Fire Fist Ace

With this move, everyone except Lu Zhuo lost every last Beli they had!

The Sky Leopard took it all!

The forty thousand Beli that Lu Zhuo had wagered instantly multiplied three hundred times, turning into twelve million Beli!

Nami, standing beside him, nearly jumped up to cheer. Although the eyes of the surrounding gamblers were bloodshot with greed, Nami couldn't have cared less; as long as there was money to be made, why bother with others? Even if it were Lu Zhuo... well, she supposed she should care a little about Lu Zhuo...

Lu Zhuo, unaware of Nami's thoughts, said with a calm expression, "Let's continue!"

This time, the thin man's hands began to tremble. His expression shifted abruptly, and he let out a cold snort, shouting, "Men!"

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

The thin man pointed at Lu Zhuo and said coldly, "This guy is cheating. We're going to settle the score with him. Everyone else, get out of here!"

The gamblers, who had been blinded by their losses just moments ago, began to clamor loudly, and the scene descended into chaos.

A cruel expression appeared on the thin man's face. With a wave of his hand, the blade-wielding men rushed forward, hacking several of the loudest gamblers to death.

The other gamblers were so terrified they nearly wet themselves; not daring to make another sound, they scurried out of the casino.

The only ones left were Lu Zhuo, Nami—who was held in Lu Zhuo's arms—and Ace, who remained completely unbothered.

Seeing that the people he was playing cards with had been scared off, Ace opened his mouth and complained, "What is this for? What a buzzkill!"

Nami looked at the steel blades but felt no fear at all. Snuggling into Lu Zhuo's arms, she said coquettishly, "Lu Zhuo, you're so amazing! From now on, I'm counting on you to make money!"

Lu Zhuo gave a bitter laugh and said, "What's this? This isn't how you make real money. If you want to get rich, it's best to take down a few pirates with high bounties!"

"Ugh, that's so dangerous!" Nami said with a fearful look. Lu Zhuo smiled and pinched her cheek, saying, "And is gambling not dangerous? Look at these gleaming blades—how sharp they are!"

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

Watching Lu Zhuo and Nami act as if no one else were around, the thin man's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He didn't bother with any more talk about cheating or leaving the money behind; he simply let out a roar.

"Kill them both!"

All the blade-wielding men lunged forward. Just as Lu Zhuo was about to draw his sword, a wave of flames suddenly swept through, not only burning several men to ash but also blasting a massive hole in the building!

Seeing this, Lu Zhuo's eyes narrowed slightly.

What impressive power. Had Ace already obtained the Mera Mera no Mi at this point in time? Logia-type fruits truly are formidable!

Despite his admiration, Lu Zhuo felt no envy. As he knew from the original story, by the later stages, Logia-type fruits actually became less useful, sometimes even less powerful than certain Paramecia-type fruits.

After all, everyone would eventually master Haki; whoever had the stronger Haki would be the victor, and the damage-negation properties of a Logia fruit would become negligible.

Thinking this, a faint smile touched the corner of Lu Zhuo's mouth. He stood up and stepped in front of Nami.

Clack!

Everyone saw only a slight movement from Lu Zhuo, and then the heads of the dozen or so men who had surrounded him soared into the air, followed by fountains of blood.

Clap, clap, clap!

Ace clapped his hands, praising, "Such a fast sword, such great strength. Are you really sure you don't want to join my pirate crew?"

Lu Zhuo asked calmly in return, "What do you think?"

"What a pity." Ace wore a look of regret as he walked away.

The only remaining survivor, the thin man, looked on with a face full of terror, trembling as he said, "You... are you the Ghost Sword Lu Zhuo?"

"No duh. Are your eyes just empty sockets? Hurry up and hand over all the money, and maybe I'll spare your life!" Lu Zhuo sheathed his sword and barked impatiently.

However, the thin man suddenly calmed down. After a sinister chuckle, he said, "Ghost Sword Lu Zhuo, quite the reputation. But do you really think someone who can run a casino for pirates to gamble in would be someone without any skill? I used to be a member of CP9!"

"Oh?" Hearing this, Lu Zhuo's eyes brightened slightly.

The next moment, the thin man let out a soft shout.

Soru!

With a whoosh, the thin man's feet kicked off the ground dozens of times in an instant. His figure vanished, reappearing right in front of Lu Zhuo.

Shigan!

"With speed this slow, are you really a member of CP9?"

Just as the thin man thought he had finished Lu Zhuo off with a single strike, Lu Zhuo's voice drifted lazily from behind him.

The next moment, his finger flew off, trailing a spray of blood.

"Ah!" With a scream, the thin man collapsed to the ground, his body trembling as he stared at the blade now pressed against his neck.

Seeing the murderous intent in Lu Zhuo's eyes, cold sweat poured down the thin man's forehead, and his expression instantly turned sycophantic.

"That... Master Ghost Sword, I was only a reserve member, and the worst one at that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been kicked out and ended up here running a casino... Look, please spare me, all my money is..."

Hearing this, Lu Zhuo shook his head, having completely lost interest. The Shigan and Soru used by a guy like this were likely half-baked; they were of no use to him at all.

After killing the thin man with a single strike, he turned to look at Nami, and black lines instantly appeared on his forehead.

He saw that Nami had a massive pack strapped to her back, which appeared to be filled to the brim with banknotes and gold coins...

This speed... it's truly fast! Faster than even my own killing speed; Nami is truly worthy of her reputation.

With a wry smile, Lu Zhuo tapped Nami's delicate nose and laughed, "It seems my Nami can be more than just a navigator; she can also be a treasure-hunting mouse!"

"What treasure-hunting mouse? That sounds awful! Hurry up and let's go! There's over one hundred million Beli in total, enough to buy a ship!" Nami pouted, stomped her foot, and then hurried Lu Zhuo along as they left.

After purchasing a ship, Lu Zhuo finally made his decision.

He wanted to become a pirate first, and then aim for the position of Shichibukai. Although this path would face great resistance, it offered far more freedom. Moreover, he believed that he would certainly succeed.

He already had a plan in mind, but it still required concrete implementation. Furthermore, his current strength was still somewhat lacking; he needed to at least become a Master Swordsman to be qualified to vie for a seat among the Shichibukai.

A Great Master Swordsman like Hawk-Eye possessed strength on par with the Four Emperors, even three parts stronger than an Admiral, likely second only to the likes of Whitebeard and Sengoku.

Once he became a Master Swordsman, even if he couldn't defeat an Admiral, he would at least be capable of taking down a Vice Admiral in an instant.

However, having only just become a first-rate swordsman, he still had a long way to go before reaching the level of a Master Swordsman. He had to find some strong opponents to practice with!

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

Seeking out Ace was definitely out of the question; the immense power of the Mera Mera no Mi could instantly wound him, even if it couldn't kill the current Lu Zhuo in one blow.

However, there was an excellent sparring partner in Loguetown. He figured that Smoker the White Hunter should have been transferred to Loguetown as a Colonel by now!

With a sinister smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, he said to Nami, who was observing the sea, "Let's head to Loguetown first!"

"Uh, alright!" Nami was slightly stunned, but she agreed immediately.

She didn't ask why they were going there at all; at this point, Nami obeyed Lu Zhuo almost unconditionally. Even so, if Lu Zhuo wanted to take in Nico Robin, it probably wouldn't be so easy to smooth things over with Nami...

Shaking his head, Lu Zhuo let out a hearty laugh. He was overthinking things; with such a lovely Nami in his arms, as for the rest... there was no rush!

With a flash of his figure, he arrived at Nami's side and, amidst her startled cry, swept her up into his arms.

"Ah! What are you doing!"

Lu Zhuo gave a wicked smile, tossed Nami onto the bed, and said, "Doing something you love!"

"You jerk, it's still daytime, you... mmm." Nami's lips were instantly sealed, and her eyes lost their focus...