When Baccarat arrived at the casino on the first floor...
Noah, disguised as someone else, is spending money like crazy on a slot machine.
"Sir, I am Baccarat, the manager of the casino..."
Noah stared at the massive slot machine he had swiped to its limit, then turned to look at the wine-red-haired woman. At this point, she wasn't yet as mature as she would later appear; she was probably around twenty years old.
Noah didn't shake the outstretched hand. Instead, he picked up the lemonade Kuro offered and took a small sip. "Does a dignified Shichibukai really not even be able to afford to lose a few hundred million Beli?"
The surrounding gamblers joined in the jeering and shouting.
Baccarat maintained her smile, but inwardly she planned to drain Noah's luck dry later.
"Our casino can certainly afford to lose, but we're out of chips on the slot machines. How about we try something else?"
Noah's lips curled into a slight smile, "How about we play a game of spinning the wheel?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he took a revolver from his belt, removed three bullets from the magazine, and there were three bullets left in the magazine.
Gently rotate the cylinder, then place the revolver on the table.
"The survivor gets 500 million Beli from the other person, how about it?"
Baccarat glanced at the calm Noah, then picked up her pistol, pointed the muzzle at her temple, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Click!
Blank shot!
"Your turn."
A crazed smile crept across Noah's lips.
After picking up the pistol, he also pointed the muzzle at his temple.
He pulled the trigger repeatedly.
Click!
Snap! Bang!
Snap! Bang!
Click!
Two bullets struck his temples, but they turned into lead discs stuck to his temples.
"There's one shot left. Ms. Baccarat won't mind, will she?"
By this time, Baccarat knew she had met a tough opponent and realized the loophole in the previous bet: the other party said that if she survived, she would receive 500 million Beli, but did not mention that one side could pull the trigger repeatedly.
She immediately used her luck and then picked up her pistol.
Click! The bullet misfired.
Clap clap clap!
Noah clapped his hands. "It seems Ms. Baccarat is truly a lucky one."
"Hehe, that was terrifying..." Baccarat's face showed relief at surviving a disaster.
Just then, a tall, red-haired man appeared in the casino lobby, sneering at Noah and his companions, "Our boss would like to invite you to a private room on the second floor. Would you be interested?"
"Haha, I'm interested, I absolutely have to be interested!"
Noah swaggered straight to the second floor.
Baccarat looked at the purple-haired man, a hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes.
Second floor.
Crocodile, who had seen the situation on the first floor through the Den Den Den Mushi, also realized that the newcomer was quite strong. Instead of letting Baccarat waste her saved luck, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Inside the private room, Crocodile was smoking a cigar.
Noah pushed open the door and sat down directly across from the gambling table.
The red-haired man who followed in from behind casually closed the door.
"Who are you?"
Does it matter who I am?
"Heh, it's not important after all." Crocodile's gaze grew even colder, but considering the casino's reputation, he didn't act immediately. He still needed to use the casino to top up Baccarat's lucky number.
Noah looked at the composed Crocodile, a hint of mockery in his eyes. "You seem to think you've got me cornered?"
"People who know Armament Haki are as common as locusts in the New World. Do you think you're special?"
"That's true, but you shouldn't have invited me up, especially in such a confined space."
Crocodile's expression changed as he realized his body was somewhat weak, and his Devil Fruit ability was like a stagnant pool.
Baccarat and the red-haired man Mad, who were standing nearby, also felt the weakness in their bodies and the silence of their Devil Fruit abilities.
"Impossible! I'm Logia, it's impossible for me to be poisoned..." Crocodile looked on in disbelief.
Noah picked up Crocodile's cigar, rubbed his fingers together to light it, and said, "Hoo... not bad, the Justin cigars from the South Blue certainly have a unique flavor."
Growing increasingly weak, Crocodile roared in exasperation, "Answer me! Why was I poisoned?"
"This room is filled with gases containing Seastone. With every breath you take, the concentration of Seastone in your body will increase. Do you understand, Mr. Crocodile?"
"How could such a thing exist?" Crocodile's face was filled with disbelief, and he looked at Noah with a suspicious gaze. "Who exactly are you?"
Suddenly, a wormhole appeared in the private room, Ray emerged from it carrying several unconscious casino staff members.
Crocodile's eyes widened. "You... you are the Liberator Organization!"
Noah's face and body quickly returned to their original form under the control of the Life Return.
" Dawn Noah!"
"Mr. Crocodile has a good memory."
"What do you want?" Crocodile asked in a deep voice.
"It's nothing. I have high hopes for your power and simply intend to make you my power."
"Heh... you think I'd agree?"
Noah smiled without saying a word, and instead looked at Baccarat, who had collapsed on the floor.
Ray immediately went over and opened her mind.
With a swift and decisive stroke, Baccarat's prefrontal lobe will be removed in an instant.
Noah threw out a card, which merged into Baccarat's body, and then golden flames enveloped her.
A moment later, the cocoon of light ruptured.
"My lord, Baccarat pays homage to you."
[ Wheel of Fortune: Baccarat ( Lucky-Lucky Fruit )]
Another Major Arcana Apostle.
Crocodile, standing to the side, suddenly changed his expression drastically. "What did you do to Baccarat?"
"Of course, it's about making her a part of my power."
"Damn it..." Crocodile gritted his teeth and stared at Noah. He hadn't expected that Noah didn't intend to subdue him at all, but rather to turn him into a puppet.
He had absolutely no power to resist and could only watch helplessly as he was transformed.
[ The Star: Crocodile ( Sand-Sand Fruit )]
Incidentally, he also transformed the chained man Mad into Minor Arcana Apostle.
Outside the private room, more than half an hour had passed.
Neither the gamblers, the CP Agent lurking among them, nor the intelligence personnel of the Alabasta Kingdom, nor the ordinary members of Baroque Works, noticed that in just half an hour, a powerful Logia Shichibukai had been subdued and modified.
Noah and his group resumed their previous disguises, swaggered down from the second floor, and left the casino directly.
That evening.
In another Baroque Works at Rain Dinners, Eric the Whirlwind, a senior agent, was also subdued by Noah and transformed into Minor Arcana Apostle.
In less than three days.
All of Baroque Works ' top agents were wiped out.
This earned Noah another Major Arcana Apostle.
[ The Hanged Man: Bon Clay ( Clone-Clone Fruit )]
And several Minor Arcana Apostle.
At this point, only two slots remained for Noah's Major Arcana Apostle: the Tower and the Lovers.
After taking control of Crocodile, Noah did not change the organizational structure of Baroque Works; he simply modified his previous plan to seize the country.
After all, the Alabasta Kingdom is one of the top powers in the Paradise, and it must be brought under control when necessary.
This is the task Noah gave Crocodile and Baroque Works.
Since Baroque Works was a fairly strong organization overall, Noah only sent two additional personnel to the opposing side.
One is Tomani, the head of the Distillery, who is tasked with enhancing the Baroque Works's intelligence system.
The other is Gem, a newcomer who just graduated from the training camp. He's the same guy from the original timeline who ate the Bomb-Bomb Fruit. He was secretly recruited by the Distillery last year and is only 16 years old this year.