One Piece: Starting as a Marine Lieutenant, I Slack Off and Get Stronger

Perhaps, as the swordsman grows stronger, his sword also becomes stronger; it's just that the demon sword's process of becoming stronger is a bit too fast.

If we only consider quality now, Thunderstorm is no different from Raven's Autumn Water.

It's worth noting that both Raven and Shusui are black swords (Raven can't tell). Although Raiyu didn't manage to master the black sword technique, he seems to have embarked on a different path, somewhat resembling Zoro's future demonic aura.

Karl prefers to call it... Blood Sacrifice, because Thunderstorm is a blood-drinking blade, its power forged from the blood of countless pirate villains.

Swish! The chain was cut.

Karl said calmly, "I am Vice Admiral Karl of the Marine Headquarters. You are saved. Those who were pirates before, step forward and admit it. I can let bygones be bygones."

With a thud, several men appeared, looked around, and cautiously raised their hands.

Karl's lips curled slightly upward as he precisely unleashed a thunderous attack, killing several pirates who had been enslaved.

There's no need to talk about martial ethics with pirates!

"Here's the key, you can open it yourselves! There are some Baileys in the room over there, consider it your travel expenses."

"Thank you, Lieutenant General Karl!" "Thank you!"

Carl did not respond and simply turned and left.

Nighttime, Sabaody Archipelago, Island 1, an auction house.

This is probably not Doflamingo's territory; the decorations are noticeably less flashy and appear more practical.

There were quite a lot of people, nobles, pirates, all sorts of people, it was quite lively. They must have done some publicity, Karl seemed quite satisfied, at least Dragon took it seriously.

Stepping into the VIP box, Karl closed his eyes and waited quietly for the auction to begin.

Click~ The door to the VIP room opened, and a hooded man walked in and casually closed the door.

Karl opened his eyes, turned his head, and saw the man pull back his hood, grinning, "Long time no see, Vice Admiral Karl. I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on becoming a naval hero yet!"

"I didn't expect you to come in person."

"The Holy Light Shell is crucial to the future development of the Revolutionary Army, how can I not attach importance to it?"

Karl chuckled, gestured for Dragon to sit down, and casually asked, "How much did you bring this time?"

"100 Holy Light Shells and 10 Holy Healing Shells. I mainly wanted to make a name for myself through this auction, so I didn't bring many with me."

Karl nodded and said nothing more. Dragon seemed to want to say something, but seeing Karl's somewhat indifferent attitude, he didn't say anything more and quietly waited for the auction to begin.

After about 20 minutes, the host came on stage to warm up the audience and get them excited.

Then came the first item up for auction. When the poorly dressed young lady brought it out, Karl realized it was a Holy Light Shell.

"Now, let me proudly introduce this magical seashell to you. Its name is... the Holy Light Seashell!"

The host suddenly lifted the red cloth, revealing the stacked Holy Light Shells inside. At the same time, the stage lights began to dim, and the Holy Light Shells emitted a faint golden halo in the dark environment.

"Wow!" "A Holy Light Shell? What is that? A glowing shell?"

Seeing that people's interest had been piqued, the host smiled and waved to the backstage area, signaling that it was time to move on to the next step.

"You might be wondering, what's so special about a glowing seashell? A lamp costing a few thousand Berries can do the same thing. But the fact that it's at our auction shows that it's definitely not as simple as it seems!"

"As for its specific function, I'll keep you in suspense for a moment, because we'll be demonstrating its function to everyone in the next episode. Let's see if you can guess it!"

"Whoever can guess the correct answer will receive a reward of 100 Berries from our auction house!"

Upon hearing this, the audience members sitting below gasped in surprise.

"My God, 100 Berries just like that? Is there really such a good thing?"

"Who cares! It's just a glowing seashell. Why not take the free Berries? I heard the grand finale today is a Devil Fruit!"

Whether they were pirates or wealthy businessmen, their curiosity was at an all-time high, and they all urged the host to start quickly and stop dawdling.

Then, a shirtless, thin man walked onto the stage.

"Look everyone, this is a man who is as thin as a rake. Do you think he can break down this wall?"

"Hahaha, impossible! You're as skinny as a chick, don't break your own hand!"

It has to be said that the host was a good choice; you could tell at a glance that this guy was frail and weak, with no strength whatsoever.

However, to ensure accuracy, the host personally conducted a test, randomly placing two barbells in front of the skinny man and asking him to lift them.

The result was obvious: the barbell that the host could easily lift was something the skinny man struggled to lift, even with tremendous effort, and he was panting heavily.

By this time, the guests had probably guessed what the Holy Light Shell was all about, but that didn't dampen their enthusiasm.

"Now comes the moment of witnessing a miracle. Come here, press this!"

The skinny man took the Holy Light Shell, pressed the protrusion at the top, and the shell released all the stored holy light, enveloping the skinny man.

"Ah! Oh, yeah!"

