“What should we do with this woman?”
After Baccarat passed out, Crocodile squatted beside her, lightly prodding her with his poisoned hook.
Devil Fruit users typically lose their abilities when they faint, so Crocodile only dared to touch her now. From this gesture, it was clear that Crocodile had some interest in Baccarat.
The Luck-Luck Fruit is a rare Paramecia-type ability, and Crocodile seemed to have an inkling of Ian’s thoughts. He turned and asked, “Do you want to take her with us?”
Ian nodded and said, “Her ability might be useful to me.”
Hearing Ian’s decision, the group had no objections. Robin stepped forward, lifting Baccarat and slinging her over one shoulder. Since Baccarat was a woman, the men in the crew felt it was inappropriate to carry her, so it fell to Robin or Reiju to take on the task.
Carina thought for a moment and then rushed over to help as well.
With no one left to stop them, the group continued up the spiral staircase. The stairs were lined with numerous video Den Den Mushi, originally intended to monitor for illegal intruders. However, in the security room, Tesoro’s subordinates could only watch helplessly as Ian and his crew brazenly advanced, unable to do anything to stop them.
Before long, they finally reached the top floor, where they found the giant domed ceiling that Carina had described. In front of them stood a heavy, imposing door, blocking their path.
From the golden gears visible through the gaps in the door, it was clear that this was a complex, mechanically structured golden door. According to Carina’s description, the door was at least 1.5 meters thick and weighed an astonishing amount—rumored to be over a hundred tons. It was definitely not something that could be broken through by ordinary brute force.Originally, there was a key to this vault door, but when Carina went to find Ian, she had intended to discuss and plan with them before stealing the key from Tesoro. However, little did she know that Ian and his group were the type to take immediate action, skipping all the planning and getting straight to it. As a result, Carina didn’t have the key to open this door.
But that didn’t matter. Ian had already anticipated this. He gestured toward Perospero and said, “It’s your turn!”
Facing the vault of the world’s wealthiest man, Perospero couldn’t be bothered by Ian’s constant commands. He licked his mouth with his long tongue and slowly inserted the tip of his candy cane into the keyhole of the door.
Perospero could control syrup, which had excellent shaping abilities, similar to Mr. 3’s Wax-Wax Fruit powers. Once the syrup solidified, it also had considerable hardness. As long as he could figure out the structure of the gears inside the lock, he could easily create a key for the door.
This was the simplest method. In fact, Ian had already thought it through—if Perospero couldn’t make a key, he would have Enel use his lightning metallurgy ability to melt the door down. There were plenty of ways to open this door.
Sure enough, after a short while, Perospero suddenly let out a strange laugh and then sharply twisted his candy cane.
Click, click, click—the continuous sounds of gears echoed through the air. The gears within the vault door’s gaps began to turn, and finally, the door started to open.
As the door slid open to both sides, revealing the scene inside, everyone present couldn’t help but gasp in shock!
Inside the vault, countless bills were stacked neatly, filling the vast hall. These piles of money were taller than a person, and as far as the eye could see, there seemed to be no end to them.
How much is 500 billion Berries? If they were in 1,000-denomination bills, there would be 500 million of them! Even with 10,000-denomination bills, there would still be 50 million!
Even if each bill were about ten centimeters long, connecting 50 million bills would result in a length of over 5,000 kilometers. And if each bill weighed just one gram, then 50 million bills would weigh a total of 50 tons!
This was an astonishing figure, and everyone present, including Ian, had never seen so much money piled together. As they took in the sight of this enormous wealth, their eyes widened in disbelief, leaving them all momentarily stunned. РA₦ÖBƐṤ
Even Aokiji and Smoker were taken aback, their mouths agape in shock, unable to speak for a long time.
It was simply overwhelming!
From the time Ian had set sail until now, the amount of money he had recharged into the system was not even a tenth of what was in Tesoro’s vault. He had once thought of himself as quite wealthy, but seeing this amount of money made him realize the vast difference between being rich and being unimaginably wealthy.
Perospero and Katakuri were also stunned. When they had struck their deal with Ian earlier, they had initially felt that a half-share was too little. But now, seeing the piles of cash and hearing from Carina about the amount they represented, they finally understood—they had hit the jackpot even with just half a share!
Half a share—250 billion Berries—was almost equivalent to the annual tribute from all the forces under the Big Mom Pirates!
