For a while after that—
the news that the world's greatest entertainment city aboard the Gran Tesoro had reopened spread completely across the seas.
During the period it had been closed, the merchants and nobles who had been forced to repair the damaged buildings like slaves had certainly left the ship spewing slander and curses.
Yet the fact that every single one of them had departed unharmed ended up serving as free publicity for the Gran Tesoro instead.
At the same time—
Yuuki introduced a few entertainment concepts from his previous life, such as the lottery.
For only 100 Beli, anyone had a chance to win tens of millions.
Almost every day, a new lucky winner was born.
Yuuki even used Morgans' World Economy News Paper for large-scale promotion.
As a result, even people across the Four Seas—many of whom had never even heard of the Gran Tesoro's existence—came to know of the world's greatest entertainment city.
Unlike the "Golden Emperor" Gild Tesoro, Yuuki had no need to pay tribute to the World Government or the Celestial Dragons.
That gave him far greater freedom in how he operated the entertainment city.
There was no need to squeeze people dry like Tesoro had, wringing them out until nothing remained—a classic case of killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
A steady, long-term stream of profit was the real answer.
Besides—
Yuuki's true objective was to use the enormous flow of people to harvest luck.
Through his cooperation with Morgans and the World Economy News Agency, Yuuki also indirectly tested the Marines' attitude.
Before anyone realized it—
a tacit understanding had formed between the two sides.
The reason the world's greatest entertainment city had spread so quickly throughout the seas in such a short time was, in no small part, because the Marines had chosen not to interfere.
After all, had they so much as obstructed it even a little, the scope of its spread would have been affected.
As for the Marines' purpose?
Naturally, it was to use the influence of the Magic Eye Pirates to interfere with the balance of power in the New World.
Clearly, in the Marines' eyes, Yuuki's threat level was no longer inferior to that of the Four Emperors.
At the very least, he now possessed the qualifications to contend with any one of them.
In the end—
both sides were simply using each other.
At the same time—
every few days, Yuuki would visit Music Island, Elegia, to meet with Uta.
Their relationship gradually became more familiar.
Meanwhile—
even after losing Usopp, the Straw Hat crew's route did not significantly change.
Using the Straw Hats as a reference point, Yuuki sent Mohji to capture Foxy, the user of the Slow-Slow Fruit.
In the process, however, Mohji never actually came into contact with the Straw Hats.
By the time he arrived, they had already left.
If the earlier story had not changed too drastically—
then the events at Water 7 had completely transformed.
Because Kaku and Blueno of CP9 had been killed by Doflamingo at Sabaody Archipelago—
and with Blueno, their crucial inside agent at Water 7, gone—
CP9 failed to discover Robin as quickly as they had in the original storyline.
It was only after the Straw Hats had obtained their new ship and were preparing to leave Water 7 that CP9 finally confirmed Robin's presence.
But Robin, fully aware that she was a member of the Magic Eye Pirates, was not threatened by CP9 in the slightest.
As a result, CP9 and the Straw Hats clashed directly at Water 7.
Having lost two of their core combatants, Kaku and Blueno, CP9 was defeated by Luffy and the others without any surprise.
Thus—
the Enies Lobby incident never happened at all.
Gran Tesoro
Top Floor of the Golden Hotel
As usual, Yuuki placed the grimoire into Baccarat's hands, allowing the luck absorbed during this period to be infused into the three-leaf clover grimoire.
After all this time absorbing luck energy, the faint trace of gold that had previously only appeared at the corner of the cover had now fully emerged.
A band of gold, about the width of a finger, now stretched across the very top of the grimoire's cover.
Looking at the obvious change, Yuuki smiled.
"The cooperation with Morgans is producing excellent results."
The enormous influx of people naturally brought with it a massive increase in luck.
This significantly accelerated the evolution of the three-leaf grimoire toward a four-leaf grimoire.
Clack.
The golden pillar once again closed around Baccarat, sealing her within.
Holding the grimoire, Yuuki turned and walked toward the rear of the golden hall, his gaze settling on the enormous cloning apparatus.
Inside—
the cloned body of Bartholomew Kuma had fully developed.
Other than lacking the true Kuma's overwhelming aura, it was practically identical in every way.
"Mm."
Yuuki gave a barely perceptible nod.
This magical cloning technology truly was remarkable.
Though his eyes rested on Kuma's clone, most of his thoughts were elsewhere.
Quite some time had passed since the Sabaody incident.
Of the more than thirty Magic Eye Crosses he had distributed, a large portion were still constantly moving.
Of those—
nearly half were all gathered in one location.
Judging by their position, it was not hard to guess whose hands they had fallen into.
The World Government.
"They really are cautious."
Yuuki let out a faint chuckle.
That half of the crosses had remained stationary for a very long time now.
This clearly indicated that the World Government had maintained a highly vigilant and guarded attitude toward them.
Silver magical light flowed through Yuuki's eyes as he confirmed the positions of the remaining crosses.
A moment later—
the magic faded from his gaze.
He looked slightly regretful.
The World Government was even more careful than he had expected.
At present, not a single Magic Eye Cross had fallen into Vegapunk's hands.
Still—
Yuuki guessed it would not be long now.
After all—
while the resurrection performed by the Magic Eye Crosses appeared miraculous, it was not something incomprehensible within the world of One Piece.
There were similar powers here already—
for example, the Revive-Revive Fruit.
Others might not know, but one of the Four Emperors, Big Mom, had most likely already figured out how the Magic Eye Cross worked.
When it came to manipulating souls, Yuuki freely admitted he was still inferior to Big Mom, who wielded the Soul-Soul Fruit.
Others could not see souls.
Big Mom could.
The principle behind the Magic Eye Cross's resurrection was simple—
recall the soul of the deceased, then use powerful healing magic to restore life.
If even Big Mom could understand that much, then naturally the World Government could as well.
What truly interested them was the magic sustaining that power.
This was not a Devil Fruit ability.
To understand that aspect, they would inevitably need Vegapunk's expertise.
"There's no need to worry about anything going wrong on that front."
Yuuki came back to himself, then sensed the current state of the entire Gran Tesoro and shook his head lightly.
"On the contrary, there are plenty of problems right in front of me."
"If Marianne keeps handling things alone, the accounts are going to descend into complete chaos."
"Judging by the timing, the Straw Hats should have reached the Florian Triangle by now."
"It's about time the wool-gathering ends."
With that thought—
Yuuki's figure vanished from the room.
When he reappeared, he was already inside the internal office of the lavish entertainment district.
The room, decorated in luxurious shades of brown, was filled with slightly messy documents and account books.
The air itself was thick with the rich scent of green tea mixed with sweets.
Marianne was sprawled across the cluttered desk, her eyes lifeless.
It was obvious she had been stuck here for quite some time.
"Lord Yuuki!"
Mr. Tanaka, who was assisting in the room, first stiffened at the sudden appearance before immediately bowing respectfully.
Yuuki smiled and gave him a nod.
The sudden voice—
snapped Marianne out of her daze.
The moment she saw Yuuki, excitement instantly flooded her face, as if an unbearable burden had finally been lifted.
Whoosh!
Pressing both hands onto the desk, Marianne launched herself into the air and threw herself toward him.
"Captain!!" she cried.
Yuuki lifted a finger and pointed forward.
With magic, he froze her in midair.
"You've worked hard these past few days."
Yuuki gave an awkward smile as he looked at the emotionally charged Marianne.
After all, he had practically dumped most of the Gran Tesoro's affairs onto her shoulders while acting as a hands-off manager.
For someone who was not particularly suited to this sort of work, it had truly been torment.
Especially now that the Gran Tesoro had fully reopened—
all kinds of matters had multiplied several times over.
"I came this time to find someone to take over for you."
Yuuki quickly said with a slightly embarrassed chuckle.
Marianne dropped back to the floor.
Hearing that, her eyes lit up even more brightly.
She immediately looked behind Yuuki—
only to find no one there.
"Captain… you're not joking, are you?"
Her tone turned deeply resentful.
"Don't worry."
"I'm going to bring that person back this time."
Yuuki gave her a reassuring look.
During this period, Marianne had approached him several times about finding someone to replace her.
Each time, he had brushed it off for later.
But now that Luffy and the others had entered the Florian Triangle—
there was no longer any need for Robin to remain where she was.
