And we're back! Sorry for the wait, school started and well...yeah Fanfiction doesn't pay the bills or help me get my degree! I kinda wish it did though XD
Well we're gonna be starting a small mini arc so hopefully you guys enjoy it. It was an idea a few people recommended a while ago, sorry if I don't remember who, the reviews are buried deep at this point and...well I'm too lazy to go digging...
But to those people! Know I took your suggestion seriously!
Anyways! Let's set sail!
"I hate you," Naruto said as he looked out at the endless expanse of the ocean in front of them. They had been sailing for close to a week now and it was the day after they had left that little island that they realized that Ace had broken their Log Pose after a day of partying with the people of the town they saved. Without that they were stuck using one meant for Paradise which kept losing the magnetic signature of the islands it locks onto.
He now knew the importance of having a Log Pose made for the 'New World'. Without one, you were often left out of luck when your standard Log Pose lost connection to where you were heading. Due to the tempestuous nature of the Grand Line, even when you thought you were sailing straight, you'd almost certainly get moved off course at some point.
"It's not my fault!" Ace whined as his crew went over how much food and water they had left on the ship before they ran out. Luckily, due to Naruto being able to use his powers in water, food wasn't much of a problem. The blond had been able to drag a Sea King out of the ocean with his chakra hands. They had been able to gather rainwater in barrels but that could fail should the weather stop raining for too long.
"It completely is!" The crew yelled at their captain however he was just limp where he was sitting. Naruto had learned that Ace had the habit of falling asleep while in a conversation or eating. An annoying habit if there ever was one.
Absorbing some natural energy, Naruto slammed his fist into the side of Ace's head sending him flying off into a wall. "Wake up you idiot!" he yelled before pausing and looking down at his fist. This reminded him of how his former teammate Sakura would act. "So this was how she felt huh…" Naruto muttered as Ace stood back up rubbing his head where Naruto had punched him.
"That was rude!" Ace yelled at the blond.
A tick mark appeared on Naruto's forehead before he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Then maybe don't fall asleep while we're dealing with a crisis," Naruto replied, trying to keep calm in the situation that they were finding themselves in.
"Land!" one of the men yelled out as he spotted an island in the distance.
"See! Crisis resolved," Ace explained as the ship turned towards the island and began to shorten the distance between them. However, as they got closer and closer to the island, they started to realize that it was actually a massive ship the size of a city covered in lights and gold. They could see two massive turtles carrying the ship towards them with what appeared to be cannons on their backs.
"Is that…a casino?" Naruto asked when he saw that the entrance to the city ship was a roulette wheel with cards over it. "Gran Tesoro? The hell is that?" Naruto read as they sailed towards the entrance of the ship. The closer they got the smaller their ship appeared in comparison to it.
"Holy shit," Masked Deuce muttered as he recognized just what they were looking at. "You don't know what the Gran Tesoro is?" the blue haired man asked in shock as he thought everyone on the Grand Line knew about the massive casino city on a ship.
Both Ace and Naruto shook their heads negatively. Naruto was still new to this world and didn't really know much about the specific islands that dotted the ocean filled world, let alone the specific ships that sailed around it. Ace on the other hand was just naive on the subject and had never heard of the ship or what it was.
Masked Deuce palmed his face as it seemed that the two strongest people on the ship didn't seem to know just what they were sailing into. "It's the largest entertainment city in the world, the value on that ship alone amounts to twenty percent of the total money in the world. It's a city of gold where money is king," he told them as he looked a bit weary of them sailing into a place like that. It as likely a death trap of greed.
"Twenty percent?!" Ace yelled as he realized just how much money that would have to be. That would make the owner just as rich as a Celestial Dragon, if not richer than the majority of them.
"Yep, its ruler Gild Tesoro has so much power that the World Government recognizes the ship as its own sovereign nation," Masked Deuce told the crew, putting into perspective just how much sway the richest man in the world had. "In there it doesn't matter who you are, all that counts is your money. Marines won't arrest any pirates regardless how wanted they are, and if they try it would be considered treason against the World Government. Likewise, pirates are not allowed to steal or risk being jailed," he explained to the two strongest people the ship.
"Then we should be able to get a Log Pose from there right? They must be using something to navigate," Naruto said as they entered the roulette entrance. If this was a place so grand and wealthy, he figured that just about anything could be sold…or won. Part of him couldn't help but smirk at the thought, recalling his time in his home world winning games of luck like when he won the grand prize of a collection of books signed by his former sensei Jiraiya in a lotto while trying to win some ramen cups.
"You want to gamble for one?" One of the crew members asked the blond who nodded smuggly. Feeling that the odds were in his favor if it came down to a game.
"Yep! Or maybe just buy one if there is one on sale," Naruto mentioned as it would likely be quicker if they just paid some of their gold out in exchange for one. It would be a quick trip in and out. What was the worst that could happen?
"Now where is the fun in that? If we're coming in, then we might as well make the most of it and party!" Ace asked as they sailed into the entrance of the ship. Immediately they noticed sparkles coming down from the ceiling, growing more and more numerous as they traveled deeper in. Their eyes widened as they realized that they were being showered in gold right from the very beginning. "Woah…"
"If they have enough money to make it rain gold dust, then this place must be legit," Masked Deuce muttered as some of their members went crazy trying to catch as much of the power as they could.
"I think we're gonna have a lot of fun here!" Ace declared as they looked down and noticed that even the water seemed to be colored gold from the sheer amount of the precious metal that was raining down on them. He was practically giddy at the idea of spending some time in the entertainment capital of the whole world. Even Celestial Dragons would take time away in order to come here and have some fun.
"Food, money, drugs, or sex. Anything you want can be found here for the right price," Skull said as they sailed towards one of the docks in order to get off the ship, rainbow colored lights glaring down at them as music blared throughout the ship. "And gold…so much gold…" he said in awe as everything seemed to be covered in gold. There were even fountains that blew liquid gold into the air instead of water.
"It seems that the Spade Pirates and Uzumaki Naruto have entered the ship my lord," a wispy yet high pitched voice said to a man enjoying a golden colored drink. The man had slicked back green hair and wore an expensive looking pink suit with a white stripe running down it.
"Perfect, Baccarat will take care of them in time," the man said as he opened a book he kept of some of the most important people on the face of the planet. Among them were Portgas D. Ace and Uzumaki Naruto. "My I wonder, will I cash in their bounties? One and a half billion Beri does sound like a nice day's pay," He asked himself as the people around him enjoyed the luxuries of his ship.
"How do you want me to go about this my lord?" A tanned redhead asked as she approached the richest man in the New World. The guests were absolutely shunned by sheer beauty of the curvaceous woman to helped trap so many on the ship as slaves.
"Hm, I heard that the Golden Devil is considered so dangerous because he has multiple abilities. Many of which he shouldn't be able to have. He is by far one of our most dangerous guests," The man said, happy that someone so risky was entering his kingdom. After all, if one didn't risk anything, they would never be rewarded! "Split him from the rest of the Spade Pirates, if we can get to them while he's away, we'll be able to force him to back down," he planned, figuring that should his allies be held hostage, he'd surrender without causing too much trouble.
As Naruto and the rest of the Spade Pirates got off their ship, they noticed a red haired woman waiting for them with a gentle smile on her face. However while some of the males of the Spade Pirates were swooning over her beauty, Naruto had a hard look on his face. "You sense it too, don't you Naruto?" Kurama said grimmly as the two were bombarded with a sea of negative emotions that contrasted the glint and glamor of the gold.
"Yeah…" Naruto responded as he started to draw in a bit of natural energy, not enough for Sage Mode, but enough to expand his senses. He needed to be ready at a moment's notice in case something went wrong. That dark feeling was coming from everywhere. It was like the ship rotted despite how fantastical it looked.
"We've been expecting you all," a sultry voice reached the crew. Looking over they saw a rather attractive looking woman walking towards them. "My name is Baccarat, I help take care of all our new VIPs," she introduced herself, bowing slightly to them.
"VIPs? We've never been here before, how can we be VIPs already?" Skull asked, wondering if she was confusing them with someone else.
"All high ranking individuals in the world are considered VIPs. Be they pirates, marines, World Nobles, or Revolutionaries, none of that matters as long as you have standing," She said motioning for them to follow after them. Ace drooled a bit as Baccarat swayed her hips as she walked ahead of them but was elbowed by Naruto who gave him a disapproving glare. "First thing's first, you all need a new wardrobe," she said as they walked into a massive store filled with expensive looking clothing. "Please, pick out anything you want, it will all be on credit," The redhead said sweetly.
"Let's go!" Ace yelled as he ran in.
"Hey wait! How much credit do we have?" Ducky Bree asked Baccarat, concerned that Ace might bankrupt them.
However the beauty giggled at the question, "Why, our VIPs have an unlimited credit line while on Gran Tesoro! So have fun to your heart's content!" she said cheerfully.
"Well okay then!" The whole crew seemed to respond before following after their captain. Naruto couldn't help but be appalled at how reckless they were being with their now seemingly endless credit.
"Well , won't you be joining them? I could help you more…personally if you'd prefer," she purred, trailing a finger down his chest. "For someone with your bounty, I could give you the MIP treatment," she whispered into his ear, her hot breath brushing against his skin.
"I think I'm good," Naruto said, taking a step back from her-his face slightly red-and walked over to where the Spade Pirates were.
After everyone had their new outfits on, Naruto couldn't help but be impressed by how comfortable the fabric the clothes were made from were. The blond had changed into a white suit with a black collared shirt underneath and an orange tie around his neck. He opted to put on a pair of orange tinted glasses to help hide his eyes in case he needed to enter Sage Mode without anyone noticing.
"Now that everyone is ready, we've prepared a one billion Beri loan for you all," Baccarat said, pulling out a briefcase filled with golden casino tokens. "Feel free to spend them as you please, and if you'd like more, visit any dealer in the city and they'll happily get you more chips," she told them.
"No way!" Ace cried out as he looked at the massive amounts of tokens that they were being given. "Can these be used for anything?"
"Certainly, with these you can buy anything for sale on the ship or play any game," the redhead explained to them before Ace grabbed a bunch of chips and proceeded to run into what looked to be a buffet without a care in the world. Shrugging, the rest of the crew proceeded to grab themselves some of the coins and scattered out to enjoy their day as they pleased.
"Idiots…" Naruto said as he watched everyone take advantage of the loan they had been given. If Tsunade had taught him anything, it was that casinos were always out to get you. A loan offer was just them trying to trick you into owing them. The promise of winning big and paying them back while still having an insane amount of money was a lie.
"Well looks like it's just us now Mr. Uzumaki, may I interest you in a ride around the city?" she offered seeing as the Spade Pirates had been completely sucked into the city. It was all going according to their plan. Now all she had to do was distract the biggest threat to Gild for long enough until the Spade Pirates were in their hands. For that she was even willing to resort to using her feminin wiles to lure him away.
"I have a bad feeling about her," Kurama said as he knew that the people who worked in places like these were always out to get you for all you were worth.
"Same, but nothing we can really do now. Ace and the rest kinda blew it by taking her loan offer and running off to go do who knows what, might as well try to get some info out of her," Naruto replied back to his lifelong partner before turning to Baccarat with his own charming smile. "Sure," he answered as he got into the turtle powered car before Baccarat drove off. "You know, I never cease to be amazed with what exists in this world," Naruto said as he looked out the side of the car at the many buildings of gold.
"The New World holds many marvels," The redhead said as she drove him further away from where Ace and the rest of the Spade Pirates were. She couldn't help but be a bit nervous about being so close to someone so notorious. While Baccarat was confident in her abilities, the blond's reputation for being a grab bag of abilities made him a wild card. "You are now among them too ," she flattered.
"I wouldn't say that," Naruto replied, knowing that it was simply flattering without any real substance. He figured that she wanted to get close to him in order to get him into some sort of trap. "I'm just another guy after all," He added, downplaying how big of a figure he was. While he knew that his bounty was massive now, he didn't know if it was really so high that he would be considered a marvel.
