Gran Tesoro is a giant ship approximately ten kilometers in length, constructed entirely out of gold.
At the same time, this is the largest entertainment city in the pirate world. It is not only an independent nation recognized by the government and a demilitarized zone, but also an "absolute sanctuary" where even the World Government and the Navy cannot easily interfere.
The reason it possesses such privileges is naturally because Tesoro used his wealth to pave the way and establish a connection with the Celestial Dragons.
Different from what Sherwin had previously expected, Gran Tesoro cannot be located by Log Poses or Eternal Poses.
This is not because it was modified from an island outside the Grand Line like Moria Thriller Bark, but because the main body of this ship has long been completely replaced with gold by Tesoro, naturally losing the magnetic function emitted by an island itself.
However, as an entertainment city open to the outside world, it is naturally impossible to hide its location.
Therefore, Tesoro actively distributes Vivre Cards pointing here. It was just that every time Sherwin bought a pointer from a merchant, his purpose was quite specific, so he unconsciously missed this information until he inquired with Morgans and learned of the situation.
"Wow, wow, wow! Sherwin! This ship is just like that airship on the Sky Island, it all made of gold meow!" Klee Meow excitedly tugged on Sherwin ear and shouted after seeing Gran Tesoro.
"And it much bigger and prettier than that ugly flying boat meow!"
(==)つ
Compared to Enel, that bumpkin with no aesthetic sense, Tesoro taste was far superior.
Although both were built with gold, Gran Tesoro was filled with a sense of high-end luxury, unlike the Ark Maxim, which was designed to showcase the "greatness" of its owner and appeared quite tacky and low-class.
As for the size, it went without saying. Despite both being "Cities of Gold," Shandora was only a small part of Jaya Island, and its buildings were primarily stone structures with only a layer of gold plating on the outside.
The gold used for the Ark Maxim was only a portion of that, and it lacked the Golden Bell, which held the highest gold content.
Forget comparing it to Gran Tesoro, which was no smaller than the entire island of Jaya the size of the Ark Maxim was not even as large as the two giant sea turtles used to pull Gran Tesoro.
Sherwin decisively took out the Hunter Notes and turned to the large monster encyclopedia page...
"Tsk!"
Seeing that only the maximum size data had been updated, Sherwin spat in annoyance and sulkily stuffed the Hunter Handbook back into his waist pouch.
"brother Sherwin , are we going in directly from there, meow?"
(=ΦωΦ=)σ
Dodo Advance lay on Sherwin head, pointing toward the entrance at the bow of the Gran Tesoro.
Even though it was daytime, the lights near the entrance and the giant neon sign above remained lit, making it look exceptionally conspicuous.
"Hmm... let just go straight in."
Sherwin pondered for a moment before nodding.
Although he couldn't remember the details clearly, Sherwin recalled that entering through the main entrance seemed to involve Tesoro using his ability to pull some small tricks. However, he didn't care much.
After all, given the strength of the Felyne Investigation Team, no matter what tricks Tesoro pulled, he would still be finished if a real fight broke out. Therefore, Sherwin had full confidence in entering through the main gate.
Moreover, Sherwin hadn't come here to cause trouble this time. His original intention was just to see if there were any Famous Blades or Devil Fruits up for auction. If it wasn't necessary, he was too lazy to clash with Tesoro.
As for that Luck-Luck Fruit, which seemingly allowed one to escape bad luck and enter good fortune, Sherwin didn't have much obsession with it anymore.
Whether it was good luck or bad luck, the Investigation Team had plenty of both. Furthermore, with Touma Meow around, the chances of digging out a Luck-Luck Fruit that could change his fortune were simply too low...
Unless Sherwin obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit in the future, he might be interested in giving it a try.
"Dodo Advance! Forward, meow!"
(=＞＜=)
Receiving Sherwin command, Dodo Advance raised its arms high, controlling its hull to sail toward the entrance of Gran Tesoro.
As Dodo Advance entered the entrance, a large amount of gold dust began to drift down from the long passage, finally reminding Sherwin of what Tesoro "little trick" was.
"Everyone, be care—eh?"
Sherwin, who was just about to warn the others and the Felynes, suddenly froze. In his perception, the gold dust that was supposed to attach itself to visitors and turn into a trap at a critical moment seemed to possess a will of its own, sliding right off their bodies. Even the fur-covered Felynes didn't have a single grain left on them...
That is, except for a few mischievous Felynes who curiously reached out their paws to catch a tiny bit, and Touma Meow, who inexplicably tripped on flat ground and was forced to be covered in gold dust.
What was going on? Did he proactively deactivate the trap because he was worried we would notice something was wrong? But if that were the case, wouldn't it be better to do nothing at all? Doing this instead felt a bit too deliberate, and there was no way Tesoro could know that Sherwin already knew about this little trick.
"Interesting..."
Sherwin rubbed his chin, starting to get curious about what Tesoro intended to do.
After exiting the long passage, a massive circular golden pool came into view. There were rows of spectator seats on both sides of the pool, though there were no people on them at the moment only a few figures suspected to be staff members could be seen walking around and cleaning.
Passing through this golden pool and another shorter passage led to a fan-shaped harbor, where all kinds of ships were docked...
Merchant ships, pirate ships, and warships—it had everything.
However, similar to the Sabaody Archipelago, these ships all coexisted peacefully here. Sherwin even saw a Marine Captain walking shoulder-to-shoulder with a pirate.
Those who recognized Dodo Advance, whether they were pirates or Marines, only showed a hint of surprise overall, they remained unhurried and calm...
Is this really an "Absolute Sanctuary"?
Sherwin twitched his lips, truly unable to comprehend how Tesoro had managed to obtain such exaggerated privileges solely by currying favor with the Celestial Dragons...
One could only say that the world of One Piece was far more of a makeshift mess than Earth.
After finding a vacant port to dock at, before Sherwin and the others could even fully disembark, a stunning woman with long red hair, an explosive figure, and wearing a black evening gown had already arrived at the port where the Dodo Advance was moored.
"Welcome to Gran Tesoro, Lord Hunter." The red-haired beauty bowed respectfully to Sherwin, making her cleavage appear even deeper. "My name is Baccarat, and I am the dedicated VIP concierge here."
After a brief self-introduction, Baccarat continued, "The owner of this ship and King of Gran Tesoro, Lord Tesoro, specifically sent me to welcome you all. He is waiting for you at the top floor of the Hotel Grand Tesoro."
Then, she snapped her fingers, and two open-top cars that looked very much like Rolls-Royces immediately drove over from a distance and stopped in front of Sherwin and the others. One of them was a specially enlarged model, clearly prepared specifically for Shirahoshi.
To be honest, this was the first time Sherwin had seen something as common as a car in the world of One Piece.
After all, this was a world dominated by the ocean land transportation was either extremely primitive or unique to the characteristics of individual islands...
Such as the Super Spot-Billed Ducks of Alabasta or the Bondola bubble cars of the Sabaody Archipelago.
However, unlike cars on Earth, the engine compartments of these two vehicles housed a group of palm-sized turtles.
In other words, the cars before them weren't actual automobiles, but turtle-powered "Turtle-Royces"...
Curious about what Tesoro intended to do, Sherwin did not refuse Baccarat invitation and led everyone to board these vehicles she called Turtle-Royces... uh... turtle cars.