Gild Tesoro

Sabaody Archipelago, Island 23.

Under the dim streetlights, Sephiroth had a cigar clenched between his lips and held a book titled "Devil Fruit Encyclopedia" in his hands.

As he walked along the road, he casually flipped through its pages.

After browsing for over an hour, he finally found a large bookstore and spent fifty thousand Belly on a book claimed to contain the most comprehensive collection of Devil Fruit entries.

Before buying it, Sephiroth had casually flipped through several pages according to the table of contents. Only after discovering that the recorded Fruit appearances closely resembled those in his memories from his previous life did he purchase it.

That said, the vast majority of Devil Fruits in the encyclopedia only had names and abilities listed. Only a small portion had their appearances recorded.

He flipped from the Logia section all the way to the Zoan section, yet failed to find the green gourd-shaped Devil Fruit. He did not even see the Vampire Fruit he had eaten...

However...

When he had gone through nearly half of the Paramecia Devil Fruit entries, he finally saw a green, gourd-shaped Fruit covered in black spiral patterns... the Paramecia Door-Door Fruit!

"Hiss!"

After reading its description, Sephiroth sharply inhaled, his heart swiftly filling with both joy and conflict.

As one of the few Space-type Fruits, the Door-Door Fruit's power was beyond question. Its survival capabilities were top-tier. No matter where one was, they could open a door and flee. As long as the user wanted to run and did not court death, basically no one could kill them.

Blueno in the original story had simply been nerfed into an idiot. Rather than using hit-and-run tactics, he insisted on using the strongest illusion technique of the Six Powers—Iron Body—to take all of Luffy's attacks head-on.

Looking across the entire world of Pirate King, anyone who dared to use Iron Body for defense had ended up dead!

Anyway, when Sephiroth had begun learning the Six Powers, he had secretly made a decision. Iron Body and the like were offensive skills. He would never use them for defense!

"Bring Binks' Sake to your side.

Day after day.

In the twilight of dreams, I can no longer see that figure waving goodbye.

Why wear such a troubled frown? Tomorrow night, the moonlight will still shine!

Bring Binks' Sake to your side.

Come, let us sing a song!

A song of the sea.

Whoever it may be, all will become dry bones in the end.

Without beginning or end, it is merely a laughing matter..."

On the silent street, before the iron bars of a Human Trafficking Shop display window, a beautiful woman with long, lovely golden hair and a slave collar around her neck looked at the green-haired young man outside the window and smiled.

"Tesoro, your singing is so beautiful! I feel like I could listen to it forever without getting tired of it."

"Stella, give me a little more time. I've already saved half the money. Once I have the rest, I'll be able to buy your freedom."

The young man who spoke wore a suit and had grayish-green hair.

Though his body was exhausted, he still wore a gentle smile. The way he looked at the woman was filled with love.

His name was Gild Tesoro. He loved singing deeply and had always dreamed of becoming a superstar.

However, he had been born into a very poor family.

Because of his poverty, his friends had excluded him. His father had also been a gambler who one day fell ill and died, leaving him alone with a mother who beat and cursed him every day.

Yet whenever he sang, whether out of sadness or happiness, his mother would always beat him and bluntly say that she hated his voice.

Finally, one day, unable to endure his mother's abuse any longer, he ran away from home. He became a street thug, surviving through theft and occasionally singing in bars for money. With the money he earned, he also made "friends."

However...

That situation lasted until the day he suffered a crushing loss at a casino. The friends he had trusted all fled, abandoning him.

With no other choice, after being beaten by the casino's men, he desperately escaped and avoided the fate of becoming a slave.

It was on that day that he met the blond woman before him, Stella. Covered in injuries and exhausted, he had slumped against the display window, singing sorrowfully.

They had been complete strangers, yet Stella had sincerely praised his singing.

At the lowest point in his life, Tesoro had finally met someone who appreciated him.

As the two met more often and found themselves increasingly compatible in conversation, his heart rapidly filled with an emotion called love.

Tesoro fell in love!

He fell deeply in love with Stella. For her sake, he turned over a new leaf and never did bad things again. Every day, he worked hard to earn money, all so that he could buy Stella's freedom!

Unfortunately, Stella's price was simply too high. After working desperately for over a year, he had only managed to earn half of it.

At this rate, he would still need to wait another year or so before earning enough.

That was far too long, and it was filled with uncertainty. Stella could be bought by someone else at any moment. Yet he did not want to give up, so he could only continue working desperately to earn money.

Just as the two were chatting happily, a silver-haired youth walked over. He leaned against the iron bars of the display window and looked at Tesoro.

"Yo! Let's get acquainted, buddy. My name is Karl D. Sephiroth."

The grayish-green-haired young man first showed a startled expression, but he still politely replied.

"Hello, I'm Tesoro... May I ask what you need from me?"

"Your singing is really good!

I happened to hear it while passing by just now," Sephiroth said with a smile.

Hearing the praise, Tesoro scratched his head shyly and smiled.

"Thank you for the compliment!"

"I also heard that you want to buy this beautiful lady's freedom. Is that right?"

"Y-Yes."

Upon hearing that, the green-haired youth's heart suddenly skipped a beat. A trace of unease flashed across his face. He was afraid that the silver-haired youth in the blue suit would suddenly beat him to it and buy Stella first.

"How about we make a deal?"

"What deal?"

"I'll give you the money to buy Miss Stella's freedom.

But in return... you'll become my subordinate and work for me from now on. What do you say?"

Upon hearing those words, both Tesoro and Stella became excited. Yet they also looked at Sephiroth with disbelief written all over their faces.

"Why would you help me like this?"

Because you are the future Golden Emperor, the richest man in the world, with First Mate-level combat power.

If it were someone else, I might not be kind enough to make such an investment!

If I gain your loyalty, Tesoro, building my own power will become much easier...

That was what Sephiroth thought, but what he said was entirely different.

"Today, I already saw something upsetting—a Celestial Dragon trampling on lives. So I want to see a happy ending where lovers finally come together.

And I think you have investment value, so I want to lend you a hand...

Of course, the final decision is yours. If you are unwilling, I will not force you. You..."

"I'm willing! As long as you give me the money and help buy Stella's freedom, I, Gild Tesoro, am willing to pledge my loyalty to you!"

Men in love were always passionate and blind. Tesoro agreed to Sephiroth without much thought, not even asking what line of work he was in.

People in the pirate world were generally poorly educated, and the concept of brotherhood ran deep.

Therefore, there were quite a few people who, in order to repay someone's kindness, would passionately devote their lives to that person.

For example, Gin, Bellamy, and Brownbeard... These people could not even be considered good men, yet they were extremely devoted to loyalty and brotherhood.

Thus, Sephiroth was gambling. He was betting that after receiving his help, Tesoro would truly pledge his loyalty to him.

After all, Tesoro was still young. He had not yet experienced the deepest despair and darkness, while Stella still gave him beautiful hopes for life.

Even if he lost the bet, he would cut his losses in time and find an opportunity to kill Tesoro...

"Alright!... How much does it cost to buy her freedom?"

"It takes thirty-eight million Beli to buy Stella's freedom. I've already saved nineteen million three hundred thousand Beli..."

"Thirty-eight million Beli, right? Fine, I'll pay all of it.

However, you two will need to wait an hour or two. I need to go back and get the money."

Sephiroth pretended to agree readily, but inwardly, he was cursing.

Was this woman plated in gold or encrusted with diamonds?

Fucking expensive!

The average price for an ordinary human was only around one million. Without any additional value, the price could never possibly exceed ten million...

While silently grumbling to himself, Sephiroth transformed his body through Vampiric Transformation. With a whoosh, he spread his Black Wings.

"This is...?"

Tesoro stared at the silver-haired youth who had suddenly transformed before him, unable to hide his astonishment.

"I'm a Devil Fruit user. Wait here. I'll go get the money now."

As he spoke, Sephiroth flapped his Black Bat Wings and shot straight into the sky, disappearing into the night in just a few moments.

"That's wonderful! Stella, you can finally buy your freedom."

A brilliant smile spread across Tesoro's face as he looked at the blond woman in the display window.

Stella reached out with her right hand and gripped the iron bars, her face filled with concern.

"But... Tesoro, for my sake, you're recognizing a stranger of unknown origins as your boss. Is that really alright?"

The grayish-green-haired youth covered the blond woman's hand with his own and spoke sincerely.

"For you, everything is worth it!"

"Tesoro..."

Stella looked at the young man outside the display window. Her heart melted completely, and she felt incomparably happy.

Even if he asked her to die for him someday, she would willingly do so. The girl silently made that decision in her heart...