The Straw Hat Pirates had been in the newspapers just this morning!
Striking up conversations with people at random under these circumstances was a risk for exposure, you bastard! If they were exposed here, all their previous efforts would be for naught.
Seeing that even Sanji said so, Luffy withdrew his idea of asking around.
The middle-aged man looked at Luffy and Sanji with a somewhat speechless expression, thinking these two might be mentally ill.
"How bizarre."
After looking away, he continued chatting with his old friend.
After glancing at the old man, Meiser fixed his gaze on Luffy and said, "You better behave yourself, kid. Don't make us lose our chance to eat."
Upon hearing that his behavior might result in him not being able to eat, Luffy immediately became well-behaved. He looked as obedient as could be, which directly made Meiser laugh.
As expected, this was the best way to deal with a guy like Luffy.
Just then, a robot rolled over, pushing several servings of food.
"I've kept everyone waiting~" the robot said. "These are the delicious delicacies you ordered~"
With that, he placed the trays on the table.
"It's finally here!" Luffy said excitedly.
Although he didn't know the names of the dishes on those trays, the aroma was truly fragrant.
"Please enjoy them," the robot said with a smile. "This is Dressrosa Lobster Risotto, Rose Squid Ink Pasta, and Fairy Pumpkin Cold Soup!"
"It looks so delicious!"
Luffy picked up a plate and said, "Time to eat!"
With that, he quickly began devouring his portion, growing more excited with every bite.
"So good!"
"I'm glad you're satisfied," the robot smiled. "The remaining dishes are still being prepared, so please wait a moment~"
Although they didn't know why these guests wanted to order every single item on the menu, as long as it was the customer's request, they would do their best to fulfill it.
"The taste is indeed not bad," Merry said, her little cheeks bulging. "I like it a lot."
"If you like it, eat more."
Perona smiled and rubbed the little one's head, her expression softening considerably compared to before.
"What is this 'Fairy Pumpkin'?" Sanji asked curiously.
"That relates to the legends of this country," the robot said, striking the plectrum in his hand.
"Legends?"
"Yes."
The robot nodded and said, "The people of this country still believe in the legend of fairies to this day~"
Clang~
After striking the plectrum hard once more, the robot continued, "Which is to say, fairies might actually appear!"
"Fairies appearing?"
Several question marks popped up over Sanji's head. Did creatures like fairies really exist in this world?
But once he remembered that Merry was a Ship Spirit, Sanji felt that such a claim was reasonable. After all... if even Ship Spirits existed, then having fairies was perfectly logical.
"Although it sounds somewhat incredible, this country does indeed have such legends," the robot said. "And these legends have existed since hundreds of years ago~"
Clang~
"Though they cannot be seen~"
Clang~
"They truly do exist~"
Clang~
"They are known as the guardian deities of Dressrosa~"
Clang!
"Shut up!" Sanji roared with a shark mouth. "Why do you have to strike that thing every time you say a sentence?! Is this some kind of special setting for this robot, you bastard?!"
The robot understood he was being disliked, so he tactfully left the area, saying as he went, "In any case, everyone must be careful~"
Clang!
Clang!
Watching the robot roll away, Perona remarked, "Rather than fairies, these toys are even more unbelievable."
Normally, how could toys be living things? So she had always felt that the toys in this country were quite mysterious.
"Perhaps these really are toys created by a Devil Fruit Ability User," Meiser said.
Paramecia-type Devil Fruit Ability Users were varied and strange; any kind of ability was possible, so Meiser felt this possibility was not low.
"A Devil Fruit Ability User, huh?"
Sanji rubbed his chin and pondered, feeling that this was also a strong possibility.
"Don't worry about that for now. Once we collect enough information, we'll naturally find out," Meiser said.
With that, Meiser lowered his head to eat the food on the table.
Just then, a burst of surprised shouts came from a distance, drawing the attention of Luffy and the others.
"Wow, he hit it again! That's fourteen wins in a row!"
"Hit what again?"
Merry looked up in confusion behind Meiser. What were those people talking about?
Hearing this, Meiser looked back at the area behind him, then narrowed his eyes and said, "It's that blind old man we met before. He's playing roulette over there."
He hadn't expected this strong blind man to come here... Was he following them on purpose, or was it just a coincidence?
"That's the blind old man you met before?" Perona said in surprise. "He doesn't look like anything special."
"He looks that way on the outside, but his aura says otherwise," Zoro said calmly.
The man's aura was quite powerful, which was why he and Meiser were certain he was a strong individual.
Seeing that even Zoro said so, Perona didn't say anything further.
"Should we leave first?" Merry looked up and asked.
Though she didn't know who this person was, his appearance near them felt a bit abnormal. So, Merry was wondering if they should go eat somewhere else.
"There's no need for that."
Withdrawing his gaze, Meiser looked at Merry with a smile and said, "If he wanted to make a move, he would have done it already."
Even though he didn't know who the man was, since he hadn't attacked immediately, there was no need to pay him any mind. They should just finish their meal first.
Seeing that Meiser had said so, Merry gave up on the idea of leaving and instead focused on working hard to finish the food in front of her.
Meiser smiled at the sight, but then his eyes gradually narrowed.
He had said those words, but he was truly curious about the purpose of this man's arrival. Was he... really just here to play a few rounds?
"I've decided~"
Fujitora looked at the wheel in front of him and said, "I'll take black!"
The eyes of the others immediately lit up upon hearing him.
"I'll choose black too!"
"Me too!"
Because Fujitora had won fourteen times already, everyone had immense faith in this blind man's ability. They scrambled to place their chips on the black position.
Soon, the result appeared—it was indeed black, causing the crowd to fall into a frenzy.
What kind of legendary figure had they encountered?
"Thank you so much, old man!"
"It's nothing."
Fujitora smiled and said, "It was just luck."
He said that, but the others didn't believe it. Without real skill, how could anyone hit the mark so many times in a row?
Thus, they planned to follow the old man's lead again, but at that moment, they noticed a manager from the Donquixote Family walking out from the back. This immediately dampened their desire to keep playing.
"Hey, old man." The manager sneered as he looked at Fujitora. "You're pretty strong. How about you and I have a one-on-one duel to settle things?"
"A one-on-one duel?"
"That's right."
The manager nodded and said, "I really want to test my luck against yours, no matter what~"
After saying this, the manager paused, his expression darkening as he added, "You wouldn't be thinking of backing out now, would you?"
"Of course not."
Fujitora smiled. "Then let us settle it!"
"How sensible~"
The manager laughed, looking extremely pleased.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he said, "Take everyone inside to exchange their chips for cash. Don't let them disturb the two of us."
Realizing the man was clearing the area, the crowd immediately turned and left, clearly having no intention of looking for trouble.
Taking all of this in, Meiser gave a scoff and said, "Is it that trick again?"
"What do you mean?"
Perona looked at Meiser in confusion. What did he mean by "that trick again"?
"That blind old man won too much," Meiser explained. "So the manager over there came out to 'resolve' the issue."
He just didn't know if the man intended to use violence or just cheat.
"They can do that?"
"Of course they can." After taking a sip of cola, Franky said, "You didn't really think a place like this was a charity, did you?"
As someone who frequently visited black markets, he knew all too well what kind of elements made up these places. That was also why he never touched these things.
"It doesn't have much to do with us," Zoro said without looking up. "Let's just finish eating and leave this place quickly."
Although he didn't know what the manager would do, he certainly wouldn't be able to hurt that blind man. After all, the old man was very strong! So there was no need for them to meddle in someone else's business.
"That's true, but..." Merry pointed to the spot where Luffy had been sitting just a moment ago and said, "Luffy has already gone over there."
"?"
"!!!"
Glancing at Luffy, who had already run over to watch the excitement, Zoro and the others were completely stunned.
They had looked away for just a second, and this guy had already run off? Did this bastard listen to a single word they said?
Meiser also felt a massive headache. He had just looked down to take a bite of food, and Luffy was gone? That bastard!
"Old man, you bet correctly just now," Luffy said, eating from his plate. "It was definitely white; they're lying to you."
The manager: ??
The manager looked at Luffy with a face full of question marks. In this day and age, someone actually dared to meddle in the Donquixote Family's business? Did this guy not know how to spell the word "death"?
"Who the hell are you?"
But unfortunately, Luffy didn't pay him any attention and just kept eating.
"Did you hear me talking to you?!" the manager roared. "Also, look closely—this is black, you idiot!"
"You're full of it, isn't this white?" Luffy pointed at the table. "This old man won."
"?"
"Is that true?!" Fujitora said excitedly.
"Yeah."
Hearing this, the manager's face turned ugly. "So you like meddling so much, you bastard!"
"Are you here to pick a fight?"
"Do you want to die?"
As soon as he spoke, the surrounding members of the Donquixote Family pulled out their weapons, looking at Luffy with fierce eyes. Their expressions seemed to say: If you don't give us an explanation, you aren't leaving.
Unfortunately for them, Luffy didn't take such a threat seriously at all.
However, the surrounding crowd was startled by the commotion.
"Hey, who is that guy?" A man eating nearby said in terror as he looked at Luffy. "Does he not know who these people are?"
"I'm not sure, but he doesn't look scared..."
"Quick, get away from here."
Understanding that a fight was likely about to break out, the people stood up without hesitation and moved aside with their companions, fearing that the coming events would affect them. After all, to them, the Donquixote Family was an untouchable giant!
Glancing at the chaotic crowd, Sanji said with a headache, "Honestly, this guy is acting reckless again..."
"Did I really win?" Fujitora asked again.
"Yeah, you won, old man," Luffy nodded.
"Though I don't know who you are, I must thank you for your kind help," Fujitora said with a smile.
"Ah, it's nothing," Luffy said nonchalantly. "I was just telling the truth, it's no big deal."
After saying that, Luffy took another bite of food and then looked at Fujitora with a hint of interest. "By the way... you're pretty strong, old man."
"Heh, I'm just an ordin—"
"You two are having a nice chat, aren't you?!" The manager looked at them with a dark face. "Aren't you looking down on us a bit too much?"
"And you, you brat!" The manager turned his gaze to Luffy. "Do you have any idea that you're seeking death?"
"In this place, if we say it's black, it's black. Do you understand?!"
"Go! Kill him!"
"Yeah!"
Having received the order, the subordinates immediately sprang into action, raising their weapons and charging at Luffy.
Seeing this, Luffy quickly retreated to a distance to avoid wasting the food in his hands.
The manager was even more enraged at the sight. This guy dared to run? With that thought, he intended to give chase and cut Luffy down.
But he had only run a few steps before he was tripped by Fujitora's Cane Sword.
"Oh my, oh my, I accidentally tripped a big wild boar, it seems~" Fujitora said with a chuckle. "If that's the case, my apologies~"
"Hahahahaha~"
"Bastard!" the manager roared. "You want to die too, don't you?!"
Tripped a big wild boar? Was he a big wild boar? Was this bastard looking down on him? At the thought, the manager was filled with a furious desire to hack the blind man to death.
"A blind man dares to act wild in our territory? You're truly courting death." A nearby subordinate looked at Fujitora coldly. "Don't think you're walking out of here today!"
"That's right, you're dead!"
The men shouted, each look fiercer than the last.
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