Under the enhancement of the holy light, the skinny man's body began to grow stronger at a visible speed, just like Steve Rogers became Captain America after receiving the Superman serum.

hiss~

A series of gasps filled the auction house, and the temperature in the entire venue instantly dropped by one or two degrees.

Karl in the VIP box smiled slightly. It seems they've done a lot of research on the Holy Light Shell! No wonder they chose a thin man; otherwise, the effect wouldn't be so obvious.

This is roughly equivalent to a level 1 newbie suddenly getting a buff from a level 100 healer; it's hard not to become stronger.

The enhanced man glanced at the host, then charged straight at the wall, smashing the genuine stone wall to pieces. He then picked up the dumbbells on the ground and twisted them into a pretzel.

"Now, does everyone know what the Holy Light Shell is used for?"

Chapter 201 The Frenzied Bidding

No sooner had he finished speaking than a tall man stood up impatiently and shouted loudly.

"Strengthen your physique!"

The host immediately raised the hammer and struck it.

"Congratulations, sir, you're right! Someone, bring this gentleman 100 million Berries!"

The hostess walked over with a smile, carrying a tray. One million Berries wasn't much, but it was free. Who doesn't love getting something for free?

"Damn it, this guy beat me to it! Damn it!"

The tall man happily took Bailey, his face beaming as he basked in the envious glances of those around him.

"Since someone has already guessed the effects of the Holy Light Shell, I won't keep you in suspense any longer."

"That's right, the Holy Light Shell's function is to enhance physical strength. As long as you are enveloped by the holy light released by the Holy Light Shell, you will gain endless power! Even a weak and frail man can instantly gain strength comparable to a strongman!"

"Whether used in battle or for pleasure in bed, it's extremely useful!"

Karl's expression changed. "You guys actually found out about this?"

The nobles in the area were immediately impressed. At first, they thought it was nothing, that only brutes would use such things. But then they thought it made sense. If their bodies became stronger, wouldn't they be able to make women scream with pleasure?

As a result, many nobles' breathing quickened, and they were almost ready to offer to buy all of these Holy Light Shells!

"I now have 10 Holy Light Shells here, and the starting bid is... 500 million Berries!!!"

“600!!!”

"650 million!"

The guests in the audience started bidding, and the price of the Holy Light Shell rose all the way up, quickly reaching 1280 million Berries for 10!

It was eventually acquired by a middle-aged nobleman for 1350 million Berries.

Dragon, standing next to Karl, gasped in shock. He knew that Holy Light Berries were profitable, but he hadn't expected them to be this profitable. His cost price was only 50 Berries each! Now they were selling for 135 Berries each, more than double the profit!

"Phew~ Lord Karl, how about we raise the price of Holy Light Shells again in the future? We haven't done anything... how..."

Karl waved his hand and said, "Dorag, as I told you before, how many you can sell depends on your ability. Don't be fooled by the high prices now; once the hype dies down, the prices will naturally come down."

"I originally used Holy Light Shells to boost sales volume. What I really care about are Holy Healing Shells, those are the real money."

Dorag thought about it and agreed. Sigh, he must have lived too frugally before. He didn't have the same perspective as Karl. But it's okay, he'll get used to it.

"Don't be discouraged if you didn't manage to bid on the Holy Light Shell just now. We still have 8 sets of Holy Light Shells available for auction today. We will put a set of Holy Light Shells up for auction for every other item!"

"Great!" "I thought there were only 10! You should have told me sooner!"

"Stop dawdling and hurry up and move on to the next item for auction!"

The auction was in full swing, but unfortunately the main attraction today was the Holy Light Shell, so the other items were largely ignored. However, the auction house staff didn't care at all; their goal was to promote the Holy Light Shell and the Holy Healing Shell, and the other items were just extras.

It's best if someone willing to pay a hefty sum bids, but it doesn't matter if no one wants it and it goes unsold.

于是，接下来的八组圣光贝分别以1300万、1200万、1100万、950万、800万、1000万、1250万、1550万贝利的价格拍出，总成交额将近1.5亿贝利。

Dragon was very satisfied with the result, not because he valued the amount of Berries, but because he valued the reputation of the Holy Light Berries, which would be highly sought after at any auction house.

Next up is the St. Barrel Cactus. Each St. Barrel Cactus costs 500 million Berries to buy, and at auction...

"Ladies and gentlemen, the auction for the Holy Light Shell has concluded. However, our auction house has another similar product, which is... the Holy Healing Shell!!!"

The host lifted the red cloth, revealing the Holy Healing Shell, which looked almost identical to the Holy Light Shell. The guests initially thought it was the Holy Light Shell, but after the lights dimmed, observant people noticed the difference.

The light emitted by the Holy Light Shell is pale gold, while the light emitted by the Holy Healing Shell is pure white, like an incandescent light bulb.

"Because St. Hennessy is very precious and extremely rare, we will not conduct experiments here, as we cannot afford to. Therefore, I will directly tell you about the effects of St. Hennessy."