“Oh my God! Mama is going to be thrilled!” Perospero screamed. “We’ve scored big this time!”
The sailors of the Dragon Hunter Pirates were also dumbfounded. Finally, Ian snapped out of it first and waved his hand, shouting, “What are you all standing around for? Start loading it up!”
Only then did everyone come to their senses, cheering as they rushed to grab the money from the vault.
However, once they started gathering the money, they quickly realized that the sheer amount far exceeded their expectations. Although the Dragon Hunter Pirates had many members, most of them didn’t have anything to carry the money with. The small pouches they had brought along were woefully inadequate, and even after stuffing every pocket full of bills, the money in the vault seemed barely diminished.
“This isn’t working, Boss!” Shachi and Penguin, two of Law’s subordinates, even took off their hats to fill them with money, but it still wasn’t enough. They anxiously turned to Ian and said, “We need to come up with a better solution!”
Ian looked around and then focused on the vault door they had just opened. He turned to Enel and said, “Can you use your lightning metallurgy ability to create some gold boxes? Can you do that?”
Enel nodded without saying a word and got to work immediately. He placed his hand on the vault door, releasing a powerful current that melted the door down. Then, he began to shape the molten gold.
In no time, a series of boxes had been created.
“Hurry, fill them up with money, and keep going until they’re full!” Ian commanded the group. “Once a box is full, Enel, you seal it up.”
By Ian’s estimation, to pack up all the money, Enel would likely need to make several dozen gold boxes. These boxes would be quite heavy when filled, so Ian turned to Fujitora and said, “Uncle Fujitora, we’ll have to rely on you to transport these out of here!”
Fujitora let out a hearty laugh, clearly excited, and said, “I’ve used my Devil Fruit ability to control many heavy objects before, but this is the first time I’ll be handling so much money! Captain, it’s always big events when I’m with you…”
Indeed, this was Ian’s first time conducting a robbery, but he had stolen more in one go than many pirates could in a lifetime—one haul and they were set for life!
However, what left Ian feeling a bit frustrated was the realization that the gold he had painstakingly sold to Tesoro seemed to have come back to him again. The gold boxes alone used to carry the money were nearly as much as what he had sold to Tesoro.
The feeling of something coming full circle and ending up back in his hands was quite strange. If he had known they’d be robbing Tesoro like this, why had he gone through so much trouble in the first place?
Oh well, since it’s back, it’s back. He could just give those gold boxes to Enel later; after all, Enel seemed to really like gold, so it would be a nice way to make him happy.
Just as everyone was enthusiastically transporting the money, a voice, barely containing its fury, suddenly rang out from behind them.
“Put down that money—that belongs to me!”
Everyone turned around to see Tesoro standing at the entrance. Despite rushing as fast as he could, he had finally made it here.
Seeing his vault being robbed, Tesoro’s eyes were already bloodshot with rage. Behind him stood Edward Weevil and his mother, Bakkin. While Weevil didn’t seem to have much of a reaction—money in such vast quantities was beyond his comprehension—Bakkin was a different story. Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her sunglasses.
“Gentlemen!” Tesoro glared fiercely at Enel, who was still melting gold to create more boxes at the door, and then shifted his gaze to Ian, Katakuri, and the others inside the vault. He demanded, “What exactly have I done to offend you that you would target my vault like this?”
Tesoro’s appearance here signaled that the plan had succeeded. He was no longer able to assist the World Government in capturing Dragon, so Aokiji frowned slightly but remained silent—his objective had already been achieved.
Aokiji didn’t care much about the money, but that didn’t mean everyone else felt the same. Although they had been caught red-handed by Tesoro while stealing the money, Perospero and Katakuri showed no signs of embarrassment. Perospero licked his candy cane and sneered, “Tesoro, while you may not have offended us, it seems you’re just unlucky. Our Big Mom Pirates never have the habit of giving up any delicious treat we’ve already sunk our teeth into!”
Huh? Perospero had jumped out to take the blame on his own, without any prompting? And he even invoked the name of the Big Mom Pirates?
Could he be any more cooperative!?
Ian blinked in surprise and decided to stay silent. If Perospero was going to be such a good comrade, he might as well let him take the lead.
Tesoro was left speechless by Perospero’s words. He knew very well what kind of pirate crew the Big Mom Pirates were. Pirates were inherently greedy, and although he had been paying a substantial tribute to the Big Mom Pirates each year, the amount of money in this vault was equivalent to many years of tribute. How could Perospero and the others not see that?
