"I found you two! Wait, Sugar, put down that fruit!"
At this time, the middle-aged man followed the footsteps of the two sisters and chased them. He pushed aside the shrubs blocking the road and broke a few dead branches. When he saw the fruit in the hands of his little daughter, his expression suddenly changed.
He knew this strange-looking fruit.
According to the only Casino boss in town, this fruit with spiral patterns can be exchanged for chips worth 100 million Beli in Casino!
The middle-aged man is not a local. He just happened to see the recruitment notice for the Eternal Financial Group branch after his wife died of illness, so he brought his two daughters here to make a living.
Although the money he earned from working hard here was several times that of before, which could even completely satisfy his previous need for alcoholism, he happened to get into another bad habit - gambling.
Ever since his colleague introduced him to the Casino in town that also belonged to Eternal Financial Group, he fell in love with gambling.
The sound of the dice rolling in the porcelain bowl, the feel of the playing cards sliding through the fingers, and the excitement of deciding the outcome, were like a fire, burning away the last bit of humanity in his bones.
Since then, his family's originally improved living situation has taken a turn for the worse again.
For a middle-aged man who is addicted to gambling, how can he let go of 100 million Beli chips before his eyes?
He subconsciously rejected the option of using 100 million to repay gambling debts, and instead planned to use 100 million to make money.
There was already a gambling table in his mind, with a mountain of chips piled on the table, and he was sitting there, winning one after another.
The middle-aged man's eyes were shining, and he rushed over like a hungry tiger pouncing on food. His feet stepped on the fallen leaves, making a rapid and messy sound.
He grabbed Devil Fruit and pushed his little daughter to the ground.
Sugar's body fell backwards, and his back hit the roots of a tree, making a muffled sound. Tears overflowed from the corners of his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and into his hair.
"That's... what I found..."
Her voice was so low that it was almost inaudible.
"Did you find it? If you eat what I have and use it, what you find is mine!"
The middle-aged man put the fruit into his arms and wrapped it tightly in his coat, like a wild dog guarding its food.
A quarter of an hour later.
Casino Backstage.
"Are you sure you want to exchange it? This fruit may change your future."
The Casino boss, wearing a Fukurou-shaped hood, had a round head almost as big as his short and stocky body. He was holding Hobby-Hobby Fruit on his fingertips and his eyes fell on the middle-aged man opposite.
"Mr. Tanaka, you also said that maybe, if it is a rubbish ability, the Beli you got is still real."
The middle-aged man rubbed his rough palms back and forth, with a look of impatience on his face, and his head was pounding like a pound of garlic.
"Okay, this fruit can be exchanged for 100 million Beli. After deducting the gambling debt you owe here, you can get 70 million chips."
Mr. Tanaka opened the leather account book with a frayed cover, quickly scanned the densely packed accounts with his fingers, raised his eyes and gave the quotation.
Then, he stood up and pushed away the creaking wooden seat, using his fruit power, his body passed through the thick stone wall as if melting into the water, and disappeared completely.
When he appeared through the wall again, there was already a small bulging bag with the Casino badge sewn on it in his palm, and the chips inside made a crisp clattering sound.
The middle-aged man rushed forward, grabbed the bag with a grabbing gesture, turned around and wanted to walk towards the door, but suddenly a slow voice came from behind:
"By the way, in addition to this kind of fruit, good-looking women can also redeem rewards here. The price is the same as this kind of fruit. I cooperate with Pleasure District here. Age is not a problem. The important thing is that it must be untouched."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man stopped suddenly as he stepped out, rolled his eyes, and fell into thought.
The appearance of his two daughters flashed through his mind. According to his late wife's delicate and outstanding appearance, these two losers will definitely look the same when they grow up, and they will definitely sell for a good price.
In his eyes, the mere love between father and daughter is far less important than the heavy Beli. If he really cared about this family relationship, he would not just pick up objects on the table and throw them at his two daughters whenever he felt uncomfortable, treating them as objects to vent his anger.
Seeing the calculation flashing in his eyes, the corners of Mr. Tanaka's mouth, which was hidden by the hood, slightly raised.
He had already fully investigated the situation in this middle-aged man's family. He had already planned it when he sent someone to set up a trap to lure this guy into a gambling addiction and drive him step by step to the point of bankruptcy.
His ultimate goal is to make this guy take the initiative to betray his daughter.
Mr. Tanaka is an ambitious man and is not willing to spend his whole life wasting his time in a remote place like North Blue. His real goal is the Federation mainland, where he can seek a position to stand out.
Federation's philandering nature and his hobbies of hunting down pretty girls are almost universally known in high-level circles and are not a secret at all.
Those two little sisters who are still growing up are the "qualifications" that Mr. Tanaka has chosen for himself early on to help him rise to the top.
The middle-aged man slowly turned his head, with a deliberately struggling look on his face.
"Mr. Tanaka, I need this money very much, but I am also very embarrassed. I only have two daughters."
"People like you still care about this. The neighbors have heard you beating and scolding the two of them several times. I have heard about it even here."
Mr. Tanaka sneered and looked unconcerned.
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and tried his best to show a heart-wrenching expression of pain.
"They were born to me by my late wife who risked her life for me. They are my biological daughters who I have worked hard to raise for many years..."
Having said this, he paused deliberately, pretending to be a tone that said he really couldn't let go, and continued to speak in a very "reluctant" tone:
"One hundred million is not enough, we have to add more money.
A moment later, the satisfied middle-aged man rushed home without stopping and told his two biological daughters what he called the "good news". He also described Pleasure District as a paradise filled with candy and no heavy work.
Seven-year-old Sugar had a simple mind and easily believed the words made up by his father. He opened his big round eyes and asked with concern:
"Father, won't you come with us?"
The middle-aged man shook his head like a rattle, pretending to be very regretful.
"Men are not welcome there, so I won't accompany you there."
Although the fifteen-year-old Monet, like her younger sister, had never heard of the name "Pleasure District", her keen intuition developed under her father's beatings and scoldings over the years told her that that place was definitely not a good place.
However, she did not speak out to expose the man's lies. As long as she could leave this broken home, she could completely escape from this man's clutches. Anywhere she went would be better than being beaten here.
Seeing the two sisters nodding in agreement, the middle-aged man immediately took them to the place agreed in advance with Mr. Tanaka, and successfully received all the promised rewards.
Politely sending away the middle-aged man who was full of thoughts about going to Casino to get rich, Mr. Tanaka clapped his hands and called two young girls in white maid uniforms to come in. He led the two sisters to the back room to freshen up, while he excused himself and turned around to leave.
In the dim alley leading to Casino, a middle-aged man held his money bag in his arms, gulping down high-priced spirits that he was usually reluctant to buy. His face was red and drunk, imagining the scene where Casino would kill everyone and get rich overnight.
Suddenly, the figure of Mr. Tanaka emerged from the ground behind him silently, and the sharp knife stabbed into his heart accurately.
The middle-aged man clutched his chest where blood was constantly gushing out, his eyes quickly became distracted, and he fell heavily on the cold stone floor.
"That gentleman would not want to have an incompetent and despicable father-in-law like you. It would be better for you to die here."
Mr. Tanaka glanced at the corpse at his feet coldly, then raised his hand and chopped off the other person's head. After confirming that he was 100% dead and there was no possibility of calling for help, he safely got into the ground and left the scene.
Monet and Sugar were carefully groomed and dressed up by the maids and put on exquisite new dresses. Mr. Tanaka, who came back, took them through the secret passages and came to the Pleasure District branch. He explained his purpose and situation to the head of the branch, borrowed a gorgeously decorated flower boat, and embarked on a journey to the Federation homeland.
TO BE CONTINUED
(PS: There is no mention of Monet Sugar's past in the original work, but a brief mention on Vivre Card that he was saved from hell by Doflamingo.
My previous books set them up in a war-torn country, but this book changed the setting a little bit. A biological dad who is addicted to gambling and violence can be considered hell.)