When picking out clothes for Hancock to change into, it felt like playing a character dress-up game. No matter what she tried on, she looked stunning.
They mainly had her try on qipaos. She tried a few other styles too, but nothing suited her quite as perfectly as the qipao.
At her current age, Hancock was still a youthful maiden. After putting on the qipao, she carried a beauty that hovered between maturity and innocence. In a few years, she would grow into a true elegant beauty.
Those long legs of hers could crush a man, and her flawless figure carried the qipao style effortlessly.
"I'll take all of these."
Vane waved his hand and bought every outfit she had just tried on. Whether it was a qipao or not, he bought them all. After all, they were meant to please his own eyes—there was no reason to be stingy.
The shop owner's eyes lit up. For such a big customer, their service was extremely attentive. They could even deliver the goods directly to a designated location—even a pirate ship was no problem.
On Octagon Island, pirates were everywhere. Anyone who dared to open a shop here without a bit of courage simply wouldn't survive.
After leaving the clothing store, the two continued strolling around.
The way this island operated was very similar to Bliss Island, where Vane had once stayed in the West Blue. You could find every kind of business imaginable. With Hancock by his side, however, it wasn't exactly appropriate for him to check out the flower district and compare it to the one on Bliss Island.
But there was another place they could go—the casino.
Back then, it was in a casino that Vane had awakened his Observation Haki. Casinos were full of all sorts of people, and it was easy to gather information there.
The casino on Octagon Island was enormous—a four-story building decorated in dazzling gold and bright lights. There were no clocks or anything of the sort inside.
In an environment like this, even those without the urge to gamble would gradually become immersed, simply because they lost track of time.
Casinos rarely lost money anyway. Instead of betting Belly directly, patrons exchanged their money for chips.
There was a margin built into the exchange. If you used 10,000 Belly to buy chips, after fees, the chips you received might only be worth 9,000 Belly. But when exchanging chips back into Belly, the value was fixed as displayed.
Just that difference alone was already a considerable profit. The casino didn't worry about you winning a little inside.
Winning big was another matter.
For example, in one corner of the casino, the dealer at a dice table was drenched in cold sweat.
In front of him, the gambler's chips had already piled into a small mountain, worth at least over 100 million Belly.
And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that the man had started with a single 10,000 Belly chip. Just one small chip had turned into over 100 million Belly.
Every single time, he bet correctly—big or small—without missing once. The dealer had even used a few tricks, but none of them worked.
Was the other party cheating?
No—impossible. The dealer was the one shaking the dice. How could the other man cheat?
Yet aside from cheating, there was no way someone could guess correctly every single time—especially when the dealer had used his own methods.
"Sir, why have you stopped for so long? It's time to roll."
The dealer felt as if the dice in his hands weighed a thousand pounds. Every time, the man pushed all his chips forward in a single bet. If he lost this round, those 100 million Belly in chips would become 200 million.
But he couldn't refuse to roll. Too many people were watching.
He could only shake the dice cup vigorously before slamming it heavily onto the table.
"All on big."
The man spoke calmly, yet the pressure on the dealer was immense. He was certain he had rolled big this time.
If his sense wasn't wrong, it should be two sixes and a five.
Just as it was about to become 200 million Belly in chips, under overwhelming pressure, he secretly pressed a button beneath the table, turning that five into a six.
It was a subtle adjustment.
"Then I—"
"Wait. I'm betting on triples now."
Boom!!
The dealer was on the verge of collapse. That button could only ensure the six faced upward. Now, no matter what, it would be triples. And in this casino, triples paid more than four times.
Why did his hand have to be so itchy? It would have been 200 million originally. Now it was at least 400 million Belly.
"Blind man, let me open it."
At that moment, the casino's management stepped in. A group of them dispersed the onlookers, slipping each person a 100,000 Belly chip along with a few words of threat. Soon, only casino staff and Issho remained at the table.
The underling directly lifted the dice cup. Three bright sixes lay there. He chuckled and slapped the dealer across the face.
Smack!
Then he turned and said, "Six-six-five. Small. You lost. Boys, take the chips away and throw this blind man out."
Issho rested his hand on his cane sword and said calmly,
"I came here this time without any intention of keeping the chips. Take them if you wish… Two days ago, in the northern part of the island, I was treated to a fine meal by two children."
"Today, one of those children came to me in tears and said their father sold his sister to the casino to repay gambling debts. He gave me 100 Belly and asked me to rescue his sister."
Issho swept the chips off the table with his cane sword.
Clatter—
The chips scattered across the floor as emotion crept into his voice.
"Take back this 100 million Belly in chips and release her."
Casinos never lacked gamblers. Parents who sold their sons and daughters were hardly rare.
And this blind man dared to meddle in their affairs?
"Blind man, have you drunk yourself stupid? You already lost this money. And we've bought plenty of slaves… Which one are you talking about?"
Veins bulged on Issho's hand, though he soon relaxed again.
"It seems I'll have to use another method."
A flash of cold light gleamed from the blind cane. Only then did the people around realize there was a blade hidden within it.
"I heard your casino deals in slave trading. Good, good. I quite like people like you."
Before Issho could make a move, a terrifying chill erupted from behind him—from behind everyone.
Crack… crack…
Several thugs were instantly frozen solid.
"I-It's the great pirate with a bounty of 1.1 billion Belly—Nation-Slayer Vane!"
"My God, it's my idol!"
"We're finished. I heard the thing he loves most is cracking down on the slave trade."
A bounty of 1.1 billion Belly carried immense intimidation. The casino staff, who had maintained cold expressions until now, all turned pale with fear.
The leader stammered, "Na-Nation-Slayer Vane, this casino belongs to the Loan Shark King. You can't—"
"Shut up! I don't even respect the Celestial Dragons. Why would I fear some Loan Shark King? Hancock, cripple one of his arms."
As soon as Vane finished speaking, Hancock delivered a flying kick that struck the man's right arm. It petrified instantly—then shattered into pieces on the floor.