PS: Watching the Film Gold movie first will make this chapter more flavorful.
Tap...
Tap...
Golden steps. A luxurious, extravagant venue.
With a snap of his fingers, a stylishly dressed man in dazzling, gorgeous attire appeared atop the stage, wearing a golden top hat and sunglasses.
Threads of lightning crackled.
The golden microphone transformed into a scepter.
He planted the golden scepter in the center of the stage, and the world became an ocean of gold.
The man who controlled twenty percent of the world's Berries, the man with the greatest wealth in existence, curved his lips into a smile.
"The show... begins."
...
"Hahahahaha!"
After finishing a song, the heat of the revelry still lingered in Tesoro's heart.
He returned to his luxurious private hall, crossed his legs, and watched noble beauties dance. One arm held a blonde beauty, while the other swirled a wine glass.
Heaven on earth was nothing more than this!
Held in Tesoro's large arm, treated with extreme gentleness, Stella looked somewhat helpless.
Looking at Tesoro, who was changing more and more with each passing day, an inexplicable worry rose in her heart.
Although Tesoro was still very good to her and still loved her deeply, she always felt that he was hiding something from her.
But when she thought of Lord Ozz, her heart settled again.
Tesoro had accumulated such immense wealth. In the end, it was meant to serve that lord.
As long as he held tightly to that point, then even if Tesoro caused some enormous disaster, surely...
"These are the latest secret letters delivered by the News Coo, along with recent intelligence from the sea. Please review them, Lord Tesoro."
During Tesoro's short rest, a figure like a big-headed doll emerged from a nearby pillar.
He bowed and respectfully presented several sealed papers.
Seeing this, the smile on Tesoro's face eased slightly. He then looked at the papers in his hand.
Ozz's subordinates had connections with one another.
This could be seen from the six kings of the Underworld.
Although Tesoro was not rooted in the Underworld, his Gran Tesoro, as the world's largest money tree and den of extravagance, naturally contained every kind of underground establishment, including Pleasure District-type venues.
Besides...
What businessman would not want to be friends with the richest man in the world?
Tesoro had invested in Morgans' World Economy News Paper. He had even donated many public broadcast Transponder Snails, the same kind used for the worldwide broadcast during the Summit War.
So whenever there was well-informed intelligence, that birdman, the News King, would always send Tesoro a copy too.
They took care of each other and split the cake together.
"There have never been this many letters before."
Tesoro opened the first one. It was a newspaper.
What entered his eyes was a ruined nation, and a blond man wearing sunglasses collapsed on the ground.
"This is..."
Tesoro's gaze shifted. He pushed his sunglasses up into his hair and carefully read the report.
This could be considered first-hand reporting. Gran Tesoro was one of the first stops reached by the News Coo.
Compared with any newspaper on the market, this report explained the entire sequence of events in far greater detail.
It even made vague mention of Ozz's name, a name that most media outlets in the world would not dare to touch.
You could doubt Morgans' strength. You could doubt his character.
But you must never doubt his love and pursuit of big news.
"Doflamingo..."
The smile on Tesoro's face gradually disappeared.
The people around him, who had originally been laughing and chatting, also slowly quieted because of his changing expression.
He was the king of the Golden City, the richest man in the world who ruled over everything.
"I truly didn't expect someone like Doflamingo to be defeated by a brat..."
Holding the newspaper, he leaned back against the sofa, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.
He and Doflamingo were old acquaintances. Even the Paramecia Gold-Gold Fruit that had allowed him to build his fortune had originally come from Doflamingo.
That honest man, who never used fake Devil Fruits to fool people, was also one of his business partners.
Tesoro considered himself fairly familiar with him.
When it came to his relationship with Lord Ozz, Doflamingo had even held a higher priority than himself.
How unpredictable the world was...
But with this, could he take over part of the other party's business and place it under his own control?
The current Tesoro no longer had any sense of camaraderie left.
The first thing he thought of was naturally profit.
Was increasing his money and status not a wonderful thing?
But Stella's reaction beside him was the complete opposite of Tesoro's.
Her entire body turned cold, as if she had fallen into an icy abyss. Even her pupils trembled slightly.
Why?
Doflamingo was one of the Warlords of the Sea and one of the giants of the Underworld. How could he be captured by the Marines?
Was he not Lord Ozz's subordinate?
And even though Doflamingo was closer to Ozz, Lord Ozz had still not acted.
Then what about Tesoro?
She had also heard that those powerful subordinates Tesoro had raised were casually erased by Lord Ozz last time.
If that day truly came...
She looked at Tesoro, the man she loved, and held his hand.
"You should have realized it too, right? Tesoro."
"Hm?"
Tesoro was reading the newspaper. Being suddenly interrupted, he froze for a moment.
If it had been someone else, he might have killed them on the spot.
But the woman before him was different.
"What is it, Stella?"
"Doflamingo was captured, and Lord Ozz did not act. Doesn't that already prove something?"
When Tesoro heard Stella's words, he paused.
Then he burst into laughter, as if he had heard a very amusing joke.
Even Mr. Tanaka, Carina, and Baccarat beside him smiled.
"Relax, Stella..."
The last of Tesoro's tenderness was reserved entirely for his wife and the child in her womb who had yet to be born.
"It is impossible for me to be defeated. On the Gran Tesoro, I am like a god!"
"And besides..."
Tesoro opened the second letter and confidently handed it to Stella.
"Take a good look."
Stella accepted the envelope with doubt in her heart.
The contents of the letter were very simple, with only a few short lines.
"To Tesoro personally:
Lord Ozz has recently developed an interest in the Mink Tribe. Withdraw an advance payment of fifty billion Berries for scientific research.
In addition, Lord Ozz has recently made plans to visit the Golden City. Please make the necessary preparations.
Signed: Morgans."
Tesoro had long since grown used to similar withdrawal requests.
Although he was being treated like an ATM, it instead made him feel extremely secure.
"See?"
"I..."
"Am absolutely impossible to bring down!"
...
PS: The Film Gold arc begins. Just adding a patch here. Oda said the movies are independent from the main plot, so do not overthink why Sanji, who was taken away between the Dressrosa arc and Zou arc, is still on the Straw Hats' ship here.
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