Rain Dinners

The consequence of defeating those Kung Fu Dugongs was that these ugly-cute creatures had latched onto them. They declared that they wanted Kuina and Erii as their masters. Otherwise, they would not leave.

Of course, they could not bring these guys along on the journey. So they simply knocked the whole group unconscious by the roadside and turned to leave.

A few hours later, they rode various four-legged beast-shaped robots into Rainbase.

Richard had specifically made these robots in all sorts of shapes: tigers, lions, leopards, wolves, even cats and dogs. They were toys to begin with, so naturally they should come in all kinds of forms. What fun would there be if they all looked exactly the same?

Xia Mi said it was a good idea and promptly claimed it for herself. She would make some for fun when she had time. It would be even more entertaining if she added all kinds of weapons to them.

From far away, they could see the golden crocodile atop the tallest building in the center of Rainbase.

This was likely Rainbase's largest casino, Rain Dinners. The golden crocodile on its roof had made it a landmark of the city.

That golden crocodile was also the emblem of Sand Crocodile Crocodile. It signified that this casino belonged to the Shichibukai Crocodile, intimidating anyone who wanted to cause trouble.

Pirates were all unruly, and only the strong could keep them in line. Even so, countless people still caused trouble at Rain Dinners every year.

Still, they had not expected Sand Crocodile to have opened Rain Dinners this early. Did that mean Nico Robin was already here as well?

Since they were already here, they naturally had to have some fun at the casino. Although none of them really understood the rules, their sharp eyes and ears allowed them to win large amounts of chips with ease, even without cheating through methods such as mental power or Observation Haki.

And that was exactly what happened. Even though they ate, drank, played, and spent quite a bit of money, their funds did not decrease. They actually grew.

Especially after they won a whopping one hundred million Belly in chips at Rain Dinners. The person in charge of Rain Dinners could no longer sit still and directly sent the casino's gambling experts over to cheat, hoping to win the chips back.

Yet Richard and the others had not even cheated first, and these people actually dared to cheat right in front of them. They had no intention of indulging them.

Even while cheating, those people kept losing, quickly dropping another two hundred million Belly.

Even the person overseeing Rain Dinners could no longer remain calm. He immediately called Crocodile, who was behind it all, and reported that someone was causing trouble.

Richard and Xia Mi naturally noticed this.

But neither of them stopped it. Kuina had come here to challenge Crocodile in the first place.

Rather than go looking for him, it was better to wait here and let him deliver himself to their door.

Still, it was a little regrettable that Robin had not yet joined Crocodile's ranks, so they could not see what this famous beauty of the Pirate World looked like.

But Richard did not hold particularly high expectations. Most people in the Pirate World looked rather abstract, and many so-called beauties were simply beyond the appreciation of anyone with normal tastes.

Over the past two days, they had roughly toured all of Rainbase before finally coming to Rain Dinners.

Then, in only a few hours, they won more than three hundred million Belly combined.

By then, the person in charge of Rain Dinners no longer dared let them keep gambling. He invited them upstairs, then resorted to the same old gangster routine.

Everything he said implied that this was the territory of Shichibukai Crocodile and that they had better not make trouble. If they knew what was good for them, they would hand over their winnings and get lost quietly. Otherwise, their lives could not be guaranteed.

They all laughed. They were not afraid of trouble; they were afraid no one would come looking for it. None of them were good people, so if he swallowed this, they would feel embarrassed about making a move instead.

The manager's face darkened. He could already tell that these people had come specifically to pick a fight.

"Looks like you aren't interested in settling this peacefully." With a wave of his hand, the subordinates surrounding them rushed forward, ready to teach these ungrateful fools a lesson.

"Kuina, aren't you going to make a move?" Richard asked.

"No. I need to prepare for my fight with Crocodile later." Kuina shook her head, her expression calm and composed.

"Then leave it to me." Fenrir did not even draw his Zanbato. Barehanded, he sent each approaching lackey flying with a single punch.

However, as Crocodile's most important enterprise, this place did have skilled fighters stationed here.

Although Crocodile's strongest subordinates were all in the secret criminal organization Baroque Works because he wanted to usurp the Alabasta Kingdom, those subordinates did not even know that the big boss above them was Crocodile.

But Rain Dinners still had elite subordinates personally recruited by Crocodile. If placed in the Four Blues, these men would probably each be worth bounties exceeding ten million.

Compared to ordinary lackeys, these elites were much tougher. At the very least, they could trade a few punches with Fenrir, and even after being knocked down, they could get back up and keep fighting.

Because there were so many of them, some clever ones decided Fenrir was too difficult to handle. They went around him and charged straight at Richard and the others.

What clever little fellows.

Seeing that none of the others intended to act, Richard waved his hand and summoned a stream of water, wrapping those people inside it.

Then, like a drum washing machine, it churned them around until they were scattered and dizzy, while ensuring that not a single one was flung out.

Very quickly, everyone from the casino, including the elite enforcers, had been knocked to the ground.

"Lord Crocodile won't let you get away with this!" the battered manager shouted.

"Oh, you're pretty loyal to Old Sand, aren't you?" Lin Feng teased.

"We weren't planning to run anyway. We'll wait right here for Old Sand to come." Richard said.

"Hmph, another bunch of newcomers who don't know their place. Every year, newcomers come to challenge Lord Crocodile, but they all fail.

"I advise you to surrender quickly. That way, Lord Crocodile might spare your lives. We might even end up as colleagues." The manager snorted.

But no one paid him any attention.

More than an hour later, a gust of yellow sand swept in from the sky. Crocodile had arrived.

As the user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, yellow sand covered the ground wherever he went.

"Who dares cause trouble on my turf?" Old Sand was imposing the moment he arrived.

Kuina stepped forward, her gaze sharp and resolute.

"Oh? A little girl wants to challenge me too?" Old Sand knew that look well. It was the look of a challenger, and he encountered several every year.

He himself had once gone through a period of not knowing his limits when he was young. Back then, he had been even more arrogant, going so far as to challenge the world's strongest man, Whitebeard.

Then a single punch had shattered his dream of becoming the One Piece. From then on, his spirit had declined. He no longer believed in his own strength and instead began plotting for Pluton.

"Swordswoman Kuina, here to challenge you." Kuina announced herself.

"Fine. I accept your challenge." Old Sand acknowledged the challenger's courage.