While Ozz was vacationing in the Golden City, enjoying the height of earthly pleasure, the Thousand Sunny slowly passed through the Gran Tesoro's gold-dust passage and headed into the harbor.
"Nami, is something this huge really a ship?!"
Nami nodded with a smile. Looking at the dazzling, gold-plated Gran Tesoro, her eyes flashed with the light of money.
"That's right! This is the world's largest entertainment city, a casino where you might get rich overnight, the Gran Tesoro!"
"Apparently, one of the reasons Black Spear Ozz is called the richest man in the world is because he is the true power behind this giant ship!"
"Eh?!"
Luffy's eyes widened.
"So this place is Uncle Ozz's territory too?!"
Robin leaned against the side of the ship. After hearing that, a faint unease rose in her heart for some reason.
"I have a feeling this won't be simple..."
After entering the Gran Tesoro, Luffy and the others fought a group of pirates, announcing their arrival.
Tesoro, wearing gold-rimmed sunglasses, looked down at the battle from the high platform. A playful expression appeared on his face.
"The Straw Hats who defeated Doflamingo, huh?"
"Although Mr. Ozz has never shown any intention of targeting them, they did send two Warlords of the Sea into Impel Down one after another..."
"If I could bring pirates of such caliber under my control, I imagine Mr. Ozz would be quite pleased."
Tesoro manipulated the sea of gold and swallowed up the pirates defeated by the Straw Hats. He interlaced his fingers in front of him, his smile full of hidden meaning.
"The complete destruction of the Straw Hat Pirates... I imagine that would add a little entertainment to Mr. Ozz's vacation as well."
"Wouldn't it?"
...
At the luxurious harbor, a tall, voluptuous red-haired beauty with an exotic charm walked toward the Straw Hats.
Wearing gloves and sunglasses, Baccarat approached with a bright smile.
Although she did not know why Lord Tesoro had specifically ordered her to target the Straw Hat Pirates, who had recently been in the spotlight, all she had to do was carry out the order.
And she had to execute it perfectly.
After all, the real boss was currently aboard the Gran Tesoro.
"Pleased to meet you, everyone."
"I am your exclusive VIP hostess. My name is Baccarat."
Luffy looked puzzled.
"You know us?"
Baccarat smiled gracefully.
"Of course. You are famous great pirates, and you also have many connections to Lord Ozz. Naturally, you are our VIP guests."
Led by Baccarat, the group headed toward the center of the Gran Tesoro.
The scenery along the way was extremely eye-catching, dazzlingly extravagant and golden beyond belief. From time to time, they could even see golden statues of a man with a sword and pistol at his waist.
"That is..."
Zoro's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the enormous statue.
Baccarat drove with effortless style, still wearing her sunglasses. Seeing the direction Zoro and the others were pointing, she smiled brightly.
"That?"
"That is a massive statue modeled after Lord Ozz in his youth, made from extremely pure gold. It has stood in the Golden City for almost twenty years now."
"Twenty years?!"
Sanji was somewhat shocked.
In other words, when Father was around the same age as them, he had already owned the Golden City?
"Yes. And not only that..."
Baccarat introduced the place to these country bumpkins.
"From the day the Gran Tesoro was built until now, it has always been an independent nation that stands above the current world system."
"As an absolutely neutral zone, even Celestial Dragons do not dare cause trouble here."
"And I believe no lunatic would dare do such a thing anyway. After all, even stealing a single floor tile here would be equivalent to stealing Lord Ozz's money."
The moment she said that, drops of cold sweat appeared on Nami's face.
That terrifying man...
Before long, they arrived at the central area of the Gran Tesoro. Baccarat considerately lent them twenty million berries' worth of chips in advance.
"Please do not worry. Feel free to use them as much as you like."
"Really?!"
Nami looked at the neatly arranged box of chips with heated eyes.
Sanji smoked his cigarette. He seemed to notice Nami and the others' hesitation, so he smiled and said,
"I don't know much about Tesoro, the king of the Golden City, but if it's Father, he would never be stingy over this amount of money."
Rather, Ozz spent money like water and never treated money as money.
He was even the sort of person who might suddenly have a whim to watch people riot and toss a huge handful of cash into the street.
"Great! Let's go play!"
Luffy did not care about the details. After all, this was a movie arc.
The group rushed off toward a racing attraction.
Originally, Luffy was planning to team up with Usopp and Chopper. The three of them would have been just right.
But Baccarat stepped forward at this moment and offered a smiling suggestion.
"If you are joining the race, I suggest the three of you go together instead."
The people she pointed to were Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
"What?"
Zoro and Sanji froze, somewhat confused as to why she would say that.
They had no interest in some racing game.
"Why?"
"Luffy is really strong. Is a racing game really going to be dangerous?"
In response, Baccarat continued to smile as she reminded them,
"Ordinary races are not especially dangerous, but this one is different. It is a no-rules race."
After hearing Baccarat's reminder, Zoro and Sanji swallowed. In the end, they still got into the racecar.
They dragged the heartbroken Usopp and Chopper out, and Zoro carried his swords as he took the passenger seat on his own initiative.
"Why am I the one driving, Moss Head?!"
Zoro shook the bottle of wine in his hand.
"Because of this. And also... do you really expect Number Seven to let Number One drive?"
"You bastard!"
Luffy did not care at all. Sitting on top, he raised his fist.
"Let's go, let's go!"
Zoro sat in the passenger seat and took a swig of wine. Through the car window, he looked at the other racecars.
Among them, one fully enclosed, privacy-shielded luxury racecar caught his attention.
"Roronoa..."
Behind the opaque privacy glass, a pair of hawk-like eyes was also watching Zoro.
"The Straw Hat crew? Why are they here?"
Crocodile sat in the driver's seat, one hand resting on the steering wheel, a cigar between her lips as she looked at the three people beside her.
With sunglasses on her face, she looked exceptionally cool and sharp.
"Interesting."
"If we lose, that would be far too embarrassing, wouldn't it, Little Sand, Little Hawk?"
Ozz sat in the back seat with his arms around their shoulders, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile.
"I don't care."
"Boring."
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