Hera, who made no effort to conceal her winnings, quickly attracted the attention of the "Mr. 1,000,000,000" agents lurking in Rain Dinners. Watching her pile of chips grow higher, they surrounded her.
A group of men in suits drove away the surrounding onlookers and gamblers. Looking at Hera, who was still sitting and placing bets, they warned her, "Little girl, quit while you're ahead. It's still not too late to leave."
Hera didn't even lift her eyes, keeping them fixed on the card game. She said lightly, "What, does your casino not allow people to win? Get lost, don't ruin my fun."
Seeing that Hera was unmoved, the angry man in the suit tried to grab her. As soon as he stretched out his hand, he felt a chill, and he quickly retracted it.
Hera looked back at the man in the suit. "How much did Sir Crocodile pay you to risk your life like this?"
The "Mr. 1,000,000,000" agent was intimidated by Hera's gaze, cold sweat pouring down his head. The way Hera had looked at him was like looking at a dead man. He had never imagined a little girl could possess such an aura.
Robin, who was just about to leave, saw the situation here, walked over, and inquired about what was happening.
After understanding the situation, Robin took a few more glances at Hera. Being someone who paid close attention to maritime news, she immediately recognized exactly who the little girl sitting there was and quickly dismissed the "Mr. 1,000,000,000" agents surrounding her.
Robin grabbed a glass of juice, sat down next to Hera, and handed the juice to her.
Hera glanced at Robin beside her and continued pushing her chips forward, though she still accepted the juice Robin offered.
The dealer responsible for distributing the cards was now sweating profusely. He had tried hard to prevent Hera from winning further, but his small tricks were useless against Hera, who could foresee the future and possessed top-tier Observation Haki.
Seeing that Hera accepted her gesture of goodwill, Robin sighed in relief and asked Hera, "Why is the Marine's youngest Vice Admiral gambling cards here? Isn't it a bit unfair to use Observation Haki?"
As a scholar of history, Robin naturally knew about Two-Color Haki. She didn't believe that someone who had defeated Golden Lion would lack these two things, so she directly pointed out Hera's cheating.
Hearing Robin's words, Hera also started to feel bored, but she still retorted, "Why don't I see anywhere in the casino rules that says Observation Haki can't be used? Besides, is your casino itself completely clean?"
The small mechanisms hidden within the casino had nowhere to hide from Hera's Observation Haki, which was the main reason she felt bored enough to cheat.
The situation here was quickly reported by the "Mr. 1,000,000,000" agents to Sir Crocodile. Upon learning this, Sir Crocodile frowned. "Did the Marine notice something, coming here at this time?"
Nevertheless, he instructed his subordinate, "Bring her to see me."
Robin, who was nearby, heard the "Mr. 1,000,000,000" agent's words, nodded to show she understood, and said to Hera, "Our boss would like to meet you. Would you grant him the honor?"
Hera sensed Luffy's arrival. Because Hera had transported Luffy and the others for a segment of the journey, the Straw Hat successfully arrived here before the Baroque Works Chief Agents left Rainbase.
The Chief Agents, who had been psychologically suggested, all followed their inner thoughts, prioritizing the elimination of the Straw Hat, and some had already begun fighting.
Hera shook her head. "I'm just here to watch the show. Why don't you play a round with me? Your boss probably won't have time to entertain me anymore."
On the other side, the Straw Hat crew, who were about to enter Rainbase, ran headlong into the Chief Agents who were just preparing to leave for their mission at 'Kattelya'.
After the Straw Hat crew and the Baroque Works group met, Ain, who was following behind, thought of Hera's arrangement. After a brief moment of thought, sand began to swirl under the power of the Float-Float Fruit.
Ain said, "Captain intends to use this group as a whetstone. We can't let the Straw Hat take advantage of their superior numbers to defeat them."
Perona asked curiously, "Even so, how do you know how the Captain wants to distribute the enemies?"
Ain smiled. "Isn't it obvious from the Captain's allocation?"
Under Ain's control, the sandstorm separated the Straw Hat crew. With Ain's precise control, Mr. 1 was matched against Zoro, and Nojiko was matched against Sara.
Mr. 3 was matched against Sanji. The remaining two people were matched against Chopper, Usopp, Vivi, and Brook, who had gathered together to resist the suspicious storm.
In the end, only Luffy escaped the sandstorm and saw Rain Dinners in Rainbase.
Luffy was extremely worried about his comrades caught in the sandstorm, but as the two sides met, the sandstorm stopped. Luffy was relieved when he saw that his partners had not been swept away.
Nojiko, who was closer to Luffy, vigilantly watched Sara and said to Luffy, "We'll hold off these executives; you go defeat the Sand Crocodile."
Luffy nodded, his gaze sharply fixed on the pyramid in the oasis. "The Sand Crocodile is right there, isn't he? I'm going to beat him."
Thanks to Hera, Luffy and his crew had plenty of supplies this time, and their condition remained good even after crossing the desert.
Ain saw that the two people and one dog from Baroque Works had to fight four people (Chopper and the others). Feeling that this was slightly unfair, she used her Observation Haki to transmit a message to Brook.
"Brook, go easy on them, let Usopp and Chopper get some more training."
Brook was very familiar with Ain's voice and recognized it instantly. He blocked Princess Vivi's path. "Yohohoho! I'll leave the enemies to you all. I'm here to protect Princess Vivi."
Chopper was so shocked his mouth dropped to the floor, and he pointed his short finger at himself, as if asking, "Me?"
Usopp immediately ran behind Brook. "I will be the one to protect Princess Vivi! As for the enemies, I'll leave them to you."
While the battle was raging fiercely here, on the other side, Luffy had already arrived outside the pyramid.
Luffy kicked open the casino door and shouted loudly, "Who is the Sand Crocodile? Come out! I'm going to punch you flying!"
Sir Crocodile, located inside the casino, had just heard that Hera refused to meet him and was preparing to go out and find her when he happened to run into Luffy, who had just smashed through the main entrance.
Hera looked at the somewhat hesitant Robin and smiled. "See? I told you your boss wouldn't have time to meet me. Isn't trouble already knocking on the door?"
Seeing this, Robin picked up a deck of cards, shuffling them while curiously asking Hera, "What do you want to play? Texas Hold'em? Also, isn't the Straw Hat a Pirate crew? Are you, a Marine, just going to let Pirates run wild here?"
Hera thought about the card games she knew, and finally said with a serious expression, "Let's play Old Maid."
Hearing this, even Robin, who had developed a strong heart from years of constant flight, found it hard to maintain her composure, and she couldn't help but laugh. "That really is a game suited for you."
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