On a remote island somewhere along the Grand Line.
The island was so barren that its population was sparse, and even pirates rarely bothered targeting it.
Life here was dull, with the only real place for entertainment being the town's sole tavern, which also doubled as a casino.
At that moment, the casino was packed with people, yet it was unusually quiet.
Every gaze was fixed on one man.
He was blind in both eyes.
The only thing that set him apart from everyone else was the mountain of chips piled in front of him.
And across from him sat a man whose eyes were already bloodshot.
"All… all of it on high!"
The townspeople were stunned when they saw his move. He was the best gambler in town, as well as one of the wealthiest men here.
Yet now, he had bet his entire fortune.
All because of a blind man.
Hearing his voice, the blind man sitting opposite him smiled faintly.
"What remarkable courage you have, sir."
"In that case, this old man is willing to wager this final round with you."
As he spoke, he pushed all the chips in front of him onto the table.
"I bet on low."
The dealer looked at the two small mountains of chips piled on the table and could not help swallowing.
Even though he had spent years working in casinos, he had never seen this many chips before.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and reminded them, "Have both gentlemen made your bets? If your bets are set, I will open it."
Then, under the eyes of both men, the dealer rang the bell in front of him.
Dingling.
"Bets are closed. No more changes."
Immediately afterward, the dealer slowly began lifting the dice cup.
As he moved, every pair of eyes in the room locked tightly onto the dice beneath it.
As each die was revealed one after another, everyone's heart climbed into their throat.
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing echoed clearly through the casino.
As the dice cup continued to rise, the bloodshot-eyed man's expression shifted from feverish excitement to despair.
"One, one, one. Low!"
"This gentleman wins!"
The blind man smiled happily.
"It seems your luck was not as good as mine."
Across from him, the bloodshot-eyed man panted heavily, as if he had just been dragged out of the sea.
Suddenly, he lifted his head and glared at the blind man through gritted teeth.
"Impossible. This is absolutely impossible!"
"I have been at the gambling table for years, and I have never lost this badly before. There is only one explanation. You cheated!"
As he spoke, he pulled a sharp dagger from his coat and stabbed at the blind man across from him.
At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind.
The blind man opposite him was a lone traveler.
As long as he killed him, he would still be one of the rich men on this island.
Clang!
The sharp dagger did not pierce the blind man's body as he had imagined.
Instead, it struck the blind man's cane.
Boom!
The bloodshot-eyed man seemed to be crushed by an immense gravitational force. In an instant, his entire body slammed firmly onto the floor.
The people around them scattered with a roar of panic, their eyes filled with fear.
A Devil Fruit user…
On the Grand Line, that title represented danger and ruthless decisiveness. Whether they were pirates or members of the underworld, Devil Fruit users were never people to provoke.
Even massacring an entire village would not be strange for people like them.
The blind man slowly stood up and pointed toward the chips on the table.
"Please exchange those for Beli for me."
The dealer had originally been stunned by the scene, but the blind man's words snapped him back to his senses.
He hurriedly replied, "Yes, sir."
Originally, the casino had planned to rob the winner no matter who came out ahead.
Neither side was supposed to leave this island with the money.
But now, they realized they had underestimated this blind traveler.
This man was clearly a tiger.
On an isolated island like this, where almost no one passed through, whoever had strength was the king.
That was even more true for Devil Fruit users.
People like that often started killing the moment something displeased them.
So no one dared treat his words lightly.
Outside the casino, the blind man carried a large bag of exchanged Beli and walked into the sunlight, heading into the distance.
"With this, at least my travel expenses to Marineford are settled."
"This old man would like to see whether your justice can truly be realized."
Speaking words that no one around him understood, the blind man left the island under the townspeople's awed and fearful gazes.
...
In the Grand Line, within the Florian Triangle.
The people whose shadows had been forcibly stolen by Moria were overjoyed to discover that their shadows had suddenly returned to their bodies.
That meant one thing.
Moria had definitely met with trouble.
The Victims' Association.
That was the name they had given themselves.
At this moment, every member of the Victims' Association was kneeling on the ground, kissing their own shadows.
Throughout their lives, they had never cared about their shadows as much as they did now.
At the same time, a portion of their people had been sent out to gather information.
They returned in high spirits and shouted, "Good news! Good news!"
"Gecko Moria must have died outside!"
"All the zombie soldiers on the island have collapsed. Our chance for revenge has come!"
"That's right. We were oppressed by Moria and his companions for so long. We have to make them pay in blood!"
The members of the Victims' Association all became excited.
"Grab your weapons! We will fight them!"
"Hogback should be the only one left on the island now, right? We need to hurry, or that bastard will run!"
"Without Moria here, what is there to fear from Hogback?"
Everyone picked up their weapons one after another and rushed eagerly toward Moria's lair.