So Tesoro turned to Aokiji and said, “Admiral Aokiji, have you really decided to ally yourself with pirates immediately after leaving the Navy?”
Aokiji remained silent, unsure of how to respond. But then, Kuina suddenly spoke up, “This money doesn’t exactly belong to you, does it? Do you think we’re unaware of what goes on in your casino? This money was accumulated from countless people who lost everything, right?”
Ian couldn’t help but give Guina a mental thumbs-up. Indeed, she saw the situation more clearly than Aokiji. While it was true that Tesoro was the owner of this wealth, he had amassed it by bleeding countless people dry.
Ian and his crew’s robbery, while not exactly noble or righteous, seemed more justified in his mind. After all, it was better to take this money for themselves than to let Tesoro use it to fund the Celestial Dragons’ extravagant lifestyles.
Tesoro was nearly bursting with rage after Kuina’s rebuttal. He realized that these people were dead set on robbing him, and arguing further would be pointless. The only way to resolve this was through force.
“Bakkin! Have your son take action!” Tesoro ordered without even turning his head. “If he takes down everyone here, I’ll give you half of the money in this vault!”
“Re-really!?”
Bakkin was instantly energized. In fact, after seeing the enormous amount of money in the vault, the old woman had already considered teaming up with Ian and his crew to rob Tesoro instead!
A 10 billion Berries was nothing compared to the fortune in this vault!
But unfortunately for her, Tesoro was clever enough not to give Bakkin the chance to betray him at the last minute. He immediately offered her half of the loot.
Bakkin quickly weighed her options. If she allied with Ian and the others, she might not get as much as Tesoro was promising. So, she made her decision on the spot, tapping Edward Weevil with her cane to signal him to attack!
Ian was quite surprised. It had already caught him off guard that Tesoro had enlisted Edward Weevil’s help, but what baffled him even more was where Bakkin, that troublesome old woman, got the confidence to think her son could defeat everyone here.
However, Tesoro clearly had his own methods. As Edward Weevil, wielding a golden razor provided by Tesoro, charged at the vault like a wild boar, Tesoro made his move as well!
He suddenly spread his arms wide, activating his Devil Fruit power. Immediately, golden liquid began to emerge on the bodies of Perospero, Katakuri, Tashigi, and Kuina. This golden liquid was actually the gold dust that had infiltrated their bodies when they entered the port.
Originally, Aokiji and Smoker also had this gold dust in their bodies, but since both were Logia-type Devil Fruit users, they had expelled the gold dust when their bodies became elemental. As a result, they were unaffected when Tesoro activated his power.
Perospero, who had the Lick-Lick Fruit, could produce syrup, but that didn’t mean his body was made of syrup. Like Katakuri, he was a Paramecia-type user with a solid body. So, both of them were immediately ensnared by Tesoro. Under his power, the gold exhibited incredible strength and resilience, and despite their best efforts, neither Perospero nor Katakuri could break free.
It wasn’t that their strength was inferior to Tesoro’s, but they hadn’t anticipated that he had already planted gold dust on everyone who entered Gran Tesoro. This sneak attack-like ability gave Tesoro the upper hand, and even though Katakuri and Perospero possessed powerful Armament Haki, it was useless if they couldn’t move.
Tesoro’s claim of being invincible in his own territory was not without reason. In an instant, he had neutralized Perospero and Katakuri, temporarily removing these two members of the Big Mom Pirates from the fight. At the same time, Edward Weevil charged straight at Ian.
Since Ian and the Dragon Hunter Pirates had descended onto Gran Tesoro from their sky island, they hadn’t passed through the port, so there was no gold dust in their bodies for Tesoro to manipulate. Tesoro was well aware of this, which is why he targeted Ian first by sending Edward Weevil after him.
Edward Weevil, eyes red with fury, let out a roar as he charged forward. He looked fierce and imposing, wielding his naginata coated in Armament Haki as he slashed at Ian.
Ian swiftly drew his Senbonzakura blade, blocking the attack horizontally. The clash of their weapons instantly generated a powerful shockwave that erupted around them.
How to put it… Edward Weevil was indeed quite formidable. Kizaru’s assessment that Weevil possessed the same strength as a young Whitebeard was quite accurate. It seemed that simple-minded individuals like Weevil often excelled in specific areas. Ian noticed that Weevil’s Armament Haki was incredibly strong, matching his own during their clash, with neither side gaining the upper hand!
This alone justified Weevil’s 480 million Berry bounty—there was no falsehood in that. He truly had the power worthy of a Warlord of the Sea.
Moreover, Weevil’s brute strength was astonishing. Every slash of his blade tore through the air with a deafening roar, and his fighting style carried a fierce, fearless intensity.
Ian had just blocked two of his strikes when suddenly, a mass of gold surged up from the ground, wrapping around his feet. Tesoro, standing nearby, was assisting Weevil by manipulating all the gold in the area, launching an attack against everyone present.
Ian’s feet were quickly ensnared, leaving him no choice but to ignite black flames beneath him, melting the gold while simultaneously blocking Weevil’s blade.
Tesoro didn’t just focus on attacking Ian; he targeted everyone else as well. The weaker members of the pirate crew were quickly entangled by the gold, which slithered like serpents around them. The others drew their weapons, frantically slashing at the golden serpents lunging toward them.
Attacking so many people at once required a considerable amount of gold. Tesoro not only used the vault door but also the gold boxes that Enel had created earlier. In just a few moments, those boxes were deformed, causing the money inside to spill out all over the place.
This infuriated Enel. It was as if Tesoro was outright dismissing his hard work! With a cold snort, Enel flashed to Tesoro’s side in an instant, his arm transforming into lightning as he struck at Tesoro.
The name “Thunder God Enel” had already spread across the seas along with the reputation of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. Tesoro, of course, knew about this Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, one of the three major powers of the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
In a sense, Enel was the last person Tesoro wanted to face. The gold Tesoro controlled was conductive, and once Enel transformed into lightning, he could travel freely through the golden structures Tesoro controlled. In short, Tesoro’s abilities were completely ineffective against Enel!
So, when he saw Enel’s lightning strike coming, Tesoro gritted his teeth and had no choice but to abandon his plan of attacking Enel with gold. Instead, he switched to using Armament Haki to clash directly with Enel.
Meanwhile, as Edward Weevil battled Ian, his mother, Bakkin, wasn’t idle either. She hid in a corner, waving her cane and cheering on her son. “Yes, that’s it! Kill him! Once you kill them, the money is ours!”
However, at that moment, Ian had already melted Tesoro’s golden bindings with his flames. He leaped up, dodging a slash from Weevil, and then suddenly smashed the hilt of his sword into Weevil’s nose!
Boom! The immense force sent Edward Weevil flying, directly crashing into the spot where Bakkin was hiding!
With just a casual strike, Ian caused blood to gush from Weevil’s nose. Bakkin, too, was pinned under her son’s massive body, letting out a series of pained screams.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mama!” Edward Weevil, realizing he had crushed his own mother, hurriedly got up and helped Bakkin to her feet. Once she was up, Bakkin furiously hit him over the head with her cane, shouting, “Idiot! Idiot! How did I end up with such a stupid son! Hurry up and finish him off!”
“Oh!” Edward Weevil, wiping the blood from his nose with a dumb expression, let out a loud roar and charged at Ian again.
So annoying! Ian was thoroughly irritated. Dealing with Edward Weevil was one thing, but his nagging mother was the real nuisance.
Frustrated, Ian blocked Weevil’s strike with his sword and, without looking back, shouted, “Sugar! Make that old woman shut up! I permit you to use your ability!”
Hearing Ian’s command, Sugar, who had been idly munching on grapes under Fujitora’s protection, put down her bowl of grapes, stepped through the crowd, and walked toward Bakkin.
Seeing this little girl dressed in a cute bear outfit approaching her, Bakkin instinctively sensed danger. She jabbed her cane at Sugar and yelled, “What… what are you doing!? Stay away! Son, come save me now!”
Hearing his mother’s cries, Edward Weevil panicked and was just about to turn around to rescue her. However, Ian suddenly fired a glowing energy ball from his hand, blasting Weevil away.
The Ki Blast—such a handy move!
Bakkin’s cane couldn’t stop Sugar from getting closer. The adorable little girl grabbed the cane with one hand, and with the other, she pressed her hand against Bakkin’s forehead.
“Ian-sama doesn’t like you, so… turn into a teddy bear toy!” Sugar declared.
In the next instant, with a pop, Bakkin was transformed into a wrinkled, ugly toy bear.
And just like that, the world suddenly became a much quieter place…
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