Fraud Island

Julian stopped paying attention to the slums and took the three women to the commercial district at the center of the island. Along the way, he beat several people to tears who tried to hit on them or scam them. This island was full of scams; everyone had a lying mouth. Especially when they saw Julian in that yellow cloak and coat, with a golden dragon head on the back, they could tell at a glance that he was rich.

Many people had been ready to approach Julian the moment he arrived, but after seeing him slap several people flying, they became much more honest. There were even extortionists. While Alice was walking, a young man stuck out his foot to trip her, then said, "Miss, look at how you dirtied my shoes. These shoes cost five hundred thousand Berries. You have to compensate me." Seeing such blackmail, Julian acted immediately.

Alice had only been pregnant for a few weeks. If she had fallen, Julian would have whipped the corpse right there. The young man was immediately beaten senseless by Julian, frightening the other scammers, staged-accident hustlers, and human traffickers.

Julian continued taking the three women shopping. Alice said, "These young people refuse to pay the exorbitant Heavenly Gold, and they have no money or food, so they can only cheat people everywhere. This country really is a failure."

Julian said, "Isn't that just how it is? The rich feast while the poor freeze to death by the roadside. Which noble or lord doesn't spend every night drinking, singing, and dancing? This is the norm of the world. Unless the system of kings and nobles is overthrown, such things will always happen." Julian continued, "All right, let's just take care of ourselves. Those three allied kingdoms we visited before also had slums like this; we just didn't see them. The villagers were all commoners, and they had to hand over a large portion of their taxes to the king to support the ministers of those kingdoms. They definitely couldn't have lived well."

Alice said, "The reason this island is so poor is because the nobles control it too tightly." Julian said, "There are plenty of places with even more corrupt monarchies. I'll tell you about them later."

Julian did not intend to say more. After all, this was the mainstream of the world. Then he spotted a huge casino in the middle of the street ahead. Men, women, young, and old were all streaming inside. Julian said to the three women, "Go shop on your own. I'm going to gather information. There might be Devil Fruits in this city."

Julian stored everything the women had bought in his Mud Space. Alice looked at him suspiciously and said, "Are you sure you don't just want to gamble?" She continued, "What Devil Fruits could there possibly be in a casino? You're telling more and more lies."

Julian said helplessly, "Didn't you see how huge this casino is, with people constantly coming and going?" Beatrice said, "Probably. Julian is an upright man." Marlena said, "There seems to be a beauty salon ahead. Let's try it! There's also a hot spring bathhouse. Wow, not bad at all."

Alice said, "I haven't seen anything like this in a long time." Marlena said, "Come on, sisters." Malena took the lead and entered the beauty salon.

Looking at the enormous casino before him, Julian thought, This must be a casino opened by one of the island's nobles. There really are plenty of wealthy people gambling inside. The maids in revealing servant outfits are there serving those nobles and business tycoons. They're all rich.

Julian saw someone over three meters tall who stood out like a crane among chickens. He looked at the familiar figure, who appeared to be in his fifties and wore a dispirited expression. Then Julian saw the corner of his mouth twitch as he said, "How scary... I won another five million." Julian immediately recognized him. Crooked Mouth Ape, dressed casually and wearing a noble gentleman's hat, had a revealingly dressed maid beside him cheering for the God of War. "Congratulations, sir, on making a fortune."

Julian thought, If you didn't look so dispirited, I wouldn't have recognized you. Crooked Mouth Ape was actually using Observation Haki to gamble. A large group of gamblers followed Vice Admiral Kizaru in betting on the dice. Julian immediately pulled out five hundred million Berries. Seeing Kizaru bet on big, Julian also bet all of it on big.

Kizaru suddenly saw the huge bundle of Berries in front of him and looked at Julian in confusion. Julian smiled at Vice Admiral Kizaru and said, "Senior, carry me for one round!" Kizaru asked doubtfully, "You trust this old man that much, kid?" Julian laughed inwardly. You're using Observation Haki to gamble. How could I not trust you?

