Chapter 607: The Lavish Life of a Rich Man Is Just That Comfortable
Under Fujitora's gravity manipulation, twenty large wooden crates floated lightly, and Zeke and the others easily pushed them along as they walked out.
Just before leaving, Ian suddenly turned back to Tesoro and said, "Oh, there's one more thing I need your help with!"
He pulled out several wanted posters from his pocket, but they weren't the official Marine ones. He handed them to Tesoro and said, "These are the wanted posters for the Blackbeard Pirates. If possible, help me post them around your ship!"
"That's impossible!" Tesoro shook his head. "I never post any wanted posters here!"
"If you won't post them, that's fine, but please spread the word! Use your intelligence network and connections to circulate these posters!" Ian said with a smile.
Tesoro nodded and agreed. Only after Ian left did he curiously open the posters and take a look.
But when he saw them, he was stunned.
These wanted posters for the Blackbeard Pirates didn't list any bounty amounts. Instead, they stated that anyone who provided information about the Blackbeard Pirates or brought back the head of any of their members could make a reasonable request to Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors!
Seeing this note, even Tesoro himself was tempted, but he also understood—this was Whitebeard's personal kill order against Blackbeard Teach!
That's right. Thanks to Ian's persuasion, Whitebeard had finally abandoned his old "family matter" mindset. He no longer insisted that only the Whitebeard Pirates could deal with Teach. Instead, he had announced a worldwide manhunt for Teach.
After all, following a series of events, he had realized how dangerous Teach truly was and didn't want to put his own sons at further risk by hunting him down.
But this meant trouble for the Blackbeard Pirates!
Just how much influence does a Four Emperor have? It was now on full display. With a single command from Whitebeard, countless pirates across the world would go after the Blackbeard Pirates. These pirates might not be particularly strong, but they would stop at nothing—ambushes, poison, deception, every dirty trick imaginable would be used against the Blackbeard Pirates!
What Ian wanted was to make them run ragged...
Coupled with the Marines raising the bounties on the Blackbeard Pirates, they now had no safe haven left on the seas.
Thanks to Ian's interference, the Blackbeard Pirates were far weaker than in history. Not only had they failed to recruit the vicious criminals from Impel Down, but Teach himself hadn't obtained the Paramecia Tremor-Tremor Fruit. So after attacking Mary Geoise, the group had vanished without a trace. Though no one knew what Teach was plotting, Ian and the others were using the overwhelming force of a people's war to force them out of hiding.
Since Ian had made such a serious request, Tesoro had to oblige him and Whitebeard. Spreading the word cost him nothing.
He handed the posters to Baccarat and gave her instructions. She agreed but hesitated before leaving, saying to Tesoro, "Boss, what about those two hundred billion from the Dragon Hunter Pirates?"
Even though they had spent a fortune to buy the gold, Tesoro had plenty of ways to get that money back if he wanted.
If the Dragon Hunter Pirates stayed to enjoy themselves, they would inevitably spend money or gamble. With a little setup, Tesoro could recover not just two hundred billion, but even a trillion.
Baccarat's Luck-Luck Fruit was Tesoro's trump card. Luck was invisible and intangible. If he used Baccarat to subtly manipulate the Dragon Hunter Pirates, they wouldn't even realize they were being cheated.
This was the ultimate form of "rigging the game"!
Initially, Tesoro had planned exactly that. Even though Ian had squeezed two hundred billion out of him, Tesoro could get it back intact in no time. To him, it was just money moving from one pocket to another. He could even let Ian's crew rack up huge debts in the casino. Then, depending on the situation, he could either write off the debt as a favor or use it to force them to work for him—all at his discretion.
Tesoro had used this tactic countless times. Even high-ranking Marines and World Government officials had fallen for it, thinking Tesoro was a generous and reliable guy, grateful to him for his "kindness."
Baccarat brought this up now to ask if Tesoro wanted her to make a move.
However, Tesoro thought it over and decided to observe first. Based on what he knew about Ian's personality, he seemed like a difficult person to deal with—someone who feared nothing.
Under normal circumstances, who would dare kill a Celestial Dragon? Who, while being a Warlord of the Sea, would attack a Marine prison?
Only Ian, that eccentric, would do such things!
So Tesoro couldn't be sure what Ian might do if he lost all two hundred billion...
"Let's see how it goes!" Tesoro finally said. "For now, follow them. Let them lose a bit in the casino and observe their reactions..."
"Understood!" Baccarat nodded.
Just as she was about to leave, Tesoro suddenly called her back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "As for that old woman, find a way to arrange for her to run into the Dragon Hunter Pirates. Ideally, make sure she loses money to them without it being obvious. Maybe we can use the Dragon Hunter Pirates to get rid of her!"
"Boss, you're so wicked!" Baccarat giggled, then turned and swayed her graceful figure away.
...
After leaving Tesoro's palace, the Dragon Hunter Pirates gathered around Ian, staring at the twenty crates overflowing with cash, feeling dizzy.
Robin covered her mouth with a laugh and said to Ian, "If Miss Nami were here, you'd be in trouble!"
Konenai also chuckled. "I think if you took a photo of this money and sent it to Nami, she'd come running to you from the ends of the earth!"
"Heh, that's a great idea!" Ian grinned mischievously, telling Zeke and the others to find a camera. He took several photos of the money.
He planned to use these photos later to make Nami throw herself into his arms. He loved seeing her eyes turn into Berry symbols... Her expression when she saw these photos would be hilarious, wouldn't it?
After snapping the pictures, Ian waved his hand grandly and announced, "Alright, everyone here gets a share! Two million Berry each! Take it yourselves! Then go do whatever you want! We're here on vacation!"
"Hooray! Captain! We love you!"
The crew cheered and eagerly rushed to the crates to collect their money.
With more money than expected, Ian's plans became more flexible. The Dragon Hunter Pirates, Heart Pirates, and Monk Pirates totaled over 180 people. Without batting an eye, he had just handed out nearly four billion Berry!
Even so, he still had over 160 billion left. He could easily top up a hundred billion first!
"Let's go drink!" Law counted his money and asked Urouge.
"Sure!" Urouge agreed without hesitation, grinning. "I want a bar with lots of beautiful women!"
This guy, nicknamed the "Monk Who Broke His Vows," had no taboos at all.
"Shopping! Buy clothes!" Konenai waved her money, calling Reiju and Robin. "Hurry, I can't wait!"
"We're coming too!" Sugar and Walnut held hands and jumped in. "We want to buy cute bear outfits!"
Fujitora chuckled warmly and called to Crocodile, "I heard you used to run a casino? Want to join me for a few rounds?"
Crocodile shrugged indifferently, draped his coat over his shoulders, and followed Fujitora.
Enel leaned on his golden staff, rubbed his chin, and decided he should experience the entertainment of the Blue Sea people. So he took his money and wandered off.
In just a moment, Ian was left alone. He waved his hand and mentally commanded the system, "Top up one hundred billion Berry!"
The next second, most of the cash in the crates vanished, and in return, his nearly depleted diamond count exploded once more.
Now, all he had to do was store the remaining money back on Skypiea, find a place to start drawing cards and refreshing the shop, and prepare to boost his strength.
But just then, a surprised voice came from behind him. "Ah! How amazing! Lord Ian, is that your Devil Fruit ability?"
Turning around, Ian saw Baccarat. She had changed into a more seductive outfit, looking even more alluring.
Ian smiled. So Baccarat had come after all. It seemed Tesoro's "tour guide" was exactly as expected...