Chapter 432: A Moving Land, The Golden Emperor

Night had fallen on the Grand Line. 

"One, two, three, a grand performance~" 

"Five, six, seven, waiting for you to arrive~~" 

"Life is like a gamble, waiting for you to arrive~~" 

A smooth female voice sang over the lively jazz music, with saxophones, trumpets, and drums creating a rhythm that made people sway along. 

"There's nothing you can't buy~" 

"Frauds will always be exposed~~" 

"You'll only cry in despair after getting stabbed in the back~~" 

Then, a deep male voice took over, rough yet laced with danger, making it clear that this place was full of traps. 

"Gold and cowboy dances, forget everything! Let's live carefree!" 

With the voices of the famous duet echoing across the sea, the *Thousand Sunny* slowly approached the massive cruise ship—or rather, floating island—in front of them. At the figurehead of the ship: 

"Whoa! This is amazing!!" 

The three Straw Hat goofballs squeezed together on the lion-shaped figurehead, drooling at the sight of the enormous *Tesoro*, their eyes practically turning gold. 

"What an incredible ship! Wait, is this even a ship?" 

Rather than a ship, what stood before the *Straw Hat Crew* was more like an entire city floating on the sea. 

This brightly lit behemoth was as massive as *Noah* from Fish-Man Island, only slightly smaller than *Thriller Bark*, Moria's floating fortress. It wasn't as large as the Marines' *Joint Transport Fleet*, but unlike Momonosuke's artificially enlarged vessels, this was a real, fully functional mega-cruise ship. 

"Roman, Luffy is being so rude!" 

"Yeah! Saying another ship is awesome right in front of us!!" 

As *Merry* and *Sunny* complained angrily, Roman calmly pointed to the golden ship ahead. 

"That ship only looks fancy. It's completely useless for traveling or fighting. If you wanted, you could sink it with a few cannon shots. Giving weaklings a little leeway is what makes a strong ship stand out." 

"R-Really?" 

"I see… Then we'll be generous and show our superiority…" 

Watching Roman skillfully *educate*—or rather, trick—the two ship spirits, Nami sighed and rubbed her temples. 

"This isn't just a ship. Its name is *Gran Tesoro*. It's not only the world's biggest entertainment city but also an independent nation officially recognized by the government. Even the Marines and CP agents can't just do as they please here." 

Money talks—especially when the person controlling 20% of the world's *Beli* is also quite powerful. 

Gild Tesoro, the captain of this ship and ruler of this nation. Known as the *Golden Emperor*, he has the powers of the *Gold-Gold Fruit*, allowing him to manipulate gold at will. His ability has even awakened, making him a true master of his Devil Fruit. 

While Gild Tesoro's personal strength was about on par with Doflamingo, he was still an awakened Devil Fruit user. On his *golden ship*, he could unleash twice his normal power. Even the *Admirals* and *Four Emperors* wouldn't want to engage in a reckless fight with him. 

With his vast wealth, Gild Tesoro could even influence the Celestial Dragons and manipulate the Marines, making him one of the greatest users of money in history. 

But— 

That was his limit. 

The extravagant city before them was as far as he could go. If he ever tried expanding his influence to threaten the World Government's interests, the Marines wouldn't hesitate to bring down *justice* on him. No matter how powerful money was, it only went so far against the strongest forces in the world. 

Still, this place was the perfect meeting ground. 

For both the Marines and the pirates! 

"Everyone, our destination—" 

"THE AMUSEMENT PARK!!" 

For Luffy, as long as a place was *fun*, it was a good place. And this massive cruise ship was essentially a floating paradise filled with every form of entertainment imaginable, guaranteed to keep him entertained for hours. 

At the front of the ship, a massive golden archway glittered with neon lights, radiating wealth and luxury. As the *Thousand Sunny* sailed through the brightly lit waterway, golden dust gently rained down from above. 

"Whoaaa~~"

"Huh? These floating things… they're actually sprinkled with gold dust?" 

If it were the old Nami, she would have said, "Hurry up and sweep it all together!" But now— 

"This is way too flashy! It makes people think there's no class behind it." 

Times have changed, and Roman has raised Nami's standards. 

"Gild Tesoro is only 41 years old. It took him just nine years to go from a slave to the richest man in the world. What kind of 'class' could he have? But he's not just showing off his wealth for no reason…" 

"Look, Pudding, even the water has turned golden." 

"A golden river? Compared to the chocolate cream river back home, each has its own charm, right, Sanji~~?" 

Sanji and Pudding admired the view from the ship's railing, flirting as usual. But Roman noticed that Pudding was mentioning 'home' more and more in her words. Even though she had left Big Mom's crew, she still had feelings for Whole Cake Island and worried about her siblings. 

She just didn't know how to bring it up. 

"Super~~ cool!" 

"This looks fun." 

If Franky and Robin still managed to stay calm, then— 

"Yohohoho~~ Even my bones are turning gold—Golden Bones!" 

Brook spun around excitedly, quickly blending in with the Straw Hat trio of troublemakers. Roman rubbed his temples. What was this? The older they got, the more childish they acted? 

As for Zoro? 

Don't wake me up for nothing. He was fast asleep, hugging his swords. 

"Hm, this gold dust gives me an uneasy feeling." 

Jinbe, always steady and cautious, shook his body slightly, causing the gold dust on him to be washed away by the moisture on his skin. Roman glanced at him— 

? 

"Is there something on my face?" 

Looking at the serious Jinbe, Roman shook his head. 

"Nothing." 

This gold dust wasn't just for show or flaunting wealth. It was actually a sneaky trick of Tesoro's Devil Fruit power! He scattered the gold dust at the entrance, making it seem like he was showing off his riches, but in reality, the dust would unknowingly enter people's bodies. And with just a thought—he could turn anyone covered in gold dust into a solid gold statue! 

Of course, this trick wouldn't work on highly cautious fighters who kept their Haki active. For seasoned warriors whose bodies were always resisting Devil Fruit abilities due to years of Haki training, the dust was nothing more than a passing breeze. 

Take Jinbe, for example. Even if he hadn't washed off the gold dust, it wouldn't have been able to control him. But for the rest of the Straw Hat crew… aside from Luffy, whose Armament Haki had reached the point of automatically resisting all abilities, the others had already unknowingly been affected. 

This was the strength of veteran fighters! They might not have explosive growth like newcomers, but their bodies had almost no weaknesses. 

Well, whatever. Since we're here at a place like this, we might as well relax. After all, with me around, there's no way Tesoro could do anything crazy. 

As they passed through the gold-dusted waterway, the view ahead suddenly opened up—a massive golden pool… no, a golden lake spread out before them. In the center of the golden lake stood Gild Tesoro, dressed in a gold-and-white tuxedo, tap dancing on a giant golden pillar to the rhythm of jazz music. 

One thing was clear—before being a 'king,' 'the richest man in the world,' or 'a powerhouse of the seas,' Gild Tesoro was an excellent singer and dancer. The thunderous cheers and applause around him weren't fake. If the Celestial Dragons had never interfered with his life, he truly could have spent his days as an artist. 

Hah… the Celestial Dragons. 

Roman casually wiped his face, covering half of it with a mask. Although many top figures and world leaders knew his true identity, regular people—and even Tesoro himself—would never think to connect the Straw Hat crew's strategist with a Marine Admiral candidate. 

Meanwhile, on the golden pillars surrounding them, countless women in swimsuits danced as entertainers. Their revealing outfits and high-kicking moves instantly changed the warm and cheerful atmosphere of the Sunny into something entirely different. 

"Sanji, sir!" 

"Cough, cough! Roman, let's head back to the ship. There's nothing to see here." 

…"Don't let your guard down. Haven't you noticed something about this place?" 

Roman traced a circle with his finger, making it clear that his focus was on something far more important than the dancers.

"Golden pools, golden pillars, golden stages, golden buildings... That man singing and dancing over there is Gild Tesoro, a user of the Gold-Gold Fruit. With just a thought, he could drown us in a sea of gold. He's really strong." 

"Oh, isn't that the same ability as... um... that guy with the really high-pitched voice?" 

Hearing about a strong opponent, Zoro, who had been napping just moments ago, immediately perked up. However, he couldn't remember the name of the person he was thinking of— 

"You mean Pica from Doflamingo's crew? Yeah, it's kind of similar. But Tesoro is way stronger. He's also an awakened Devil Fruit user, and this giant golden cruise ship is his absolute domain. If a fight breaks out, we'll be up against golden attacks from all directions. Of course—" 

"Ladies and gentlemen," 

With a snap of Tesoro's fingers on the stage, spotlights immediately turned to the Sunny. 

"My apologies for not giving such distinguished guests a proper welcome—" 

"Scream, cheer! Welcome one of the Four Emperors of the sea!" 

As beams of light shone down, the Sunny, with its unique cartoonish design—truly one of a kind on the entire ocean—instantly became the center of attention. And standing on the deck: 

"The mighty Straw Hat Crew, along with their captain—bounty of 3.1 billion—Straw Hat Luffy!" 

"Straw Hat Crew..." 

"The Luffy who defeated Kaido—" 

"So young, yet already a 3.1 billion bounty in this age of terror!" 

After a brief moment of silence, the crowd erupted with cheers ten times louder than before. The deafening screams of tens of thousands tore through the night sky! 

"Hehehe, looks like we're pretty popular..." 

Seeing some people in the audience collapse from fear, while others scrambled in panic, Roman rubbed his chin, deciding to rethink the meaning of the word "popular." 

(End of Chapter) 

 ----

You can read 30 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu