The Opening of the Gambling Tournament and the Golden Emperor

Two days later, on Fish-Man Island.

Neptune wagged his large tail, nervously watching his subjects before him.

Before him, 100,000 Fish-Man, each with their own thoughts, awaited Neptune's mobilization.

Neptune then raised his right hand.

"My people!"

He roared.

"Just the night before last, I received a call from Saint Gawain."

He and I talked for a long time, but everything he said revolved around one core point.

The Fish-Man can now go ashore!!!

"Awooo!!!"

Amid cheers, Neptune clapped his enormous hands.

"Having received instructions from Saint Gawain, I have gathered you all together, and you will become the first group of Fish-Man to set foot on land in large numbers!"

This is an immense honor, an honor that no other Fish-Man in the hundreds or thousands of years of history can match!

Our people have recorded your names. From this day forward, your names and surnames will be inextricably linked to our Fish-Man race, and even more so to our Ryugu Palace Kingdom!!!

At this point, Neptune paused for a moment, giving his people a brief respite.

After the cheers subsided slightly, Neptune immediately spoke in a more serious voice.

"But!"

He emphasized this with particular seriousness.

"But the land is not entirely safe. As outsiders on the land, we have only just acquired a piece of land of our own!"

That place is currently barren, and we have to build everything ourselves!

Our houses, our streets, and our future palaces built on the land, deeply rooted in our dreams!

Everything is in my hands, and even more so in the hands of each and every one of you!

And construction is not even the only difficulty; we have many, many more enemies!

Those humans who treat us as outsiders, not all of them will love us as deeply as Saint Gawain.

Those slave traders who have been capturing us in the past will not give up the opportunity to turn us into their ill-gotten gains just because of Saint Gawain's glorious and great name!

My people, today, right now, the dream that the Fish-Man have always pursued is within our grasp!

Do you think we should back down in the face of all those so-called dangers?

Even if we have to retreat, should we retreat now, when we're on the verge of success and only a moment away from our dreams?

Should we back out of this?!

"No!!!"

The Fish-Man roared!

Since Gawain and his party arrived at Fish-Man Island, directly killed Hody Jones and Vander Decken IX, revealed the truth about Otohime's death, and became engaged to the Fish-Man princess.

The Fish-Man have lost much of their hatred for humans.

After all, many of the deep-seated grudges they once thought they had were actually instigated by their own people to stir up internal strife.

They felt guilty too.

After three months of education, and being moved by Mjosgard's occasional tearful speeches...

The Fish-Man of today are no longer willing to give up the opportunity to set foot on land!

Looking at his energetic subjects below the platform, Neptune nodded in satisfaction, and then continued.

"I have heard your voices, and I have felt your will!"

Our future lies right above us, right on the Sabaody Island!

Saint Gawain has already planned out our living area, which consists of five huge islands!

At the same time, Saint Musgarud will protect us. He will come to us and work with us, and with everyone, to build a new home for fishmen and mermaids!

Come, my people, raise your sickles and hammers!

You will use sickles to cut down the overgrown weeds on the barren island, and hammers to build our future home!

And when we encounter evil people, they will become our weapons, witnessing our will and determination to protect our homeland!

Now, everyone, join me on board our ship to the future!

No matter how tough or tiring life is on land, we must always remember that our compatriots underwater are waiting for us!

Set off!!!"

A thunderous horn sounded, accompanied by the cheers of the Fish-Man, and the large ships bound for land opened their decks.

Gradually, the ships carrying the figures of Fish-Man left Fish-Man Island and rose towards the sea.

Meanwhile, at the opening ceremony of the gambling competition in the Sabaody Archipelago.

Gawain sat upright in the middle of everyone, watching everything before him with anticipation.

On the chairs to his right sat Saint Rosward, Saint Charlos, and Shalria.

The first chair to his left was empty, its purpose unknown. From the second chair onwards, Rayleigh and Gion were seated respectively.

In addition, Kalifa and Lucci were standing behind Gawain, but none of Gawain's other men were present.

To Gawain's left, the Rosward family occupied three chairs, and since there couldn't be four chairs on Gawain's right, Rayleigh, who had no one to compete with, sat down.

As for the final match, no one else was interested, but Hancock and Gion had another good fight.

As for winning or losing, there's probably no need to elaborate.

As they gradually took their seats, until they were finally settled...

The countless pirates from all over the world who participated in the betting competition all ignored Iceburg's speech and turned to look in Gawain's direction!

Two days ago, after Morgans released a series of news reports, although most newspapers had not yet been able to reach those extremely remote islands.

But those people nearby had already seen the contents and learned of the terrifying news of Rayleigh's return.

At this moment, Saint Gawain, sitting upright next to Rayleigh, has become the biggest question in the minds of almost everyone on the sea.

Why would Rayleigh come out of retirement for him?

On the high platform, facing countless curious gazes, Gawain maintained his elegant smile throughout.

Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Kalifa's arms rang.

"Moses, Moses?"

After answering the phone and exchanging greetings, Kalifa handed the Den Den Mushi to Gawain.

"Sir, it's a call from Saint Mjosgard."

"I see."

Gawain took the Den Den Mushi and smiled at its star-shaped face.

"Long time no see, Mjosgard, have you set off yet?"

"Haha, Gawain, you guessed right, we've already set off!"

Brother Neptune mobilized 100,000 men in the first phase, of which 50,000 were the thugs who had been captured earlier, and the remaining 50,000 were construction workers mixed with the Neptune Army's soldiers!

We'll be at sea in about twenty minutes. How are things going on your end?

Gawain smiled as he heard Mjosgard's familiar voice.

"Shirahoshi and Jinbe are already waiting for you at the newly built dock on Island 25. In addition, my other subordinates are also there."

I'm currently at the World Gambling Tournament. Once things start as normal here, I'll find some time to visit you!

"Okay!"

Mjosgard smiled with satisfaction.

"Then I'll wait for you in a bit. After I see you, I'll accompany you to your gambling competition for a while."

But I heard that Rosward is there too?

As soon as Mjosgard finished speaking, Rosward, who had been staring at the Den Den Mushi from the beginning, suddenly widened his eyes.

"You wouldn't even address me as Chief Rosward, Chief Mjosgard! You've lost all basic manners!"

"Ha ha!"

Mjosgard burst into laughter.

"Oh, so Rosward was right next to you. I'll hang up now, see you later!"

"You...?!!"

Rosward looked at the sleeping Den Den Mushi with a speechless expression. What do you mean, "So you hung up after I was here"?

This is absolutely outrageous!

Seeing Rosward's distress, Gawain smiled and waved.

"Don't take it to heart, Rosward. Once the gambling competition begins, you can summon Mayor Iceburg."

"Snort!"

Upon hearing this, Rosward nodded in displeasure.

"If it weren't for my new ship, I would have given Mjosgard a real dressing down!"

I married his sister, and then so many things happened in the Donquixote Family!

First, Homing, along with his wife and children, gave up his Celestial Dragon status and left Mary Geoise.

Then Homing was actually killed by his son?

Utter disgrace!

For this one incident, I almost became the laughingstock of all Mary Geoise, along with my wife who originally bore the surname Donquixote!

This is... this is really terrible!

As soon as he finished speaking, Saint Rosward let out another heavy snort, then turned his head to the side, not even wanting to look at Gawain again.

Gawain ignored Rosward's capriciousness, sat upright in his chair, and smiled as he looked at the betting match ahead.

To fund the betting, he ordered Iceburg to lease three islands from Sabaody Island.

These three islands, while serving as venues for the games, will also become the world's second-largest gambling Holy Land, standing at the entrance to the New World, after the games conclude!

It will become his largest Beli distribution center besides large ship trading, and will also become one of the foundations of all his future plans!

Therefore, Gawain attaches great importance to this place!

"Gawain, a powerful expert is on their way!"

Suddenly, Rayleigh spoke, and as he spoke, Gion also showed an interested look.

Upon hearing Gawain, Gawain followed Rayleigh's gaze and looked towards the distant sea. At that moment, a bicycle was speeding along in the nearshore waters near Sabaody.

Wherever the bicycle went, the seawater turned into ice, leaving a clear white line in the water.

"It's Admiral Kuzan."

Gion smiled and said to Gawain.

"You, along with the Saint Rosward family, are all staying in Sabaody, where many pirates are participating in the betting competition."

Therefore, our navy will definitely send Admiral to garrison the area.

However, I didn't expect that, in addition to Borsalino, Sengoku would even send Admiral Kuzan!

