"Miss Baccarat, a Luck-Luck Fruit User, are you? Please, come with me!"
Vegapunk revealed a faint smile, looked at Baccarat, extended a hand, and spoke indifferently.
Baccarat took a slight step back, sweat dripping from the hand holding the coin: "You... you are a Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit User!?"
Although Baccarat's Luck-Luck Fruit seemed incredibly heaven-defying, capable of easily manipulating the external environment and playing opponents in the palm of her hand.
In reality, the stronger the opponent, the weaker the effect of this ability—just as mentioned at the beginning, the stronger the strength, the higher the status, and the more wealth one possesses, the more one's luck often far exceeds that of ordinary people. In such cases, even if Baccarat absorbed a large amount of luck, it was difficult to overwhelm the opponent.
Not to mention that if one's own strength is powerful, the interference from the external environment is reduced to the limit. For monsters like Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, even if a volcano erupted or a meteorite fell from the sky, whether it could truly pose a threat to them was hard to say.
This was precisely why Baccarat held the coin in her hand but hesitated to throw it. As a Luck-Luck Fruit User, Baccarat felt her value was still significant; even if cornered, she could simply defect.
But if she launched an attack directly and failed, that would be truly miserable! Especially since a Logia-type user not only inherently possesses strong luck but is also basically immune to most environmental factors, making it even harder for the Luck-Luck Fruit's ability to function.
"Not bad. Miss Baccarat, you can also try using your Luck-Luck Fruit ability, although I don't want to resort to force."
As he spoke, the lightning clone of Vegapunk already had lightning coiling around its hand, transforming into a lightning longsword.
Under the bright electric light, Baccarat's expression was uncertain. After just a moment, she let out a sigh of relief, retracted the coin in her hand, and raised her hands: "Well... I surrender. I'm just a Devil Fruit User with little combat power. You don't need to be so guarded against me, especially as a top-tier Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit User!"
"A Luck-Luck Fruit User, no matter how weak their combat power may be, should never be underestimated."
Vegapunk said with a faint smile, and his entire figure suddenly vanished, turning into a flash of lightning.
Baccarat was startled. Before she could react, the true Vegapunk had already torn through space and appeared before her with the others.
This time, since the destination was Gran Tesoro, and besides looking for the Luck-Luck Fruit User, it was also a tourist hotspot, quite a few people came. Vegapunk, Nami, Robin, Stella, and others were one thing, but even Hancock, the Kozuki mother and daughter, and Yamato had arrived.
Baccarat blinked, looking at the large group that had emerged, her expression a bit dazed, especially watching Vegapunk's method of tearing through space. This... does the Rumble-Rumble Fruit have this effect too?
Just as she was still stunned, Vegapunk reached out, took out a bracelet-style watch, and with a click, fastened it onto her wrist.
Her wrist felt a slight sting, followed by a massive influx of information into her brain. After being dizzy for a moment, Baccarat looked up, and the look in her eyes as she gazed at Vegapunk changed completely.
"Dr. Vegapunk!? I never imagined you weren't dead!! And the Umbrella Corporation actually belongs to you!"
Compared to Nami, Baccarat had genuinely heard the name Vegapunk, and thus knew the terrifying nature of the golden-haired young man before her. Not to mention anything else, simply the fact that he had plotted to kill an Admiral was enough to prove his capability.
Even the reason why Vegapunk's reputation was not prominent now was precisely because the things he had done were too shocking, forcing the World Government to destroy all records of his deeds!
But ultimately, time had been too short, and people like Baccarat who had debuted earlier had indeed heard of Vegapunk's reputation.
Upon realizing she had latched onto such a powerful backer, Baccarat was undoubtedly extremely excited and overjoyed.
Although she possessed a heaven-defying fruit ability, Baccarat herself had no great ambitions. Her hobbies were relatively vulgar, limited to various forms of enjoyment like eating, drinking, and playing; what she loved most was gold and Berries.
In this situation, being able to latch onto a powerful backer to ensure her own safety was naturally the best thing possible.
