"This casino... is yours?" In the private room, Branton awkwardly questioned Doflamingo.
Although Doflamingo had promised Branton that all his expenses at the casino today would be waived, besides food and drink, he couldn't get the greatest pleasure from coming to a casino... There was no one in the entire casino qualified or daring enough to gamble with him.
So Doflamingo was invited over, sitting brazenly opposite him at the gambling table, and answered Branton's question: "Fufufufu~ Of course! Currently, sixty percent of the businesses on the Sabaody Archipelago are under my name." He didn't want to talk about such boring things, so he smiled and said, "So you don't need to worry if my chips are enough."
Branton repeatedly frowned and relaxed his eyebrows. He was annoyed by Doflamingo's demeanor, yet also wary of him, implying that Doflamingo was out of the ordinary...
Doflamingo was not only a powerful pirate but also a former Celestial Dragon. Every Celestial Dragon knew that he possessed core secrets about their standing at the world's apex. These complex reasons combined ensured that even if Doflamingo did something outrageous, he likely wouldn't face punishments such as being hunted down by a Marine Admiral. It was more probable that the matter would simply be left unresolved.
"If you're gambling with me, my promise to waive your casino expenses today has to change. You must gamble with your own money, otherwise what's the point of you gambling with my money?" Doflamingo said while shuffling poker cards.
Branton, considering himself a Celestial Dragon who ruled the world, didn't care about money at all. He simply said, "Good!"
"What do you want to play? Something simple? Or complex?" Doflamingo inquired.
Branton didn't even think. "Dice, high or low. Three rounds, three million and four hundred thousand."
"Alright," Doflamingo lazily leaned back. "Trebol? Get me one hundred million Berries in chips."
Branton also instructed his bodyguards to exchange chips. It was clear he was an old gambler, very enthusiastic about gambling. He even did strange warm-up exercises before starting, muttering to himself, completely immersed in the moment.
Doflamingo didn't care; his goal wasn't to win money from Branton. His eyes behind his sunglasses were consistently fixed on the person Branton was stepping on—
A young man with striking dark green hair and a handsome face. What was even more noteworthy was that despite being subjected to Branton's every humiliation, his expression remained filled with anger, savagery, and even crazed hatred, unlike the gray, numb faces of other Celestial Dragon slaves who had abandoned even joy and sorrow.
Soon after.
"Your slave is quite interesting, Fufufufu~" Doflamingo lost all one hundred million Berries, then stopped and drank a glass of wine.
Branton looked down at the dark green-haired youth. Enjoying the rush of his victory, he paid no mind to the youth's hateful expression, laughing loudly, "You mean him! Hahahaha! A pathetic piece of trash!"
"How about you give him to me?" Doflamingo said directly.
Branton paused. "Give him to you? No, absolutely not! I like his stubbornness, his defiant temper! I'm going to break him into an obedient dog, hahahaha..."
"Trebol? Are there any merfolk at the auction house recently?" Doflamingo asked.
Trebol fawned, "Behehehe~ Yes, there are, there are. Disco plans to hold a large-scale auction, and for that, he's gathered a lot of good merchandise: merfolk, fish-men, giants, and even little people."
Snap. Doflamingo snapped his fingers, pointing at the dark green-haired youth. "Forget it, Branton! He's just an ordinary human, not a beauty or a handsome man. Playing with a slave of this caliber is beneath you. Other Celestial Dragons will look down on you, fufufufu~ Go to my auction house and pick out a superior slave."
Branton hesitated.
"Remember you and that... that..." Doflamingo tapped his forehead, trying hard to recall for a moment. "Mus... Mjosgard, right! You and he were good friends as children? That guy has a fetish for fish-men. Don't you want to show off to him?"
Branton's eyes lit up. "That's right! That's right! Then this pathetic trash is yours! Pack up, I'm going to pick out an even better slave!"
Branton casually abandoned the dark green-haired youth, as if discarding trash, and eagerly headed to the auction house.
Doflamingo lit a cigar and leisurely observed the dark green-haired youth's reaction.
There was no weeping with relief after escaping danger, nor was there joy at escaping hell. The dark green-haired youth's expression still brimmed with anger, savagery, and even crazed hatred, simply staring back at Doflamingo.
"Fufufufu~ What are you hating?" Doflamingo's fingers twitched.
Click.
The collar around the dark green-haired youth's neck was removed.
"Everything! Everything in this world!" the dark green-haired youth gnashed his teeth, like a wild beast with bloodshot eyes.
Doflamingo smiled, saying mockingly, "Including Stella? Hmm? Gild Tesoro."
"You..." Tesoro froze, unable to understand why Doflamingo, whom he was meeting for the first time, seemed to know him so intimately.
Doflamingo contentedly enjoyed Tesoro's dismay. "Fufufufu~ You're not hating; you're envious and jealous of everything, everything in this world that you don't possess! Hahaha!"
"Do you want it?"
————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon —— patreon(.)com/EmperorGarus [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are 100+ advance chapters available for you to read!