One Piece: Starting with Breathing Techniques

Chapter 166 Coercion and Enticement!

Amidst the uproar in the audience, the host's smile widened as he had his attendant slowly push out an iron cage.

"Distinguished gentlemen, this is what appears to be from the Sky Island—"

"Sky Island People!"

As the curtain of the iron cage was ripped open, Enel, dressed in rags, was immediately revealed.

With his hands and feet bound, he saw the crowd staring at him as if he were a rare commodity, and his face immediately filled with rage.

"Damn you, you despicable people from Qinghai!"

"Once I escape, I'll slaughter you all!!"

But after these menacing words, no one present showed the slightest fear, and the host became even more excited.

"Everyone, did you hear that?"

"—Qinghai people—that's a name only Sky Island people would utter!"

"Anyone interested in this slave? Get your wallets ready!"

The starting bid is ————

Before the auctioneer, holding the gavel, could finish speaking, a shadow suddenly loomed over his eyes.

He was taken aback, and when he looked up, he saw a burly figure with a solemn expression standing in front of him.

"This is----"

Jonathan didn't want to waste words. He glanced coldly at the increasingly noisy auction hall behind him, filled with growing complaints, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen—"

He turned around, revealing his rather dignified and cold face.

"I am Lieutenant General Jonathan, stationed at the nearby G-8 base."

"Naval operations are underway; all unrelated personnel must evacuate immediately!"

Under Jonathan's imposing gaze, the host swallowed hard and reluctantly raised the microphone connected to the loudspeaker Den Den Mushi.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this auction is now concluded."

"Customers who previously purchased slaves, please wait. Our guild will deliver the slaves to you shortly."

Although the audience was dissatisfied, they dared not say anything when they saw Jonathan's oppressive gaze, and could only sigh silently.

At Major Drake's signal, they all headed towards the auction house exit, and the noisy crowd gradually dispersed.

Once he was sure there were no other spectators in the huge auction hall, Jonathan turned his attention to the host, whose back was covered in cold sweat.

"Alright, now can we talk about these so-called Sky Island people?"

He coughed, then with a flick of his right hand, discreetly slipped a heavy money bag into the host's hand.

Seeing this, the host, who had been looking helpless and frowning, immediately had his eyes light up and quietly stuffed the money bag into his pocket. "Ahem—"

"Since it was Lieutenant General Jonathan's order, then there's naturally no problem!"

He glanced at Enel, whose eyes were wide with resentment. "This slave was given to me by a pirate crew. It is said that he fell from the sky. His skin and hair color are clearly not those of the residents of this area."

Jonathan frowned. "Isn't there any substantial evidence?"

The host glanced around, remained silent, and looked embarrassed.

Jonathan understood, a sense of annoyance rising within him, but he silently pulled another purse from his pocket and handed it to the other person, though a dangerous glint unconsciously appeared in his eyes.

"hiss----"

The host's eyes lit up, and he took the money bag, but he also caught a glimpse of the coldness in Jonathan's eyes, so he smiled awkwardly and quickly pulled out an exquisitely crafted shell from behind his back.

"Lord Jonathan, this is what those pirates looted from Enel. It's said to be able to unleash a powerful impact; it's a technology unique to the Sky Island."

"As a lieutenant general, you should be able to determine whether this technology belongs to the Sky Island faction, right?"

Jonathan raised an eyebrow, took the exquisite shell, and examined it closely.

To be honest, even though he had lived for so long and held a high position in the navy, he had never seen such a peculiar shellfish before.

He aimed at the air in front of him, tentatively activating the shellfish, and the next moment—

"boom--!"

A burst of compressed air suddenly erupted from the shellfish's opening, instantly surging towards the open space in front of them, causing rows of neat seats to sway and even shattering decorative glass not far away.

"?! "

Jonathan's expression changed, and he looked at the shellfish in his hand, which had returned to calm, with disbelief and a look of ecstatic joy in his eyes.

It wasn't because he had acquired a strange technological artifact; its power was practically negligible to him.

Since this previously unseen technological product does exist, does it mean that—

Sky Islands really exist?!

In an instant, an extremely bold guess emerged in Jonathan's mind.

Since Sky Island exists, there must be a way to get there.

Is it possible that the Revolutionary Army headquarters was located on the sky island?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Jonathan could hardly contain his excitement.

As he delved deeper into his speculation, he discovered that this bold hypothesis was very likely to be true!

After all, during this period, the Revolutionary Army's base area had kept the Navy at bay, without even revealing a trace of it.

But what if the Revolutionary Army's headquarters were on a sky island?!

For a moment, Jonathan felt his heart pounding in his chest, and an overwhelming sense of wealth seemed to be beckoning him.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his excitement and calming himself down, and looked at Enel in the iron cage.

After waving the host away, Jonathan's eyes gleamed. "Your name is Enel, right?"

"Tell me, do you really live on a floating island?"

Enel sneered at Jonathan, who was beaming with excitement, but instead of answering, he glared at him fiercely.

"You despicable Qinghai man, I'm warning you, let me go right now!"

"otherwise----"

"I'll kill you!"

Looking at Enel's defiant face, Jonathan's smile gradually faded, and he sighed helplessly.

"Why don't you just tell the truth?"

"Are you forcing me to take action?"

Before he finished speaking, he grabbed the barbed whip from the table and lashed it hard across Enel's body.

"Snapped!"

The whip's tail whistled through the air, mercilessly lashing Enel's back.

"ah--!!"

Enel couldn't help but cry out in pain, and a long, bright red welt appeared on his back, with drops of blood gushing out uncontrollably.

To maintain his authority, Jonathan showed no mercy with his whip, striking the unruly Enel to the ground with a single blow. Enel clutched his back and groaned, unable to get up.

"Sigh, if only I had known it would turn out like this, wouldn't it have been better?"

Jonathan sighed, squatted down beside the iron cage, and looked coldly at Enel, who was covered in cold sweat.

"To tell or not to tell?"

He put down the barbed whip, picked up a gleaming iron whip still stained with blood, and looked at the bewildered Enel.

"Next time, let's use this!"