Grand Tesoro, Top-floor VIP Suite.
Baccarat trembled uncontrollably, her captivating eyes wide open, fixed intently on the Fleet Admiral sitting opposite her, who wore a gentle smile throughout.
She had lost.
Despite possessing the Luck-Luck Fruit and the ability to manipulate fortune at will, she had actually lost at the card table!
What chilled her to the bone was that Orion had not even touched the edges of the table from start to finish.
She had handled the shuffling and dealing herself.
The moment she tremblingly flipped over Orion's final card with her fingertips, the entire world seemed to fall silent.
It was the Ace of Hearts.
Combined with the four already revealed cards on the table—the King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of Hearts—it formed a perfect royal flush.
Her own hand, in contrast, was a mess of cards that couldn't even form a pair.
She, the user of the Luck-Luck Fruit, had dealt herself a worthless hand and then handed her opponent an unbeatable one.
This silent betrayal, stemming from her own power, was sharper than any blade, instantly shattering all her psychological defenses.
"No... impossible..."
Baccarat's face drained of color, her lips trembling as she repeated: "This can't be... this absolutely can't be!!!"
She murmured in a daze, completely trapped in a cycle of self-doubt from which she couldn't extricate herself.
Orion paid her no mind, merely turning his head to gaze calmly at Tesoro's face and stating plainly.
"You've lost."
Simple words, yet they struck Tesoro's heart like a heavy hammer.
Having witnessed the entire card game, Tesoro knew exactly what had happened.
He understood better than anyone how overpowering Baccarat's ability was.
Yet just moments ago, that fortune capable of turning the tables seemed suppressed in the man's presence, utterly failing to manifest.
But none of that mattered!
What was most unbearable was the ever-present smile on Orion's face.
Calm, gentle, yet containing a domineering aura that sent chills down one's spine.
That smile was like a red-hot branding iron, searing the deepest scars of his soul.
There was a time when he had been mercilessly tortured and repeatedly interrogated simply for smiling in the presence of Celestial Dragons—
"Who gave you permission to smile?"
Since then, smiles had become his taboo, and his tool for revenge against the world.
Anyone who dared smile in his presence would face the same question.
But now, the one smiling before him was the most iron-fisted and powerful Fleet Admiral in Marine history.
The man who had executed four Celestial Dragons as effortlessly as crushing insects.
He didn't dare ask.
Nor could he ask.
Inner demons ran rampant, his sanity teetering on the brink of collapse.
Tesoro's facial muscles began twitching uncontrollably, his once handsome face gradually contorting into something ferocious.
He stared fixedly at the perfect straight flush before Orion, his chest heaving violently like a beast on the verge of losing control.
Yet, he ultimately forced down the nearly erupting madness, grinning to reveal a bloodthirsty smile uglier than tears.
"Rest assured, Fleet Admiral."
"Today, not a single pirate will leave Grand Tesoro alive!"
With these words, he spun around abruptly, his long-twisted heart suddenly erupting!
"Hehehehe... Hahahahaha!"
Tesoro spread his arms wide and let out a wicked, maniacal laugh toward the sky.
"The show begins!"
Baccarat, collapsed on the floor, shuddered.
Ignoring her inner fear, she scrambled to her feet and staggered out after Tesoro.
The private room instantly fell silent.
Hancock watched Tesoro and the others depart, the manic laughter still echoing in the corridor, causing her delicate brows to furrow slightly.
She approached Orion and spoke with concern: "Orion, those trainees..."
"This is part of their training." Orion picked up the red wine from the table, gently swirling it. "If Tesoro's purge affects them, then they'll have to defeat Tesoro."
At this, Orion narrowed his eyes, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
"There aren't many decent whetstones left in the New World these days."
Hearing this, Hancock didn't ask further and picked up the wine bottle beside her to refill Orion's glass.
Just then.
"AHHHHH—"
A piercing scream, like a signal flare, abruptly tore through the extravagant night sky of Grand Tesoro.
Then came the second, the third...
Panicked shrieks, desperate cries, the sharp clashing of weapons, and the dull thuds of flesh being torn apart rose one after another, instantly turning this city of gold into a living hell.
Outside the private room, the screams continued unabated, accompanied by Tesoro's maniacal and gleeful laughter.
The pirates who had been squandering their wealth in the casino suddenly found the golden floor beneath their feet turning swamp-like, firmly trapping their feet.
Then, golden liquid seeped from the ground, coiling around their bodies like venomous snakes.
"Help! What is this?!"
"My body... I can't move!"
No matter how they struggled or resisted, they couldn't stop the golden erosion.
The golden liquid seeped into their bodies through their pores, gushing out violently from their orifices.
In the blink of an eye, living beings were completely assimilated amidst extreme pain and terror, transformed into twisted golden statues in various poses.
Clearly, Tesoro's hunting feast had begun!
The entire process lasted a full hour.
An hour later, Grand Tesoro returned to silence—a deathly stillness.
Then, Tesoro's voice, filled with boundless madness and delight, echoed through every corner.
"Fleet Admiral Orion, won't you come out and witness this hunting feast?"
"Hehehehe... Hahahahaha!"