"Bring them back?"
At those words, Marianne's faintly flushed cheeks immediately became serious.
"Who is it that requires the captain himself to go fetch them?" she asked with a frown, clearly displeased.
"You know her."
Yuuki did not explain further.
Instead, he turned to Mr. Tanaka.
"I'll have to trouble you with things here for now."
"Yes, Lord Yuuki."
Mr. Tanaka responded at once.
The next moment—
Yuuki and Marianne vanished.
Florian Triangle
Located in Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line, this sea region was perpetually shrouded in dense fog.
It was also the territory of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—
Gecko Moria.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions and crashes rang out continuously.
The colossal Ancient Giant Oars, towering a full 67 meters high and vastly larger than an ordinary giant, cast a terrifying shadow over everyone on the island.
Massive spired towers and buildings were smashed apart with casual swings of Oars' arms.
Countless chunks of stone flew through the air, throwing the island into chaos and terrified screams.
The battle between the Straw Hats and Moria had clearly reached its final stage.
"Weather Egg — Rain!"
"Cool Ball!"
Nami gripped the Clima-Tact tightly with both hands and swung it hard.
Dark clouds rapidly formed around Oars' gigantic body, soaking him completely in moments.
"Watch this!!"
The newly joined Franky operated a massive cannon aimed at Oars while furiously cranking the chain.
He roared,
"Super Freezing Docking's Ultra-Low Temperature Cold Bubble Cannon!"
BOOM!
A tremendous blast of freezing air erupted from the cannon and slammed into Oars.
Frost spread rapidly.
In only a short time, Oars' rain-soaked lower body was frozen firmly in place.
Zoro and Sanji rushed forward at once, launching attacks to prevent him from breaking free.
"Bloom at his feet!"
Robin followed up immediately.
Using the arms Robin created, Luffy—assisted by Brook—leapt onto Oars' head and brought down a devastating blow.
BANG!
Oars' massive body swayed.
Then the gigantic figure collapsed with a thunderous crash.
After a brief silence—
the people across the island whose shadows had been stolen erupted into ecstatic cheers.
On a rooftop balcony not far from the chaotic battlefield—
Yuuki and Marianne quietly watched the battle below.
"How is this possible?"
"One of the Seven Warlords… Moria actually lost to the Straw Hat crew?"
Marianne leaned over the railing, both hands gripping it tightly, her face filled with disbelief.
This was someone once spoken of in the same breath as her former boss.
She had encountered the Straw Hats on Skypiea—
with their strength back then, how could they possibly have won?
"That only means one thing."
"They've grown stronger."
Hearing Marianne's shock, Yuuki merely smiled faintly.
Only then did she come back to herself.
Recalling the steam boiling off Luffy's body and the way he had enlarged his arms to an absurd size during the fight, her gaze turned serious.
It had not been long since Skypiea.
Yet in Marianne's eyes, Luffy's combat ability now was like that of an entirely different person.
"Hmph. They've only gotten a little stronger."
Marianne snorted, though her expression remained serious.
It seemed she had underestimated them on Skypiea.
Her gaze quickly shifted to Robin below, who looked somewhat disheveled amidst the crowd, and her brows furrowed.
She was not stupid.
The captain had brought her here, they had once again encountered the Straw Hats, and he had said she knew the person he intended to retrieve.
The identity of that person was already obvious.
So, Robin had been a member of the Magic Eye Pirates all along.
She had hidden it well.
Even during their encounter on Skypiea, Marianne had not noticed a thing.
Back in Baroque Works, Robin had been the vice president.
Truthfully, Marianne had never particularly liked the woman.
Oars, huh…
Yuuki studied the giant body below.
Compared to Dorry and Brogy, this specimen was far more suitable for research.
And then there was Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
A look of surprise flashed across Yuuki's face.
His reason for coming here—
aside from bringing Robin back—
was also to conveniently take Brook, wielder of the Revive-Revive Fruit, and Perona, wielder of the Hollow-Hollow Fruit.
Both Devil Fruits involved the power of the soul.
But after observing the battle just now—
Yuuki realized, somewhat unexpectedly, that Moria's fruit was also related to the soul to a certain extent.
(End of Chapter)
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