Chapter 628: Little Bear Toy (Two-in-One Chapter)
"What about this woman?"
After Baccarat passed out, Crocodile crouched beside her and gently poked her with his poison hook. When ability users lose consciousness, their Devil Fruit powers usually deactivate. Only then did Crocodile dare to touch her. From this action, it was clear that Crocodile was also quite interested in Baccarat.
The Luck-Luck Fruit was also a rare Paramecia ability. Crocodile vaguely guessed Ian's intentions and turned to ask him, "Should we take her with us?"
Ian nodded and said, "Her ability might be useful to me!"
Hearing Ian say this, the others had no objections. Robin stepped forward, lifted Baccarat, and slung her over one shoulder. Since Baccarat was a woman, the men in the pirate crew didn't feel comfortable carrying her, so it had to be Robin or Reiju. Carina thought for a moment and then ran over to help as well.
With no one left to stop them, the group proceeded up the spiral staircase. Along the way, numerous Video Den Den Mushi had been installed for surveillance, originally meant to monitor for illegal intruders. But now, Tesoro's subordinates in the security room could only watch helplessly as Ian and his crew advanced boldly, unable to do anything.
Before long, the group finally reached the giant egg-shaped dome that Carina had mentioned at the top floor. There, a massive, heavy door stood before them.
Judging by the golden gears visible through the cracks in the door, it was a golden door with a complex mechanical structure. According to Carina, the door was at least one and a half meters thick and weighed an astonishing amount—over a hundred tons. It was definitely not something that could be broken open by ordinary brute force.
Originally, there was a key to this vault door. However, when Carina had gone to find Ian, she had planned to discuss things with them first, then make a plan to steal the key from Tesoro. But she never expected that Ian and his group were such action-oriented representatives that they just went straight in. So Carina didn't have the key to open the door either.
But that didn't matter. Ian had already thought of a solution. He gestured toward Perospero and said, "It's your turn!"
Faced with the treasure vault of the richest man in the world, Perospero couldn't be bothered with Ian's bossy attitude. He licked his long tongue and slowly inserted the tip of his candy cane into the keyhole of the door.
Perospero could control syrup, and syrup had excellent molding properties, similar to Mr. 3's Wax-Wax Fruit ability. Moreover, if needed, the syrup could harden to considerable strength. As long as he could figure out the internal gear structure of the lock, he could create a key for the door.
This was the simplest method. In fact, Ian had already planned that if Perospero couldn't make a key, he would have Enel use his lightning metallurgy ability to melt the door entirely. There were plenty of ways to get through it.
Sure enough, after a short while, Perospero let out a strange laugh and suddenly twisted his candy cane.
Click, click, click. A series of sounds came from the gears in the gaps of the vault door, which began to turn continuously. The door finally opened.
When the door slid to both sides, revealing the scene inside, everyone present couldn't help but gasp.
Inside the vault, countless stacks of bills were neatly arranged, covering the vast hall. These stacks were taller than a person, and looking out, it seemed as if there was no end in sight.
How much is 500 billion Berries? If the bills were in 1,000-Berry denominations, that would be 500 million notes! In 10,000-Berry denominations, that would be 50 million notes!
Even if each bill was about ten centimeters long, connecting 50 million notes would stretch over 5,000 kilometers. If each bill weighed one gram, 50 million notes would weigh a total of 50 tons!
This was an astonishing number. Everyone present, including Ian, had never seen so much money piled together. So when they saw all that cash, they all stood there wide-eyed and stunned.
Even Aokiji and Smoker were so shocked that their mouths hung open, unable to speak for a long time.
It was truly overwhelming!
Since Ian had set sail, the money he had deposited into his system was less than one-tenth of Tesoro's vault. He had once thought he was wealthy, but seeing this money, he finally understood the difference between a rich man and a god of wealth.
Perospero and Katakuri were also dumbfounded. When they had made the deal with Ian earlier, they had thought that a half share was too little. But now, seeing the stacked bills and learning from Carina the total amount, they finally realized that even with just a half share, they had hit the jackpot!
Half a share—25 billion Berries! That was almost equal to the annual tribute from all the territories under the Big Mom Pirates!
"Oh my! Mama will be overjoyed!" Perospero shrieked. "We've made a huge contribution this time!"
The sailors of the Dragon Hunter Pirates were also stunned. Finally, Ian was the first to react. He waved his hand and said, "What are you staring at? Get moving and start loading the money!"
With that, everyone snapped out of it and cheered as they pounced on the vault's cash.
However, when they started working, they realized that the amount of money far exceeded their expectations. Although the Dragon Hunter Pirates had many members, most of them didn't have tools to carry the money. The few bags they had brought along were completely insufficient. Everyone stuffed their clothes full of bills, but the vault's cash still didn't seem to decrease much.
"This won't work, boss!" Shachi and Penguin, under Law's command, had even taken off their hats to fill with money, but it still wasn't enough. They turned back to Ian anxiously and said, "We need to think of a way!"
Ian looked around and then fixed his gaze on the vault door that had just been opened. He said to Enel, "Use your lightning metallurgy to make some golden boxes. Can you do that?"
Enel nodded without a word and got to work. He placed his hand on the vault door, releasing a powerful electric current that melted the door completely. Then he began to shape the molten gold into boxes.
Soon, boxes were being produced.
"Hurry, fill them with money until they're full!" Ian directed everyone. "Once a box is full, Enel, seal it shut."
Ian estimated that to pack all the money, Enel would need to make dozens of golden boxes. These boxes would be incredibly heavy, so he turned to Fujitora and said, "Uncle Fujitora, transporting them out will have to rely on you!"
Fujitora laughed heartily, a bit excited, and said, "My ability has controlled many heavy objects, but this is the first time I'm controlling so much money! Captain, following you always leads to big scenes..."
Indeed, this was Ian's first time robbing someone, but what he stole was more than what most pirates stole in a lifetime. He had hit the jackpot in one go!
However, what annoyed Ian was that the gold he had painstakingly sent out to exchange for money seemed to have come back to him. The golden boxes used to hold the cash were almost as much as the gold he had sold to Tesoro.
It was a strange feeling to have it all come full circle. If he had known he would rob Tesoro like this, why had he gone through all that trouble earlier?
Oh well, it's back now. He could just give those golden boxes to Enel later. Didn't Enel like gold? Let him enjoy it.
Just as everyone was busily moving the money, a voice filled with suppressed anger suddenly came from behind.
"Put that money down. It's mine!"
Everyone turned around and saw Tesoro standing at the entrance. He had rushed over as fast as he could and finally made it.
Seeing his vault being looted, Tesoro's eyes were already bloodshot. Behind him stood Edward Weevil and his mother, Bakkin. Edward Weevil showed no reaction—he had no concept of so much money—but Bakkin was different. Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out from behind her sunglasses.
"Everyone!" Tesoro glared at Enel, who was still melting the door to make boxes, then looked at Ian and Katakuri inside the vault. "What have I done to offend you, that you would set your sights on my vault?"
Tesoro's presence here meant that the plan had succeeded—he could no longer help the World Government capture Dragon. So Aokiji furrowed his brow but said nothing. His goal had been achieved.
Aokiji didn't care much about the money, but that didn't mean others didn't. Even though they had been caught red-handed by Tesoro, the owner, Perospero and Katakuri showed no embarrassment. Perospero licked his cane and laughed strangely, "Tesoro, you haven't offended us, but you're just unlucky. The Big Mom Pirates never spit out food that's already in their mouths!"
Huh? Without even needing Ian to provoke him, Perospero had jumped out to take the blame? And he even used the Big Mom Pirates' name?
How cooperative!
Ian blinked and decided to stay quiet. Perospero was a good comrade, so he let him do the talking.
