"So… what exactly is going on here?"
The middle-aged man who had followed Arashi all-in stared blankly at the table alongside the other gamblers.
Meanwhile, Arashi flipped over his hole cards and looked at them in complete confusion.
"Well? Why're you all frozen? Show your cards already!"
"Ahem… wouldn't have guessed Mr. Arashi was holding a pair of kings. I concede."
The man seated to Arashi's right tossed his cards away immediately before standing and bowing respectfully toward Capone Bege.
"Lord Bege, may I leave now?"
Bege nodded once before shifting his gaze toward the remaining players.
One of the gamblers instinctively reached for his cards—
Then saw Bege staring at him with an expression that practically screamed try it and see what happens.
The man's face went white.
He instantly threw his cards away.
"M-Mr. Arashi… I lost too!"
Damn it.
In this situation, who the hell actually dared reveal their cards?
If their hand lost to Arashi, fine.
But if someone happened to beat him?
They'd probably get shot before leaving the room.
One after another, every gambler folded.
Whether they genuinely lost—or were sitting on winning hands—didn't matter anymore.
One especially dramatic man outright stuffed his cards into his mouth and swallowed them while grinning nervously at Bege.
"Lord Bege, would you say… this is acceptable?"
"Very acceptable."
Bege was extremely satisfied.
If anyone had dared flip over a winning hand, he genuinely would've had them dragged out and shot on the spot.
Of course, he himself had nearly lost composure earlier.
Because even in his dreams, he never expected Arashi to appear in Nasia Kingdom.
The moment he turned around and recognized him, Bege had almost jumped out of his seat.
Thankfully, Arashi had subtly signaled him to calm down.
Otherwise, his carefully maintained image as the underworld godfather of West Blue would've shattered instantly.
Arashi naturally understood what was happening.
Especially after watching one man literally eat his cards.
He finally burst out laughing.
"Seriously? What's wrong with all of you? We went all-in. At least show the cards before surrendering."
"Fine, fine…"
Seeing even the middle-aged man who had opened with a hundred-million-Beli raise reluctantly toss his hand aside, Arashi casually pulled the mountain of chips back toward himself.
"Looks like luck's really on my side today."
He waved a hand.
"Perona, pack it up. We're leaving."
"Right away!"
Perona had no idea what had just happened.
But Arashi won.
That was all that mattered.
She hurriedly grabbed a case and began stuffing chips inside before happily skipping over to his side.
Arashi didn't leave immediately.
Instead, he turned toward Bege.
"Mr. Arashi!"
Bege instantly lowered his head respectfully, expression practically reverent.
Arashi gave a small nod before leading Perona out of the private room.
The remaining gamblers were drenched in cold sweat.
None of them had imagined that a mere traveler could make Capone Bege—the godfather of West Blue's underworld—behave with such overwhelming respect.
Of course, Arashi had no intention of interfering in Bege's ambitions.
That had always been his style.
Unless someone threatened him or the people around him, he generally couldn't be bothered.
And now that he'd already completed his objective far beyond expectations, there was no reason to stay in this mess any longer.
As for how Bege would eventually deal with Tesoro—the future Golden Emperor—
not his problem.
Still.
Since Bege was technically a friend, a warning was only fair.
So after leaving the room, Arashi casually activated Observation Haki and transmitted his voice directly.
"Know when to stop, Bege."
"You can't swallow this casino alone."
Inside the room, Bege's eyes instantly narrowed.
He looked sharply toward the doorway.
But Arashi and Perona were already gone.
A trace of shock flickered across Bege's face.
Every time he thought he understood Arashi's abilities—
the man revealed something even more absurd.
Still, he took the warning seriously.
If Arashi specifically reminded him—
then this casino definitely wasn't simple.
And anything capable of drawing Arashi's attention was dangerous by definition.
—
The first floor had already been completely taken over by Bege's men.
The gamblers had all been forced into one corner with their heads lowered.
The casino's guards and employees were crouched separately nearby with their hands over their heads.
"Mr. Arashi!"
As soon as Arashi arrived downstairs, one of the gang members hurried over respectfully.
"Allow us to exchange your chips for you."
"No need," Arashi said with a smile. "I'll handle it myself."
Anything tied to system rewards had to be done personally.
Better safe than sorry.
He walked directly to the exchange counter and looked at the terrified employee squatting on the floor.
"Come on. Cash these out for me."
"Yes! Right away, sir!"
The employee had clearly already figured out Arashi's relationship with the mafia.
He scrambled up and immediately began counting and exchanging chips at lightning speed.
Ten minutes later—
"Sir, your money."
The employee pushed forward three large suitcases.
"A total of seven hundred fifty million and three hundred thousand Beli. Please confirm."
Then he immediately crouched back down with his hands over his head.
"Thanks for the hard work."
Arashi casually pulled out a thick stack of bills and tossed it over as a tip.
Then he handed one suitcase to Perona while carrying the other two himself.
At the same time—
the system notification sounded in his head.
[Congratulations. You have earned 7,000 Travel Points.]
Beautiful.
Around them, the gamblers and employees watched in utter disbelief.
This man had walked into a mafia-controlled casino…
won a fortune…
cashed out in plain sight…
and casually strolled away untouched.
Who exactly was he?
Arashi couldn't care less about their reactions.
The Travel Points were secured.
Whatever happened to the casino afterward was none of his business.
But just as Arashi stepped out of the casino—
one of Bege's gang members suddenly rushed toward the employee who'd accepted the tip.
"You've got some nerve," he snarled.
"You actually dared take a tip from Mr. Arashi?!"
The poor employee instantly burst into tears.
"I—I didn't want to!"
"He gave it to me! I didn't dare refuse!"
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