How did this guy end up in Alabasta?
Cyrus was stunned, his feet pausing for a moment.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Cyrus suddenly stop, Robin was a little puzzled.
"It's nothing. Just an unexpected surprise. Sure enough, you always run into unexpected things when you go out for a walk." Cyrus said, taking his sword from Robin's arms.
'Hmm?'
Hearing Cyrus say this and then seeing him take his sword, Robin's heart tightened.
"An enemy?"
"Not an enemy, but a strong one."
Cyrus shook his head slightly and walked towards the Rain Banquet casino.
Issho, a user of the Paramecia-type Press-Press Fruit, a Master Swordsman, and possibly even a Grand Master Swordsman.
This was a very strong person, no weaker than the current three Marine Admirals.
The key was that Cyrus had a pretty good impression of this blind uncle.
However, Cyrus was a bit curious as to why Issho would appear in Alabasta.
According to the original story, Issho would join the Marine during the great military conscription, be directly promoted to Marine Admiral, and would be a staunch supporter of abolishing the Shichibukai system.
'Could he be here for Crocodile?'
'But it didn't seem to be mentioned in the plot.'
'Or perhaps...' Cyrus's gaze fell on the magnificent sign of the Rain Banquet casino.
'This guy really loved to gamble.'
'So, was he simply here to gamble?'
With this thought, Cyrus stepped into the casino opened by Crocodile.
Robin watched Cyrus's back, very curious about the person he had just mentioned.
'What kind of person could make Cyrus take him so seriously?'
Taking his sword from her meant that Cyrus would have to use his full strength when facing this person.
Rain Banquet was luxurious, filled with many guests, and many scantily clad women weaving through the crowd.
This was a place Baroque Works used to accumulate wealth and hide.
Under the perception of his Observation Haki, Cyrus could sense many powerful individuals, who should be the officers of Baroque Works.
Cyrus paid them no mind, his eyes locking onto a certain direction after entering.
A large crowd surrounded a wide gambling table, many of them shouting with fervent eyes.
A tall, broad back was conspicuous in the crowd; even while sitting, he was much taller than the people around him.
Issho, at this moment, had the same expression as those gambling addicts.
Cyrus's gaze fell on Issho, and he walked over with Robin.
"Go exchange all of this for chips!" Cyrus said to Robin, who nodded and turned to leave.
At the gambling table, the circle of people had pale faces because the house had won again.
Several guys who had lost everything stood up with ashen faces and left in a daze.
Cyrus sat down in an empty seat.
Robin came over and placed a bag of chips on the table.
After tossing a few chips onto the table, Cyrus turned his head to look at Issho on one side of the table.
He was much younger than he remembered.
The current Fujitora should be in his forties, likely at the peak of his strength.
The scar on his forehead was very prominent, and his eyes were already blind.
As if sensing Cyrus's gaze, Issho turned his head, smiled at Cyrus, then picked up the chips in front of him and placed them on a spot on the table.
Cyrus's first bet followed the dealer as he lifted the dice cup.
"We won!"
Robin, sitting next to Cyrus, smiled when she saw they won the first round and swept the chips in front of Cyrus.
As for Issho, he had lost.
Cyrus's gaze fell on the dealer who was shouting for people to place their bets.
'He's cheating.'
But Issho definitely knew about this and continued to bet anyway.
In the next few rounds, Cyrus bet continuously, placing larger and larger bets, and won every single time.
The gambling table grew quiet.
Everyone was watching Cyrus, waiting for him to place his bet.
After he pushed forward the mountain of chips in front of him, the surrounding crowd hurriedly followed suit.
The dealer licked his chapped lips and began to shake the dice.
Trying to win it all, huh.
The dice fell.
Cyrus narrowed his eyes, and the gambling table trembled slightly.
The dealer confidently lifted the dice cup, but when he saw the numbers on the three dice inside, he was instantly stunned.
"Impossible!"
He stared at the three dice in front of him with a pale face.
He had clearly used his technique to roll the numbers, but now they had changed to something else.
Everyone at the table was ecstatic.
They had won big this round.
Everyone's face was flushed, but Cyrus's expression was calm.
Issho turned his head to look at Cyrus.
"This is not proper gambling etiquette."
Just as the others were leaving with their winnings, Issho turned his head to face Cyrus and spoke.
"Sorry, I've never played this kind of thing, so I don't know the etiquette. But with this sort of thing, you're betting on the unknown, and there's no unknown here." Cyrus said, his gaze falling on the Cane Sword at Issho's side.
One of the Supreme Grade Swords.
"You..."
The pale-faced dealer seemed to understand something upon hearing Issho's words, as if he had grasped a lifeline, and pointed at Cyrus angrily.
But seeing the look Cyrus gave him, he swallowed the rest of his words.
"Go tell Crocodile to come see me." Cyrus said, then turned to look at Issho.
"Crocodile? The Shichibukai?" Issho's expression instantly turned serious.
"You didn't know?"
Seeing Issho's expression, Cyrus understood that this fellow had probably come here specifically to gamble.
"This is Crocodile's establishment."
"I see. My apologies, I was truly unaware. When I disembarked at the port, I heard there was a decent casino here, so I came to try my luck."
Fujitora said with a serious look upon hearing this.
"If it's Crocodile..."
Issho gripped the cane sword by his side, and the aura around him changed slightly.
If he was easygoing before, he now carried a hint of cold severity.
"No can do. That guy is someone I have my eye on. I need him to do something for me."
Seeing Issho's reaction, Cyrus spoke up.
Issho was taken aback, then turned his head to look at Cyrus seriously.
"And who might you be?"
"Cyrus, a Pirate Hunter. I've just arrived on the Grand Line, preparing to make a bit of a splash."
"A bit of a splash? But your tone seems to suggest this 'bit' is no small matter."
Issho's Observation Haki fell upon Cyrus, and he could sense Cyrus's astonishingly vast aura.
Robin watched the two converse from the side, her eyes curiously sizing up Issho.
"When you go out to sea, you have to do something to shake the world. So, want to join me?"
"You want Crocodile to work for you. I see no reason to join you."
Issho stood up upon hearing this, shaking his head as he prepared to turn away.
"In that case, let's have a wager."
The moment Cyrus said this, Issho, who had just turned, immediately spun back around to look at him.
"Alright, what's the bet?"
Issho's face was full of anticipation.
"One of the reasons I set out to sea is to fight strong people on these waters. So, let's bet on whether I can defeat you. If I win, you'll follow me. If you later find that following me goes against your principles, you can leave at any time."
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator