Chapter 57: Betting
Zack put Luffy on the ground. Since Luffy didn't break the bedrock by sending Crocodile flying, they were in no hurry to leave. Of course, he didn't forget to take out a bullet from a pouch.
This was a Seastone Bullet forged by Usopp. He walked near Crocodile and opened his mouth. Without any hesitation, he put the Seastone Bullet inside his mouth.
After that, Zack walked up to Cobra and said.
"You should leave and tell your people the truth about the riot in your kingdom. We will join you soon."
Hearing his words, Cobra bears the pain and slowly stood up, nodding his head. He slightly bowed his head and said.
"Thank you for helping our kingdom! Without your help, we would never be able to defeat him."
"It's nothing. Besides, Vivi is our friend. But, don't forget to prepare a banquet." Zack smiled and shook his head.
"Of course" Cobra nodded his head with a serious expression and turned around. After he left, Zack walked toward Robin.
"Since Crocodile is down, you don't have any contract, right? Why don't you join us? You are very important to us."
"But from your conversation, I thought you know about Ancient Weapons. Why do you still need my help?" Robin made a serious expression and asked.
Zack rolled his eyes and said.
"Do you really think I can read the Ancient Text? Yes, I do know some things but I can't read the Ancient Text. So, no matter what, I can never replace your position in our crew."
"Zack, what position are you talking about?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion and asked.
"Luffy, if you want to become a Pirate King, we must need Miss Archaeologist's help. And, not only that, we must protect her." Zack turned his eyes and spoke with a serious expression.
"Is that so?" Luffy opened his mouth and made a serious expression.
"Don't worry, I will defeat anyone who comes for my crewmates."
"Hey, hey, at least wait until I agree to join, okay?" Robin couldn't help but feel speechless after hearing their conversation. She still hadn't made up her mind to join them.
"But, you don't have anywhere to go, right? Besides, aren't you tired of moving from one ship to another?" Zack smiled and answered.
But, his answer only made her expression gloomy as she asked.
"Then, aren't you afraid of my betrayal?"
Hearing her question, Zack chuckled and turned around.
"Luffy, do you think she is a bad person?"
"Nope!" Luffy shook his head without any hesitation. He had already seen through her emotions.
"See! My captain has no doubt about you. Besides that, maybe you will finally find people who will never leave alone on our ship." Zack smiled and answered.
Hearing his words, Robin froze for a moment and then charmingly smiled.
"Then, I hope you won't regret your decision."
"Welcome!" Zack didn't care about her words as he simply smiled and welcomed her.
On the other hand, Luffy rose both of his hands and shouted.
"Yes, we got a new crew member."
"By the way, Mr. Vice-Captain, if you already know the location of Ancient Weapons, why do you still need my help? You aren't interested in history, are you?" Robin looked at him with a suspicious gaze and asked.
Zack heavily sighed and spoke.
"It seems like you don't about this. Anyway, let me explain this to you. It has been twenty years since the death of Gol D. Roger but nobody has ever gotten their hands on One Piece, do you know why?"
Hearing his question, Luffy tilted his head and asked.
"Isn't it because it's hidden away?"
Zack was speechless. He shook his head and said.
"For us, it is hidden but for big pirates and world government, it isn't hidden. If not, do you think World Government would keep One Piece intact? They have weapons that can not only destroy the entire island but also erase its existence."
Hearing his words, Robin's eyes widened as she shuttered.
"Aa-a-are you telling the truth?"
Zack nodded his head and said.
"They have the weapon replicated after one of the ancient weapon that can do this. Of course, anyway, One Piece is on Raftel but nobody can find Raftel because it is completely hidden from the world."
"To find it, you must find four red Road Poneglyphe and decipher the locations given in those poneglyphe. When you cross those four locations, you can find the location of Raftel."
"The only crew that has ever reached that place is Roger Pirates and that made him the first person to conquer the sea and was hailed as Pirate King. So, without your help, Luffy can never become a Pirate King."
"WHAT? IS THAT TRUE, ZACK?" Luffy screamed when he heard that he can't become a Pirate King without Robin.
Zack nodded his head and said.
"In the first half of the Grandline, we need to keep Miss Archaeologist safe from Marines. And, in the second half of the Grandline, we need to keep her safe from Four Emperors including Shanks."
"Of course, unlike Shanks , others might use some dirty methods."
Hearing his words, Robin slowly opened her mouth.
"Knowing all this, do you still want to invite me? You should know about my past, right? Every ship I joined has been destroyed."
"What are you talking about, Robin?" Luffy suddenly stood up and smashed his fists together.
"I will blast anyone who tries to take you away."
Robin was startled by his words. Before she could say anything, Zack smiled and spoke.
"He is telling the truth. After all, you are now part of Straw Hat Pirates. But, we need to leave soon. It seems like somehow CP Agents get the news about you or maybe Crocodile's plan."
"Although I have already killed them, we can't stay here especially when I and Luffy are still weaker. Soon , we will leave this kingdom."
"What? CP Agents?" Robin was startled as she showed horror on her face.
"Wait, Zack are you alright?" Luffy suddenly remembered that Zack's condition wasn't good even before they came here so he worriedly asked.
"Don't worry about me. I am feeling even better than before. By the way, Luffy, can you lift him and bring him with us?" Zack was surprised when he saw Luffy's anxious face.
"What? Why would we need him?" Luffy showed a disgusted expression and asked.
"That's because I made a breakthrough in my Devil Fruit. I need to test its power on him." Zack rolled his eyes and answered.
Although Luffy was dejected, he still lifted Crocodile and took him out with Zack and Robin. Soon, they met with others in the Royal Capital.
At that time, after Vivi reached the city and had already told the Rebels about Crocodile's plan through at first they were not ready to believe it. They were about to attack vivi and start the war but we're blown out by Nami with her climatact. Not wanting to reason with her , rebel began the attacking the soldier but were electrocuted when nami went to Vivi's side , slammed her climatact on the ground and screamed loudly,
"Stop it"
For some reason from the first time they meet, Nami always had felt a deep connection to Vivi. It was hard to describe the feeling, but it similar to her sister, even deeper quite hard to understand. Seeing Vivi desperate, she felt her sadness and unconsciously yelled at the rebels and soldiers. Miracle do happen, wind instantly roar through out Alabasta the cloud burst out and it began to rain. Rebels stoped fighting and surrendered because the very reason of rebellion was fullfilled .Vivi thanked the gods and with the help of the crew, they managed to keep everyone fine.
When they arrived, everyone was surprised by Luffy bringing in Crocodile and Robin. But, with Zack's words, they all calm down and entered the Royal Palace.
Soon, they took a long bath and this time, Nami didn't openly show her melons to others. After a proper bath, they finally decided to have a Banquet which lasted hours.
After the banquet, everyone except Vivi gathered in a room where they finally looked at Zack, looking for answers. After all, they had kept Crocodile on the ground with Seastone handcuff and Seastone bullet.
As for Robin, they had already accepted her because of Zack's words. Unlike Luffy, they have a higher acceptance rate toward Zack's decision which is also the reason why he is a Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Alright, alright, don't look at me like this. I will explain everything but before, let Chopper say something about my condition." Zack rolled his eyes and turned his head at Chopper.
Chopper was flustered when everyone suddenly turned their heads at him but as a qualified doctor, he quickly calmed down and said.
"All of you already know about Zack's condition, right? He should at least rest for four to five months to properly recover. But after I checked his condition today, I found that he could recover in just two months now."
"His vitality has soared for some reason."
Hearing his words, everyone turned their heads at Zack looking for an explanation. He helplessly spread out his arms and said.
"Since I couldn't train after leaving the Drum Kingdom, I had been focusing on developing my Devil Fruit. Kake-Kake No Mi has two main abilities. Betting and Storing Luck."
"Second ability isn't something that I can develop but first is. Maybe I can develop a second ability just like how Luffy can train his rubber body to make it stronger through Gear Second. But, at least, I can't do it now."
"But I can create different kinds of Bet just like how Luffy can create different Rubber attacks. My Betting Ability is only restricted by Equal Law."
"This law is simple. Unless I bet something that equals my gain, I can't initiate the bet."
"Originally, I thought those three cards bet to increase my strength or increase my training reward was the main ability. But it turns out, the entire Betting was my ability."
"So, now I can bet anything that I want," Zack answered.
Hearing his words, Nami asked.
"So, how does this relate to your condition?"
Zack chuckled and said.
"Actually, while you guys were fighting against Crocodile, I met someone from World Government. I convinced Smoker to fight against Crocodile but they suddenly came out of my cooperation with Marine and tried to kill Smoker and me."
"Fortunately, I had developed my Devil Fruit. As I said before, I can make any kind of bet. This time, I used my luck to make a bet where I increased my strength alongside Smoker's to fight against those CP agents."
"And just before I killed them, I made another two bets. The First bet was my lucky charm. Because my enemy was a Zoan Fruit User, his endurance and defense were naturally amazing."
"And, with his vigorous training of Iron Body, he completely believed he could block my attack, so I made a bet against him. Of course, this bet was a mental bet so I didn't need his affirmation."
"As long as he didn't think of evading my attack, it was more than enough. So, in that bet, the reward was his vitality and punishment was permanent damage in my organ."
"What?" Nami suddenly roared and held his collar.
"You bastard, how could you make such a reckless bet?"
"Calm down, Nami! Aren't I okay? Besides, if you don't even have trust in yourself, how can you even think of surviving in this sea?" Zack looked at her with a serious expression and said.
Only after seeing his serious expression, Nami calmed down but she still didn't let go of him.
"He is right, Nami. If we can't even take a risk, there is no need to continue this journey." Luffy solemnly spoke.
Finally, Nami let go of his collars and calmed down.
"Of course, I won and got one-third of his vitality. The second bet was a bit difficult. Because it was a forced bet since my opponent had no fixed thought in his mind, I couldn't make a normal bet."
"Because of that, the reward was low while the punishment was extremely high. If it wasn't for my own luck, the reward and punishment would've been even worse."
"So, I only gained ten percent of his vitality. This made me realize something. If I can make such an absurd bet, why can't I take it one step further."
Hearing his words, Nami suspiciously glanced at him and said.
"What do you plan to do?"
Everyone looked at him with serious expressions.
Zack turned his head at Crocodile who was still unconscious and said.
"I plan to make a bet, betting all of my vitality and strength for his vitality and devil fruit."
"No!" Nami instantly disagreed.
"Hey, hey, Zack, are you sure you want to do this? You have trained so hard for this strength. Not to mention, losing your vitality will only make you weaker." Usopp was terrified as well.
"Zack, your healing ability is quite amazing. I believe you can easily heal within two months. Please, don't take such a risk." Chopper also didn't support his idea.
Others didn't speak. They knew that they couldn't ask him to stop but they didn't want him to take such a risk either. At this moment, Luffy crossed his arms and looked at him.
"Zack, how sure you are?"
"Luffy!" Nami panicked as she glared at Luffy but he didn't even look at her. His eyes were fixed on Zack.
Zack shook his head and said "Although I know the rewards and punishment, I don't know the condition. So, I am not sure at all."
As soon as he said that, Luffy's hands extended as he puts his hands on Zack's shoulder. His eyes were extremely serious as he said.
"I will not stop you nor I will ask you to do this. But, you promised me that you will help me become Pirate King. Without you, I can't become a Pirate King. So, you mustn't die."
At this moment, nobody spoke even Nami who was extremely against his idea. Robin was surprised by such interaction. She didn't expect someone would do such a thing.
And, others wouldn't even try to convince him to not do it. After all, this was a life and death bet. If it is unsuccessful, he might get so weak that it would no different than death.
