So much gold.
Crocodile's eyes were filled with desire.
"It's actually all made of gold. If all of this were converted into funds, it would be enough to arm a mid-sized nation to a world-class level!"
She ran her fingers along the golden wall, the corner of her mouth rising around the cigar between her lips.
"Even if the Marines sent warships to launch a large-scale siege, it could definitely hold out for more than ten days!"
Ever since Crocodile entered the New World two years ago, she had been running herself ragged for her ambitions.
Unfortunately, the New World was different from Paradise.
There was no soft target like Alabasta for her to squeeze here.
Most of the territories in this sea had long since been divided up by the few monsters known as the Four Emperors. Without Ozz personally helping her, it was genuinely difficult for her to carve out a place for herself.
Mihawk, on the other hand, had little interest in any of it.
He coldly observed the surrounding extravagance, then his sharp eyes locked onto the ground in the distance.
The next instant, a big-headed, doll-like figure emerged from beneath the floor with a tall figure beside him.
"Of course there would be no problem, Crocodile..."
A hearty laugh rang out.
Tesoro strode over with a smile on his face.
"I can personally invest ten billion berries to sponsor your dream. How does that sound?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Ozz."
Hearing that voice, Crocodile turned around and looked at Tesoro, whose entire body practically radiated the aura of money.
She did not hesitate because of his offer. Instead, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Tch..."
"That money probably won't be so easy to take, will it, Tesoro?"
Tesoro smiled when he heard that. Although he did not deny it, he still explained,
"After all, you are Mr. Ozz's companion. Even if you gave me all the courage in the world, I would not dare to truly do anything, would I?"
"Besides, you are a powerful figure yourself, Crocodile."
Mihawk folded his arms. His hawk-like eyes swept across the surroundings, and he spoke as well.
"If you fought here, I doubt you would gain any advantage either, Crocodile. This is not a desert."
He gave an extremely objective assessment.
"Hey! Mihawk, you bastard..."
Crocodile was very displeased when she heard that.
As for Ozz, he was looking at a few timid children by his feet. They were holding flowers and staring up at him.
"Buy a flower."
"Please buy a flower, sir!"
But very soon, a group of uniformed subordinates ran over and drove all the children away.
"Apologies, Lord Ozz. They disturbed your leisure!"
The underling bowed nervously.
Tesoro, who had been speaking with Crocodile and Mihawk, also noticed what had happened.
"For such an annoying thing to happen the moment Mr. Ozz enters the city, this is your incompetence."
With an icy smile on his face, Tesoro walked over. Gold surged in his hand, and he was about to kill both the subordinate and the children on the spot.
But just before he could act,
"Wait."
"Hmm?"
Tesoro's pupils shrank slightly. His body froze in place, and he turned back to look at Ozz, who had spoken.
"I came here for vacation and fun. I did not come to watch you kill people, Tesoro."
"...I see. If that is your wish, then of course, anything can be arranged."
The underling and children, who had already fallen into despair, stared at the scene in disbelief.
Lord Tesoro, whose moods were unpredictable and who would kill someone just for laughing before him, had actually been stopped?
Very soon, a pure-gold convertible "Turtle-Royce" powered by turtles stopped in front of Ozz.
"Allow me to serve you personally, Mr. Ozz."
The group sat inside the extremely luxurious extended car with its soft, lavish interior, casually admiring the street scenery on both sides.
Crocodile looked at everything along the road, her expression showing little change.
Because she knew many things about the Gran Tesoro.
Tesoro's enormous wealth did not come solely from the Gold-Gold Fruit he had eaten. After all, that was only a Paramecia Devil Fruit.
It could control gold, but it could not create it.
The birth of the Gran Tesoro and Tesoro's terrifying fortune ultimately came from other methods.
For example, using Devil Fruit abilities to drain his guests' luck, then making them shoulder debts so enormous they could never repay them, ultimately reducing them to slaves who had to work for the rest of their lives to pay it off.
Or using gold dust to infiltrate and control powerful pirates, leaving them entirely at his mercy.
Ozz naturally knew all of this too.
Tesoro had used this method to ruin many people.
That young man who once hated Celestial Dragons for buying away the woman he loved with money had now become someone not much different from a Celestial Dragon himself.
One could only say...
The dragon-slaying youth had finally become the evil dragon.
But thinking about it, that was normal.
Among the Twenty Kings of the past, how could there not have been people who cared for the world and pitied the common people?
And yet did their descendants not become Celestial Dragons in the end?
Just as he could not be bothered to change the historical cycle of Celestial Dragons and revolutionaries replacing one another, Ozz naturally would not stand in Tesoro's way from his own position.
At least most of the people Tesoro trapped were greedy gamblers...
Thinking of this, Ozz could not help sighing inwardly.
Do I even have any good people under me?
Crocodile and Doflamingo, those two nation-usurping bastards, had both been sent in to squat behind bars one after the other. Then there was Tesoro, this black-hearted capitalist. And that was not even mentioning that whole pack of demons and monsters in the underworld...
"Forget it. Too troublesome to bother with."
Hearing the sound beside him, Mihawk turned his head and looked at Ozz's profile.
"What did you say?"
"I said... do you want to go play that, Little Hawk?"
"Hmm?"
When they heard Ozz, the other three people in the car all looked over.
A long racetrack stretched across nearly half of the Gran Tesoro.
"No-rules racing?"
When they saw the name, all three of them had strange expressions.
Ozz was going to join a racing competition?
"Hey! You bastard!"
Crocodile clenched her fist and snapped at him.
The scene shifted.
Ozz, Mihawk, and Crocodile had already appeared inside a race car. However, the fully enclosed cabin made it impossible for others to see who was inside.
"We're starting!"
Crocodile sat in the driver's seat, veins constantly popping on her forehead.
Why did she have to participate in something like this?!
As for Tesoro, he stood at the highest point of the golden viewing platform.
He watched the racecars on the track constantly teleporting to overtake one another, occasionally releasing a few flying slashes, and even he broke into a cold sweat.
Only when one of his subordinates arrived with a report did his attention finally shift.
"Lord Tesoro, the Straw Hat Pirates' ship is approaching."
"Oh? The Straw Hat Pirates who defeated Doflamingo?"
Tesoro interlaced his fingers, a smile tugging at his face.
"Perfect...
"Mr. Ozz will not have to worry about being bored."
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