Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
New Word.
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"Looks like our knight has won once again!" The table manager exclaimed, pointing to a tall and strong man nearby as everyone applauded. It was the 12th time he had won. Quickly, a crowd of people began to gather around him, attracting more attention to that table, with victory after victory, seeing that he was truly a unique player, as it was just him against the house, with the other players no longer betting.
Luffy knew he was overdoing it, winning every game in a blatant sequence; he wanted to draw attention to see what Tesoro would do.
The manager was watching with a forced smile. On the surface, he seemed excited, cheering for Luffy and congratulating him on each of his victories, but inside, he was terrified. As Luffy increased the amount of chips, they piled up around him, and people looked at him like a hero, seeing the fortune he was accumulating there.
"Waiter, give me your best drink," Luffy said, laughing, while the waiter quickly served him. He drank, played, and enjoyed himself while exclaiming and making jokes for the crowd.
Of course, this also brought many opportunists. But Luffy, being a damn Yonkou, one of the strongest beings in this world, didn't need to look at these small fry to get rid of them before they bothered him, as he quickly repelled them with his Haki.
He released it silently without anyone noticing, and these targets didn't even realize it before feeling terrified as they approached him. If they did, they would meet a horrible death, seeing that this stranger was terrifying to them, and they all fled.
Besides the opportunists, there were women interested in him at that moment, with intentions of convincing him to take them directly to bed. After all, women also feel desire for men, and seeing someone tall, handsome, and who easily stood out, while he was well-dressed and extroverted, this garnered some looks of desire.
But he also didn't want to be bothered by this, until he sensed the presence of a certain woman approaching him. She stood out easily, being the most beautiful woman in the place. Luffy smiled at this. There were many beautiful and attractive women in this world, but few could be naturally sexy, seeming to seduce men all the time, and one of these women was calmly approaching, naturally parting the crowd.
"Will the gentleman play once more?" the manager murmured, looking at Luffy, a little cautious.
"Of course, why not?" Luffy smiled, and the man was already trying to figure out where he would get more chips if he lost this round. His boss wouldn't be happy about it.
Then, in a sea of desperation, the manager finally noticed that woman and immediately broke into a big smile. "Well, that's great..." He even spoke with confidence. "Anyway, we have here the presence of our famous Lady Baccarat, the lady, the most beautiful woman of Gran Tesoro..." he murmured, as everyone looked in awe at her as she also approached.
"Well, I heard the commotion and came to check what was so interesting. I just didn't expect to find such a handsome man playing and winning so many times. I must say, all good things fell upon one man," she murmured, staring into Luffy's eyes, trying to use her charm to seduce him, but without recognizing him.
'I expected this from ordinary people, but even characters with some level of relevance aren't recognizing me without the hat? That's kind of disappointing.' Luffy thought internally with a surprised tone; after all, he just wasn't wearing his hat.
Luffy then looked at her and smiled. "Hello, I really think I have to agree with your words, manager. She truly is the most beautiful woman in this place." He said, while the other women around showed disappointment at this comment. Of course, not more than his three wives on the ship.
"Well, you don't mind if I join you, do you? It's very rare to see a man like this," she murmured, trying to seduce him the whole time, while she was startled by feeling her waist being pulled close to Luffy, joining the game.
"Of course, Lady. You will be my company tonight," Luffy said, holding her waist. She was a bit surprised by this, but then she smiled while touching his hand, seeing that she could now touch him easily.
"You're so strong," she murmured, starting to use her charm to try and steal his luck with her akuma no mi, as she slid her hand from his waist to his. Luffy noticed this but just felt like laughing because if this woman wanted to play with him, he would do the same.
He knew his luck had been stolen, and they wondered what would happen to his luck when he used Observation Haki, so Luffy decided to test it. "Let's continue. I bet on red 35!" Luffy declared. The manager saw him placing 50,000,000 in chips on the table and smiled.
"Very well. Anyone else want to place a bet?" he asked, but no one wanted to bet, as it was now just Luffy against the house.
Luffy thought about the outcome and suddenly felt his Haki falter and distort, as if he had been tricked, with a strange experience as the ball landed on black 16. The manager slowly smiled, and the whole crowd was shocked, seeing him lose for the first time. Baccarat, although accustomed to such things, pretended to feel sorry as she looked at Luffy.
"Am I bringing you bad luck? I hope not," she said, swaying her hips by his side, trying to seduce him even more.
"Well, we don't win every time, right?" Luffy murmured, placing another 100,000,000 on the table. The manager, with a malicious smile, also placed a bet. "I bet on black 14," he said, as the ball landed on red 7, once again deceived by his own Haki.
But he just acted naturally. "I'm not giving up that easily. I'll try again next time," he said, and once again, he lost. He placed 100,000,000 and another 150,000,000, losing again, totaling a loss of 500,000,000, all he had won, while the manager watched, satisfied.
"Damn!" Luffy seemed a little shaken. "I want more! I'll have to bet more money because I want to recover everything I've lost," he said, seeing that he still had 500,000,000 left to bet.
"If you wish, the house can lend you money," Baccarat suddenly said beside him, with a malicious tone. He knew she was being devious.
"No need, Lady Baccarat. How about you exchange these chips for me?" Luffy asked suddenly, as he created a suitcase full of money out of nowhere, surprising the woman.
"Sure..." Baccarat tried to act composed while Luffy smiled and everyone waited.
She went, exchanged the chips, and came back with another 500,000,000. He took the 500,000,000 in chips along with his other 500,000,000 that Baccarat got and threw it all on the table.
"I bet one billion berries," Luffy declared, while everyone around was in shock. The manager almost choked, but seeing the lady clinging to Luffy again, he realized he would make a huge profit that night.
This man was about to lose a billion after already losing everything he had won. That was the nature of gambling. They gave you hope at the beginning, with the ability to win, and then you bet more and more until you lost everything. That was how Gran Tesoro worked, with some lucky people losing when this woman was around. And as soon as he lost a billion, he would try to recover, seeking a loan, and that would be his end, like most of the slaves in these places. But he wasn't just anyone, was he?
"Let's go!" said Luffy. "I bet everything on red 7." He declared. "And for that... my luck is right here!" he said, running his hand around the woman's waist and pulling her in, without giving her a chance to react. Suddenly, he kissed her in front of everyone, leaving her stunned. When he released her, with a big smile, he said, "This kiss is going to win me one billion berries." He declared, and almost everyone, even from other areas, came closer to see the spectacle.
"Well, let's get started then," the manager said, a little stunned to see someone actually kiss Lady Baccarat, but he returned with a malicious smile and threw the ball onto the roulette wheel. It kept moving until it began to slow down, with everyone watching intently. The ball lost momentum and finally landed on red 7, leaving everyone in shock.
"Huh, that makes me a billionaire," Luffy declared loudly to everyone. After all, he had just won a billion after betting a billion on his side. The manager seemed to have lost his bearings, looking at the situation in disbelief. The woman, still a little dazed from the sudden kiss, saw the result and was in shock, her face showing something other than the seductive expression for the first time. No customer had ever done something like this; she looked at Luffy, surprised.
Immediately, a round of applause began throughout the crowd, who looked at the result with admiration. "Well, it looks like I won," Luffy began to laugh excitedly.
"Impossible! How did you do that?" she exclaimed, unable to believe it.
"What do you mean?" Luffy narrowed his eyes, while she shook her head.
"Forget it," she finally replied, not wanting to be too insistent, after all, this man was no ordinary person.
Luffy continued laughing as he got up from the table, pulling all the chips toward himself. He placed them in large containers like buckets, and the sound of them continued to echo as he filled two buckets with thousands of chips, making everyone feel a strong sense of envy toward Luffy.
Luffy looked at Baccarat and was laughing inside. After all, no matter how much the woman tried to steal his luck, he had made some adjustments beforehand. He had applied a new class from the Moa Moa no Mi, where he could manipulate his luck, applying a multiplication and reducing his luck by 0.001, drastically diminishing the amount the woman could steal, and allowed them to play with this reduced luck so that they would think they were succeeding in tricking him.
In the last round, he not only recovered what he had lost under the effect of bad luck but also won more than a billion. He knew that Tesoro must be biting his own clothes somewhere, watching what was happening through the cameras. At the moment he went to play the final game, Luffy increased his luck by 0.001, multiplying it by 30 times.
As he walked out, the woman ran after him. "Wait," she said. After all, she needed to recover that billion; otherwise, Tesoro would be very, very angry.
Meanwhile, the other members of the Straw Hats were having fun until many children suddenly appeared around them.
"What is this?" Nami murmured.
"Auntie, auntie, buy this from us," a child murmured, handing over some kind of common object and candies, among other things.
"What are you doing here, selling things in a casino?" Vivi asked beside her, as Shirahoshi, Lucy, and Hachi approached.
"It's because I need money to be free," the girl next to the boy murmured, with a tone of sadness.
"To be free? What do you mean by that?" Lucy asked, not understanding.
Before the child could respond, someone appeared. "You can leave us," a short-haired girl appeared at that moment. The boy looked at her with fear and immediately backed away. The Straw Hats found this very strange, but Nami, who had narrowed her eyes, suddenly widened them as she recognized the woman in front of her.
"Carina!" Nami exclaimed. Both, former friends who used to steal in the past, had finally reunited.
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