When the ten-kilometer super-ship radiating blinding golden light came fully into view, even the Eclipse Pirates' crew of monsters couldn't hold back gasps of awe at the rail.
"This is insane! It's basically a floating continent of gold!"
Buggy's jaw hit the deck. He waved his arms wildly, eyes threatening to pop out and roll into the sea. "We're rich! Rich! I'm winning enough in this city tonight to buy the whole damn world!"
"Yahahahaha! A place like this exists down on the blue sea?!"
Enel sat cross-legged in the air, electricity dancing at his fingertips, his eyes locked onto those massive buildings and streets forged from pure gold.
"Back in Skypiea I scraped together every scrap of gold I could find just to build the Ark Maxim. If I'd known there was a ship made entirely of the stuff, I would've come down to claim it years ago!"
"Whoa! Look at those glowing fountains! And that giant roller coaster flying through the sky!"
Bonnie piloted her mechanical spider in excited circles across the deck. Chopper matched her energy, cheering right alongside her. Even Kuma's unshakeable face flickered with something like wonder.
"Eclipse, take us in. Find the most visible dock."
Ace stood at the bow, watching the enormous golden gate slowly swing open ahead.
The Eclipse's massive black hull glided into the inner harbor of the city that never slept.
Gold dust drifted down like snow from the ceiling, painting the entire harbor in a blaze of gold and light. At the heart of the docks, in the VIP berths reserved for the world's elite and the most powerful pirates, a long row of security guards in gold uniforms stood at attention.
At the front of the formation waited a tall, slender woman with red hair, dressed in a black slit evening gown.
She wore long black gloves and held a delicate folding fan. A flawless, impenetrable smile graced her lips.
Baccarat. A senior officer of Gran Tesoro, and the holder of the Lucky-Lucky Fruit.
"Welcome to Gran Tesoro, the world's largest entertainment city."
As the Eclipse's gangplank lowered and Ace descended with his officers, Baccarat glided forward with practiced grace and gave a slight bow.
"I am the head of reception, Baccarat. To host the Breaker, Ace, with a bounty of one billion five hundred seventy million, and all the distinguished members of the Eclipse Pirates, is an honor for our city."
"The Tesoro guy's got good intel."
Sabo adjusted his hat and gripped the Flame Dragon Staff, scanning the guards who stood at crisp attention but radiated barely concealed killing intent.
Baccarat only smiled, unfazed by Sabo's wariness.
She stepped forward naturally, extending her gloved right hand toward Ace at the front of the group.
"Lord Ace, the layout here can be confusing. Allow me to guide you."
She wielded the Lucky-Lucky Fruit. If her hand made contact with Ace, even for an instant, she could siphon away his good fortune. Judging by his bounty, he was someone she absolutely could not afford to cross. But the bold thought pushed up from somewhere deep inside her, impossible to suppress.
And yet.
Just as her fingertips came within a centimeter of Ace's arm.
He stopped walking.
No defensive move, no dodge. He simply turned his head slightly and let those deep, dark eyes drift down to meet hers.
He released no Conqueror's Haki.
But in that single moment, Baccarat felt the air vanish from the world around her. She saw, as if through a fissure into an abyss, a primordial beast crouched in the dark, fixing her with a gaze that treated her as already dead.
A terror born in the marrow of her soul froze every drop of blood in her body.
Her outstretched right hand locked in midair. Cold sweat soaked through the back of her gown in an instant. She didn't dare breathe, afraid that the smallest motion would bring annihilation crashing down.
Ace looked at her rigid, paralyzed form. He reached out and gave her shoulder a relaxed pat.
"No need to be so tense, Miss Baccarat."
His voice was easy, but in this woman's ears it landed colder than a demon's whisper.
"I'll pass on the tour. It's not every day we hit a New World gold pit. I'd like to wander around with my crew first."
"Of... of course, Lord Ace."
Baccarat pulled her hand back as if shocked and retreated two steps, her smile now visibly forced. "Then I won't intrude on your pleasure. Lord Tesoro will extend a personal invitation to meet with you later."
As Baccarat and her security team hurried away, the Eclipse crew broke into eager grins.
"Alright, you animals."
Ace turned to his crew of barely restrained monsters and swept his hand forward.
"Gambling, racing, shows, feasts. Play however you want. Tonight, everything's on me."
"Let's go! I'm trying every top-tier service the New World has to offer!" Jeno howled, already bouncing with impatience.
"Rich, rich, rich! Big guy Kuma, move it! I'm about to show you the legendary Split-and-Cheat Gambling Style!" Buggy grabbed Kuma's pant leg and dragged him toward the nearest luxury casino. Kuma shook his head in resignation and followed, leading Bonnie's mech by the hand.
"Yahahahaha! A city of nothing but gold! Let's see what tricks they can pull off with this!" Enel roared with laughter and dissolved into a streak of lightning, vanishing into the commercial district.
"The ingredients here actually look promising. Chopper, let's go find something good." Leonora glanced around and headed toward the dining quarter with Chopper in tow.
"Yohohoho, I hear they have a magnificent concert hall somewhere. I wonder if the ladies there might be kind enough to show me their panties? Yohohoho..." Brook adjusted his freshly pressed tailcoat and strolled off, leaning elegantly on his cane.
Ace, Sabo, and Shark walked through the dazzling city like any other tourists.
They took in the pirates, Marines, and wealthy merchants stumbling around blinded by gold on every street. They noted the collared slaves in the shadowed corners, faces empty of all light. Ace's expression barely shifted.
"All that shine on the surface, and it's rotten clean through underneath," Sabo said, eyeing the slaves.
"A fake paradise built on money and hunger. A pleasure heaven of indulgence on the outside, but underneath it's a giant cage of oppression, lies, and desperation. Then again, the people who come here to play aren't exactly victims. They chose this. Either way, for us it really is a paradise." Ace grinned, not sparing a thought for those people, or for Tesoro.
Shark's voice dropped cold. "This Tesoro fancies himself a god controlling everything?"
Ace stopped at a street stall and bought a grilled squid skewer. He took a bite.
"He's no god. He's just a man the Celestial Dragons broke, crawling back around to try and crush them with his money."
A few hours later.
Ace had covered most of Gran Tesoro's outer entertainment district when Carina's voice came through the mental channel.
"Ace, Tesoro's back in his penthouse. Heavy security. Monitoring Den Den Mushi and gold guards everywhere."
"Got it."
Ace swallowed the last bite of squid and flicked the skewer cleanly into a street-side bin.
"Sabo. Shark. Keep enjoying yourselves."
He turned toward the gleaming tower at the dead center of Gran Tesoro, the spire that pierced the clouds.
"I'm going to meet the richest man in the world."
"To talk him into a deal he absolutely can't refuse."
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