Gild Tesoro's Scheme

The top floor of the Golden King Hotel.

A man dressed in pink clothes and wearing purple sunglasses sat in a swivel chair, his back to the table where the Den Den Mushi was placed. He looked out the window at the vast city covered in countless snowflakes of gold dust, a look of fascination on his face. "As long as I have money... there's nothing I can't do. Even the Celestial Dragons can only be my puppets!"

"Lord Gild Tesoro..."

After the man finished his reflections, the Den Den Mushi on the table finally made a sound.

Gild Tesoro, still sitting with his back to the Den Den Mushi, casually said, "Something important, isn't it, Baccarat?"

"Besides that Shichibukai Buggy, a Marine Admiral has also arrived on the Great Zoro..."

"Oh?! Who is it? Is it Kizaru?"

Gild Tesoro showed some wariness towards the veteran Admiral had been famous for a long time.

"No, it's the new Admiral Fujitora."

"Fujitora... Haha!"

Upon hearing the name, Gild Tesoro burst into laughter. "I really don't understand. The World Government always likes to pull these pointless tricks, putting some nobody in the position of Marine Admiral. What are those idiots thinking? Have they become so weak after the defeat at Marineford War?"

After a moment's hesitation, Baccarat asked, "Should we deal with them?"

"Dealing with...? What benefits would we gain from dealing with the navy? Would we get even a penny more?"

Gild Tesoro paused, then changed his mind. "Did they pour gold dust on them when they came in?"

"They've already been rained on, but they probably won't know."

"This is quite interesting..." Gild Tesoro's lips curled into a sinister smile. "I've heard that Admiral Fujitora is a gambling addict. I've seen plenty of people like him on the Gran Tesoro. Controlled by their own desires, they won't give up even if they lose everything, trying to turn things around overnight. But in the end, they only sink deeper and deeper, becoming our slaves completely..."

"Haha!" Gild Tesoro laughed maniacally. "Let's set a trap. If it succeeds, perhaps this guy can become a pawn for us to infiltrate the Navy..."

"..."

After Gild Tesoro finished explaining his plan, Baccarat laughed and said, "Lord Gild Tesoro is truly brilliant! The plan will definitely succeed!"

"Go ahead, do it according to plan."

"By the way, what about Buggy, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

"That guy seems to know something about me. He deliberately avoided the gold dust when he came in. Just keep a close eye on him. He was able to stand out in that war; he's a very troublesome guy!"

"Yes."

The Den Den Mushi was disconnected.

Then, a man with an enormous head appeared out of thin air, passing through the wall and standing in the magnificent room. He greeted the man with respect, "Lord Gild Tesoro."

Gild Tesoro stood up from his chair, excitedly saying, "Tanaka, come with me! It would be such a shame if we didn't see what's going to happen next!"

Golden King Hotel, casino club.

"Oh dear... I've lost everything. Looks like my luck with gambling has been bad lately..."

Fujitora patted his empty pockets and stood up from the gambling table, but there was no regret on his face. This had always been his hobby, but it would never affect his judgment. Compared to other gamblers who wanted to win more after winning and wanted to win back what they lost, he had always been a man who could take things in stride.

Fujitora turned his head slightly to the side. "Aren't Smoker and the others gone?"

"Report!"

A naval soldier standing nearby lowered his voice, "They've gone to scout out the area, looking for the pirates on the wanted list."

"Is that so? Then let's go outside and wait for them. Stretching around like this is really invigorating!"

Fujitora, leaning on his Cane Sword, slowly walked outside.

"Please buy a bouquet of flowers, sir, please, please buy them!"

Suddenly, an eight- or nine-year-old boy appeared out of nowhere, followed by a girl carrying a small flower basket. Both of them were filthy, as if they hadn't bathed in a month. The girl looked up at him pitifully, while the boy looked resentful, as if everyone owed him money.

Fujitora stopped in his tracks. Although he was blind, he could clearly feel the grief and indignation emanating from the two men. He bent down and tried to speak as gently as possible, "Excuse me, how much does a bouquet of flowers cost?"

The boy exclaimed, "Five thousand Beli!!"

"Hey, a bouquet of flowers costs five thousand Beli!" the Marine next to Fujitora grumbled. "You brat, are you trying to rip us off?!"

Fujitora squeezed his empty wallet, but couldn't find a single coin. He had no choice but to ask the marine beside him, "I need to buy a bunch. Could you pay for it for me first? I'll pay you back when we get back."

"But... Mr. Fujitora ..." The Marine hesitated, but chose to comply with Fujitora's request. He took out a five-thousand- Beli and exchanged it for the somewhat withered flowers in the little boy's hand, saying reluctantly, "Alright, you can go now."

"That's wonderful, sir! Please buy another bouquet, just one more!"

The little boy grinned and pleaded.

"Don't push your luck, you brat! This flower isn't even worth five thousand Beli! Even if you're joking, there's a limit!"

"Just five thousand Beli ... Let's buy another bunch, Marine." Fujitora smiled happily.

The Marine was somewhat annoyed, thinking to himself, "If Mr. Fujitora could see this, he wouldn't fall for a child's trick and spend five thousand Beli on a worthless flower!"

"What happened? How did these two brats sneak in!"

Just then, Baccarat walked over with a group of bodyguards in black. Looking at the two children, she sneered, "You two, how dare you disturb our guests! Hey, teach them a lesson they won't forget!"

"Yes, Miss Baccarat!"

A burly bodyguard in black stepped forward, roughly grabbed the two children's hands, and dragged them outside, yelling, "Behave yourselves!"

"Let us go! Let us go!"

The boy's face immediately turned terrified. The sharp pain in his wrist made him scream, while the girl's hands were being pulled painfully. Tears streamed from her eyes and fell to the ground, but she dared not cry out loud.

"What's going on? Wait a minute!"

Sensing the sadness mixed in the cries of the two children, Fujitora suddenly became furious. A powerful aura instantly spread outwards, causing the bodyguards who were dragging him to stop in their tracks, their bodies trembling involuntarily. Baccarat, who was closer to Fujitora, suddenly widened her pupils. The murderous intent he displayed in an instant made a few drops of cold sweat drip down her forehead.

However, having spent so much time in the New World, Baccarat quickly regained her composure, chuckling lightly to conceal her shock, "Lord Fujitora, these two brats' parents are heavily in debt, so they've already signed indentures with us to pay off their debts. Even legally speaking, we have complete control over their affairs, and not even Marine Admiral can interfere."

With that, her face turned cold. "Drag these two brats away right now!"

"Wait!"

Fujitora said in a deep voice, "However much they owe, this old man will pay it for them."

"Ten million Beli"

A smug smile spread across Baccarat's face. She had instigated these two brats to break into the Golden King Hotel in search of more wealthy guests, and she had specifically lured them to Fujitora's side.

The purpose was to expose such a "flaw" in the enemy's strategy. But could a newly appointed Marine Admiral really come up with ten million Beli?

If they can produce it, that reveals a big problem— the Marine Admiral's conduct isn't exactly clean either!

Besides, even if they could redeem them, what difference would it make? There are too many brats like that on the Gran Tesoro!!