Causing Trouble / Unleashing a Big Move at the First Sign of Disagreement

Arthur was panting, his face and neck flushed bright red. Even he could not withstand Alabasta's scorching sun.

"I was still in too much of a hurry..." Arthur let out a heavy breath and checked his body, finding that he had used up nearly forty percent of his Mana.

He could have taken his time, but he knew Robin's personality and character well. Even if she chose to stay with him for a few days, Baroque Works would discover her, and Crocodile would come in person.

For the man who sought Pluton to gain power, Robin was undoubtedly the most important piece in his plan.

After Robin was captured, Arthur had thrown the Den Den Mushi she carried into the sea.

In other words, as far as Crocodile knew, Robin had been missing for over half a month. Now that this important piece in his plan had reappeared, if Crocodile discovered her, he would be even more anxious than Arthur.

Nami was too weak, and Arthur was not yet strong enough to defeat Crocodile while keeping her from harm.

So, to prevent Robin from leaving alone and being discovered by Crocodile, Arthur chose to take the initiative.

This was the solution Arthur had come up with before reaching Lodestar Island.

Before putting it into action, however, Arthur was in no hurry to go looking for trouble with Crocodile.

Soaked in sweat and with his skin stinging from the sun, all Arthur wanted was a bath and a chance to restore his Mana.

When it came to Mana, Arthur had a unique advantage.

With the Dragon Factor in his body, he could generate Mana with a single breath as long as his blood was circulating.

The only pity was that, because of the game system, the Dragon Factor could only let Arthur recover Mana quickly. It could not increase it.

Using Observation Haki, Arthur expanded his range of perception and began searching the city for an inn.

Chapter 32: Causing Trouble

(I got the place name wrong in the previous chapter, writing Alubarna instead of Rainbase. It has been corrected.)

[I was feeling seriously unwell yesterday and didn't post an update. I'm very sorry.]

Rainbase, the Dream City.

This was Alabasta's city of dreams and Crocodile's headquarters.

The streets were bustling and filled with a clamor of voices.

At a fairly well-known inn, in a private hot spring area.

Soaking in a small hot spring, Arthur ate a hot spring egg and felt the fatigue from half an hour of nonstop travel gradually fade away.

The Mana in his body recovered with every breath, at a pace that was neither fast nor slow.

After about half an hour, Arthur felt that he had returned to peak condition.

He got out of the hot spring, put on his knight's attire, and went to the inn's restaurant for a hot meal. Then he left the inn and headed toward Rain Dinners.

Rain Dinners was the largest casino in the Alabasta Kingdom and also the headquarters of Baroque Works. Crocodile was there.

"Sir, please wait!"

When Arthur reached the entrance to Rain Dinners, two staff members guarding the door stopped him.

Looking at Arthur in his knight's attire, both men showed a trace of puzzlement. They had seen all kinds of people—pirates, merchants, rich men, thugs, and soldiers—but a knight coming to gamble was honestly a first for them.

"Will this do?" Arthur was not surprised to be stopped. He took a stack of banknotes from his pocket and waved it in front of them as he spoke.

"Please come in!"

In a place like this, nothing worked better than Beli. Seeing that every note in Arthur's stack was worth 10,000 Beli, the two immediately stepped aside.

After entering the casino, Arthur was greeted by another attendant, who took him to the counter to exchange his money for chips.

As Arthur handed over the stack of banknotes, he looked around the casino.

Aside from the clamor of voices, what drew Arthur's attention was the madness and despair, as well as the wild joy and frenzy, contained within the lively atmosphere. These emotions at opposite extremes were all present in the casino.

It had to be said, a casino really was a place where families were ruined.

Arthur took the tray handed to him at the counter. On it were chips of different colors and sizes. He looked at the gamblers with an indifferent gaze.

Most of these people are probably beyond saving.

The casino offered all kinds of games. Arthur even saw three-card poker, dice games, high-low betting, and so on from his previous life...

Although its size was nowhere near comparable to the world's largest entertainment complex run by Gild Tesoro, and it could not even match the casinos in the Sabaody Archipelago, it was still one of the larger casinos on the Grand Line.

Arthur carried his tray over to the high-low betting area and found a seat.

In both his previous life and this one, Arthur had been a man of very good character, apart from his fondness for good wine. This was his first time gambling, and high-low betting happened to be one of the few games he knew how to play.

"Bets are closed!"

The dealer shook the dice cup, surveyed the chips on the table in front of the customers, and slammed it down.

Arthur tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes closed as though he were thinking about something.

Arthur tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes closed as though he were thinking about something.

Images appeared in his mind like slides, flashing through it as they zoomed in and out.

The next moment, Arthur pushed all his chips onto low.

"One, one, three. Low."

As the dealer spoke, Arthur's lips curved slightly.

Using Instinct (A) to gamble was practically defying the heavens.

Observation Haki could not see through objects, and Arthur's gambling skills were nearly nonexistent. If he wanted to win until Crocodile went bankrupt, he could only rely on Instinct (A)'s Future Sight.

Clearly, machine-assisted cheating did not exist in this world. The only way to deal with experts with exceptional hearing was to line the dice cup with shock-absorbing material, making the dice nearly silent when the dealer shook them.

Apart from ability users, there was only luck to rely on.

No one's luck was constant. Unless they had eaten a Devil Fruit, those who could win every bet were either powerful enough with Observation Haki to see the dice inside, or were ability users.

If either kind of person came to the casino, the boss would undoubtedly invite them over.

That was exactly what Arthur wanted.

Although Arthur knew Rain Dinners was the headquarters of Baroque Works and Crocodile's base, searching recklessly would only cause unnecessary trouble. The best approach was to make Crocodile take the initiative and send someone to find him.

There was no better way than causing trouble at his casino.

On the top floor of Rain Dinners, in Crocodile's office.

"Boss, Mr. 3 failed. Straw Hat and Princess Vivi are on their way back now."

"He couldn't even beat a rookie without a bounty. What a piece of trash. Mr. 1, bring him back."

Golden sunlight streamed through the window and fell behind a figure wreathed in smoke. His voice held suppressed anger. "Forget that trash for now. Did you find Miss All Sunday?"

"Unfortunately, boss, I followed Miss All Sunday's route the whole way, but found no trace of her."

"Could that woman really have run away?" Crocodile's eyes were gloomy as he said in a low voice, "Impossible. That woman has worked with me for so long for the Poneglyph. She couldn't have given up halfway."

"Mr. 1, bring Mr. 3 back first. The search for that woman can wait."

"Yes, boss."

"..."

Knock, knock, knock—

After he ended the call, someone suddenly knocked on the office door.

"Come in." Crocodile turned his executive chair, placing his back to the office door and revealing his face in the sunlight.

He wore a fur coat over a long-sleeved shirt, his hair slicked back and a scar running across his face. A cigar was clenched between his teeth, and his left arm, fitted with a Golden Hook, rested on the chair. Sunlight fell on the gold, giving it a dangerous gleam.

"Boss, something terrible has happened... There's trouble at our casino."

The door was pushed open from outside, and a figure rushed in. His hurried steps caused him to trip, and he caught himself with both hands on the floor. Looking up at the executive chair facing away from him, he spoke with an anxious expression.

Chapter 33: Unleashing a Big Move at the First Sign of Disagreement

"A-amazing!"

"How did he do it? He hasn't made a single mistake?!"

"Come on, knight! We're counting on you again this round..."

"Bet with the knight and you're guaranteed to win!"

"..."

The atmosphere at Rain Dinners, the kingdom's largest casino, was already close to frenzy. The noise never stopped, and passersby had long since grown accustomed to it.

But today, the atmosphere at Rain Dinners seemed to have reached its peak. Loud, synchronized cheers, full of excitement and exhilaration, rang out as if they would pierce the heavens.

The gamblers who had been scattered among the other games had, at some point, all gathered in the high-low betting area, forming an enormous crowd.

Every one of them looked as though they had found treasure. Their faces flushed with excitement, they clutched their chips and kept pushing inward, eager to swarm forward at the slightest move from the young man seated in the center.

In front of Arthur lay a huge pile of chips of different sizes, representing different amounts.

The dealers in charge of the high-low game had already been replaced one after another, unable to withstand the pressure Arthur put on them. This was the fifth dealer, and he was the supervisor himself.

But no matter who replaced them, no matter which expert took over, a large sum of money was lost every time the dice cup was opened.

With Arthur winning every bet, more and more people had followed his lead, until even the entire casino had moved over.

This was no longer a matter of paying out one to one. Every loss meant the entire casino had won.

If this continued, it would take only a few more rounds for the casino to pay out an entire year's earnings.

The casino was on the verge of bankruptcy.

And the person responsible for this crisis was the dealer shaking the dice.

How could the thought of being punished by the boss not make the dealer tremble with fear?

"Why aren't you continuing?" Arthur asked softly. He sat with his legs elegantly crossed and his hands on the table, playing with a chip worth fifty thousand as he looked at the dealer opposite him, whose face was covered in sweat and whose hands were trembling violently on the dice cup.

"That's right, hurry up and shake!"

"Yeah, yeah... If you won't do it, get someone else to."

"Stop wasting everyone's time..."

The crowd behind Arthur shouted in agreement. Their sharp gazes fell on the dealer, making his legs tremble. This was the most difficult moment of his life since becoming a supervisor.

"Damn it, why aren't they here yet?!" The dealer cursed inwardly, glancing toward a stairwell out of the corner of his eye. Sweat slid down his forehead and dripped from his chin.

Fortunately, just as the uneasy dealer prepared to shake the dice cup and start the next round, the figure he had been waiting for finally appeared, much to his delight.

"Sir Knight, our boss would like to see you. Could we speak somewhere else?" A tall man in a suit walked up beside the dealer and spoke respectfully to Arthur.

"Aw... Come on, let's go."

As soon as the words were spoken, before Arthur could answer, the gamblers behind him sighed and scattered as though they had encountered a god of misfortune.

As seasoned gamblers, every one of them knew what the man in the suit meant.

Casinos had no shortage of experts. When these gamblers found one, they would seize the chance to follow their bets and win big.

Arthur was not the first, and he would not be the last.

Arthur was not the first, and he would not be the last.

The appearance of the man in the suit also meant the matter would be settled next.

Although they were curious about what price the boss would pay to make Arthur stop, it was no longer any concern of theirs.

"Then please help me exchange these chips for Beli. I'll come back and collect it later," Arthur said to the dealer after glancing at the man in the suit.

"Yes, Sir Knight." The supervisor acting as dealer exchanged a glance with the man in the suit, then nodded respectfully.

"Then let's go. I'll meet your boss."

Arthur stood up, a smile curving his lips, and followed the man in the suit toward the stairwell leading to the top floor.