Tesoro was choked by Perospero's words. He knew well what kind of pirate group the Big Mom Pirates were. Pirates were greedy. Although he paid tribute to the Big Mom Pirates every year, with this much money, one robbery would equal many years of tribute. How could Perospero and the others not see that?
So he turned to Aokiji and said, "Admiral Aokiji, have you stooped to colluding with pirates after leaving the Marines?"
Aokiji remained silent, unsure how to respond. But then Kuina suddenly spoke up, "This money isn't really yours, is it? Do you think we don't know what your casino is really like? This money comes from countless people who lost everything, doesn't it?"
Hearing this, Ian gave Kuina a mental thumbs-up. Indeed, Aokiji wasn't as sharp as Kuina. Tesoro might be the owner of this money, but his wealth was built on the blood of countless people.
Ian's robbery might not be noble or righteous, but he felt it was better to use this money for himself than to let Tesoro give it to the Celestial Dragons to squander.
Refuted by Kuina, Tesoro was almost bursting with rage. He knew that these people were determined to rob him. Words were useless now; only force could settle this.
"Bakkin! Tell your son to attack!" Tesoro said without looking back. "Kill everyone here, and I'll give you half of this money!"
"R-Really!?"
Bakkin immediately perked up. In fact, the old hag had been tempted to join forces with Ian to rob Tesoro after seeing so much money in the vault!
Compared to this, 10 billion Berries was nothing!
But Tesoro was clever. He didn't give Bakkin a chance to switch sides and immediately offered her half.
Bakkin quickly weighed the options. If she joined Ian, the share she got might not be as much as the half Tesoro promised. So she made her decision, hitting Edward Weevil with her cane to make him attack.
Ian was surprised. He hadn't expected Tesoro to bring in Edward Weevil for help, and even more so, he couldn't understand where Bakkin, that annoying old woman, got the confidence that her son could beat everyone here.
However, Tesoro had his own methods for starting a fight. As Edward Weevil charged into the vault like a wild boar, wielding a golden razor provided by Tesoro, Tesoro also moved.
He spread his arms wide, activating his Devil Fruit power. Golden liquid appeared on Perospero, Katakuri, Tashigi, and Kuina. This golden liquid was the gold dust that had seeped into their bodies when they entered the port.
Aokiji and Smoker also had it, but since they were Logia users, they had expelled the gold dust when they turned their bodies into their elements. So when Tesoro activated his ability, they were unaffected.
Perospero was a Lick-Lick Fruit user. He could create syrup, but that didn't mean his body was made of syrup. Like Katakuri, he was a Paramecia with a physical body. So he was quickly bound by Tesoro's gold. Under Tesoro's ability, the gold showed incredible hardness and toughness. Despite struggling with all their might, they couldn't break free.
It wasn't that they were weaker than Tesoro, but they hadn't expected Tesoro to have planted gold dust in everyone entering the Golden City. This sneak attack gave him the first move. Katakuri and the others, trapped by the gold, couldn't use their powerful Armament Haki to fight back.
Tesoro claimed to be invincible on his home turf, and he had the confidence to back it up. After quickly subduing Perospero and Katakuri, the two Big Mom Pirates were temporarily out of the fight. At the same time, Edward Weevil charged at Ian.
Since Ian and his Dragon Hunter Pirates had descended from Skypiea directly into the Golden City without passing through the port, they had no gold dust in their bodies for Tesoro to control. Tesoro knew this, so he had Edward Weevil target Ian first.
Edward Weevil roared, his eyes red, looking fierce. His naginata, coated in Armament Haki, swung down at Ian.
Ian drew his Thousand Cherry Blossoms blade and blocked horizontally. The two weapons clashed, and a powerful shockwave erupted around them.