And even if Vegapunk wanted to deal with the World Government, since he had been able to fake his death for so many years under the intense pressure of the World Government, he clearly wasn't a brainless person. In this regard, the world-wise Baccarat wasn't as worried as Nami.
So what if he wanted to overthrow the World Government? Basically, any power that grew to a certain size almost always had thoughts of overthrowing the World Government!
Including the Gran Tesoro beneath her feet, the Four Emperors of the New World, and several Shichibukai... these people must all harbor rebellion against the World Government in their hearts, but they had restrained themselves because their strength wasn't sufficient.
"Not bad, Baccarat, is it? It seems you are quite well-informed!"
Vegapunk nodded, looked at the Luck-Luck Fruit User before him, and felt quite happy in his heart.
Even with Vegapunk's research, it had not extended to the aspect of luck. Baccarat was not only a top-tier research subject, but relying on the blessing of luck, she would also be of great help to his research.
...
"You want to occupy Gran Tesoro? Your appetite is quite large, Baccarat!"
"Of course, Lord Vegapunk! Not to mention that I am quite satisfied with Gran Tesoro itself, but there is also a massive amount of luck here waiting for me to harvest! Only in a place like this can I truly unleash my ability and better serve you in the future!"
Hearing these words, Vegapunk smiled and glanced at the red-haired beauty before him, feeling quite satisfied.
A big appetite is a good thing! Especially since Baccarat's own Luck-Luck Fruit ability requires many people with luck to come and fill it.
In the original story, the reason Baccarat hung around Gran Tesoro, besides her own enjoyment and desire for money, was primarily because this place had the most channels to replenish luck.
Otherwise, if you look at a place like the Bridge of Hesitation in the East Blue, how much luck could a bunch of slaves have? It's very likely that a single distinguished guest coming to Gran Tesoro could equal the combined luck of tens of thousands of slaves!
Vegapunk certainly wouldn't let his own people go and fill up luck for Baccarat, so Gran Tesoro as a luck channel was quite useful for Baccarat.
Vegapunk and Baccarat were chatting there when Carina, who had been standing on the outermost edge, had her expression change slightly.
What's going on? This boss of the Umbrella Corporation and the Luck-Luck Fruit User have also set their sights on Gran Tesoro? Isn't this stealing business from me!
Carina had already joined Gran Tesoro and become a songstress, but her primary goal was naturally the treasure of Gran Tesoro.
Originally, her idea was to lure in the external force of the Umbrella Corporation, and by taking advantage of their search for the Luck-Luck Fruit User, incite Gran Tesoro to confront both sides, then fish in troubled waters and steal the treasure of Gran Tesoro.
The plan was crude, but it was a "take a shot whether there's a date or not" idea. If it succeeded, that was best; if it failed, there was actually no loss.
It was just unexpected that the strong dragon crossing the river on the Umbrella side had also taken a fancy to Gran Tesoro. At this moment, Carina's eyes rolled around, and she began to think secretly.
Now she didn't need to incite conflict between them, but... can Gran Tesoro hold up?
Although Gran Tesoro could be considered a top-tier power on the sea, when an organization that does entertainment and casino activities clashes with another that sells weapons and plays with human body modification, even a fool would know which one is stronger!
However, Gran Tesoro had the Celestial Dragons as their backing. If they had known the intelligence from the start, the Umbrella Corporation would have been put on the defensive...
While thinking, Carina already had thoughts of provocation. Just then, Vegapunk suddenly turned his head and looked at Carina.
Looking at Vegapunk's ambiguous expression, Carina was shocked and hurriedly wanted to lower her head. However, Vegapunk casually pulled, and a powerful suction force directly pulled Carina over.
"What are you doing! Sir? Please have some self-respect!"
Carina looked flustered, seemingly wanting to break free from Vegapunk's hand. But Vegapunk didn't give her time to act, casually took a bracelet, and with a click, snapped it onto Carina's wrist.
A large amount of information impacted her mind. Carina rolled her eyes and felt dizzy for a moment before she reacted, and then her face showed an expression as if she had boarded a pirate ship.
"What... what is all this stuff?"
