Chapter 86 - Crocodile: Let Me Play With You, Black Gun!

When those words rang out,

everyone be it the casino staff or the seasoned gamblers who had prowled the floor for years couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

Before any game begins, everyone fantasizes that Lady Luck will smile upon them.

They'd been there once too, stepping into the world of gambling full of confidence, winning a few early hands in a row.

Once they tasted how easy, exciting, and intoxicating it was to make money this way, regular jobs started to feel dull and meaningless.

Even knowing that nine out of ten gamblers lose, they still chose to believe they were that lucky one in ten.

To them, Ozz was just another wide-eyed newcomer.

Sure, he looked rich. But they were confident he'd end up losing everything soon enough.

Once his opponent sat at the table, the first game began.

Each player was dealt five cards. Without even looking, Ozz casually flipped over one of his.

A six.

As expected, to lure in this fresh fat sheep, his opponent obligingly revealed a four.

100,000 Berries → 200,000 Berries.

"Congratulations, sir, it seems you have quite the lucky hand,"

A sultry waitress cooed beside him, twisting her alluring figure and feeding him fruit from a fork.

This kind of treatment, naturally, was meant to help push players into reckless highs.

Ozz grinned wide.

"Yeah, luck's always been on my side."

With a flick of his hand, he conjured a stack of cash must've been several million Berries at least and laughed heartily as he stuffed it down the waitress's plunging neckline.

Seeing how freely he handed out that kind of money, the waitress beamed and turned even more flattering in her words.

The casino manager, clearly surprised by Ozz's generosity, clasped his hands behind his back and whispered to a subordinate with a sly smile curling at the corners of his mouth:

"Set him up with a higher-stakes table next. Give him a few wins, then reel him in for good."

As the subordinate nodded and left, the manager let out a sinister smile.

Once he racks up enough debt, it won't matter if he's a noble or some big-shot merchant.

No one escapes the Rain Banquet's grasp.

Just then, he heard Ozz's impatient voice ring out.

"Hurry up, will you? I had someone read my fortune. Said today's luck is off the charts."

"Guaranteed wins, no doubt about it!"

"Yes, sir, we'll get the next game ready right away."

Laugh while you can soon, you'll be crying.

The following few rounds played out similarly to the first.

Sometimes the score gap was big eight to one.

Other times, it was closer five to four.

But no matter the odds, Ozz kept winning.

Starting from 100,000 Berries, it only took a short while for him to roll it up to 496 million Berries.

A staggering sum.

It was only because Ozz seemed to be extremely wealthy that the casino manager dared raise the stakes so high in the first place.

But the real kill came in the next round, with the double-leverage trap they had set up.

If Ozz lost, not only would he cough up all his winnings.

He'd have to fork over an additional 400 million out of pocket.

After slipping in the prearranged cards, both players were dealt their five.

The man sitting opposite Ozz clearly a casino boss type lifted the second card on his right with full confidence.

Jack.

Eleven points.

The moment that card was revealed, the surrounding gamblers all tensed.

Sure, they loved watching someone lose.

But they really loved a comeback from the brink.

As the saying goes.

If a game of Russian roulette only has one bullet, everyone wants to see you die.

But if there are five bullets in the chamber, everyone wants you to survive.

Ozz, unlike the anxious onlookers, remained calm and unbothered.

A glint of red flickered behind his sunglasses.

"In your future, there's no path to victory."

Then, slowly, he reached out and turned over the middle card.

King.

Thirteen points.

The highest possible card short of a joker.

"What?! No way!!!"

"We only planted one high card in the whole deck, and we hid it in the least likely spot someone would choose. He still found it?!"

A drop of cold sweat ran down the casino manager's face, his eye twitching.

Four hundred ninety-six million Berries. Times four.

Over 1.6 billion!?

If they had to pay that out, they couldn't cover it even if they sold his entire family!

Just as he clenched his teeth and was about to order his men to seal off the place and force Ozz to keep playing, a sharp clack of leather shoes echoed from the floor above.

No... it can't be...!

The manager trembled and tried to speak.

"Boss, please, just give me one more chance..."

"Shut up."

A wind laced with sand drifted down from the upper floor, swirling into a cyclone before him

And there she stood.

A woman of overwhelming presence.

Cigar between her lips. A born leader.

The scar across her face didn't mar her beauty it made her even more commanding.

Long, flowing black hair trailed behind her.

A black dress underneath, a dark coat draped over her shoulders.

Her voice was cold with frustration.

"You got played and couldn't even tell. How much more are you planning to lose?"

"I..."

The manager tried to explain, but once he met her gaze, he fell completely silent.

Crocodile didn't waste another second on the useless man.

With a sway of her curvaceous frame, she stepped up to Ozz.

Her face was serious, black lines creasing down her cheeks.

"Do me a favor, will you? Just take the money and leave.

I'll stake the Rain Banquet's name on it. No grudges, no trouble."

Everyone around them had assumed this infamous pirate queen had come down to fight.

But to their shock.

She backed down?

"Huh? You kicking me out now? Or is it that you can't afford to pay?"

Ozz wasn't here just to earn a measly billion or two in pocket change.

Hearing Crocodile's offer, he scoffed.

I don't care about money.

I'm only after one thing.

At those words, Crocodile's expression darkened.

She was angry clearly but she was no longer the reckless youth she once was.

Ever since challenging Whitebeard, she'd come to understand just how monstrously powerful the true monsters of this world were.

And with her cunning, she had no illusions about Ozz's true nature.

Could she fight him? Sure.

Could she win? Not a chance.

Right now, all she wanted was to complete her gender transition in peace and find the legendary Ancient Weapon.

Then use it to build a nation where she could finally live free of fear or control.

So she chose to endure.

But that didn't mean she had no ways to strike back.

"Fine. If you want to play... then I'll play with you.

The legendary pirate... a king of his era

Black Gun Ozz."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.

p@treon.com/_theon

Change @ to "a"