What could he say? Edward Weevil was indeed ferocious. Kizaru's assessment that he had the strength of a young Whitebeard was quite accurate. Perhaps simple-minded people were like this—lacking in brains but excelling in one area. Ian found that Edward Weevil's Armament Haki was extremely strong. When clashing with Ian's own Armament Haki, he was evenly matched!
Just based on this, Edward Weevil's bounty of 480 million Berries was no joke. He indeed had the strength of a Warlord of the Sea.
And his brute strength was astonishing. Every swing of his blade made the air whistle with force. He fought with a fearless, reckless spirit.
After blocking two of his strikes, a wave of gold surged up from the ground, wrapping around Ian's feet. Tesoro was also assisting, controlling all the gold in the area to attack the group.
Ian's feet were caught, so while blocking Edward Weevil's blade, he ignited black flames on his feet to melt the gold.
Tesoro wasn't just attacking Ian; he was also attacking others. The weaker sailors in the crew were bound by the gold, which moved like snakes. Others drew their weapons to slash at the golden serpents.
Attacking so many people at once required a lot of gold. Not only did Tesoro use the vault door, but even the golden boxes Enel had made quickly deformed.
This caused the money inside to spill out again.
This infuriated Enel. It was a denial of his hard work! Enel snorted, teleported next to Tesoro, and struck at him with an arm turned into lightning.
The name of God Enel had long spread across the seas along with the Dragon Hunter Pirates. How could Tesoro not know about this Logia Goro-Goro Fruit user, one of the three giants of the Dragon Hunter Pirates?
In a sense, Enel was someone Tesoro absolutely didn't want to face. Because the gold he controlled conducted electricity. Once Enel turned into lightning, he could freely move through the gold Tesoro controlled. In other words, Tesoro's ability was useless against Enel!
So when he saw Enel's lightning strike at him, Tesoro gritted his teeth and abandoned using gold to attack Enel, instead using Armament Haki to clash with him head-on.
While Edward Weevil fought Ian, his mother Bakkin wasn't idle. She hid in a corner, waving her cane and cheering her son on: "That's it! That's it! Kill him! Kill them all, and the money is ours!"
But at that moment, Ian had already melted Tesoro's gold with his flames. He leaped to dodge Edward Weevil's slash and then slammed the hilt of his sword into Edward Weevil's nose!
Boom! With immense force, Edward Weevil was sent flying, crashing right into where Bakkin was standing!
With a single blow, Edward Weevil's nose was bleeding profusely. Bakkin was crushed under his massive body, screaming in pain.
"Ah, sorry, Mama!" Edward Weevil realized he had pinned his mother and scrambled to his feet, helping her up. Once she was up, Bakkin rained blows on her son with her cane, shouting, "Idiot! Idiot! How did I get such a stupid son? Kill him now!"
"Oh!" Edward Weevil wiped his nose stupidly and charged at Ian again with a roar.
How annoying! Ian was furious. Edward Weevil was bad enough, but his nagging mother was the most irritating.
Making up his mind, Ian blocked Edward Weevil's slash with his sword and shouted without looking back, "Sugar! Shut that old woman up! I give you permission to use your ability!"
Hearing Ian's shout, Sugar, who had been idly eating grapes under Fujitora's protection, put down her bowl of grapes and walked toward Bakkin.
Seeing this little girl in a cute bear costume approaching her, Bakkin instinctively felt something was wrong. She poked her cane at Sugar and yelled, "W-What are you doing? Go away! Stupid son, come save me!"
Hearing Bakkin's cry, Edward Weevil panicked and tried to turn back to save her, but Ian hit him with a glowing ball of energy, sending him flying again.
The Qi Gong Cannon was quite useful!
Bakkin's cane couldn't stop Sugar from getting closer. The cute little girl grabbed the cane with one hand and placed the other on Bakkin's forehead!
"Master Ian hates you, so turn into a little bear toy!" Sugar said.
Then, in the next second, Bakkin popped and turned into a wrinkled, ugly toy bear...
The whole world suddenly fell silent...