However—
Ren didn't even open his eyes. Vivi let out a small "wow," then said nothing more.
Though the scale was even greater, she'd already experienced a shock once before.
These bastards!
Baccarat's face darkened. She stomped the accelerator, and the muscle car sped toward the hotel.
Didn't you want to see the boss?
Then I'll hurry up and send you straight to hell!
The muscle car weaved swiftly through the enormous city.
Everything along the way gleamed with extravagant gold—ornaments forged of pure gold were everywhere.
Treasures that would spark bloody battles in the outside world were nothing more than commonplace materials here.
For anyone visiting for the first time, the impact was overwhelming.
But Ren, who already knew the truth, remained unmoved.
What a tasteless guy. Is it because of his past?
Right—when the woman he loved was sold at a human slave auction, Tesoro was powerless.
When she was bought by the Celestial Dragons and turned into a slave, he was still powerless—guns couldn't change anything.
If not for the fish-man hero Fisher Tiger scaling the Red Line with his bare hands and breaking into Mary Geoise to free the slaves…
Tesoro—who became a slave himself after committing the unforgivable crime of attacking Celestial Dragons—would never have escaped that prison.
Nor would he have had the chance to scheme and seize the Gold-Gold Fruit that Donquixote Doflamingo used as bait.
For someone like him, money is a lifelong nightmare.
Ren rapidly recalled Tesoro's story, a trace of reflection flickering in his eyes.
He clearly possessed power, yet remained shackled by the concept of money.
He had endured all that suffering and knew exactly where the root of evil lay—yet he never raised his blade to ignite a war of vengeance.
Instead, he hoarded wealth, paying Heavenly Tribute and using it to "manipulate" the Celestial Dragons.
In the end—
It was the inertia of eight hundred years of thought that bound most people.
Whether suffering civilians or Tesoro himself, none truly held the belief of "Are kings and nobles born different?"
They hated the system, yet still submitted to the World Government's rule.
Put bluntly—
He was nothing more than a coward, afraid to face reality, hiding behind a single leaf to block his own vision.
Of course—
Ren also knew not everyone had the courage to make that choice.
In a very real sense, opposing the World Government meant opposing the entire world.
This Golden Emperor—who controlled roughly twenty percent of the world's Beli, possessed immeasurable assets, and held an irreconcilable grudge against the Celestial Dragons—
Might still lack the resolve to seek true vengeance, even after obtaining so much.
But judging from the original story, that incident left a deep scar on Tesoro.
He's never escaped that nightmare, eventually becoming a self-righteous tyrant.
Still… that's exactly my opportunity. If there were no leverage at all, I wouldn't have come here.
"Ren."
The sudden call broke his train of thought.
He turned his head to see Vivi looking at him, her expression tinged with unease.
"What is it?"
"N-nothing."
Vivi looked away. She seemed to want to say something, but didn't dare speak.
"…"
After a brief pause, Ren suddenly reached out and took her hand.
If there was any concern, it was probably that part of the plan.
Vivi turned back in surprise, only to see Ren smile calmly.
"It's fine. I've got everything covered."
"…Mm."
Vivi instinctively tightened her grip, interlacing her fingers with his.
Though still nervous, once Ren said that, she believed it—there would be no problem.
The warmth passed through their intertwined fingers soothed the anxious princess.
Tch.
Seeing this through the rearview mirror, Baccarat clicked her tongue, as if she could smell the sourness of romance.
She stepped on the gas again, making the muscle car surge forward.
Ahead—
At the end of a street lined with countless video Den Den Mushi displays, a towering spire loomed closer and closer.
From the outside, it looked like an enormously magnified trophy.
It was called a hotel, but in truth, it was closer to a Tower of Babel.
Dazzling lights rendered it dreamlike, neon hues painting its exterior in shifting colors.
Screee—!
The muscle car drifted gracefully and came to a stop before the Golden King Hotel.
"Everyone, we're here."
Baccarat flipped her red hair, smiling as she stepped out and personally opened the door for Ren.
"Is the Golden King Hotel entirely made of gold?"
"Yes. The master of this city—Gild Tesoro—adores gold beyond measure. He's gathered most of the world's gold here."
"Impressive. A rich man's taste."
Ren offered the compliment without sincerity, emerald light filling his eyes.
Far Sight—!
Green radiance merged with the multicolored glow as he swiftly examined the colossal structure before him.
