Gran Tesoro.
This is a massive ship, ten kilometers long, composed almost entirely of pure gold.
It's the world's largest entertainment city, recognized by the government as an independent country and a non-militarized zone.
It's a "sacred sanctuary" where the World Government cannot easily interfere.
Here, Marines, pirates, and even the Revolutionary Army can freely visit and play.
The rules here are absolute.
Gran Tesoro is the world's largest legitimate neutral zone; even if an Admiral encountered a Four Emperor here, they would never choose to fight.
Because the owner of this place, Gild Tesoro, is a figure of extreme power who shakes the world.
Possessing 20% of the world's Beri reserves and countless businesses circulating an incalculable amount of wealth, Gild Tesoro is the undisputed king of this eternal nation.
Here, not even the Celestial Dragons can lord over the Gold Emperor; he holds the same status as them.
This is not an exaggeration.
Even powerhouses like the Four Emperors cannot escape the disturbances of worldly money, and even noble Celestial Dragons must pay Beri to buy things.
The magic of money is endless.
As human civilization was born and developed, wealth existed alongside it.
The emergence of currency brought economics and finance, and those who possessed this wealth often possessed power.
Besides being the world's largest entertainment city, Gran Tesoro's most powerful feature is that it is the world's largest bank.
Even many Celestial Dragons choose to store their heavenly tribute in Tesoro's bank.
Many others, including pirates and Marines, choose to store their life's savings in Tesoro's hands.
This is Tesoro's main business, a banker.
He didn't amass such exaggerated wealth by simply running a casino.
If Vegapunk is a being 500 years ahead in scientific knowledge, Tesoro is probably 500 years ahead in economics.
While other feudal kingdoms in this world were still operating on small-scale economies, Tesoro had already advanced into the higher stages of capitalism: banking, capital circulation, and paid loans-these were all concepts he introduced.
Tesoro also proposed that the World Government's affiliated countries must pay their heavenly tribute solely in Beri, prohibiting the use of any valuables as collateral.
Under his influence, in just a few years, the 100+ affiliated countries of the World Government became increasingly dependent on Beri, making Beri the sole currency for settlement across the ocean.
Pirates plunder civilians, civilians work hard, Marines receive salaries, bounty hunters hunt pirates.
All economic activities on this vast sea eventually funnel Beri through Tesoro's pockets.
Frankly, Tesoro has handled the money of all the great pirates, including the Four Emperors!
Although still in its early stages, Tesoro has indeed started dabbling in finance and even the stock market, single-handedly reaping the wealth of everyone on the high seas!
Only Tesoro can proudly declare that the secret treasures spoken of by all pirates are a joke in his eyes.
Even all the treasures of all the pirates in the world combined cannot match one percent of his assets.
Tesoro's single meal could cost the bounty of a Supernova.
While he drinks a glass of wine, the bounty of a Four Emperor might enter his pocket.
The funds that the Marines painstakingly save are earned by Tesoro with a snap of his fingers.
Even a Marine Fleet Admiral wouldn't dare defy such a Tesoro.
When two Admiral candidates came to Tesoro's territory and saw a key wanted man like Luffy, they could only choose to do nothing.
As for the Four Emperors, the fact that Gran Tesoro remains secure in the worst part of the New World proves that even madmen like Kaido and Big Mom wouldn't casually provoke the Gold Emperor.
Because if he wanted to, he could stop the Marines from getting paid, prevent them from repairing their battleships, and make the entire massive government structure seize up like gears without lubrication.
You might attack him with a strong fist, but he can use his gold to paralyze you.
Tesoro's dream is to one day use his wealth to make all Celestial Dragons kneel to him, becoming the god of this world.
There is nothing money can't buy, and those without money can't achieve anything.
A distorted and twisted path, but one that Tesoro has carved out successfully.
Gran Tesoro, a city that is a testament to grandeur, pooling all the dirty desires and frantic longings of humanity.
Its brilliant light embodies humanity's complete obsession with wealth, making countless people flock to it.
Even from a modern perspective, it's hard to describe this true city of desire.
"I hate this tacky ship!"
A grim-faced Doflamingo, striding with his distinctive swagger, arrived at the highest floor of Gran Tesoro, a place resembling an ancient Roman colosseum.
This area offers entertainment only available at night and is the venue for Gild Tesoro's personal performance.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we are about to enter tonight's climax!"
Dressed in an extravagant pink suit and wearing sunglasses, Tesoro held his golden microphone, pointing toward the ten despairing pirates embedded in the golden wall.
He shouted excitedly and pleasurably.
"Everyone, get ready and cheer up! Now begins the most thrilling execution segment!"
He waved his hand, and thousands of golden spears materialized in the air, pointing at the desperate, shouting pirates.
Tesoro began a piercing show with the golden spears, smiling cruelly and delightedly.
The Heavenly Yaksha watched coldly.
His hand, hidden in his sleeve, twitched slightly.
Countless invisible threads blocked the golden dust scattering from the sky.
He understood the trick Tesoro was playing.
He also hated being here-this golden city was Tesoro's home turf.
Here, he even dared to challenge Admirals and Four Emperors.
This wasn't a joke; it had nothing to do with raw strength.
Gran Tesoro, being entirely made of gold, provided an enormous boost to the Gold Emperor.
Coupled with his already strong abilities, Doflamingo was likely no match for Tesoro here.
So, unless he was out of his mind, he would never come to his enemy's territory alone.
But he was here now, standing there, solely to attend an appointment.
"Doflamingo-sama, Tesoro-sama, and Poltorto-sama have been waiting for a long time."
A beautiful, wine-red-haired woman, with a slender figure accentuated by a black evening gown and a refined, beautiful face, spoke.
"Fuffuffuffu, Tesoro doesn't seem like he's waiting for me, Baccarat."
Doflamingo pointed at the celebrating Tesoro with an malicious smile, subtly stepping half a pace away from the woman.
The abilities of this vulgar bastard's subordinates were also troublesome, not in terms of strength, but in the literal sense of being a nuisance.
"This way, Doflamingo-sama."
Baccarat acted as if she hadn't heard Doflamingo and invited him into a motorized turtle carriage.
The fully turtle-powered vehicle sped up with the ghostly piston action of the turtles on both sides.
Baccarat floored it, and the turtle carriage shot forward like an arrow, moving at a speed that blurred the surrounding luxurious scenes of Gran Tesoro.
Doflamingo's eyes showed intense jealousy.
After all, everything in this magnificent city was essentially stolen by Tesoro from his grasp.
Without the Gold-Gold Fruit, even with Tesoro's commercial genius, he couldn't have become the world's richest man in just No. 7 years.
But jealousy aside, Doflamingo wasn't blinded by envy.
Tesoro's strength lay not in his Devil Fruit ability, but always in his powerful commercial acumen.
The turtle carriage stopped in front of a tall building.
It was a golden, shimmering structure, appearing entirely cast from gold.
"We've arrived. Please exit."
Baccarat politely escorted Doflamingo into the building.
The elevator, heading straight to the top floor, moved quickly.
Doflamingo, with his annoying, smug smile, stepped on the golden floor panel and laughed maliciously.
"This elevator is fast. How many people does it take to power a trip up?"
The elevator was incredibly fast, so fast that one wouldn't suspect-that it was powered by human labor.
From the turtle carriages they rode in earlier to this elevator, everything in this city was maintained by human power.
After every performance, Tesoro scattered gold dust from the sky.
What looked like a spectacular show was actually gold dust seeping into people's bodies, allowing him to directly control their movements with his ability.
Beneath the beautiful and prosperous facade lay the immense labor of the impoverished masses enslaved by Tesoro, and their physical control, which was indistinguishable from slavery.
It was even more deplorable than the slaves of the Celestial Dragons.
Celestial Dragon slaves still had a chance to escape, but Tesoro's slaves were controlled by gold dust.
Yet, this guy actually wasn't short of money to pay the slaves.
It was just his twisted dark pleasure.
Tesoro hated the Celestial Dragons but ultimately lived just like one of them.
Baccarat did not reply.
It was better to remain silent in front of this ocean scoundrel.
In terms of unpredictable mood swings, he was on the same level as her boss.
The buildings below shrank rapidly until the massive casino looked like a tiny speck.
Doflamingo and Baccarat arrived at the top floor.
The elevator doors opened to a long corridor with a high-grade red velvet carpet.
The surroundings were still piled high with gold.
At the end of the corridor was a massive, sealed golden block, seemingly formed naturally, with no visible seams.
A person resembling a big-headed infant stood by the elevator entrance, clearly waiting.
He extended his hand toward Doflamingo, politely saying:
"Poltorto-sama has been waiting for a long time. Please follow me."
Doflamingo snorted lightly and shook his hand.
This man was named Tanaka, Tesoro's second-in-command.
He was the user of the Pass-Pass Fruit, capable of passing through any inorganic material, and was the "door" to Tesoro's office.
Doflamingo followed Tanaka into Tesoro's luxurious, vast room.
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Gran Tesoro was a figure.
He wore a black Victorian coat, partial iron armor underneath, and a black I-type helmet.
The glass reflected the unsettling light emanating from the helmet.
"Oh, my, isn't this my good friend Doflamingo?"
The gentle voice and unchanging tone remained the same, which made people uneasy.
"Parasite String!"
Doflamingo didn't hesitate.
The moment they met, he raised his hand and launched a Parasite String.
The invisible threads attacked Shin but were torn apart by his hands, which transformed into roaring chainsaws.
"Is it fun to do this every time we meet?"
Shin retracted No. 7's ability and said calmly.
During this recent period, whenever he controlled the body of a Prayer, he consciously trained in combat.
Although the benefits of muscle activity couldn't be transferred back to his own body, the experience was accumulated.
"Fuffuffuffu, this is how I always greet my friends."
Doflamingo laughed maliciously.
Tanaka interjected.
"Please stop, both of you. This is Tesoro-sama's room. As guests, please adhere to basic etiquette."
No. 7 glanced at Tanaka and nodded with a smile.
Doflamingo didn't bother to acknowledge the big-headed freak and sat down brazenly.
Soon, Tanaka, who had left the room, brought Tesoro in and then left.
Tesoro still had the pleasure of executing pirates on his face, but upon seeing the two people in the room, his expression immediately soured.
"Two uninvited bad guests."
Tesoro took an expensive bottle of golden wine from the cabinet, snorting coldly.
"Who would willingly come to your giant golden toilet if they didn't have to!"
Doflamingo retorted bluntly.
He hated this place.
Being in his enemy's home turf made him uncomfortable.
"Alright, alright, please be amicable. I'm the one who issued the invitation."
No. 7 waved his hand, signaling them to calm down.
These two were giving him face, or rather, the leverage he held over them.
"Have you finally decided how you're going to blackmail me?"
Tesoro poured three glasses of wine.
The golden liquid spilled and scattered faint golden dust.
He said rudely.
"Blackmail? That's not quite right." No. 7 smiled and raised his glass, shaking it and sighing.
"Why do you Devil Fruit users always want to embed controllers in people's bodies the moment you meet them?"
"We can't compare to you in that regard, fuffuffuffu."
Doflamingo swirled the wine in his glass, looking at the golden dust rising and falling.
He said sarcastically:
"To this day, probably no one has seen your true form. Creating puppets everywhere and hiding yourself, you are far darker than us."
"There's no helping it. Seeking security always comes at a price." No. 7 said lightly.
"What do you want? Say it quickly! My time is precious. A minute is tens of millions of Beri!" Tesoro urged impatiently.
"Then let's start with you, Doffy." No. 7 said with a familiar smile.
"...All the weapons that have passed through my hands recently have gone to Whitebeard and the Revolutionary Army."
Doflamingo spoke with a scowl but was helpless.
"Because I publicly offended you, I had to buy your weapons from other underground markets at double the price and then have them 'accidentally' seized by Whitebeard and the Revolutionary Army during transport. I lost so much Beri, I won't make it back in a year!"
Most importantly, he lost face.
The famous Joker of the underground world had been repeatedly humiliated recently.
Doflamingo was becoming a joke!
"This is just temporary pain." No. 7 comforted him.
"Germa 66's clone army has all been re-equipped with my weapons. Judge has put all his resources on the line, ready to fight the World Government."
Tesoro remained unmoved.
The combined forces of these people might be able to overthrow the Marines, but they were far from capable of defeating the World Government.
The scale of the two entities wasn't comparable.
Even with the Four Emperors, the gap was like a chasm.
