Little Fox

On the other hand, in the New World, on a small island.

"Let me go! Let me go! You bastard, let me go right now! Give me one more chance, I will never fall into your hands again..."

"Ah, yes, yes, but do you think I'll give you a chance, little fox?"

Inside the empty bar, a group of pirates, who had been on the verge of battle, turned into ice shards, their lively eyes revealing despair.

The dark whiskey rippled inside the glass; though it was a summer island, it was unusually cool and chilly.

Next to the seat, a purple-haired girl, bound like a rice dumpling, struggled incessantly, occasionally exposing large expanses of her fair skin towards the bar, her expression pitiful.

"Hey, could you loosen the rope a little? Leaving marks on a young girl's fair skin is a sin..."

Her youthful and beautiful figure was dazzling, but no matter how hard she tried, the figure in front of the bar never turned around, as if she had a special fondness for that glass of watered-down whiskey.

Seeing that his seduction attempt failed, his bright black eyes darted around, and another plan came to mind.

"Hey handsome brother~ please let me go, and I'll give you all the treasures I've collected over the years, how about that?"

"He's been a thief for seven or eight years, and he's amassed a considerable fortune. If you're willing to untie the ropes, I'll take you to retrieve all the treasure there. How about it?"

Her voice was sickeningly sweet, but the man still didn't turn around, as if he hadn't heard a word she said.

After waiting for quite a while, Carina, unable to contain her anger, lay sprawled on the ground, looking like a resigned salted fish.

"What's wrong with you, you bastard? How can there be pirates who aren't interested in women and treasure? Are you deaf or something?!"

"One hundred million Beli? That's not even a thought for me. As for beauty, once I loosen the rope, you'll surely rack your brains to find a way to escape, little fox."

Seeing that she had almost been seen through, Carina, who had been pretending to be a lazy bum in an attempt to lower his guard, snorted and paused the blade she was using to cut the rope at her fingertips.

"Why did you stop cutting? I forgot to tell you earlier, that's a specially made rope. Every thread contains a precious material of the same quality as Seastone. Ordinary blades can't cut it, hehehe..."

A sly smile appeared on his face, causing Carina's lips to twitch as her little trick was exposed.

Her cascading purple wavy hair stopped swaying completely, and her beautiful face and captivating voice were stuck in her throat; for a moment, she forgot how to organize her thoughts.

"You... how can you have the abilities of Marine Admiral? Only Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit can do that, but you're definitely not Aokiji. Aokiji doesn't have long hair, and your height doesn't match..."

"Hey, you're really strong, aren't you? Since you're a pirate, you must have something you want. I know a place where 20% of the world's treasure is gathered..."

"How about we cooperate? As long as we get the treasure out of that place, we can buy whatever we want. 20% of the world's treasure is enough to buy anything you desire!"

As she spoke, Carina offered a suggestive suggestion that sounded like the yearning of a fanatic or the temptation of a little devil.

"Aren't you tempted? With this kind of wealth, you can even influence the Celestial Dragons and become independent of the World Government. This could be an opportunity that changes the lives of countless people!"

Seeing that Huayue still ignored her, a sudden idea flashed in her mind, and she quickly added.

"And she has abilities too. There's a very peculiar woman in that place. She's Ability User of the Lucky-Lucky Fruit, which allows her to absorb other people's luck and bring them misfortune, as well as change their fortunes. Isn't that interesting?"

Only at this moment did Huayue turn around and smile at Carina.

"The key is to ask the key questions. You've finally figured it out, little fox..."

"Hehehe, you really are interested in Ability User. Could it be that you obtained the Marine Admiral's ability through some method as well...?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I don't want to. You'd better never tell me that women have to survive by their intelligence, hehe."

A smug smile graced Carina's face, her bright, intelligent eyes truly as clear and piercing as a fox's, just like her nickname when she was a petty thief.

The next day, the sky gradually brightened.

Her previously loose, wavy hair was tied back, and a backless black evening gown that accentuated her figure gave her a different kind of elegance.

"From now on, I am a brand new debut, a songstress about to join the Gran Tesoro, and you will be my personal bodyguard in charge of my safety."

"Our goal now is all the Beli stored in the Gran Tesoro, and those few Devil Fruits you want the most. Let's go!"

Her eyes gleamed. With her intelligence network and the help of this guy's abilities, that legendary country made of gold was sure to be hers.

"Gran Tesoro, what a fine name. You know who the lord of Gran Tesoro is and what his abilities are, right?"

"Wow, this guy is really something. He mysteriously appeared more than ten years ago, smashed the Donquixote Family's auction, stole the Gold-Gold Fruit, and created an unprecedented independent kingdom in just a few years..."

"In the underworld, he was known as the Gold Emperor, and his favorite saying was, 'A man without money will only achieve nothing and will eventually be controlled by others.'"

With a soft chuckle, Huayue, dressed in a sharp black suit and wearing a smiling mask, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What's wrong? Is something funny?"

"The power of money originates only from the currency itself. When the currency loses its function, the power naturally ceases to exist. What truly makes power a reality is force..."

"Don't say anything about these strange remarks. We'll be seeing the Gran Tesoro soon, so don't get too scared!"

As the two were talking, the passenger ship in front of them gradually sailed towards the giant ship in the distance. Before they arrived, the cannons on the ship suddenly exploded, and countless gold pieces were scattered throughout the ship as they drifted in the air.

"How beautiful, how extravagant! They actually used gold powder as fireworks..."

Huayue remained noncommittal about this. Sometimes women really are just like dragons, liking these shiny, sparkly things, but they are even more greedy than dragons.

"This way, this way, welcome to Gran Tesoro, the world's largest entertainment city. As long as you have money, you can enjoy everything you can get here!"

"I am Mr. Tanaka, the guard here. Nice to meet you."

The chibi-style man, dressed entirely in black with only a single white stripe, smiled and his gaze gradually fell upon the two people Huayue and the other, who were at the very back.