Julian said, "Of course. I've loved gambling since I was little, and I always win. This round will definitely be big." Seeing Julian gamble so heavily, the others stopped following Kizaru's bets. Kizaru looked at Flame Dragon Julian, wondering whether he should arrest him. Forget it. There's no overtime pay anyway.

Kizaru smiled. "How scary. Young man, your luck really is good." Before long, the dice were revealed: four, six, six. Big. Julian watched the casino manager's pained expression. This casino had a solid reputation and quickly paid Julian his Berries.

Julian looked at the huge pile of Berries and felt delighted. He immediately took out two hundred million Berries and pushed them to Borsalino. Kizaru's mouth hung open. "Oh my, kid, this is gambling profit." Julian smiled. "Yes, Senior. I won these Berries by following your lead. It's only natural to share a little."

Julian continued, "Senior, hurry and make your move. The next round is starting." Kizaru, with that face of a man in his fifties, looked at the table and placed five million Berries on small. Julian also activated Mud Space perception, but he could not sense a single thing. Julian bet another five hundred million Berries on small. The other gamblers looked at him enviously and exclaimed, "This guy is too loaded. He just threw down five hundred million!"

Kizaru had the maid fetch two large cases, then packed the money into them. He also gave the maid over a hundred thousand Berries before smiling at Julian. "Young man, you won again." Julian smiled. "Thanks to you, Senior." Julian took out another two hundred million Berries and handed them to Kizaru. "Senior, are you heading back?"

Kizaru said, "Yes. See you again, generous young man." He took out another two cases to pack the Berries. Looking at the enormous fortune before him, Crooked Mouth God of War Kizaru seemed to have found the meaning of life. Sure enough, the world was fake. Only Berries were real.

Kizaru also thought, I definitely won't be poor after I retire. He smiled broadly at Julian. "Generous young man, I'm leaving now." Julian asked again, "Senior, what are you betting on next?" Kizaru said, "Don't bet on the next round. They're going to cheat." With the cases in hand, Kizaru walked out.

Seeing that the casino seemingly could not produce that much cash for the moment, Julian prepared to exchange it for goods. He went to the casino's merchandise area. The two finest treasures were a Great Grade Sword worth three hundred million Berries and a Devil Fruit. Julian liked those two items best. The rest were things like manuals or pirate treasures.

Julian had no interest in them. The Devil Fruit cost one billion Berries. Julian smiled and said, "As expected of island nobles. They're even selling Devil Fruits." He immediately took out eight hundred million Berries and bought the Devil Fruit and the Great Grade Sword.

Julian looked at the Devil Fruit before him. The five hundred million in compensation was now settled. He continued choosing items in the merchandise area. The security guards here carried guns and were fairly strong. Julian saw several Fine Grade weapons and immediately paid thirty million Berries to buy three Fine Grade swords. He continued onward. Golden wristguards, golden chamber pots, deep-sea pearls, volcanic gemstone jewelry—Julian did not care about any of it. Finding something that could increase his strength would be far more practical.

Julian saw an entire set of golden cups, crystal goblets, and then the Body Strengthening Potion Recipe. Julian thought, It's still inferior to Rose's Flame Potion. That potion was developed using Fire Dragon Blood Essence Congealed Blocks together with Rose's Medicine-Medicine Fruit.

After consuming it, it could strengthen the body with dragon blood, possibly grant mastery over fire dragon flames, and enhance the physique and bones. Julian had arranged for every division captain and Squadron Captain to receive it. For now, the quantity was limited. Julian himself took it as well, while Alice, Beatrice, and Marlena each only had one dose.

Julian also hoped Rose could awaken his Devil Fruit. That would be incredible. He would be able to make all kinds of medicinal formulas and raise their overall strength. However, the body-strengthening potion recipe was a lower-grade version. It could also improve physical fitness, and it did not require many materials—just the marrow of some ferocious beasts and the sap of certain flowers and trees.

