"Honestly..."
"I only wanted to deal with the Straw Hat Pirates, yet somehow I got dragged into such a dangerous situation."
The thought that one gamble had nearly erased decades of his hard work made Gild Tesoro feel a faint trace of regret now that he had calmed down.
Make Ozz lose?
How had he become arrogant enough to think that was possible?
Sitting on a luxurious sofa, Tesoro frowned in thought.
Those who ran casinos understood the weaknesses of gamblers better than anyone. That weakness was an indelible part of human nature.
Of course, Tesoro himself was no exception.
From a certain perspective, the moment he chose to walk this path, he had already become the greatest gambler of all.
But now, there was no road back.
As long as he defeated the Straw Hats, he would not lose his wealth. He would be able to continue living above others together with Stella.
So he could not lose!
As for how to deal with the Straw Hats, he already had some ideas.
He absolutely could not just guard the black box and wait for them to come.
He had to strike first.
While Tesoro was thinking, the door slowly opened.
"Who is it?"
"Didn't I say no one was allowed to come in?"
Tesoro was holding the black box now, so he was tense and sensitive. The moment he sensed someone entering, his expression darkened.
But the instant he saw who it was, his face cleared.
"Tesoro, I brought you some food."
Holding a luxurious golden lunch box decorated with jewels, Stella gently held her stomach and spoke.
"Stella..."
Tesoro looked a little dazed.
"Didn't I tell you? You don't need to worry about me. Your main job right now is to rest properly."
That was what he said, but Tesoro still stood up. He controlled the gold beneath Stella's feet and carefully carried her over to the sofa.
"I heard something major happened on the Gran Tesoro recently. And now there's this tower..."
Stella looked worried. She knew such a huge commotion meant something serious had happened.
"It's nothing..."
Tesoro did not want Stella to worry with him. He was confident that he could toy with the Straw Hats the same way he had toyed with those great pirates before.
"We are husband and wife, personally witnessed by Lord Ozz. Is there really anything I'm not allowed to know?"
Perhaps it was because she was pregnant, or perhaps because of her feelings for Tesoro, Stella desperately wanted to know everything.
Seeing how agitated she was, Tesoro had no choice. He pressed his brow and finally told her what had happened.
"It's a wager. Mr. Ozz said I have to defeat Straw Hat..."
Tesoro recounted the story, but not perfectly.
When he told Stella about the price, it became, "If I lose, I'll lose Gold City and all my wealth."
Hearing this, Stella froze.
If we lose, we'll become poor?
"Don't worry. The Straw Hats have been infiltrated by my gold dust. They can't escape the palm of my hand. Right now, I'm like a cat playing with mice..."
Tesoro spoke arrogantly.
But Stella was stunned.
She remembered the days more than ten years ago.
Back then, Tesoro had accepted the starting funds provided by Lord Ozz: the Gold-Gold Fruit.
Then he struggled alone across the sea, all to gather that enormous sum of Berries and redeem Stella from Ozz.
When he finally gathered enough money, Tesoro had brought her away from Sabaody Archipelago as promised.
At that time, after paying the ransom, Tesoro had almost no money left. He could only secretly dig for gold mines everywhere, slowly accumulating a little gold each time.
That life had not been as extravagant and free as now, but it had been the most beautiful time in Stella's life.
"Look, look! A gold necklace, Stella!"
The young Tesoro, whose appearance resembled Ace and Shanks, had once smiled and said that to her.
"It's so beautiful! But your business has only just started. You should use the gold for something proper."
"It's fine. I'll put it on you."
"Life is a little hard right now, but one day, I'll become the richest man in the world. Stella, no matter what you want, I'll be able to buy it for you!"
That young man had once made that promise to her.
But the Tesoro of today...
He regarded money as power, honor, and the very meaning of his existence.
He was obsessed with draining every person who entered the Gran Tesoro. Those who lost their money and fell into impossible debt could only become eternal slaves aboard the Gran Tesoro.
Stella did not want to see Tesoro like this.
She slowly lowered her head. Shadows covered her face, making her expression impossible to see.
...
"Carina, are you telling the truth?"
Elsewhere.
The Straw Hats, who had temporarily escaped Tesoro's sight, encountered Carina, one of Tesoro's executives who had been hiding beside him, inside a restaurant.
"That's right."
"Tesoro hid the black box that symbolizes victory and defeat in the second-floor room of the golden tower built by Lord Ozz. And I already stole the key!"
Franky expressed doubt toward her offer of cooperation.
"Why are you telling us this? Aren't you one of Tesoro's people?"
"Because if you win, Tesoro will lose the Gran Tesoro."
"When that happens, as one of the executives, I'll be able to directly participate in managing this ship. Maybe I'll even be able to connect with Lord Ozz..."
Carina's words sounded somewhat credible.
After all, backstabbing had always been a very Ozz faction kind of thing.
"Then if you get what you want, our Straw Hat Pirates want one ton of gold!"
Nami raised the price on the spot, taking the opportunity to demand benefits.
Carina immediately refused.
"I'm helping you in the first place, okay? And I'm the one providing the key information!"
"But we're clearly the ones doing most of the work!"
And so, Carina created a plan to steal the black box, and the Straw Hats began to move.
...
Outside the Gran Tesoro, many people were also watching every move here.
The Revolutionary Army had already set its sights on Tesoro because he had bribed the Celestial Dragons and expanded his business and influence.
"What a gamble of the century... It's even more exaggerated than the 200-billion-Berry gamble between Mr. Ozz and Crocodile over twenty years ago."
"Also, your little brother is here too."
Koala intercepted the information and turned to Ace and Sabo, who were resting.
"And... CP0 will likely arrive soon."
"Eh? Is that so..."
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"Why should I send ten warships to help Ozz's subordinate, Tesoro?"
"The Doflamingo incident already made the Marines lose all face!"
Wearing a white CP cloak, Lucci replied to Sakazuki coldly.
"Shut up. You only need to send the warships."
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