Chapter 73: Players Don't Eat Beef
Tesoro, who ate the Gold-Gold Fruit, can sense and manipulate gold. The man, who seemed to be a bit rough around the edges, locked himself and everyone else in the casino, but in reality, he had already secretly sprinkled fine gold dust that was invisible to the naked eye onto the deck of the Orbit.
That was the most reliable surveillance camera, so Tesoro had already noticed their movements the moment Violet and the others climbed up the rope ladder and landed on the deck, the air currents kicking up gold dust.
However, Tesoro initially didn't take these little guys, who weren't even half his height, seriously.
However, Tesoro looked at the strangely shaped weapon in Violet's hand and gently rubbed the golden dice between his fingertips.
She broke the heavy gold chain he had placed on the door with a single blow.
With the added power of the Devil Fruit, that chain was not as soft as ordinary gold.
Tesoro calmly assessed the strength of the three uninvited guests. The seemingly rough but actually meticulous man quickly came up with a way to deal with them.
Tezzolo stood up, spread his arms to the sides, and greeted Violet with a warm smile, just like a real casino owner.
"I didn't expect to have new friends here. It's my fault for not being a good host, making you walk over on your own."
Tesoro bounced the golden die and caught it steadily: "I don't know what to call you?"
Violet looked at Tesoro with great interest: "Vilet."
"Vell, would you like to join our game?"
"No!" Sanji, who was hiding in the back, mustered his courage and shouted to Violet and the others, "Miss, please don't gamble with him, you can't win!"
Vera looked in the direction of the sound and saw a child with a golden head... Ah, he was trembling, and kind of cute.
Violet withdrew her gaze and looked at Tesoro again.
Tesoro raised one eyebrow: "In games, there are naturally winners and losers."
"They were just unlucky. You, Violet, might be the lucky one who can beat me."
Not at all. All the dice and playing cards in the casino were covered in gold dust. Depending on his mood and luck, he might let some of them win, but he would never lose himself.
Tesoro explained the rules of the game to Violet.
“Oh?” Violet looked at Tezzolo. “How much is my ‘net worth’?”
Tesoro cautiously asked, "Thirty million Berries, how about that?"
Standing behind Violet, Sabo couldn't help but lower his head to hide his smile.
Thirty million Berries, wow, isn't that more than her bounty? Violet now thinks this [Rainy Season] boss has no taste.
"Then thirty million Berries it is." Violet walked nonchalantly through the trembling crowd, like quails, and stood before the man who had just lost his entire fortune and was now lost and dejected.
Vera looked down at the man kneeling on the ground and said, "Excuse me, could you please move aside?"
"What...no, I haven't lost yet, I can still turn things around, I...I still have some treasure hidden away, which can be exchanged for chips..."
Tesoro raised his hand, and the golden man was thrown to the ground. Then, he gentlemanly brought a new chair for Violet.
"I'm sorry, sir, you're out of the game."
Watching Violet's retreating figure as she sat in the chair, Sanji murmured in despair, "Why..."
Why did we board this ship? Why did we agree to that man's bet? He's not going to let us leave anyway.
Such a cute girl, about the same age as her older sister Reiju, is going to be bullied by that awful guy!
Sanji gritted his teeth, his hand trembling as he reached for the dagger he had secretly hidden on his back.
"Calm down, kid." Zeff slightly turned to block Sanji, grabbing his wrist to stop him. "You're no match for that man."
Sanji couldn't help but question, "Are we just going to watch everyone lose to him?"
“Heh, that’s not necessarily true.” Zeff glanced at the two boys who came in with Vera; their faces didn’t show much concern for Vera.
"You mean?" Sanji's hope rose, "She'll win?"
"win?"
If the occasion weren't so inappropriate, Zeff would definitely have laughed out loud at Sanji's naive remark.
"You really think of him as a businessman?" Zeff whispered. "Do you know what kind of person can win every time they gamble?"
"A person who cheats."
"What?!" Sanji's eyes widened. "Then doesn't that mean... doesn't that mean... doesn't that mean everyone, no, most people, are doomed to lose?"
To prevent them from desperately rebelling together, Tesoro would occasionally let a few people win back their "worth" to give them a glimmer of hope, but ultimately, the outcome was entirely up to Tesoro.
“Navel…”
Unlike the pirates and the passengers on the ship, Violet was a completely innocent victim.
"She's not that simple. Keep watching, kid."
From the perspective of an old pirate who had been to the Grand Line, Zeff knew that Violet's relaxation was genuine; she truly had some trump card up her sleeve and was confidently treating this gamble as an interesting game.
Tezzolo patiently explained several common casino games to Violet and pushed a 30 million peso chip in front of her.
He looked at the whorl of hair on Vera's head and revealed a confident smile that seemed to indicate victory was assured.
"Place your bet, Violet."
Recalling the rules Tezzolo had explained, Violet ultimately chose the simpler playing cards. The patterns on the back of the newly opened deck were vibrant and flamboyant, with fine gold dust mixed in with the golden lines, reminding Tezzolo of each card in Violet's hand.
He controlled the pace, winning and losing, until he finally won the last chip in front of Violet.