"And I have something that will drive the World Government insane."
No. 7 took out two brand-new wooden boxes from his jacket with a pleasant smile.
He handed one to Doflamingo and one to Tesoro.
They opened the boxes and frowned at the Eternal Poses.
But when they saw "Lagh Tale" (Raftel) engraved on them, their eyes immediately narrowed!
"Yes, these are Eternal Poses leading to the Final Island." No. 7 looked at the two shocked kings of the underground world, laughing wildly and unrestrainedly.
"A crew member of Roger's secretly made this, hidden from him. It fell into my hands. These days, I hired a hundred of the best Eternal Pose craftsmen, working day and night, and we replicated exactly a hundred thousand of them!"
The shocked Tesoro swallowed hard.
Even he was stunned by Shin's audacity.
He paced around for a few moments before finally regaining his composure and frowned.
"Even if you want to spread these out... how can you ensure their credibility?"
Like the story of Mont Blanc Noland, the existence of the Golden City and Skypeia wasn't a huge secret, but even with the truth laid out, the World Government could use public opinion to make it seem false.
"Of course, we'll have a credible person stand up and vouch for it~"
No. 7 smiled and tilted his head.
"Would the former Pirate King's first mate standing up to verify it have enough credibility?"
"...Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King?" Doflamingo frowned.
"You know where he is?"
"Of course." No. 7 glanced at him.
If the Heavenly Yaksha knew his auction house had auctioned off the Dark King, who knows what expression he would have.
Tesoro's expression shifted repeatedly, but finally, he shook his head.
"No, it's not enough... Your terms aren't enough for me to join your ship!"
As a businessman, avoiding risks is the first lesson.
Joining the rebellion with the Heavenly Yaksha and the Poltorto, regardless of the potential profit, meant guaranteed total destruction if they failed.
Conversely, even if his identity was exposed, he would at most be controlled by the Gorosei, who wouldn't dare treat him as a Celestial Dragon's slave.
"The richest man in the world, yet he can't buy the cheapest slave."
Seeing Tesoro's reaction, No. 7 smiled pleasurably.
Tesoro suddenly looked up, his fierce gaze startling even Doflamingo!
However, No. 7 didn't stop, continuing to mock him with utmost malice.
"The most successful entertainer in the world, who is tone-deaf and only one person liked his singing. The most ruthless man in the world, who couldn't even make a sound when his woman was taken away."
"What did you say!!!"
Tesoro roared and lunged, his body transforming into pure gold.
He tightly grabbed No. 7, the rage in his eyes seemingly about to incinerate the person in front of him.
But No. 7 didn't stop, continuing to taunt.
"Those Celestial Dragons bought your woman like a pet and played with her like a pet. Your most precious treasure was played to death in just three years."
"Poor Stella, who liked a man like you. You became the richest man in the world, yet you turned from a wolf into a dog."
"At least that limping wolf, whose howl was awful, dared to bare his fangs at the Celestial Dragons. You, a dog covered in gold foil, only know how to wag your tail. Once you get used to being a dog, you'll never take off the collar."
"Shut up!!!"
The Gold Emperor roared in fury, his eyes crimson as he lost his sanity.
No. 7 seized the opportunity and kicked him away.
He crashed into the wine cabinet behind him.
No. 7 adjusted his clothes, standing up calmly and elegantly.
He looked at Tesoro, who was sitting amidst the shards of the wine cabinet, letting expensive red wine pour over his head.
He tilted his head and smiled.
"Alright, do you have a reason to join our ship now?"
"...You are a bastard, a disgusting devil." Tesoro said in a low voice, slowly standing up.
The cunning of a businessman was gone from his eyes, replaced only by a raging fire of vengeance.
His long-forgotten desire for revenge.
In weighing the benefits, he had forgotten one thing.
Yes, not following these madmen was the most rational approach, but if he didn't follow them, whether they failed or succeeded, he would never have a chance for revenge.
Poltorto was right.
Once a dog gets used to the collar around its neck, it will never take it off.
"You're the same, a starving wolf cast in gold, feeding on rotten flesh." No. 7 smiled pleasantly.
"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
"Simple!" No. 7 looked up, his smile unrestrained and malicious.
"Make Beri worthless!"
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