Carina, looking at Vegapunk with a dumbfounded expression, was so angry she was almost like a pufferfish, which made Nami, standing on the side, feel incredibly sour and refreshed.
Serves you right! You vixen, met your match now, haven't you? Her boss isn't someone to be trifled with; now you've trapped yourself too, right?
"Damn, you bastard, pervert! Hurry up and take this ghostly thing off me!"
Having fully digested the information in her brain, the finally reacting Carina couldn't help but shout, but suddenly felt a chill in her heart, and the back of her neck was gently pressed by someone.
Trembling as she turned her head, Carina only saw a cold and noble beauty looking at her with an indifferent expression.
Even though Carina had seen many beauties in Gran Tesoro and was a great beauty herself, she had to admit that the woman before her was stunning beyond imagination, and all the beauties she had seen before could not compare to her at all.
However, compared to her beauty, that terrifying momentum made Carina's legs go weak, especially the Conqueror's Haki with faint black lightning on her hand, which was like a volcano about to erupt, pressing against Carina's neck.
"What did you just call darling? Could it be that you want to die?"
"N-nothing... it was just a slip of the tongue, no, no, no, I meant I am the bastard, the pervert, I wasn't talking about Lord Vegapunk!"
Carina had just said one sentence when she felt the strength of the hand behind her ready to burst out. Scared out of her wits, she quickly changed her words, pinning the words "bastard" and "pervert" onto her own head.
When the hand of Hancock behind her let go, she finally showed a tearful expression. Being bullied and unable to talk back, she had it too hard!
"Alright, the unrelated people have also been controlled. Now the only problem is how to get our hands on Gran Tesoro."
Vegapunk didn't pay attention to the extremely depressed Carina. In fact, the reason Vegapunk controlled this vixen songstress was just to avoid any unexpected trouble during this operation; he didn't care about her ability itself.
Now it seems, it's more important to quickly find a way to solve the problem of Gran Tesoro.
If Vegapunk really wanted to take action against Gran Tesoro, the Golden Emperor Tesoro would obviously be no match at all.
It's just that if he took action like that, the commotion would be too big, and Gran Tesoro would be ruined by then—the reason this den of iniquity has so much traffic and revenue every year is largely because of the indulgence of the World Government; the entire casino is reasonable and legal.
If Vegapunk occupied Gran Tesoro, all he would provoke in the end is the crusade of the World Government!
In this situation, Vegapunk naturally couldn't easily take action, nor could he easily use violent means. Fortunately, there is now a Devil Fruit User who can be called the nemesis of casinos, enough to make any casino owner go bankrupt.
The One Piece World is not like the modern era. Because the laws are not perfect, people who can open casinos here are generally no different from the underworld; there is never any such thing as stopping while ahead.
In modern society with perfect rules, real big casinos never play cheating tricks, nor will they take action against gamblers who win big money. On the contrary, they will carry out some publicity to spread their reputation.
As for those who are truly skilled at gambling, or whose cheating skills are so strong that the casino can't see it, the casino will also politely try to win them over first to see if they can become a guest of the casino. If that doesn't work, they will refuse them from coming next time, but they will never do anything like taking back the gambling money.
Regular casinos rely on reputation and brand. Anyway, in terms of probability theory, the casino as the dealer always wins, it's just a matter of earning more or less, so they never take risks.
But in the One Piece World, even though Gran Tesoro can be called the largest casino on the entire sea, the rules are still simple and brutal. Winning a little money is fine; if you win a lot of money and have no status or strength, the casino won't let you leave!
This is certainly leaving no room for the gambler, and it is also leaving no room for themselves! Because this means the casino has no right to refuse gamblers. Theoretically, if a gambler's level is high enough, they could win the entire casino.
Baccarat's gambling skills are mediocre, but relying on the ability of the Luck-Luck Fruit, she definitely has the certainty to win the entire Gran Tesoro. Of course, when it really gets to that point, the Golden Emperor Tesoro will almost certainly turn hostile, and then it will depend on everyone's strength.
And given the strength of Vegapunk's group, it is obviously enough to suppress this Golden Emperor.
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