As she spoke, Gion raised her hand to greet Tree Island, which was quite a distance away.

As she greeted him, a flash of golden light suddenly appeared in the canopy of Yarukiman mangrove tree in that direction.

Looking at the sudden burst of golden light, old man Rayleigh shook his head with a sigh.

"It's really impossible to make the old folks happy. They're all such outstanding young people, but they can't even manage a fight. Sigh."

Rather than looking forward to them, I'm more excited about the pirates!

After all, they really could cause trouble, let's wait and see!

At this point, Mr. Rayleigh reached out and gently pointed towards the betting venue below.

"That guy who exchanged a blow with me back then has arrived, and he hasn't even changed his attire. How arrogant!"

"Of course we have to be arrogant."

Gawain said to Rayleigh with a smile.

"After all, people with your level of strength wouldn't just be focused on escaping."

No one can guarantee their capture.

So, with your strength, where in the world can't we go?

As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain pointed to the distant sea.

"Unlike the powerful figures you've been focusing on, my attention has always been on that guy."

Whether they are strong or not, this is a gambling competition, not the World Martial Arts Tournament. The strong are our guests, not our enemies.

But that guy..."

Gawain smiled deeply.

"That guy's got some bad intentions when it comes to gambling!"

Meanwhile, at the Sabaody Casino's special pier, a luxurious ship made entirely of gold slowly docked.

On the deck of the ship, a man dressed in pink, wearing gold sunglasses, a large red rose on his left breast, and gold rings on all ten fingers of his hands looked toward the Dark Bird Ship moored along the coast.

With just one glance, the man shook his head dismissively.

"The combination of black and gold looks alright, but it's nowhere near as luxurious as pure gold."

As expected of Celestial Dragon's ship, haha, utterly devoid of substance, absolute garbage!

As soon as he finished speaking, the man strode towards the edge of the deck.

"The World Gambling Tournament, huh? Is that Mayor Iceburg of Water 7?"

A mere shipwright should stick to his shipwright job. Hasn't the dirty and tiring work of shipbuilding made him realize the difference between him and me?

Gambling, haha!

The man suddenly tossed his head, then let out a cold laugh.

"He wants to open a casino on this vast ocean, yet he hasn't even bothered to pay me a visit. Is this the confidence the Celestial Dragon have in him?!"

So what if they're Celestial Dragon? As long as I have money, even Celestial Dragon have to bow down to me!

I control 20% of the world's Beli, and as the owner of the largest Gran Tesoro in history!

As the "King of Gambling," did they even ask me about their gambling skills competition?!

As soon as he finished speaking, the man suddenly pointed at his men.

"Listen up, everyone! Today's betting competition is divided into three areas: dice, cards, and mahjong!"

Regardless, I want the championships in all three events to be proudly displayed under the name of my Tesoro Entertainment City!

You will wear my clothes, go and win all the gambling championships, and then seize the title of World Gambling King in the hands of my City of Gold!

With those stupid Celestial Dragon and that unprofessional shipwright and mayor!

They wouldn't understand the essence of gambling, and they certainly couldn't possibly surpass me, the true King of Entertainment, in running a casino!

Speaking of which, there's Gilderoy Tesoro, who holds the title of "Gild Tesoro" and is openly the world's richest man in the Pirate World.

He arrogantly stretched out his hand and waved at the white line that stretched from his ship to the dock in the distance.

"Admiral Aokiji of the Navy, thank you so much for escorting us!"

Look, I just left my City of Gold to come to Sabaody Island for an amateur betting tournament.

I even have an Admiral protecting me!

This is the power of money!

This is the very strength I once lacked!

But now, haha!

Now...

I am the world's richest person!!!

Unfortunately, Gawain was too far away to hear the Gild Tesoro's voice.

Moreover, Rosward, who was desperately short of money lately, didn't even notice the arrogant words of the Gild Tesoro.

Otherwise...

Gawain Rosward's recent mood, Gawain would rather shamelessly rob the lower classes than not personally take Tesoro's money!

Unfortunately, the Celestial Dragon had no idea that Tesoro existed.

Or perhaps they know but don't care.

Celestial Dragon like Rosward always believed they were the richest people in the world.

As for the other lower-class kings and nobles, even if those scoundrels could occasionally pull out a few coins, they were absolutely no match for him!

This is the pride of the Celestial Dragon...