Just one more hundred million.
Only one hundred million more, and Arashi would complete the mission and earn the reward of 7,000 Travel Points!
Right now, he already had 18,000 Travel Points. He only needed another 2,000 to upgrade his Observation Haki to LV8. At this rate, by the end of his West Blue journey, there was a real chance he could push his Observation Haki beyond the single-digit levels entirely!
And that was something Arashi was truly looking forward to.
Although Tesoro had left the table, the dealer continued dealing as usual. Looking at the hole cards pushed toward him, Arashi narrowed his eyes.
As long as he won this hand, he would immediately grab the chips and leave without hesitation.
When both cards were revealed to him, Arashi felt that today really was his lucky day.
He held a hand with over ninety percent winning odds!
The only problem was the situation.
Someone had directly raised by 100 million Beli right out of the gate. Absolutely ruthless.
Still, the flop was extremely favorable to Arashi, so he called the 100 million without hesitation.
"Mr. Arashi really is overflowing with luck tonight."
Seeing Arashi call so decisively, Baccarat began to grow uneasy.
If Arashi kept winning like this, she wouldn't be able to endure it much longer.
After all, the person who raised 100 million was one of her planted players. If Arashi continued winning, she might lose so much that she wouldn't even be able to afford pants.
So she had to stop this somehow.
Just as Baccarat finished speaking, a thunderous explosion suddenly rang out, followed by a violent tremor that shook the entire building.
"What's going on?!"
The sudden explosion startled everyone in the room. Even Baccarat was caught off guard.
After glancing at the swaying chandelier overhead, she stood up and shouted toward the door:
"Someone, get in here!"
"B-boss…"
Two men in suits carrying guns rushed in hurriedly, stammering as they spoke:
"T-this is bad! Everything outside is in chaos. The Firetank Pirates are purging all the forces in Nasia. The mafia group protecting this casino has already been wiped out!"
"The Firetank Pirates?!"
Hearing the report, Baccarat's beautiful eyes narrowed sharply, murderous intent flashing within them.
"Capone Bege… you've got some nerve, causing trouble in my establishment!"
After a brief pause, she turned toward everyone at the table.
"Everyone, don't panic. This place is absolutely safe. I guarantee it."
"R-right, don't panic!"
Seeing several gamblers already preparing to leave, Arashi quickly spoke up as well:
"Even if the sky falls, there's still Mr. Tesoro and this beautiful lady here to hold it up! Let's continue! Come on, whose turn is it?"
"Mr. Arashi, shouldn't we pause for now?"
The middle-aged man who had raised 100 million earlier lit a cigar and frowned.
"You clearly don't understand how dangerous the Firetank Pirates are. Since they've come knocking, tonight definitely won't end peacefully."
"Exactly! We just came here to gamble peacefully. We don't want to get dragged into this mess."
"I'm leaving too!"
"Everyone, let's suspend the game!"
"Don't!"
Watching everyone stand up one after another, Arashi hurriedly tried to persuade them.
"Just this one round! We finish this hand and call it a day! It'll be quick!"
After all, he only needed another 100 million to complete the mission. And with his current hand, he had every chance to end this in a single round.
He knew Capone Bege had begun his purge of Nasia's underworld, but he hadn't expected the man to move this fast.
Was there seriously not a single faction in the entire kingdom capable of slowing him down?
Well… considering Bege now possessed the Castle-Castle Fruit, wiping out the underworld forces of the West Blue really wasn't difficult for him.
"Mr. Arashi clearly doesn't understand the situation here."
The middle-aged man looked increasingly displeased seeing Arashi still obsessed with gambling at a time like this.
"It's just a pause. Once Big Brother Tesoro and Miss Baccarat deal with the Firetank Pirates, we can continue."
"No!"
Before Arashi could speak, Perona suddenly jumped onto the poker table and looked down arrogantly at the man.
"If Father says continue, then you all must continue!"
"Brat, stop fooling around! Get off the table immediately!"
The middle-aged man had already found Arashi and Perona annoying from the start. If not for Baccarat and Tesoro remaining silent, he would have insulted the "father and daughter" duo long ago.
Now that Perona had jumped onto the table threatening them, he finally seized the chance to vent his frustration.
But just as he finished speaking—
Bang!
The tightly shut door was violently kicked open.
A group of Firetank Pirates in black suits stormed into the room with guns raised, quickly spreading out along both sides.
"People may leave."
As the gang lined up around the room, Capone Bege walked in slowly, draped in his checkered coat with a cigar in his mouth.
"But the chips stay."
"From this moment onward, this casino belongs to the Firetank Pirates."
Hearing Bege's infuriating voice behind him, Arashi nearly exploded on the spot.
Where the hell was Tesoro?!
Wasn't this guy supposed to be one of the casino's partners? Was he really just going to watch Bege storm in like this?
And what about Baccarat? What happened to that Luck-Luck Fruit ability?!
No matter what, this round absolutely could not be interrupted.
Thinking this, Arashi took a deep breath before slowly turning to look at Bege.
"Bege," he said calmly, "could you let me finish this hand first?"
"Hah?!"
Seeing Arashi turn around with that harmless smile, Bege's eyes widened instantly in shock, nearly choking on his cigar.
"Arashi—"
Before Bege could finish speaking, Arashi smiled and blinked subtly, cutting him off.
"Can you?"
"…O-of course!"
Bege instantly understood Arashi's meaning and responded decisively:
"You lot—stay here and finish this round with this gentleman. Then get the hell out."
As soon as Bege spoke, the Firetank Pirates surrounding the room immediately raised their guns and aimed them at the gamblers around the table.
The message was obvious:
If you don't keep playing with Mr. Arashi, we'll blow your heads off.
The middle-aged man and the other gamblers were completely dumbfounded.
What the hell was going on?
They were being forced to finish the game?!
None of them were idiots. Even though Bege and Arashi had exchanged only a few words, the fact that one sentence from Arashi could make the West Blue's biggest underworld godfather instantly change his decision meant one thing—
This "traveler" was definitely not simple.
Swallowing nervously, the middle-aged man looked toward Arashi awkwardly.
"M-Mr. Arashi… shall we continue then?"
"Hurry it up."
Arashi shoved all his chips forward at once and said decisively:
"Let's stop wasting time. Everyone just go all-in and reveal the cards."
The moment they saw that, the middle-aged man and the other gamblers stared at him in disbelief.
Is this guy seriously taking advantage of the chaos to rob us?!
More to come.
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