Iron Rooster

"But, sir, that place won't let anyone in if they don't have money."

After seeing the three of them dressed so strangely, Little Wolf figured they didn't look like wealthy people.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of money, right, Buggy?"

"Hmph, I'm broke." Buggy turned his head away, refusing to spend his own money no matter what.

"Buggy, this is a huge accomplishment. Think about it: if the Captain finds out about this, he'll definitely reward us. Then you'll have as much money as you want, won't you?"

At those words, Buggy's eyes instantly turned into Berries. "But I'm telling you now, I'm only taking a share. I'm not giving you more than that."

"Don't worry, we won't make you take too much."

The four of them then followed Little Wolf to a very lively street, crowded with people and lined with all kinds of shops.

They tightened the scarves around their heads to keep the wind from blowing them off and revealing their true identities.

"We're here, sir. This is the place."

Little Wolf gestured to the three of them in front of a splendid, gold-encrusted building.

"Wow, this casino's impressive. They're really operating so openly?"

Seeing a building like this for the first time, Shirakawa and the others were a little astonished.

"This is a licensed, legitimate establishment. I heard the owner is some noble from the Royal Capital."

Little Wolf explained the situation to the four of them.

"So he's a noble. No wonder he's so wealthy."

Shirakawa had a terrible impression of the nobles in One Piece, mainly because of the Celestial Dragons and Sabo's family in the Goya Kingdom.

"All right, we don't need you anymore. You can go."

Now that they'd reached their destination, there was no point in keeping Little Wolf around.

"Really, sir?"

"What, you don't want to leave? If you'd rather stay, then stay here."

"No, no, sir. I'm leaving right now."

With that, Little Wolf hurried away, darting around a few corners before vanishing from sight in a matter of seconds.

"Am I really that scary?" Shirakawa asked Shanks and Buggy. "Did he have to run that fast? He even lost a shoe."

Within their line of sight, a lone shoe stood on the ground. Someone eventually kicked it, sending it farther and farther away from them.

"All right, let's go in. If the First Mate isn't here, we'll have to find another way."

As the four of them reached the entrance, two men in black sunglasses held out their hands to stop them.

"Please show us proof of your wealth or some document that can verify your identities."

The man spoke like a machine without a trace of emotion, his voice completely flat.

"Buggy, you're up."

Shirakawa took a step back and gave Buggy the chance to show off.

Damn it. They only think of me when there's money involved, Buggy cursed to himself.

To him, money was like flesh on his body. Every time he spent a little, it felt as if someone had cut a piece off him.

After fumbling around for ages, Buggy finally pulled a Berry coin from his pocket.

Seeing the coin, Shirakawa and the others all covered their foreheads, as if to say, I don't know this guy.

The two doormen were also speechless. Is he messing with us? Not only that, he's actually insulting us.

"Gentlemen, don't be angry. I'll get the money for you right away," Shirakawa said quickly, seeing that the two guards looked ready to blow their tops.

"Then hurry up."

"Sure thing, sir."

"Shanks, hold Buggy down for me."

"On it." Shanks immediately pinned Buggy from behind.

"Hey, what are you doing? Let go of me!" Buggy shouted.

"Heh, don't worry. It'll be over soon."

Shirakawa reached out with his wicked hands and searched Buggy, finding two money pouches and several banknotes.

To a thief, Buggy was a fat lamb for the slaughter.

Shirakawa pulled out the two money pouches and showed them to the guards. "How about that? Is this enough?"

"That'll do. Please come in."

The two men opened the door for Shirakawa and the others. As soon as they stepped inside, it was like entering a completely different world from the one outside.

"May I ask what you'd like?" As soon as they entered, a hostess came over and asked them.

Though the four of them were dressed strangely, the staff saw them as four fat lambs ripe for the slaughter. No one came here without spending money.

"Take us to the casino."

"Certainly. Please follow me."

As soon as she heard they wanted the casino, the hostess lit up, and her service became even more attentive. The casino was undoubtedly the fastest place to spend money here.

The five of them went down a flight of stairs. Although the establishment was legal, they still tended to turn their basements into casinos.

Here, Shirakawa saw all sorts of gambling games.

"Sir, you can exchange money for chips over here. Please follow me."

"Do any of you want to play something?"

"I don't," Buggy said first. How could he play with his own money?

"Neither do I," Kaiser Lynn said. As a princess of a kingdom, she could play whatever she wanted.

"I'd like to give it a try."

Thinking of Shanks's words, Buggy nearly bulged his eyes out of their sockets. "You bastard! You're spending my money!"

"All right, then. Give him ten thousand Berries' worth of chips," Shirakawa said calmly, as if ten thousand Berries weren't money at all.

It's not like I'm spending my own money anyway.

Hearing that, the hostess's mouth twitched, and her smile stiffened.

Ten thousand Berries might have been a lot in some poor places, but here it was nothing. In fact, ten thousand Berries wasn't even enough to qualify for entry.

I can't believe those two guards at the door let them in, the hostess grumbled to herself.

"All right, sir. Please wait a moment."

No matter how displeased she was, she still had to keep up appearances and fulfill the customer's request.

Otherwise, if they filed a complaint, the penalty would be no joke.

Soon, they brought over ten thousand Berries' worth of chips. There were only ten of them, so each one must have been worth a thousand Berries.

"All right, you can go now. If we need anything, we'll call you again."

"Very well. I hope you have a wonderful time."

After delivering her professional line with a fake smile, she quickly left.

"Am I really that scary? Why did she leave so quickly too? I wasn't going to eat her."

"Maybe she thinks you're too stingy to get any profit out of."

"Is that so? It's my first time here, so I don't know the rules."

"That doesn't seem to have anything to do with whether it's your first time."

Kaiser Lynn didn't hold back. "You're just a cheapskate by nature."