Chapter 99

"Arriving at St. Poplar! Arriving at St. Poplar!"

The sea train that Ace and his crew were riding apparently had an announcement system. The voice of a woman rang out all around inside the train, letting the passengers know that the train was about to arrive at a station.

"St. Poplar, huh?" Ace tentatively stood up and stretched. Eri noticed this and was visibly dismayed.

"Captain?" Eri asked, gently tugging at Ace's black shirt. Ever since Enel died, he stopped wearing the black coat he got from Teach.

Ace turned to Eri with an awkward and apologetic frown. He was equally as dismayed as she was, but he had no choice. He had no idea if there would be another auction soon.

Ace decided in his mind to make it up to Eri somehow.

"Sorry, Eri." Ace patted Eri's head. "Some business came up when we were in Water 7. You guys will have to go and have fun without me."

"You busy with something, Ace?" Mihar asked.

"Yeah." Ace nodded to Mihar, grateful for the opportunity to explain more. "There's this auction I need to attend in St. Poplar."

"Why don't we just go with you?" Tanya asked. "We could always just go to the carnival on another day."

"It's a black market auction. Less heads, the better. So, it's better if I go alone," Ace said. "Besides, I don't really plan on… legally participating."

"You sure you don't want at least one of us to tag along with you?" Terzo asked. "You know you only need to ask. An extra sword can go a long way."

"Thanks, Terzo. But, I'll be fine. You know me, I can take care of myself," Ace said with a wide smile.

"Arrived at St. Poplar!" Along with the announcement, the doors of the train opened. The audible noise of footsteps and chatters present among the commuters were heard as they exited the train.

Ace turned to Eri. She was still obviously dismayed that he wouldn't be able to go with them to San Faldo and have fun. At that moment, Ace was struck with an idea.

"Captain?"

Eri looked up at Ace after she felt something on his head. She put her hands around what it was and realized that it was Ace's signature hat.

"Hold on to this for me will you, Eri? This hat was given to me by… someone important."

Ace's hat was actually given to him by Makino back in Dawn Island. She had one made for him after she realized that Ace was the only one among the three brothers without a hat.

In an adorable way, another symbolism of their brotherhood was their unique hats. Needless to say, their hats are very important for each of them.

Ace didn't need to say how precious his hat was for him for the rest of his crew to realize it. The way he frequently cleaned and looked after his hat all made them realize that the hat he was wearing was carrying more value to him than they know.

Now, that same hat was on Eri's head being entrusted to her by Ace.

"I'll come back soon for it, okay? Think of the hat as me when you guys have fun today!" Ace said. "But, I promise. Tomorrow, let's go sliding down Water 7!"

"Hehe! I understand, Captain!" Eri said. "I'll look after your hat! I promise!"

Then, Ace nodded to the rest of his friends. He was in a hurry since the doors of the train were already about to close. He hurried out just in time as the doors started closing immediately after he stepped out of the train.

Ace watched the train go. It first started running slowly. As it went ahead, the train got faster. Ace stood there watching the train go and only moved when it was already out of his sight.

"Now then, where is that place again?"

Out of habit, Ace's hand went to his head where the brim of his hat usually was. Of course, since his hat was with Eri, his hand only met air. 

Chuckling away the awkward feeling of not being dressed properly without his hat, Ace walked away to find where the auction will take place.

As Ace walked, he reminded himself of the words of the banker they spoke to. He felt the gold card inside his pocket.

'Take this to the building at the end of the river…'

"The end of the river." Ace whispered to himself before his eyebrows furrowed. "Damn it. Was I tricked? How the-"

"How the hell are we gonna know which damn river it is?"

Ace's ears perked up at what he heard. He was once again grateful for his great senses. He listened closer.

"Shut up! You wanna announce it to the world, huh?"

"Of course not! It's a secret!"

"Then be quiet, already!"

"Ah… sorry!"

Ace discreetly went closer to the pair of men talking to hear more of their conversation. 

To not be so obvious that he was eavesdropping, Ace decided to flirt with a random woman. With his training in Observation Haki that helps in training one's mind, it was easy for him to split his attention.

"Hi, miss! Excuse me if I'm being a bother." Ace approached the most attractive woman in the vicinity with the best smile he could.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry if this sounds weird, but you really caught my eye."

"Ehh?"

As the woman fumbled for words in surprise at Ace's lack of shame, the conversation that Ace was eavesdropping in continued.

"I told you, right? I used to work there."

"Ahh, right! You were a guard!"

"Yeah. Again, are you sure you wanna work in this… world?"

"I am… I need the money."

"Just because it's an auction house, doesn't mean they pay well. Remember, they're not exactly… law-abiding."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Ace observed the two men walk away. They were most likely going to the same place he was. The last words of the conversation he heard confirmed it.

"I-I-I'm sorry, but I have a b-boyfriend," the attractive woman that Ace spoke to said to him.

"Ahh, I see. That's a shame," Ace said. "Well then, I hope you have a good day!"

Ace waved goodbye to the woman he approached. He started going in the same direction as the two men he intended to follow.

Then, Ace unintentionally heard something that made him chuckle out of sheer amusement.

"Fuck! Why did I lie? He was so… eugh!"

It was the woman Ace spoke to. Not wanting to see if she gains the courage to find him and try again, Ace walked a little faster.

Ace followed the two men as discreetly as he could. Along the way, he picked the pockets of the people he came across. He didn't steal any money, but he did steal things that he thinks would help him soon.

From the people he pickpocketed from, Ace got two handkerchiefs and sunglasses. He also stole a brown jacket hanging from a clothesline. 

Ace picked pockets and stole for a simple reason: finding items that could help in disguising him. Having one would be essential for the chaos he was about to bring, after all. Ace took Hepha's suggestion seriously.

Already with an idea in mind, Ace's disguise was complete. When he starts stealing and wreaking havoc, Ace would be wearing two handkerchiefs and sunglasses to cover his face. He would remove the jacket he was currently wearing as well.

With his preparation complete, all Ace needs now is to get to where he needs to be. The two men he was following were now walking along a river.

This part of St. Poplar was rather devoid of the usual heavy foot traffic. There weren't many people walking around. If Ace kept the same distance, there was a chance that he would be noticed by the two men he was following.

So, Ace relied on his increased perception with Observation Haki. Even if they were rather far away, he still knew where they were.

Eventually, Ace felt them stop. For the past half hour, they've been walking along the same river. Ace knew that this definitely was the place.

With steady and sure steps, Ace walked to where the auction would take place. He felt the two handkerchiefs and sunglasses in his pockets, making sure they were still there.

Now that he wasn't following anyone, Ace decided to walk a little faster. In five minutes, he arrived in front of a lonely building.

It was a small building that looked rather old. It only had four floors and a sign that read "Auk's Fishing Tools" hung above the entrance. 

Ace entered the building. He was sure that this was the place.

"Welcome."

Ace turned his head to the only person in the room. He entered what seemed like a shop filled with old fishing tools. The one that greeted him was a rather sleepy old man.

"Can I help you?" the old man asked Ace rather dismissively. He was the unfriendly type for the normal people.

Ace walked to the counter. The old man was sitting behind it reading what was obviously an erotic book judging by the title alone.

"Yes. You can."

Ace took out the gold card he had and placed it on the counter. The old man eyed the card for a moment. Then, he reached out his hand under the counter.

A second later, Ace felt movement behind him. He looked back to see a whole shelf move. It revealed a set of stairs going down in what looked like a spiral path.

Ace walked towards the stairs, but he was stopped by the old man.

"Sir. Your card."

Ace froze in his steps. It was a minor blunder. Then, he calmly glanced behind him to stare at the old man.

"Keep it," Ace said with a small smile before returning on his way to the stairs.

Ace went down six steps before he heard the shelf that moved earlier move back to its place. It wasn't totally dark as the walls around Ace were lined with lamps.

When Ace looked closer, the stairs were made of neatly cut stone. It was obvious that the ones running this place didn't want its customers to be turned off by the sight of an ugly entrance to the actual auction itself.

"This is exciting," Ace whispered to himself. "To think my first auction is one I'm planning to steal from…"

Ace eventually arrived at the end of the stairs. He found himself in an empty hallway that was as well lit as the stairs. 

At the end of the hallway was a set of black metal doors. Ace walked to it calmly and knocked.

The metal door had a sliding window at eye level, allowing the one on the other side to take a look at who was knocking. The sliding window slid open, revealing a set of sharp eyes to Ace.

"Password?" the guard behind the door asked.

At that moment, Ace decided to focus. It was crucial for the feat that he was about to do.

The future is set by the actions one takes. When one trains Observation Haki to a high enough level, it allows for one to peer into the future.

'Again, I'm really glad Sabo was there to train with me. I wouldn't have went far without his constant pressure. Luffy was… well, Luffy was there.'

With his Observation Haki, Ace peered into the future. He tested what kind of response would give him the best outcome. He first tried to see the immediate future if he decided to call the guard's question a bluff…

In seemingly no time at all after hearing the guard's question, Ace smirked.

"I'm not a first time customer," Ace said to the guard. "Pull that stunt with someone else."

The eyes staring at Ace opened wide as the guard shrunk back in fear. Clangs were heard immediately after behind the door. A moment later, the door opened for Ace, revealing a well-built man as the guard.

"I do apologize, sir. I'm a moron and I'm terrible with faces, even for someone as grand as you!"

'...wow. This guy knows how to kiss ass.'

Ace said nothing and just kept walking. He nonchalantly entered and ignored the guard.

The other side of the metal door was just another hallway, albeit fancier. The lamps lining the walls on each side looked to be on the expensive side. 

A glimmering gold curtain was at the end of the long hallway. As Ace walked closer to it, he started hearing more and more noise.

When Ace went through the gold curtain, he found himself in what he could only describe as an underground theater. It looked the same as the auction house in Sabaody from Ace's memory.

Ace went ahead and found himself an empty seat. The auction hasn't started yet. The sound of whispers and murmurs of a hundred people filled the theater.

'Now… let's see what this auction has to offer!'