An Unexpected Person

As a powerful and ruthless figure, Crocodile's casino was quite well-equipped.

However, Ma Qiao actually knows nothing about gambling.

Although he liked money, he didn't believe that gambling could bring wealth.

"No child cries every day, and no gambler loses every day."

Don't take these jokes from guys on the "Quit Gambling" forum seriously. Having lived two lives, Ma Qiao has seen far too many scoundrels who have ruined their lives at the gambling table.

However, since we're already here, it would be a bit unreasonable not to play a few rounds.

Amidst the disdainful gaze of the junket operators, Ma Qiao traded for chips worth less than a thousand Beli, then walked up to the poker table with a grin.

Even if it's for nothing else, just admiring the sexy dealers dealing the cards is enough to make the ticket price worthwhile.

Unfortunately, a thousand Beli Flower Capital; Ma Qiao lost it all in the blink of an eye.

The charming and sexy dealers were so attentive that they coaxed Ma Qiao into making more deposits.

However, Ma Qiao is now a man who has just experienced a long voyage with two stunningly beautiful women; how could he be tempted by mere beauty?

Ma Qiao steadfastly protected his wallet.

After losing all his chips, Ma Qiao prepared to go back to his room and play poker by himself.

Vivi followed him the whole time, both preventing the vixen from harassing him and continuing her detective mode.

As for Nami...

This Cat Burglar is surprisingly good at gambling; he's riding Tahm Kench and dominating the Pai Gow game.

"Tsk tsk, what happened to the vow to be mortal enemies with Fish-Man..."

Ma Qiao shook his head, and just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly stopped.

Following Ma Qiao's astonished gaze, Vivi saw a blind old man wearing wooden clogs sitting in front of the roulette wheel, listening intently to the sound of the dice bouncing.

He already had a huge pile of chips in front of him.

From the whispers of the surrounding gamblers, it was learned that the blind old man had correctly guessed the color of the dice roll in eight or nine consecutive rounds, winning a large amount of chips.

Everyone hesitated, wondering whether to place a bet with the blind old man.

Ma Qiao looked at this strangely familiar scene, lost in thought.

A name that would one day intimidate pirates from all directions came to mind.

Admiral Fujitora!

Although his attire was different, Ma Qiao recognized the blind old man and a playful expression appeared on his face.

Two years into the main storyline, I actually met an incredible person who only appeared after the Paramount War!

Of course, the navy has not yet held World Military Draft, and there are no vacancies for the position of Admiral.

Therefore, the blind old man in front of us does not yet have the title of Fujitora, nor is he Marine Admiral. He should just be a wandering knight named "Issei".

Vivi, who was carefully observing Ma Qiao's every move, frowned, sensing that things were not so simple.

Although this old man looked like just an ordinary blind person, he managed to elicit such an expression from the stinky old man...

How could he be an ordinary person!

Ma Qiao was observing Fujitora, while Vivi was observing Ma Qiao.

Both of them had expressions that said, "It's him, it's him, it's definitely him."

Vivi's heart pounded. Was her enemy, who sought to overthrow Alabasta, right before her eyes?

She quietly took out a carbon pen and clumsily sketched the shape of "Fujitora".

"Master, they're about to make their move."

After Fujitora won three more games in a row, the voice of Jhin, the Virtuoso, entered Ma Qiao's mind from somewhere.

Without using telepathy, even Ma Qiao would have no chance of detecting this serial killer mingling in the crowd.

Even though his rank is not high, the Virtuoso has already demonstrated his immense value as an intelligence agent.

Upon hearing Jhin's report, Ma Qiao nodded, indicating that he had just expected this.

Rain Dinners is a large casino directly operated by Crocodile, unlike the small gambling stall in Dressrosa where Fujitora and Luffy first met in the story.

Even so, Rain Dinners could not afford such a crazy exploitative behavior from this blind old man.

He always goes all in, always wins, and doesn't stop other gamblers from following suit.

The chips lost by Rain Dinners were growing at an alarmingly exponential rate.

Finally, a large group of thugs dressed in suits and wearing sunglasses, carrying long knives and handguns, came out from backstage.

While calming the other panicked gamblers, they surrounded "Fujitora".

Doing so would obviously severely damage the casino's reputation, but they couldn't afford to worry about that now; they had to stop the blind old man from betting.

"So, even the Shichibukai only have this much magnanimity?"

Fujitora gave a mocking sneer, slowly drawing a blade from his cane.

The man in sunglasses, who was in the lead, glanced at the gamblers around him, then stared at Fujitora and said coldly:

"Sir, if you're just here to gamble, you already have over 200 million Beli in your hands. Just stop here and you can leave with the money. But if you're planning to cause trouble, don't blame us for being impolite!"

"That's ridiculous. What casino in the world wouldn't allow betting?"

Fujitora revealed a cold smile, somewhat reminiscent of Lu Zhishen toying with Zhen Guanxi.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Finally, a few thugs launched a probing attack.

The moment they clashed, Fujitora reversed his grip on his Cane Sword, and in the blink of an eye, the few thugs who had rashly stepped forward were cut down to the ground.

Although the wound on his chest was deep, given Ma Qiao's understanding of the pirate world, bullets had indeed killed people like Bellemere, Kozuki Oden, and Shimotsuki Family Ieyasu, but a sword cut was truly ineffective.

Ma Qiao asked for a box of popcorn from the sexy dealer and ate it while watching the show.

It's quite surprising that "Fujitora Issei" would appear in Alabasta.

But upon closer reflection, it does seem quite reasonable.

As far as Ma Qiao knew, Fujitora had already conceived the idea of abolishing the Seven Warlords of the Sea system long before the Dressrosa arc, and he harbored great hatred towards the Shichibukai.

This seed of hatred may very well have sprouted in Alabasta.

It's quite possible that this astute fellow discovered something during his travels, but for other reasons ultimately chose not to take action.

This is hard to understand, but that's just how the pirate universe works.

For example, Roger also visited the mysterious Sky Island and the abandoned Golden Bell of Shandora.

But he merely had Kozuki Oden "The Roger Pirates were here" on it.

There was neither the ringing of the Golden Bell nor the resolution of the centuries-old feud between the Shandia people and the Skypieans; it was as if they were just strolling around town.

Of course, this could also be explained by the fact that Roger was already terminally ill at the time and needed to hurry to Laugh Tale.

So where is Ace in Wano Country?

He made a promise with Tama Yamato, making it seem like a grand affair, but in reality, he didn't even touch a hair on Kurozumi Orochi's head, let alone Kaido.

In contrast, King Luffy is a force to be reckoned with wherever he goes; there's no question of him slacking off.

Ironically, in terms of personality, Roger, Ace, and Luffy should be very similar.

Roger and Ace's inaction can only be interpreted as them sacrificing their lives to give Nika God a headshot.

Similarly, although Fujitora had been to Alabasta, he ultimately had to leave King Luffy's first major adventure in the Grand Line intact for various reasons.

That makes sense.

"Tsk tsk, no wonder he has the protagonist's halo!"

Ma Qiao popcorn, watching with amusement as Fujitora wreaked havoc in the Rainbase, fleecing Baroque Works...

Etc!

Are they taking advantage of Baroque Works?

Isn't that just taking advantage of me?

Ma Qiao suddenly realized that what Fujitora was holding wasn't just piles of chips, it was his life!

He lowered his head and sent a text message.

The call was answered instantly.

Ma Qiao nodded reassuredly, then stood up. "Life, want to take a gamble with me?"

Do you know me?

Fujitora sheathed his Cane Sword, turned around and frowned, seemingly recalling his encounter with this young man.

Ma Qiao laughed and said, "I've only heard rumors about the blind swordsman."

Fujitora rolled his pupil-less eyes, a look of alert on his face.

A powerful Observation Haki is unleashed.

While he can't Voice of All Things like Roger or Luffy, Fujitora can "see" things that are more real than what his eyes can see.

There was no murderous intent, but they were full of energy?

Fujitora lowered his head, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Gentlemen, could you please prepare a room for this old man and this young fellow?"

Normally, once the two sides have already used knives, the matter can't be resolved peacefully.

However, the security captain received a mysterious phone call. After nervously giving a long speech, he withdrew his attack on Fujitora and instead agreed to his bet with Ma Qiao.

After all, it's just a few small fry who got scratched. Cutting losses in time can at least maintain the casino's reputation.

The venue was readily available, so setup was very quick.

A junket operator respectfully handed a large stack of chips to Ma Qiao.

"This... this is 200 million Beli?"

Vivi covered her mouth in surprise, "You lecherous old man, where did we get so much money? Could it be... could it be that you sold Nami?"

You wish!

Nami grabbed Vivi by the collar and transformed into her fang form.

As Nami gradually became familiar with this "younger sister" who seemed to come from a very good background, she also began to revert to her true nature.

But...

Nami is in no mood to bicker with this scheming little queen.

She didn't doubt Ma Qiao's financial resources, but she was very skeptical of Ma Qiao gambling skills.

Nami grabbed Ma Qiao, looking worried. "Joe, are you really going to gamble with him? He's a gambling master who's won eleven times in a row! I think there's something strange about that old man's ears!"

As Cat Burglar, Nami had seen many gambling masters who could roughly judge the dice rolls by relying on their keen hearing, but she had never heard of anyone as skilled as this blind old man in front of her.

"Don't worry, I'm a gambling genius!"

Ma Qiao laughed heartily, "Of all the arts, I'm the best at cards! One point of mine is worth a hundred points of someone else's! After that defeat, I've grown rapidly. Now, please call me—the Gambling Freak!"