"I knew it! How could anyone maintain eternal luck? If such an ability existed, wouldn't it mean succeeding at everything? That would be way too overpowered."
Caesar pinched his chin, deeply convinced.
Shiki frowned, wearing an expression of deep resentment as he stared at the vast, white sea of fog before him, bored out of his mind.
He grew impatient and snapped, "Woman! Where exactly is your ship? How much longer?"
Baccarat answered cautiously, "Please be patient, esteemed guests. It will take about an hour or so."
Upon hearing this, Shiki flew into a rage, his eyes widening so much that Baccarat shuddered in fear.
"What? Another fucking hour or more? Can't you go any faster? And why does your so-called Golden Emperor hide in such a deep place like a turtle?"
Caesar saw how Shiki's outburst had terrified Baccarat and patted Shiki's shoulder with a chuckle.
"Don't be impatient. Haste makes waste. Woman! Dance for us, entertain us."
...
An hour later, the small boat docked beside the island-sized Gran Tesoro.
On the deck, Baccarat gritted her teeth, her body drenched in sweat, standing on her tiptoes, forcing herself to keep dancing.
'Heaven have mercy,' although she was called a receptionist on the Golden Ship.
But she was Tesoro's executive.
While she did know a bit about dancing, even Tesoro wouldn't normally demand her to dance like this on a daily basis.
And she couldn't repeat the same moves.
She had to dance nonstop for over an hour!
Caesar chuckled, picked up a large plate of grapes from the deck, and disembarked with Shiki, stepping onto the Golden Ship's surface.
"Enough, woman! Your half-hearted, flirtatious dancing is unbearable even to me. Stop it right now. Hurry up and take us to the entertainment venues here. Oh, and use your Luck-Luck Fruit ability on us. I didn't bring any money, and it'd be pretty embarrassing if I couldn't afford anything at the auction later."
Shiki barked at Baccarat again.
Baccarat felt like crying but had no tears left.
This was the first time she had encountered such domineering and unreasonable guests.
Who came to the Golden Ship without any money?
And the most outrageous part was how unapologetic they were!
She hesitated, glancing at Caesar and Shiki, wondering what punishment Tesoro would inflict on her, a Golden Ship hostess, if he found out she had used her Luck-Luck Fruit ability on outsiders.
Seeing her hesitation, Caesar grinned.
"Didn't you say that as long as the guests have money, any request can be fulfilled here?"
'But you didn't pay!' Baccarat screamed internally, though she didn't dare say it aloud.
As Baccarat continued to hesitate, Shiki grew furious.
Narrowing his eyes, he unleashed a terrifying aura that sent Baccarat stumbling to the ground, her face as pale as paper.
"I… I'll do it, I'll do it."
Baccarat wanted to cry.
Steeling herself, she used the Luck-Luck Fruit ability on both Caesar and Shiki, bestowing upon them the favor of the Goddess of Luck.
Caesar took a moment to sense it but didn't notice anything unusual.
Shiki shot a glance at the pitiful Baccarat and said sternly, "Woman, if you dare trick me, I'll strip off your pants and hang you at a Tottoland intersection to collect admission fees."
Baccarat shook her head frantically like a rattle-drum.
"I didn't trick you! I've already used my luck ability. For the next hour, you'll be incredibly lucky."
Caesar patted Shiki on the shoulder. "Hey, Shiki! Look at you, bullying a weak woman. Is that any way a man should behave?"
Then, he turned to Baccarat with a grin. "Don't be afraid, he won't do anything to you. By the way… do you have any money on you?"
…
A moment later, Baccarat clutched her pants, now missing their golden belt, staring in despair as the two tall men walked away arm in arm.
"Damn it! Are you blind? Daring to bump into me?"
In the distance, Shiki's angry shouts echoed.
Then came a loud smack, and Baccarat watched as a plump figure flew through the air above her, tracing a long arc before plunging headfirst into the misty sea.
Her eyes went blank with shock.
Baccarat had clearly seen that the fat man was at least ten meters away from Shiki…
'Just what kind of people did Tesoro invite?!'
Caesar laughed, slinging an arm around Shiki as they swaggered down the main road of the Golden Ship, swaying with every step.
Wherever they passed, chaos ensued.
At one point, a twelve-meter-tall giant merely glanced at Shiki.
The giant Jerome swore he had absolutely no intention of discriminating against Shiki.
But it was that one glance...
'Waaah, this isn't heaven at all, it's hell! I want to go home, I want to go home!'
Giant Jerome's head was stuck in the hard pavement tiles in the middle of the road, with only his lower body sticking out.
And before Shiki left, he directly ripped off his large pants.
Now the giant didn't know whether he should pull his head out of the ground or not.
On a distant golden tower, Tesoro and Bullett stood side by side, taking in everything happening below.
Tesoro's face twitched occasionally, his eyelids jumping uncontrollably.
"Damn these two bastards! What do they think my Golden Ship is? And they don't have any dignity befitting big shots at all!"
Bullett's focus, however, wasn't on this.
After staring at Shiki for a while, he simply turned and walked away.
Tesoro frowned. "Where are you going? The auction doesn't start until evening."
Bullett completely ignored him and went straight down the tower.
Watching his massive figure disappear from view, Tesoro's face showed both anger and helplessness.
Bullett's appearance made Tesoro once again experience the powerlessness he felt when facing the Celestial Dragons.
It also made him clearly realize that the money he had pursued his entire life wasn't omnipotent!
Strength was what truly mattered!
Inviting Caesar to the Golden Ship was Bullett's idea, but Tesoro had agreed to it himself.
Because Bullett said he could gain Caesar's favor by giving up those Devil Fruits that originally belonged to the former executives of the Beasts Pirates.
As for the Ganzui matter, Bullett would take full responsibility - it had nothing to do with Tesoro.
And indeed, the truth was that Bullett had acted alone in that incident.
When fighting Ganzui, Tesoro only used his ability to protect the Golden Ship and didn't intervene in the group beating.
If anything, he was the victim in that situation.
His capable subordinate, the masochist Dice, had been cut in half by Ganzui's sword.
"If it comes to it, I'll lure this Caesar to the casino. Saint Roswald and his family are there for entertainment. When the Celestial Dragons are attacked and the Admirals will take action, if Bullett and I join in, no matter how strong Caesar is, he won't be able to withstand it!"
Tesoro sneered darkly.
"If Caesar is defeated and captured here, the Marines and World Government will have to thank me. Then I'll gain even greater benefits and protection!"
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator