The midday sun baked the golden sands of Alabasta, its harsh light reflecting off the waters of the capital's canals.
Yet, amidst the arid desert landscape, there stood an oasis of excess and spectacle, a grand pyramid-shaped building adorned in rich stripes of green and gold.
A colossal golden crocodile stood at its crown, its maw gaping toward the desert sky as if in triumph.
At the base of the pyramid, carved marble steps led to a magnificent entrance framed by ivory pillars and draped in silken banners that fluttered in the dry breeze.
Above the entrance, a lavish sign blazed in gaudy colours and gold leaf: RAIN DINNERS.
From the bustling streets outside, the clatter of dice and the rhythmic chime of slot machines spilt into the air, accompanied by bursts of triumphant cheers, each one seeming to mock the empty pockets and longing stares of the poor left outside.
"Not me though!"
A figure stepped within the vicinity of the building, arms crossed, grin wide as he seemed to ignore the fact he was embarrassingly underdressed, nothing but dirty brown rags to cover himself.
Not that he cared.
"No matter what Era we're in, it seems gambling will always be a thing! Meaning there'll always be someone for me to scam!"
Dante had a few philosophies he went by in life.
One of the many was that gamblers, politicians and really anyone with power were out to scam you in one way or another. Therefore, he believed it was perfectly fine to do the same to them...despite the fact that he'd scam anyone who had something that caught his eye.
"But there's a difference. I scam regular people because I want something. But sometimes I'll scam these assholes just for the fun of it."
Either way, as he stepped toward the entrance to the building, walking up the stairs that led there, surprisingly with no security at the door, he casually walked in.
And as he did, all eyes turned to him.
Perhaps it was the magnificent flare he carried in each step, or what he called "Aura" that exuded off him like stink off a skunk.
But despite his exaggerated poses as everyone stared, it was for a simple reason that he currently had the entire area quiet.
"Anyone here lose their slave?"
Someone couldn't help but ask.
With clothes...no, it'd be a compliment to call it that. Nothing but rags stitched together were presented on him.
Where expensive tuxedos and dresses or traditional luxury garments of Alabasta were seen on others, Dante lay as a direct opposite to them, prompting disgusted stares or unsatisfied groans.
Of course, Dante knew this...well, for the most part. He could see their expressions and his poses that had damn well now turned into dance moves were simply to rub salt on the wound.
But eventually, everyone went back to how they were. After all, they were gambling. Losing money was worse than a little indirect dissatisfaction, right?
Seeing this, Dante sniggered and said loudly, "Don't worry everyone, I'm just here to lighten the place up...maybe your wallets too." He strolled toward the front desk.
The man there, sporting hair on his...well, Dante couldn't really tell if it was a moustache or just nose hair that grew to his cheeks, considering the hair was coming directly out of his nostrils.
Either way, he glared at the coming Dante with a tight expression.
"What can I do for you?" the man asked flatly.
"I'd like a full rundown of all the games here," Dante replied with a grin. "You know, how this place works."
The man sighed with a long pause.
"Sir...While it's true that all are welcome at Rain Dinners, that's only if you can pay your way. Starting chip buy-ins are one hundred thousand Beris. If you don't have that, don't waste my...all of our time."
The man spoke, somehow trying to stay professional but clearly failing at it.
"Easy there, Nosebroom," Dante chuckled, reaching behind his back. "Will this do?" He pulled out a gold-sheathed knife with a vivid red gem in its hilt, twirling it in his hand before setting it on the desk.
"Huh..."
The man stared blankly then...
His expression shifted instantly to awe as he snatched the knife, turning it over in his hands. "Beautiful… and genuine," he murmured, inspecting every detail like a jeweller with a rare stone.
He didn't even question where Dante had pulled it from.
The truth was, Dante was an expert at concealing things on his person. Even now, he carried a gun in a way that left it invisible to even a trained eye.
Dante asked, "Well?" upon witnessing the man use every appraisal technique on this earth to make sure it was real, to which the latter now knew it was.
But he cleared his throat, regaining his composure with a more believable professionalism, rubbing his hands together with a long and fake smile, or as Dante called it, "sucking up."
"We do accept artifacts of all kinds as payment," the man finally said, eyes flicking between Dante and the knife. "Where did you get something like this, if you don't mind me asking?"
Dante gave a casual shrug. "Stole it from a castle after killing a celestial dragon and wounding two admirals."
The man froze mid-breath, staring at him.
"Kidding," Dante added with a grin. "No, come on, Nosebroom, you want the story or you wanna do business?"
"Yes, sir...of course, business," the man said with an awkward laugh.
"With that being said, the best I can do for this is two hundred thousand Beris—"
"Done," Dante cut in before he could finish.
The man blinked, then straightened, his sour mood seemingly lifting.
Why wouldn't it be?
He'd just obtained that treasure for something that wasn't even close to a quarter of its price.
Dante then asked for a quick rundown, and the man obliged while the latter prepared his 200,000 beris in chips.
When it was over, Dante smirked. "Pretty simple. I can get the hang of it. Back in my day, I could bluff a lion into thinking it was a vegetarian."
The man laughed emptily, "Yes, sir...I'm sure you could." As he handed over the chips.
Dante took them and walked away with a smile.
'200,000 Beris was a fortune back when I came from.'
As well as where to become rich, he'd also learnt of some common facts from Ron, the tanned-skinned slave he was on the boat with.
It was because of this that he knew he'd practically been scammed.
"Well...not exactly. After all..."
VTZZZ
"200,000 Beris for free isn't such a bad deal on my part."
Upon feeling the familiar weight back on his person, he couldn't help but grin.
Dante walked to the first table he saw, a roulette one.
The long green felt surface was divided into a sprawling grid of red and black numbers, with betting sections for odd and even, dozens, and columns, all leading toward a gleaming brass and ivory wheel where a tiny white ball would soon dance.
The other gamblers had already made way for the ragged newcomer, watching as he slammed his stack of chips onto the table.
"I'd like to place my bets!" he declared.
The croupier, at first staring blankly, grinned when he saw the mountain of chips.
"Then go on, what are you waiting for?" he said.
Dante, brimming with confidence, had just been given a brisk but thorough rundown of this strange game called Roulette by Nosebroom, still lingering behind him.
From his own point of view, the rules were almost charming in their simplicity: a big spinning wheel with numbered red and black pockets, a tiny ball to decide fate, and a betting table where you wager on numbers, colours, or ranges.
Guess right, you win, guess wrong, the house takes it all.
A fine scam indeed.
With that fresh in mind, and the swagger of someone who believed luck was just another factor that he could cheat, he planted his feet firmly. Without hesitation.
Dante yelled, "Black!"
The croupier set the wheel spinning, and all eyes turned to it. The regulars, the curious onlookers, and even the ones who'd just moments ago been ignoring him.
All couldn't help but be curious about just what the dirty slave had to offer.
The ball clattered and spun, slowing…until it landed on red.
"Too bad," the croupier smirked. "Looks like you've lost all—"
Before he could finish, Dante, still grinning, drew a gold gun and levelled it, pressing it against the side of his head. "I see. Be right back!"
BANG
The shot rang out through the casino, leaving a stunned silence in its wake as he dropped to the ground, dead.
***
"Red!"
The ball spun.
"Right on the money once again!"
Cheers rang out as Dante clapped and laughed obnoxiously.
A crowd had formed around the table, all seemingly having forgotten the opinion and exterior of Dante, only focusing on the fact that it seemed as though he simply couldn't lose.
Not only that, he was gutsy!
Not once did he seemingly even think to bet anything less than everything he had.
Despite that, his winnings continued to double as he guessed right on the dot.
Even the croupier couldn't help but cheer along.
"Alright, tell me Mr Suits, what am I at?"
The croupier smiled.
"As of that last win, you're comfortably sitting at 3.2 million Beris. Would I like to continue?"
"Does a Bald Man beat a Saiyan? Hell yes! Red!"
The croupier chuckled, about to spin the wheel before...
"Wait...I wasn't done. 14."
Silence descended as all heads turned to the grinning boy.
"Did he just call a straight-up?"
"I think so..."
"No way..."
Murmurs erupted, but Dante didn't care.
The reason they were all currently stunned was that almost no one ever called a "Straight-up". A direct snipe with both the number and colour.
The chances of one landing were 32 to 1 and the losses would mean walking away with nothing, especially since Dante was going all in.
'But...with that being said, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.'
"Sir, are you sure?"
"I'm always sure."
"Hey, kid, just who are you?" A random voice asked from the crowd.
To this, Dante smirked as he faced them all, arms outstretched like a showman.
"Lupin is my name and gambling is my game. Watch closely, all of you, for this will forever be the story of how a slave left this casino a Billionaire!"
Dante turned back abruptly, pointing forward.
"Do it!"
And with that, the man spun.
The air grew tense as silence erupted. All those around fell silent, refusing to even breathe, afraid to interfere in the greatness they might witness.
'I came in a reject...but now they all crave to see MY next step. My next act of amazingness. My...glory. This is what it means...'
The wheel began to slow, and though it felt like an eternity, soon...it landed.
"R-Red..."
The croupier muttered, stammering...
All those around widened their eyes, finally taking a breath as they lagged to comprehend it.
And for Dante.
His eyes had turned crescent-shaped as he grinned, a grin that spanned from ear to ear.
'This is what it means...to be Lupin!'
"F-Fourteen..."
And just like that...
"He did it!"
"No way!"
"Being a slave, I'm not that great at Math..."
Dante turned with a theatrical flair.
"But I know that that is a lot of fucking money!"
Cheers erupted as he bowed like a performer.
As for the croupier, his grin had long faded as he watched with an intense expression. An intense expression that Dante happened to catch as he grinned, scooping up his winnings with his arms.
"Don't look so down. It was inevitable from the moment I stepped foot into this building."
Dante turned, walking away as the crowd followed him.
"I've gotten bored with Roulette. Take me to what they call 'Poker'!"
And so, the crowd did just that, and soon, he sat on a round table similar to the one before but clear now, dumping his chips before himself as he looked around, scrutinising his competition.
"Alright, fellas, I'm up 115.2 Million Beli but I've still got room to take your money. Who's up for losing next?" He asked them, grabbing the dice as he raised it in front of one of the females behind him.
"Blow on that, woulda, darlin'. For good luck."
The woman complied, brushing her hair away from her face, bending over slightly and gently blowing on the dice in his hand, keeping eye contact with him as she did.
"That isn't the only thing I can blow." She whispered.
Dante chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Tempting offer, sweetheart… but I only gamble with chips, not with the chance of catching something that'll need a doctor and a prayer. I mean, is it just me who smells something fishy?"
He was expecting at least a few chuckles, however, everyone remained silent.
"Man, tough crowd. But I was serious lady, I'd rather not have my piss feel like boiling hot chicken noodle soup."
But the female was gone. And soon, the others around the table began rising to their feet and leaving with their chips.
Not only them, but everyone else, including the crowd of fans he had too, all turned silently, the crowd before him parting to reveal a figure.
The figure was a tall, imposing man wearing a long black coat with a fur collar, a green scarf, and a dark shirt.
He had slicked-back black hair, a scar running horizontally across his face, and was holding a cigar in his mouth.
Additionally, he fashioned a mean snarl, unclear if that was his current expression or if he always looked like that. But Dante guessed the latter.
And most notably, he possessed a large gold hook for a hand.
Beside him was a slender female wearing a white suit and hat that currently covered her face.
"That's him, sir. The man who stole back the Knife he pawned."
Behind him was Nosebroom, expression furious, unlike his previous meeting with Dante.
Speaking of Dante, he looked to the side, seeing the previous croupier looking, expression deadpan as the youth could more or less tell it wasn't only Nosebroom who summoned the man.
"You got a death wish, Kid?" The man asked, voice just as unfriendly as his expression.
"That depends...just who are you and do I get a cool scar to match yours?"
"Watch your mouth, brat. That there is Crocodile. A Warlord of the Sea and the owner of this Casino."
Someone whom Dante didn't care to look at mentioned.
"Wait a minute...I know you! Crocodile? Yeah, yeah, your face is on the roof of this building."
Again, no laughs...no matter how much some wanted to do so. A few chuckles weren't worth their life.
Nevertheless, Dante continued.
"Wow, I mean, man, crocodile, and what, are you going to tell me you're secretly a woman too?" Crocodile's eyes sharpened as he bit down so hard he chomped through his cigar.
"What?!"
But Dante raised an eyebrow.
"I was kidding. Why was it that part you had the strongest reaction to?"
Dante shook his head, rising to his feet.
"Either way, I don't know what a Warlord is, but why don't you put your money where your mouth is. Take a seat."
Crocodile stared, silent, a figure by his side putting another cigar in his mouth and lighting it for him.
"Why would I do that when I can cut you down right here?"
"I mean, you could. But just know you'd be doing it as the bigshot Crocodile...who chickened out from a bet against a slave who played him and his casino for a fool."
Silence erupted as all heads turned to Crocodile. They'd never heard someone speak to him like that before.
But they couldn't help but feel there was some validity to the slave's word.
And so did the slave.
'Yes...help me do it...cause I've long decided...I'm going to Bankrupt this place.'
And with that, Crocodile stepped forward.
"Gimme the dice."