Oh?
The world's strongest woman?
Hearing that familiar name, Aus felt a flicker of surprise, then shrugged. Made sense.
Back when he was a kid reading newspapers, he'd seen plenty of shots of this knockout beauty from Rocks' crew. Though word was she'd been packing on the pounds lately.
Whatever. Aus wasn't into hand-me-downs anyway—he preferred taking things fresh. If this were the smoking-hot young Linlin from before she joined Rocks, maybe he'd be interested. Now? His heart didn't even skip a beat.
Funny how in the old anime, Big Mom was always wheeling and dealing with underground scum. Guess the signs were there early.
"Write down the ones you can't handle. I'll take care of them."
"Yes, Lord Aus! I'll send you intel on those bastards right away."
Morgans grinned like the devil he was. Plenty of personal grudges mixed in there—some had told Aus to fuck off, others were just bad for business.
Aus knew the bird was playing games, but he couldn't care less. Long as the guy stayed loyal overall, helping him clean house was basically cleaning Aus's own house.
"Second thing—that Crocodile intel you wanted. Found him. Currently holed up in Arabasta."
Arabasta, huh?
After Whitebeard crushed his dreams, little Sandy went off the deep end.
"Got it. Good work."
"Serving Lord Aus is my honor."
Click.
Aus pocketed the Den Den Mushi, loosened his collar, and glanced back at Mihawk.
"Gonna be a busy few days."
Mihawk nodded. Honestly, he was looking forward to their next crew member. The Oro Jackson was getting way too quiet—it was better when little Robin was aboard. Now it was just him and Aus rattling around, boring as hell.
"Ship should have an Eternal Pose for Arabasta, right?"
Aus looked at Mihawk. His Observation Haki let him grab stuff from anywhere on the ship, but all those Log Poses looked identical. Couldn't tell them apart for shit.
Mihawk gave a slight nod.
"Just carve each island's name on the poses."
Same natural-born Observation Haki as Princess Otohime and Redfield, but Aus's worked differently. Theirs read hearts and minds—his read the physical world.
Born with insane detail perception.
Even if someone carved a tiny letter on a pose handle deep in the ship's storage, Aus could pluck it from a pile instantly.
That level of precision, combined with sensing wind patterns ten thousand meters out, made him a world-class sniper without even using his Devil Fruit.
World's number one marksman!
"Alright then... let's go! Arabasta!"
...
Paradise. Arabasta. Rain Dinners.
The casino buzzed with noise—gamblers everywhere, some cheering, others cursing their luck. Plenty had lost their minds and looked ready to start swinging.
In a VIP chair, a stunning figure puffed on a cigar. Through the smoke, cold eyes looked down at the rabble with pure contempt.
"This body's still too damn weak..."
She raised one elegant hand. A miniature sandstorm swirled to life, then lashed out at the crowd.
Next second, a mummified corpse hit the floor.
Every troublemaker in the joint suddenly found somewhere else to look.
"That woman... she's Logia, right?"
"Yeah. Heard her bounty's through the roof."
"Intel checks out."
"After getting her ass kicked by Whitebeard, she ended up in this backwater?"
Crocodile felt all the stares—open and hidden—but couldn't be bothered. Just snorted and headed back to her office.
She'd gotten interesting intel recently. Some crew making waves had a member whose Devil Fruit could change gender.
If she could become a man, she'd definitely get stronger. Had to.
While planning her next voyage to track down this "Revolutionary Army," two uninvited guests strolled into her brand-new casino.
"Welcome, sir! What's your game?"
"Hmm... what've you got? First time in a place like this."
The guy asking wore a killer dark red suit, designer shades, and a flowing black coat. Behind him stood another man in white shirt and sunglasses, carrying what looked like a cross.
The second guy's eye was twitching.
What the hell is this outfit...
But credit where due—they'd passed tons of people on the way in, and nobody recognized them.
Since Vegapunk had taken his signature black gun for upgrades, Aus looked more like some mafia prince than a pirate. Expensive suit, sword at his hip, dramatic coat, designer shades on a face that could launch a thousand ships.
Mihawk's cross was weird as hell, but his natural aristocratic vibe made him seem more like nobility than some bloodthirsty sea dog.
Seeing two guys dressed to kill, the casino manager practically drooled with respect, treating them like royalty.
Inside though? Pure greed.
Rich-looking rookies with more money than sense—when's the last time fat sheep this juicy walked through his doors?
Looking at Aus's calm, friendly smile, the manager could practically see dollar signs floating above his head:
Stupid. Rich. Come to papa.
Following the staff deeper inside, first stop was the cashier. After hearing the spiel, Aus casually reached into his pocket and pulled out...
A hundred thousand Belly note.
"..."
The manager's face fell so hard it could've cracked the floor.
What the hell! He's broke?
Dresses like a million bucks though.
Aus didn't notice the disappointment, just plopped down at a low-stakes table.
"So... how's this work?"
A waitress explained the house special: randomly draw ten cards, deal five to each player. Pick one card each, high beats low. Tie means you draw again from your remaining four.
Winner takes everything.
Aus settled into his chair, fingers laced together on the table. Mihawk stood behind him, sharp eyes locked on the game with genuine interest.
"Alright then... let's get started.
I happen to know a thing or two about cards."
Aus smiled like a shark.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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