Julian said, "I should buy this and take it back to Rose. His Devil Fruit ability should also improve the effects of this potion recipe. Besides, Rose is interested in all those flowers and plants now." Ship doctor Rose often told Julian that he wanted to use his Devil Fruit ability to refine all kinds of potions.

After finishing his tour of the enormous merchandise exchange area, Julian left. At a little past eleven that night, Julian used a Den Den Mushi to call the three women. They had already returned to the ship. Julian immediately activated Fire Dragon Beastman Form and flew toward the dock where the ship was moored. Now that he could fly, he basically traveled by flight, and his speed was incredibly fast.

The Flame Dragon Pirates' division captains were basically as strong as Marine Headquarters Major Generals. George had already reached the strength of a Marine Vice Admiral. They had all mastered one or two Marine Rokushiki techniques. In Great Bear Form, George was twenty-eight meters long with a shoulder height of nine meters. When bears stood up, they could also strike left and right with both paws. His one-meter claws wielded Finger Pistol with astonishing power. The second-strongest division captain was Pierre.

Pierre had developed his Magnet-Magnet Fruit to a formidable level. Hundreds of swords could be assembled into a single giant sword over two hundred meters long, flying through the air. That giant sword could also split into countless flying swords. Julian had inspired Pierre with stories of the immortal swordsmen of Mount Shu, using the Magnet-Magnet Fruit for Sword Flight. Pierre's Magnet-Magnet Fruit was originally meant to control scrap metal and reshape it. Using it to play with flying swords was exceptionally impressive.

Herbert's strength improved even faster. Ever since he learned Flying Slash, his strength had soared. His Armament Haki had now awakened, and his Observation Haki was gradually awakening as well. Herbert could sense the wind of nature. Any slash infused with Devil Fruit ability became a Wind Blade strike reaching more than two hundred meters away. A massive crescent-shaped Wind Blade over ten meters long shot out, charging for more than two hundred meters as if plowing the earth.

With so many powerful members in the Flame Dragon Pirates, Julian grew increasingly confident in his future ambitions. Every night, Julian conducted willpower-fortification training, also known as Dao Heart Training Version Zero Point Five.

Every morning, Julian shouted at the mirror, "I will definitely conquer Sky Island and become the god of Sky Island! Conqueror's Haki plus one! I will become the strongest god in the world! Conqueror's Haki plus one point five! Momonosuke, I will definitely kill that little bastard! Conqueror's Haki plus three!"

Julian had also discovered the secret code of Conqueror's Haki. He shouted, "Momonosuke, I'll slaughter your whole family! Conqueror's Haki plus three!"

Julian knew that Conqueror's Haki grew according to one's beliefs, willpower, Mental Power, physique, and presence. Julian said, "If I shout slogans every day and strengthen my beliefs, my Conqueror's Haki will definitely improve little by little."

Naturally, such Dao heart willpower training also increased Julian's immense Mental Power. It seemed Julian truly could not live without Momonosuke. If he did not kill Momonosuke for even one day, he felt uncomfortable all over. Most importantly, Julian's desire to kill Momonosuke might have surpassed his desire to become the strongest in the world.

The next morning, Julian began Dao Heart Stability Training again, shouting, "Momonosuke, I'll kill you, you idiot! I will become the king of the world! I will conquer Sky Island and crush Gan Fall!" Julian shouted at the mirror again. Afterward, his heart was filled with confidence, and his Conqueror's Haki increased by another tiny bit.

Julian laughed. "Sure enough, Dao heart is crucial. Only by strengthening your beliefs can you increase your willpower. This is physically enhancing belief, using physical methods to train Conqueror's Haki—Dao Heart Training Version Zero Point Five for short." Julian felt it was very effective, but the downside was that it disturbed the neighbors and was rather childish. He woke Alice and the others early in the morning, and Alice called him a lunatic.