“It’s a pity.” Tesoro shook his head, as if he were genuinely saddened by Violet’s defeat. “You lost.”
"You can choose to pay a ransom equal to your 'worth' or join us."
Vera looked up from the gambling table with a hint of regret, tilting her head at Tesoro: "You know what, Tesoro?"
Tesoro's subconscious suddenly sounded an alarm, but he still instinctively uttered a questioning nasal sound: "Hmm?"
Violet laughed and said, "I don't eat beef."
Completely oblivious to the reference Violet was looking bewildered, but the next moment, Violet explained it with body language that even an idiot could understand.
She stood up and flipped the solid wood chair behind her towards Tezzolo!
What?! Seeing the shadow suddenly enlarge in front of him, Tesoro quickly bent down to dodge, while Violet took the opportunity to leap up with one hand on the gambling table, holding the tentacle spike and throwing it at Tesoro's chest!
With a bang, Tesoro, caught off guard, was struck in the chest. The force of the attack sent him flying backward, smashing through several gambling tables before crashing into the wall. He slid down and lay helplessly among the broken wood.
Shiny gold flowed down his chest as Tesoro stared at Violet as she walked towards him with a grim expression.
The girl was stronger than he had expected. If he hadn't activated his Devil Fruit ability in time to block it, he would have been unable to fight back even if he was still alive.
Tesoro never expected that a cute and pretty little girl dressed in expensive clothes meant for nobles would be more decisive and ruthless than an old pirate who had been sailing the seas for years.
But from the moment Stella was bought by the Celestial Dragons, he vowed never to let money slip through his fingers again.
Tesoro jerked his head up, and the dark green hair that had fallen across his forehead as he was knocked away tore through his vision like a blade, splitting the reflection of Violet in his eyes in two.
"Very well, you've really angered me."
He raised his hand, and in an instant, the golden carvings on the casino walls, transformed by his aesthetic sense, melted and fell away, turning into arm-length sharp spikes that rushed straight towards Violet!
A whooshing sound rang out, and under the illumination of the casino's crystal chandelier, the pure gold spikes shimmered with dazzling spots of light, like fireflies fluttering around them.
Behind Violet were the prisoners; if she chose to dodge, the people pierced by the spikes would suffer heavy casualties.
They're just a bunch of nameless cannon fodder NPCs.
But...she temporarily avoids Tezzolo's sharp edge?
Violet slowly raised her head, gripping the tentacle spikes as she charged towards Tesoro's attack. Every golden spike that entered Violet's attack range was knocked away without exception. Tesoro watched as Violet rapidly approached and made a downward pressing motion with his palm.
!
Violet's feet suddenly slipped into thin air. The originally solid wooden plank had been cut open with gold by Tesoro, with only some fragile connections remaining at the edges. It broke the moment she stepped on it.
With her left leg stuck in the lower cabin, Violet's body tilted uncontrollably to one side. The golden spikes that she had knocked away earlier attacked her from behind, heading towards the back of her neck through her blind spot.
Luo raised his hand: "ROOM!"
Just as the golden spike was about to pierce Violet's throat and brain, her figure vanished completely. Tesoro's eyes widened as he looked around warily, simultaneously gathering his golden form to protect himself.
despair.
With a nimble movement, Violet landed on the intact gambling table with one foot and looked at Tesoro, who was completely protected by gold.
The golden spikes that had been knocked away were stuck haphazardly in the dark red carpet between the two of them, melting into liquid and disappearing into the carpet's seams under Violet's gaze.
It's like the words "there's a trap" are practically plastered on her face.
Tesoro warily glanced out of the corner of his eye at Law, who had only moved once throughout the entire incident, and Sabo, who stood beside him holding a water pipe and hadn't moved at all.
I initially thought they were just three ordinary kids, but it turns out at least two of them are Devil Fruit users...
Tesoro, who has only eaten the Gold-Gold Fruit for a little over half a year, has limited development of the fruit's potential, but he is undoubtedly talented and has a high degree of compatibility with the Gold-Gold Fruit.
In just over six months, Tesoro has developed his own unique abilities.
Tezzolo stood up, raising his left arm high in the air.
Countless gold dust burst forth from the carpet, exploding in the sky like fireworks, scattering across the ground and coating the entire casino with a layer of gold paint.
The blue, semi-transparent ROOM fields that had been covering Violet, Law, and Sabo disappeared, leaving a ring of areas centered on them that remained in their original state, untouched by the gold dust.
Tesoro, who was well-prepared, was not disappointed. After all, after the previous exchange, Tesoro knew that these people were not to be underestimated.
However, this is just an appetizer.
The wooden chairs, gambling tables, candlesticks, and even the chandeliers, all covered in gold dust, vibrated violently. The remaining gold nuggets that did not turn into gold dust solidified into golden gauntlets that wrapped around Tesoro's right arm.
Tesoro charged at the reappearing Vera and threw a straight punch, accompanied by an explosion and intense heat, along with sharp and dangerous gold shrapnel.
Tesoro: "Let's try this move."
"Golden Explosion!"
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Author's Note: Tesoro, who wants to break the rules, and the player who has no intention of following the rules at all [Let me see].
The guys sitting obediently at the gambling table: The clown is us! [crying emoji]
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