Of course, there were people who opposed this idea but between Vice-Captain and Captain, there seems to be a strange relationship. There was extreme trust.
Hearing his words, Zack smiled and said.
"Originally, I thought I could simply wait for a few months and recover. But, soon I come to realize something. Our journey might not be easy. Our first battle was against a Shichibukai."
"If Luffy hadn't managed to learn Armament Haki or if his weakness wasn't something so obvious, we might never be able to defeat him. And, our enemy will only get stronger after this."
"Luffy is the Captain so he will definitely protect us but he has several weaknesses. Some of them are covered by us but there are still some weaknesses that we simply can't cover."
"In such conditions, our crew will be at extreme risk. As a Vice-Captain of this ship, I can't simply rest and hide even if it is for a moment. My enemy will not show pity on me just because I am injured."
"That's why I can't hesitate now. I have you guys. If I was against you, my luck would've been worse but with you guys behind me, I believe my luck will spark."
"So, I must make a bet. This ability, I must understand it completely." Saying so, he walked up to Luffy and put his hand on his Straw Hat.
"I will keep my promise. I won't die until I make you the Pirate King."
Hearing his words, a big smile appeared on Luffy's face. He nodded his head and Zack walked toward Crocodile's body. Although Crocodile wasn't awake, he wasn't dead either.
But, with Seastone Bullet inside his body and Seastone Handcuff, it was impossible to use his Sand Abilities.
"Zack!" Nami wanted to stop him but after seeing everyone's attitude, she gritted her teeth and decided to trust him.
Zack walked up to his body and crouched down. His hand touched Crocodile's body and at this moment, he started betting.
A card emerged out of his body.
[Bet Established / Requirement Achieved / Reward Vitality-Devil Fruit / Punishment Crippled Strength-Vitality]
Seeing the words on his card, Zack was surprised.
'So if I knock out my enemy, the bet wouldn't be forced. That means unless there is a rejection from the person I want to bet against, the Bet would easily establish.'
'But then again, I need to increase my luck in order to properly increase my reward and decrease my punishment in case it fails.'
Thinking about it, Zack took a deep breath and released all of Luck all at once. The moment he released his Luck, the Luck Storage inside his mind got empty and a new card emerged out of him.
[Reward Two-Third Vitality-Devil Fruit Card / Punishment Full Strength-Two-Third Vitality]
He was truly surprised. Although the punishment was worse, at least he wouldn't die. But, if he succeeds, then he would not only get two-thirds of Crocodile's vitality, but he will also get his devil fruit.
He understood what Two-Third of Crocodile's vitality means.
This guy is 50-50 in One Piece World. He goes from fighting Early Stage Luffy who couldn't even use Armament Haki to attack Whitebeard, Akainu, and Mihawk-like characters in Canon.
In the end, he even got the bounty of 1.9 Billion Bailey even higher.
This is a guy whose vitality was truly astonishing, almost two-thirds of Luffy. And, knowing what kind of person Luffy truly is, just one-third would be more than enough to make anyone a monster.
Zack took a deep breath and started. The moment he started, a powerful pressure came from Crocodile. This pressure didn't affect anyone except Zack but this pressure wasn't Conqueror.
Since Crocodile was knocked out, the cards released the pressure equal to absorbing the second devil fruit. This kind of pressure wouldn't kill him or even injure him but if he can't hold it, he would lose.
Now, this was a true bet. If he could hold on against this pressure, he would win but if he can't, he would fail.
'So, if the person is unconscious, the condition would change huh? Well, this pressure is amazing.'
Zack gritted his teeth and his eyes started turning red. The ferocious aura pressing his body almost broke him from the inside. But, at this moment, a powerful aura burst out of him.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Nami and Chopper fell to the ground. At the same time, everyone outside the room and even the castle passed out with foam coming out of their mouth.
When Luffy, Zoro, ussop and Sanji faced this kind of powerful aura, they panicked but suddenly remembered Zack's words. Four of them opened their mouth at the same time.
"Conqueror Haki"
...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone