Chapter 617: An Unexpected Discovery
With such formidable figures appearing on his turf, Tesoro knew he couldn't afford to provoke any of them. So, he fell back on his usual method: scattering their accommodations as far apart as possible.
Gran Tesoro was vast enough that Tesoro had ways to keep these people from crossing paths. His subordinates were spread throughout the entire city, and video Den Den Mushi were set up everywhere for surveillance. By assigning guides to each group and coordinating information in advance, he could completely prevent them from ending up on the same route.
After arriving at Gran Tesoro, Perospero and Katakuri asked Tesoro about Ian's whereabouts, inquiring whether he had shown up there.
Tesoro had no idea what business these two had with Ian, but to avoid the worst-case scenario, he could only brush them off. He dared not reveal Ian's location or that of the Dragon Hunter Pirates to them, instead nodding along with vague promises to inform them if he heard anything. In his heart, though, he was determined to ensure the two sides never met on his turf.
To that end, all of Tesoro's subordinates were mobilized under his orders...
Perospero and Katakuri had only heard that the Dragon Hunter Pirates had appeared in Gran Tesoro, but they didn't know exactly where. The Big Mom Pirates' intelligence network here was weak. Now that they realized Tesoro wasn't giving them anything useful, they decided to settle in and slowly search the streets, hoping to find traces of the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
In truth, they had only come to deliver invitations to the tea party, so they bore no ill will toward Ian. If they had simply told Tesoro, he would likely have helped contact Ian. But both Perospero and Katakuri were key figures in the Big Mom Pirates and didn't think much of Tesoro, so they couldn't be bothered to explain themselves.
This led to the next two days: Perospero and Katakuri wandered around Gran Tesoro for a long time without spotting a single member of the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
After a while, even Perospero and Katakuri began to wonder if the intelligence was wrong—had the Dragon Hunter Pirates not arrived yet?
Little did they know that within Gran Tesoro, Tesoro had absolute control. Manipulating certain things was far too easy for him.
For example, if Perospero and Katakuri were walking down a street and a member of the Dragon Hunter Pirates with their distinctive tattoo appeared ahead, the surveillance would spot them immediately. Tesoro's subordinates in the monitoring room would then receive an alert and, based on that member's identity, devise a response.
If it was a young man, they'd send two beautiful women to strike up a conversation, easily luring him away from the scene.
If it was a woman, a nearby shop would immediately beckon her in with huge discounts, drawing her inside.
So over these two days, the men of the Dragon Hunter Pirates were surprised to find themselves constantly encountering romantic opportunities. In the casino, they'd often be invited to VIP rooms after winning, rather than mingling with the crowd in the main hall. As for Robin, Reiju, and the others, they frequently ran into shops offering discounts that pulled them inside, with generous deals.
This meant the girls came back from their daily shopping trips loaded with bags and packages, thoroughly enjoying their sprees.
Arranging all these "accidental" situations at such great effort was Tesoro's only option. Under his management, Gran Tesoro had always been known as an "absolute domain." Neither pirates nor Marines dared to start fights here. It was precisely this peaceful, neutral atmosphere that attracted countless tourists.
He had to maintain this neutral peace—it was the foundation of his profits. Tesoro understood that maintaining this situation usually relied on his own armed suppression, but if he encountered someone he couldn't suppress, he had no choice but to pray they'd leave quickly.
Right now, whether it was the Dragon Hunter Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, or Marine Admiral Aokiji, all of them appearing in Gran Tesoro at once was like three bombs ready to explode at any moment, with no telling when they'd go off.
Tesoro carefully managed everything. Not only did Perospero and Katakuri fail to encounter anyone from the Dragon Hunter Pirates, but even Aokiji and his group, while strolling through the city, didn't run into each other.
Aokiji wasn't in a hurry to see Ian. He was also vacationing and relaxing in Gran Tesoro. Kuina, on the other hand, had Ian's Vivre Card and knew his location, but she hesitated to leave on her own to find him. After all, she was currently following Aokiji, and she wasn't sure about the relationship between Ian and Aokiji.
In truth, if Tesoro hadn't made such a big deal out of it and had simply taken Perospero and Katakuri to see Ian, there might have been far fewer problems. These two had come to deliver an invitation to Ian. Once their task was done, they'd likely leave immediately. Whether Ian accepted the invitation was his business, and there would be no immediate conflict between the two sides.
The same went for Aokiji. After meeting Ian, he'd probably leave soon too. But because of Tesoro's interference, things gradually went awry.
And this mishap was caused by someone Tesoro had never even considered...
On a main street, Miss Bakkin was standing with her simpleton son, Edward Weevil, scrutinizing every person who passed by.
Every man wearing a floral shirt and beach shorts would be stopped by Bakkin, who would step forward to examine them closely and even sniff them.
That's right—Bakkin was searching for the man who had kicked her that day!
At the time, Ian was dressed like a tourist with sunglasses on, so Bakkin hadn't gotten a clear look at his real face. But that flying kick from out of nowhere had left a deep impression on her. The shoe print on her face still hadn't faded, and her nose was wrapped in bandages, making her look like she was still recovering from serious injuries.
Since gaining Edward Weevil as her son, when had Bakkin ever suffered such a loss?! After waking up, she flew into a rage, vowing to find that damn brat and have Weevil take revenge for her.
Edward Weevil was mentally slow, so he did whatever his mother said. Bakkin had always played the role of a loving mama, so Weevil was happy to avenge her. For the past two days, he had been standing behind Bakkin with his naginata, glaring fiercely at everyone she stopped to examine.
Under such circumstances, who would dare resist? They could only let Bakkin look them over. In Gran Tesoro, floral shirts and beach shorts were common tourist attire, so Bakkin had stopped many people for checks over the past two days.
However, Ian had been holed up in his room for the past two days, focused on his pay-to-win endeavors, rarely going out. So Bakkin had searched for two days without finding him. Baccarat was also avoiding her, leaving Bakkin clueless about Ian's identity.
"Mama, I'm hungry!" After a while, Edward Weevil couldn't hold out any longer and said to Bakkin.
"Quiet! Search a bit more!" Bakkin hit him with her cane. "Your mother suffered such a huge insult, and all you can think about is eating! How did I end up with such a stupid son?"
"But I'm really hungry..." Weevil said pitifully.
"Don't worry!" Bakkin said. "That brat is definitely rich. Once we find him, we'll make him pay me a huge sum of money. Then we can go have a big meal!"
"Really?" Weevil perked up at that.
Just then, Bakkin spotted another man in a floral shirt and beach shorts walking toward them. But this man was wearing a hat, with the brim pulled low, hiding his face.
Bakkin's instincts told her this man was suspicious, so when he reached them, she jumped out and blocked his path.
"Kid! Take off your hat and let me see!" Bakkin shouted, while Weevil glared fiercely from behind her.
"..." The man didn't speak. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is there something you need?"
"Less talk!" Bakkin tapped her cane on the ground. "I said take it off, so take it off!"
"...Fine." The man reached up and removed his hat.
Bakkin looked up at him, but it wasn't the kid she had seen before. This man also wore sunglasses, but he had strange square-shaped tattoos on his left cheek. He wasn't who she was looking for.
"Alright, you can go!" Bakkin said.
Without a word, the man put his hat back on and walked away.
Bakkin didn't think much of it at first, but for some reason, she felt something was off. She started to think back carefully.
After a moment, she pulled a thick stack of wanted posters from her bosom and flipped through them one by one.
A few seconds later, her movements stopped, her eyes fixed on one particular poster.
Staring at the astronomical bounty amount and the photo on it, Bakkin's hands began to tremble!
"Th-that person is... Revolutionary Dragon!?"