The instant the dice cup was smashed open, whether it was the Straw Hat crew, Tesoro and his subordinates, or all the VIP guests present, everyone held their breath. And the result being an even number was no different from declaring the outco of this century-defining gamble—the final victors were the Straw Hat crew and Tesoro!!!
Nami and Usopp high-fived in celebration, Chopper jumped up happily, and everyone was extrely excited. Tesoro’s pupils also shrank slightly. His already restless heart began pounding even harder, his breathing growing a little quicker. Then... what wish should he ask for? Right now he lacked nothing—asking for Celestial Dragon status? Or imnse power? Or perhaps securing a future for his child... For a mont, Tesoro’s thoughts were in complete turmoil, but clearly the forr temptation was far more direct and powerful.
However, just as they were celebrating, Orin looked utterly calm, leisurely drinking his water.
"I say, you guys..."
"So sure you’ve won?"
The corners of Orin’s mouth lifted slightly; he felt like laughing. Popping champagne at halfti had never ended well throughout history.
"What do you an?! Orin-san, are you trying to go back on your word?!!!"
Luffy gritted his teeth and shouted.
"No, no, no..."
Orin drained the sweet drink in his cup in one go and revealed an amused smile.
"I’m the type who hates people who break the rules in the middle of a ga..."
As his strength and status had risen, Orin had long since disdained using brute force to forcibly renege after gas or bets were settled. That would be far too inelegant for soone like him. He only ever struck those who failed to follow the rules.
"Whether you really won or not—why don’t you take a good look yourselves?"
Orin crossed his legs, his eyes emitting a scarlet glow as he looked behind him. Everyone followed his gaze toward the dice at the center of the arena.
...
They saw the massive die that had landed with five pips facing up now inexplicably split open down the middle. The crack spread wider and wider until the entire die split into two halves and toppled over, leaving two fractured cross-sections facing upward.
"Looking at it this way, isn’t the number actually one?"
"Well then... looks like I won~"
Everyone was stunned, staring in disbelief at the cracked die.
"Hey!!! What the hell is going on here!!!"
Nami grew anxious, convinced there had to be so trick. She pointed at Orin.
"You definitely ssed with it, didn’t you?! That die was so sturdy—why would it split in half!!!"
Seeing her do this, Sanji was instantly terrified out of his wits and hurriedly tried to stop her.
"Hey!!! Nami!!!"
But before he could even reach out, Orin had already looked over, tilting his head slightly.
"So you think I was cheating?"
Snap—
Orin lightly snapped his fingers. In the next instant, Nami’s figure vanished from where she stood and stumbled into Orin’s presence, where his large hand seized her small face.
"Nami!!!"
"Let go of Nami!!!"
Seeing this, the Straw Hat crew erupted into chaos and tried to move, but an enormous golden curtain instantly appeared in front of them, blocking their actions. Tesoro stood there with a dark expression, static crackling in his hands as he used his power to control gold.
"Though it’s hard to accept, it seems we really did lose..."
"In this Gold City, the only rule is to accept the outco of a gamble. What’s more, the winner is Orin-san."
His mood was absolutely dreadful. Losing after going all in was always hard to swallow.
"What the hell!!! It was obviously Orin-san cheating..."
Luffy wanted to shout about the unfairness, but he failed to notice that Sanji—who was usually the most attentive to Nami—was standing there in silence.
"Unfair?"
Tesoro looked at the Straw Hats as if they were idiots.
"I’ve been around casinos for decades; what kind of cheating haven’t I seen? But this ti..."
"Father didn’t interfere, Luffy."
Sanji suddenly spoke up.
"Huh?! Why would you say that, Sanji? But the die clearly—"
Luffy was confused, not understanding why even Sanji would say this.
"That wasn’t Father using his abilities to interfere. I saw it clearly with my Observation Haki..."
Sanji clenched his teeth tightly, his pupils trembling as disbelief flashed through his eyes.
"The damage on the die was from long-term use. I saw it clearly even before it cracked—this wasn’t sothing external or internal force could cause..."
If one looked closely, it was indeed evident that the massive die had suffered damage from repeated heavy impacts. This use was rely the final straw that broke the cal’s back.
"No way... sothing with such a tiny probability actually..."
"Aren’t we supposed to be the lucky ones?!!!"
Usopp clutched his head in anguish, seemingly questioning reality itself.
At this mont, Orin sat back in his chair with one leg crossed over the other, pinching Nami’s cheek as he smiled and explained.
"Luck is indeed the key to winning—that’s true. But that depends on who you’re up against."
"Do you know how I did it?"
Swirling his wine glass, Orin warped the orange juice he nearly choked on straight into his stomach and said with a laugh.
"Wasn’t it because you tampered with it..."
With her chin and face held tight, Nami struggled painfully, yet she was helpless against Orin’s monstrous strength. The tall man before her—the pressure from that large hand was sothing she absolutely could not resist.
"I used to like doing things that way, but now it’s different~"
Hearing this, Crocodile, who had once been set up by Orin, imdiately darkened her expression.
"That’s impossible..."
Nami glared at him.
"Hahahahaha!!!!"
Orin laughed heartily.
"Don’t you get it yet? The reason you failed is precisely because your luck was too good~"
"Gambling is a kind of wisdom, and my wisdom told it was ti to use force~"
"At the very mont the result ca out, do you know how I managed to do absolutely nothing and still turn defeat into victory?"
"A thought popped into my head—just a single thought: if I lost, I’d wipe out everyone on this ship~"
"And guess what happened?"
Orin laughed with great delight, as if he found the turn of events far too amusing.
"The result was that your good luck saved you. Because compared to losing a ga, keeping your lives is simply the best possible outco~"
"Wouldn’t you say so~?"
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