
With that, he hung up.
Disco frantically tried to redial, but the call wouldn't go through.
Thud!
He collapsed to the ground, utterly despondent, muttering, "We're done for... we're completely done for..."
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T/N:
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