Yes—the Golden King Hotel was built entirely of gold.
It was hard to imagine such a complex existing in an age of sailing ships.
If built purely by manpower, how many lives would it take just to complete it?
No—
Without special means, even this ship itself could never exist.
All of this could only be attributed to Tesoro's Devil Fruit.
The Gold-Gold Fruit.
Ren felt a hint of wariness—he knew exactly how Tesoro's powers worked.
His obsession with gold was merely a surface reason.
The real reason was that Tesoro himself was a Devil Fruit user—
A Paramecia-type Gold-Gold Fruit user.
And a rare awakened one at that.
Before awakening—
Tesoro could transform his body into gold and freely manipulate gold objects.
He could stretch and reshape any gold he touched.
Weapons, countless tendrils, golden torrents, golden trees—even gigantic golden giants—he could form them at will.
The condition was direct contact.
The weakness: he couldn't create gold from nothing.
All the gold on Gran Tesoro came from money earned through business.
Unexpectedly, he was a commercial genius.
After awakening—
Tesoro gained the hallmark of Paramecia awakening: environmental influence.
All the gold on Gran Tesoro lay within his sensory range, manipulable without contact.
He could even use airborne gold dust to temporarily transmute anything it touched into gold—
Exactly like the gold particles that infiltrated Zoro's body in the original story.
Once activated, the transformation spread from the inside out, turning a person into a golden statue.
He also seemed to control the electrical energy released during gold deformation, further developing it into heat.
The several-hundred-meter-tall giant he formed could fire laser-like Golden Divine Flame—
Capable of sinking Marine warships from dozens of kilometers away in a single strike.
In short—
Gran Tesoro was Tesoro's main battlefield.
Here, he possessed strength comparable to Doflamingo.
By stepping onto this ship, Ren had effectively entered the enemy's lair.
And yet—
Ren wasn't afraid.
Awakening Conqueror's Haki meant he had never lacked resolve.
"I think today is going to be very interesting."
With a slight upward curl of his lips, Ren strode toward the Golden King Hotel.
The hotel was enormous.
Just the ground floor alone could hold tens of thousands of people.
Countless provocatively dressed bunny girls moved through the space, offering services of astonishing quality.
With enough money, any one of them could appear in a guest's room that very night.
But beyond beauty, there was gambling—enough to set anyone's blood racing.
Becoming a billionaire overnight wasn't impossible.
That was why—
Those who came here were either rich or powerful.
Famous pirates, World Government officials, and Marine officers all appeared here.
Yet no battles ever broke out.
On this colossal vessel, Marines were forbidden from hunting pirates, pirates from killing Marines, and officials from issuing orders.
This absolute authority was bought with billions in Heavenly Tribute.
In effect—
Gran Tesoro was an independent kingdom.
And its king was the source of everything—
Gild Tesoro.
For Zans, who controlled vast usury businesses in the West Blue, meeting Tesoro was no simple matter.
He paid one hundred million Beli just to secure a brief audience.
"So—you intend to use me?"
Inside a golden hall, Tesoro sat at the head seat, fingers steepled, gazing down indifferently.
Gray-green hair slicked back, pink suit and trousers, purple sunglasses.
Gold chains, gold earrings—extravagance everywhere.
A gold-trimmed hat rested on the table.
Unexpectedly—
There was no ring on the ring finger of his left hand.
"N-no, of course not. You're the true master of this city."
Zans dropped to his knees instantly, panic written all over his face.
"I only wish to buy a slave.
In my view, that Demon Pirate crew is nothing more than your toys.
I simply hope that once you're done playing with them, you might sell them to me.
I'm willing to offer a very high price!"
Faced with such a groveling "guest," even Tesoro couldn't find fault.
Still, he had no intention of being used for free.
If the man wanted it so badly, he'd give him a chance.
"I don't lack money—you know that."
Tesoro stood, smiling as he approached and patted Zans's shoulder.
"But since you've put it that way, I can't disappoint a guest.
How about this—join me in the next game."
"T-this…"
Zans hesitated.
"If you want something without paying anything, that's just greed."
Tesoro's tone turned meaningful.
"Doflamingo doesn't like people like that."
Cold sweat poured down Zans's face as he hurriedly agreed.
"Alright! I'll join!"
No matter what—
He couldn't miss this chance to connect with the Donquixote Family.
His West Blue operations had already hit their ceiling.
Without power, there was no way to earn more.
(End of Chapter)