"A guy with a bounty worth the price of a small island," Baccarat pointed out as they drove deeper and deeper into the city. "I definitely believe you are something more," she purred before pulling over in front of a massive casino. Stepping out of the car, she opened the door for him, "How about we play a few games on me?" the voluptuous woman asked as she pulled out a golden card.
"Wanna make some money off me?" He asked as they walked through the massive golden doors into the main hall filled with thousands of golden slot machines. All over games of high stakes games were being played. Cards, roulette, dice, anything and everything where money could be made or lost was there.
"Winner! Four hundred million Beri!" The dealer announced much to the dread of the other players while one was jumping in joy at his massive payout.
The man took the mic and screamed "Drinks for everyone!" through the speaker, much to the cheer of the casino goers. Naruto couldn't help but look at him like an idiot as he blew more money than he earned on the drinks he just gave out. One of the servers came over and handed him and Baccarat a golden drink each.
"As if, anything you win is yours. Or, I could give you your winnings in another form," she told him truthfully.
"I'll take a Log Pose for the new world if you have one, cheers by the way," Naruto said, raising his glass before drinking it in one gulp. He had to admit that it tasted beautifully, but if he was honest…Smoothie's juice tasted way better.
"Well you could certainly buy one, you can find almost anything here if you know where to look," Baccarat told him as they walked through the casino before Naruto stopped and looked at one of the roulette tables where a World Noble was playing. His arm was covered in a cast and in a sling but he was cheering as he bankrupted the group he was playing against. It was the same World Noble that he had attacked after his fight with Kuma. "Oh? You know Saint Luccy?" Baccarat asked, taking notice of the interest that Naruto took in the Celestial Dragon.
"Something like that," the golden haired shinobi answered with a fox-like smirk as he approached the bubble-wearing man. Wrapping his arm around the Celestial Dragon's shoulder, the jinchuuriki gave him a toothy grin. "Hey how's your arm doing?" he asked getting the man to jump away, pulling out his gun and aiming it at the blond.
"Who dar- YOU!" He roared as he prepared to fire but halted when Baccarat cleared her throat and approached them.
"Should I remind you that violence on Gran Tesoro is strictly banned, Saint Luccy?" The redhead asked, wrapping her arms around Naruto's and hugging it into her bust. "We wouldn't want to call in your debt would we?" she asked, threatening to have the World Nobles entire debt to be demanded. "How much was it? Two? Three billion?" she asked, revealing the staggering amount of money that the Celestial Dragon owed the Casino.
Saint Luccy clicked his teeth and put his weapon away, knowing that it was wise not to piss off the richest man in the world. While the World Government had enough money to easily cover it, it would leave him in hot water with the Five Elders. However he also knew that he could likely bankrupt the blond into slavery if he won against him. "Well…how about a game then Golden Devil?" He said pointing towards a massive golden roulette wheel that served as the crown jewel of the casino they were currently in.
"That is a hundred hundred million minimum bet game," Baccarat mentioned to Naruto, using her power on the blond to increase his luck in order to secure the game.
"Still wanna pay for it?" Naruto asked, feeling a bit bad about the money that she would lose if he lost the bet, even if he was certain that lady luck would side with him.
"With pleasure," she whispered into his ear.
Naruto rolled his eyes before looking back at the World Noble, who at this point was getting increasingly annoyed at the fact that they hadn't given him an answer yet. "Fine, I'll play your game Lucky," he said walking towards the golden staircase that led them up to the roulette wheel, everyone clearing the way for them as they feared getting into a game with a Celestial Dragon and someone who seemed to have Baccarat's backing.
"It's LUCCY!" the man yelled as he stormed up towards the roulette table.
"Here we go! We have two VIPs about to duke it out!" The dealer announced as the lights came down and focused in on the three of them. Buccarat smiled, kissing Naruto's cheek much to his announce but to howls of encouragement from many of the male audicance, yelling at him to 'hit that' after his win. Naruto looked around and saw that their game was being televised throughout the entire casino and possibly the ship.
"Now! Players! PLACE YOUR BETS!" He yelled, the mechanism of the roulette wheel starting to turn.
"Five hundred million on twenty six!" Luccy announced as he placed a stack of golden chips down on the number.
"I bet the same on nine," Naruto said smirking before the ball was shot out onto the wheel. He couldn't help but be impressed at the fact that even the roulette ball was made out of solid gold.
The golden ball shot around the wheel at extreme speeds, circling it several times over before it even started to visibly slow down to the onlookers. Around them, people were taking bets as to who would win between the two of them. It was insane hearing others placing bets on who would win their bets. Some bet hundreds of thousands of Beri on him, some on Saint Luccy.
"Last call for bets!" The dealer announced as the ball started to slow down more and more before slowly coming to a stop, looking like it was going to land on twenty six.
"YEAH! Give me the money!" The World Noble said seeing that it looked like he was gonna win before the ball moved ever so slowly over into the next spot- the nine.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO WIN THIS ROUND!" the announcer cried out as he cleared the ships towards Naruto, signaling him as the winner of the round.
"What?!" the pompous noble cried out as he almost tore his bubble in rage. "Another round!" he demanded as he placed even more chips on the board, totaling to one and a half billion beri. People gasped at the sheer amount of money that the Celestial Dragon was throwing around. That alone would be enough to drive many of them into poverty at once. "What's wrong Devil? Scared of a god?" he taunted only for Naruto to smirk and place down his bet.
"I'll match on nine," he bet with a shit eating smirk.
Baccarat smirked slightly as she used her power to try and reverse Naruto's luck by draining it from him. With that, she was certain that he would lose the next round and knock out his earnings. After all, they couldn't justify enslaving the Spade Pirates if he could just pay off their debt. She was careful not to take too much luck away from him as to put him in pain, but just enough where he shouldn't win.
"The Golden Devil is doubling up on number 9! Could this be his secret number? The Devil's Number?!" the dealer called out in shock as people tended not to place a bet on the same number twice in a row. While the chance that it would land on nine were still the same as the ball landing on any other number, it wasn't exactly a popular strategy.
"Let's ROLL!" the dealer announced as the golden ball was once again launched like a cannon onto the roulette wheel.
The entire casino held their breath as the lights coalesced on the ball that began to slow down before…
"NINE!? The winner is…the GOLDEN DEVIL!" The announcer cried out in shock as even Baccarat was in shock that Naruto had won despite her using the power of the Raki Raki no Mi on him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" The Celestial Dragon cried out as he fell to his knees, now two billion further into debt.
Naruto collected his winnings and walked back to the speechless Baccarat, "You know, I was always told that I was unnaturally lucky. Back in my home country I won the lotto twice ya know. Guess lady luck really does smile on me," the blond told the redhead who quickly recovered from the failure of her plot. She needed to find a way to make him waste all that money while her minions drove the Spade Pirates deeper and deeper into debt.
Before she could say anything, Naruto's stomach decided to speak up and growl. "Well, it seems someone is hungry. Maybe we should put those earnings to good use, I know a restaurant that will blow you away," she said, deciding to change plans by having him eat at the most expensive restaurant in the entire world.
"We're not done here!" Saint Luccy yelled at the two of them as he was ready to go again.
"I'm sorry, but it seems that your debt is being called . Please repay some of your debt before playing again ok?" Baccarat said back to the World Noble, freezing his ability to draw on more money from the city to gamble against the blond. She couldn't risk his freakish luck possibly winning out again against her powers. If that happened then he would only win more and more Beri.
"But I have an unlimited credit line?!" The man cried out in despair.
"And we have the right to demand you pay us back," she snapped back, leading Naruto away from the crying waste of a man.
"I guess I could use some food," Naruto said, figuring that it couldn't possibly be that expensive to have some dinner on the boat…right? One bowl of ramen wouldn't hurt.
Before anyone says anything, no Baccarat isn't in the pairings. She's just doing her job.
Just wanted to put that out there before I get swarmed with reviews and PMs saying to add her or not.
The people on the list in the previous chapter are the most who'll be added period unless some major world shaking reveal is brought up.
Anyways!
Pleas leave a review! I love hearing from you all and as this chapter showed, it could actually impact the story.
Later!