Fire Fist Ace

This time, everyone except Lu Zhuo lost everything!

The Sky Leopard swept the board!

The forty thousand Beli Lu Zhuo had wagered instantly multiplied three hundredfold, becoming twelve million Beli!

Nami, who stood beside him, nearly jumped up and cheered. The gamblers around them were glaring with bloodshot eyes, but Nami didn't care in the slightest. As long as there was money to be made, why worry about anyone else? Even if it was Lu Zhuo... well, she did have to care about him a little...

Lu Zhuo had no idea what Nami was thinking. His expression calm, he said, "Let's keep going!"

This time, the slender man's hands began to tremble too. His expression changed abruptly, and he snorted. "Guards!"

In an instant, dozens of burly men wielding steel blades surrounded the entire casino.

Pointing at Lu Zhuo, the slender man said coldly, "This guy cheated. We're going to settle accounts with him. Anyone who isn't involved, get out!"

The gamblers who had just lost everything shouted angrily, and chaos erupted.

A cruel look appeared on the slender man's face. He waved his hand, and the armed thugs charged forward, hacking to death several of the loudest gamblers.

The other gamblers were scared stiff. Not daring to utter another word, they scurried out of the casino.

Only Lu Zhuo, Nami in his arms, and the unconcerned Ace remained.

Seeing that the people he'd been playing cards with had all run away, Ace opened his mouth and called out, "What's going on? What a drag!"

Nami looked at the steel blades without the slightest fear. Snuggling against Lu Zhuo, she said sweetly, "Lu Zhuo, you're amazing. I'll be counting on you to make money from now on!"

Lu Zhuo gave a wry smile. "What's that supposed to be? You can't make money like this. The best way to earn money is to take down a few pirates with huge bounties!"

"Uh, but that's so dangerous!" Nami looked frightened. Lu Zhuo smiled and pinched her cheek. "Then gambling isn't dangerous? Just look at those shiny blades. They're so sharp!"

"Hmph! You meanie, don't pinch my face!" Nami protested, struggling.

Watching Lu Zhuo and Nami act as if no one else were there, the slender man's face darkened. He didn't bother telling them to leave the money behind because they'd cheated. He simply roared, "Kill them both!"

All the armed thugs lunged forward. Lu Zhuo was about to draw his sword when a sudden wave of flames swept in, burning several men to ashes and blasting a huge hole through the entire building!

Lu Zhuo's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.

What incredible strength. Had Ace already gotten the Mera Mera no Mi at this point? Logia fruits really were powerful!

Though impressed, Lu Zhuo wasn't envious. The original story made it clear that, later on, Logia fruits weren't all that useful. Some Paramecia fruits were actually more powerful.

After all, everyone knew how to use Haki. Whoever had stronger Haki was stronger, and the damage Logia abilities could prevent was negligible.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhuo smiled faintly, rose to his feet, and stepped in front of Nami.

Clang!

Everyone saw Lu Zhuo move, and then the heads of a dozen charging thugs shot into the air, spraying blood like fountains.

Clap, clap, clap!

Ace applauded and praised him. "That was a fast sword. You're really strong. Are you sure you don't want to join my pirate crew?"

Lu Zhuo calmly replied with a question of his own. "What do you think?"

"That's such a shame." Ace looked regretful and left.

The only one still alive, the slender man stared at Lu Zhuo in terror and stammered, "Y-you're Ghost Sword Lu Zhuo?"

"No kidding. Are your eyes just holes in your head? Hurry up and hand over all the money. Maybe I'll spare your life!" Lu Zhuo slid his sword into its scabbard and barked impatiently.

But the slender man suddenly regained his composure. He chuckled and said, "Ghost Sword Lu Zhuo. What a grand name. But did you think someone who can run a casino for pirates to gamble in would be weak? I used to be a member of CP9!"

"Oh?" Lu Zhuo's eyes lit up slightly.

The next moment, the slender man gave a sharp shout.

"Soru!"

With a whoosh, the slender man kicked backward dozens of times in an instant. His body vanished in a flash, and he appeared in front of Lu Zhuo.

"Shigan!"

"You're so slow. Are you really a member of CP9?"

Just as the slender man thought he'd taken Lu Zhuo out with one blow, Lu Zhuo's voice drifted lazily from behind him.

The next moment, one of his fingers flew away in a spray of blood.

"Ah!" The slender man screamed and fell to the ground. He trembled as he looked at the blade resting against his neck.

Seeing the murderous look on Lu Zhuo's face, the slender man broke out in a cold sweat. His expression instantly turned obsequious.

"Um... Lord Ghost Sword, I was only a reserve member, and the worst one at that. Otherwise, they wouldn't have kicked me out and sent me here to run a casino... Please, let me go. All my money is..."

Hearing this, Lu Zhuo shook his head, completely losing interest. The Shigan and Soru this guy used were probably both half-baked. They were no use to him at all.

After killing the slender man with one sword, Lu Zhuo turned to look at Nami, and a dark line appeared on his forehead.

He saw a huge bundle on Nami's back. It looked like it was stuffed entirely with banknotes and gold coins...

That was fast... She'd done it even faster than I'd killed the men. That's Nami for you.

With a wry smile, Lu Zhuo tapped Nami on the nose and joked, "Looks like my Nami can be more than a navigator. She could be a treasure-hunting mouse too!"

"What kind of treasure-hunting mouse? That sounds awful. Come on, let's go! It's over a hundred million Beli in total—enough to buy a ship!" Nami pouted and stamped her foot, then hurried away with Lu Zhuo in her arms.

After buying a ship, Lu Zhuo finally made up his mind.

He wanted to become a pirate first, then join the Shichibukai. There would be plenty of obstacles along the way, but he'd have more freedom. And he believed he could succeed.

He already had a plan in mind, but he still needed to put it into action. Besides, he wasn't strong enough yet. He had to become a swordsman at the Great Swordsman level at the very least before he'd be qualified to claim a place among the Shichibukai.

A Great Swordsman like Hawk-Eye was as strong as one of the Four Emperors, even a little stronger than an Admiral. He was probably only surpassed by Whitebeard and Sengoku.

Once he became a Great Swordsman, even if he couldn't beat an Admiral, he'd still be able to kill a Vice Admiral instantly.

But he'd only just become a first-rate swordsman, and he still had a long way to go before reaching the Great Swordsman level. He had to find a few powerful opponents to train against!

Tilting his head and rubbing his chin, Lu Zhuo's eyes lit up slightly.

Ace was out of the question. The Mera Mera no Mi's immense power could injure Lu Zhuo in an instant, even if it couldn't kill him outright.

But there was a perfect person to practice against in Loguetown. Smoker should have been transferred to Loguetown by now as its colonel!

A sly smile appeared on his face. He said to Nami, who was studying the surrounding sea, "Let's head to Loguetown first!"

"Uh, sure!" Nami paused in surprise, then agreed.

She didn't even ask why he wanted to go there. Nami now obeyed Lu Zhuo almost without question. Even so, if Lu Zhuo wanted to take Nico Robin on board as well, he probably wouldn't find it so easy to get Nami to agree...

Lu Zhuo shook his head and laughed. Wasn't he thinking too far ahead? With such a cute Nami in his arms, there was no need to rush into anything else!

With a flash, he appeared beside Nami and lifted her up as she cried out in surprise.

"Ah! What are you doing?"

Lu Zhuo grinned mischievously, tossed Nami onto the bed, and said, "Doing something you like!"

"Idiot, it's still daytime! You... mmm." Nami's lips were sealed at once, and her eyes lost focus...