The auction house.
Sizzling~
Blue arcs of electricity instantly enveloped the entire private room.
Gu Yina, watching Pica and Gladius eye her warily, had no intention of toying with them.
Because she felt a fire outside the auction house, a fire very much like her own, approaching.
Regardless of the visitor's intentions, it was best to deal with the two in front of her first.
Therefore, she held nothing back. Gu Yina's gaze turned instantly cold, an edge emanating from within that felt like extreme frost, aiming to freeze Pica and Gladius’ souls.
Zing—!
Without giving them time to retreat, Gu Yina drew her sword directly at them.
The crisp clang of the blade, mixed with the roar of electricity, echoed through the entire auction house. Even Ace, who was rapidly approaching the auction house from the outside, heard it clearly.
A slight pause.
Ace looked up, his face filled with surprise as he stared at the second floor of the auction house.
He could feel that the sharpness he had sensed earlier was now fully unleashed. Even though it wasn't directed at him, he could feel an extreme danger within it.
Clang—!
A resonant clang, like that of a bell, echoed through the heavens and earth.
Then, a blue light, like a thread, instantly sliced through the entire roof of the auction house.
With a bang, a blue slash broke through the roof and, carrying two figures, rocketed into the sky.
At that moment, the entire sky was painted blue, leaving nothing but blue in people’s eyes.
Then, with a "swish," the blue slash effortlessly cut through the two figures in the sky before disappearing into the sky behind them.
“How… how could he be so strong?”
In the sky, Pica, using the last bit of strength left in his body, forced his eyes open. Through the void created by his and Gladius’ collision, he looked down at Gu Yina in the box below, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He wasn’t some nobody!
As one of the Seven Warlords and a top executive of the Donquixote family, he held a place even in the New World, where strong individuals were as common as trees.
He never expected to be killed in one strike by a young girl in the Paradise, on the final island of the Paradise, Sabaody Archipelago.
“I haven’t even seen the young master ascend to the throne, how can I die here?”
“Truly unwilling!”
Pica wanted to remain conscious, to keep his eyes open, but the darkness in his soul gave him no extra time. It swept through his soul instantly, and the last flicker of light in his eyes extinguished.
To outsiders, Pica and Gladius’ bodies, after being sliced by the blue light, paused in the air for a moment before splitting in half and falling downwards.
They landed on the roof of the auction house and, along with the roof, slid to one side.
Clearly, the blue slash had not only severed their bodies but also the auction house.
With a rumbling sound, the dim main hall of the auction house suddenly lit up. Looking up at the green treetop visible only from the outside, and the dappled light falling from it.
The remaining pirates in the auction house involuntarily swallowed.
Those who knew Pica and Gladius were already terrified.
They stood frozen, their bodies trembling violently, and a foul yellow liquid trickled down between their legs.
Ding—!
Sheathed.
Gu Yina turned around, her gaze falling on the man standing before the ruins, bare-chested, wearing an orange hat, with freckles on his cheeks.
The man, in turn, lifted the brim of his hat with his right index finger and looked up at Gu Yina.
"Portgas D. Ace."
"Blue Hair Gu Yina."
They spoke simultaneously, both clearly recognizing each other.
"What are you doing here?"
Gu Yina took a step forward, standing at the edge of the severed roof, and asked Ace calmly, looking down at him.
Ace was the most famous pirate supernova before they set sail. Combined with Kouta’s attention to Ace, Gu Yina was quite familiar with him.
Although she didn’t sense any malice from Ace, him being at the auction house at this time, given his identity, certainly wasn’t for the excitement of hearing a Celestial Dragon being beaten, nor to defend one.
So, he couldn’t be just passing by; he must have come for them.
Indeed.
Ace let out a hearty laugh, completely unfazed by Gu Yina’s coldness.
He then loudly declared the purpose of his visit.
"Haha! I came here just to meet an old friend from the East Blue, to see you all. Of course, if I could spar with you, that would be even better, hahaha!"
"Spar."
Gu Yina stared at Ace, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes.
Ace was the first pirate who sought them out not for their heads, but for a spar.
"Indeed!"
Nodding, Ace’s gaze towards Gu Yina gradually began to burn, not with a false flame, but with genuine fire.
He said excitedly, "I actually came here for that silver-haired guy, but I didn't expect you to be this strong as well. Let's spar first!"
As he spoke, flames erupted from his eyes, and then his entire hand, under his hat, turned into fire.
Gu Yina blinked slightly. She hadn't expected that one day someone would challenge her.
Looking at Ace's fiery hand, Gu Yina asked curiously, "The Mera Mera no Mi?"
"Yes," Ace nodded and explained, "I am a user of the Logia-type Mera Mera no Mi. I can transform my body into fire and use it to attack."
Gu Yina looked at the flames on Ace, and the extinguished arcs of electricity on her own body reappeared, emitting a sizzling sound.
"The Goro Goro no Mi?"
Ace's movements were slightly stiff. He stared at the arcs of electricity on Gu Yina with surprise and asked uncertainly, "Is that the Goro Goro no Mi?"
He hadn't seen Gu Yina elementalize, so he wasn't entirely sure.
After all, there were many fruits that could generate lightning.
He had sensed the attribute of lightning earlier and heard the sound of thunder, but he hadn't immediately thought of the Goro Goro no Mi.
The Goro Goro no Mi had been absent from the seas for a long time and had become a legend.
But now, seeing her in person and sensing the similar lightning attribute in Gu Yina’s body, he realized that the person before him might also be a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
"Yes!"
Gu Yina once again placed her right hand on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, her eyes flashing with blue light, and nodded at Ace. "I ate the Goro Goro no Mi."
"What?"
"Scared?"
"Scared?"
Ace quickly suppressed the surprise on his face and said loudly, "What are you kidding me? You're lightning, I'm fire. We're both Logia types. How could I be afraid of you?"
"Oh..."
Gu Yina looked at Ace, standing on the edge of the broken roof like a sword about to be unsheathed, making the surrounding air instantly oppressive.
She said coldly to Ace, "If you're not scared, then come on!"
"Let me see if you, a pirate whose exploits we've heard and seen so much of since we set sail, are truly worthy of challenging me, of challenging Kouta."