Chapter 490: Chapter 490: One Piece: Gold City (7)

"The most precious thing, huh..."

Tesoro paused slightly, weighing it in his heart.

The first thing he thought of was his wealth that the entire world coveted, and this Gran Tesoro ship, built mostly of gold.

If he were asked to give up money, even his current fortune, could he bear it?

That was a good question.

Tesoro himself actually knew that the reason he had been able to expand his business to its current scale, and even ignore the authority of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, turning Gran Tesoro into a completely independent nation, all of it was inseparable from Orin.

It could even be said that if Orin were willing, he could completely snatch all the wealth from Tesoro. At most, he would just lose a subordinate who could continue helping him make money.

But just Gran Tesoro alone was enough to let Orin live a life where he could never spend all his money.

In other words, he hadn’t really lost much, because his wealth had always been under Orin’s control.

So what did he still have to lose?

At worst, he would just start from scratch again, but gambling on a chance to fulfill any wish was simply too worth it.

As he thought about it, Tesoro’s eyes shifted, glancing toward Baccarat beside him.

And even if the uncertainty was huge, as long as Baccarat was there, wouldn’t even the tiniest odds be infinitely magnified?

As long as enough was absorbed...

"I DON’T WANT IT!!!"

Just as Tesoro was about to agree, Luffy suddenly shouted with a serious face. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Huh???"

Tesoro’s pupils trembled as he looked over in disbelief.

In this world, there was actually someone who could refuse any wish from Mr. Orin???

How was that possible...

"Oh? Why is that?"

Orin interlaced his fingers and looked at the serious-faced Luffy, his tone low.

"Our dreams must ultimately be achieved by ourselves!!!"

"And... my most precious things aren’t just my dreams, but also my companions!!!"

"I will absolutely never gamble them away to you!!!"

Looking at the other members of the Straw Hat crew, they too snapped back from the enormous wish Orin had promised and looked at Luffy with eyes full of trust.

"Heh... that’s true."

"We went out to sea precisely to achieve our own dreams, didn’t we?"

"Well said, Luffy!!!"

Orin let out a sigh, seeming somewhat helpless.

So it was a hot-blooded answer full of conviction. How old-fashioned...

"Naive little brats."

At this time, Baccarat and the others came over to Tesoro’s side. He spoke disdainfully in a low voice.

"What do you mean, Lord Tesoro?"

"I mean these little brats are too naive..."

Tesoro’s hand adorned with gold rings slowly clenched.

"Any game Orin-san wants to play in Gold City has never failed. This is no longer a question of whether they want to or not."

Sure enough, in the next moment,

Orin smiled and lightly clapped his hands.

"Well said. Human dreams should indeed be realized by oneself. But life’s gamble, full of variables, isn’t something you can just walk away from whenever you want."

Those slightly ambiguous words immediately put the Straw Hat crew on guard the moment they were spoken.

Zoro drew his sword, and the others took defensive stances.

Seeing this, Hawk Eyes, his face shaded by the brim of his hat, revealed a single sharp, gleaming eye, coldly staring at all of the Straw Hat crew.

Even without holding his black blade, he still gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Crocodile also turned his head with a cigar in his mouth. The cigar faintly showed signs of weathering into sand, and rings of yellow sand swirled up around his chair.

"Wait."

Just as both sides faced off and the atmosphere grew tense, Orin raised a hand to stop them.

He gently pressed his hand downward.

What followed was an incomparably terrifying pressure, mixed with Conqueror’s Haki Infusion and the power of space itself, making everyone present—including Hawk Eyes—feel a chill of dread.

"Honestly, don’t be so quick to start fighting. Am I really such a violent person?"

Orin lowered his hand, calming the sword-drawn tension on both sides.

Then he took a sheet of paper from his coat.

"Well... I really hate forcing people. Everything is voluntary~"

Bang—

He slapped the paper onto the table, and everyone couldn’t help but look over.

Written on it was:

Dotor·Orin saved Nico Robin’s life during the destruction of Ohara.

When she reaches adulthood, whenever Orin wants, Robin’s life belongs to Orin.

Signature: Nico Robin

Seeing the note and the signature on it, all color instantly drained from Robin’s face, and the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates were also utterly shocked.

"To think you managed to keep this for so long..."

Mihawk clearly recognized the paper. He looked at Orin with a strange expression.

Could it be that this guy had already planned all of this decades ago?

"A contract of sale? What’s that..."

Crocodile wasn’t very clear about it, since this happened before she followed Orin.

Mihawk roughly explained it to her.

"Strictly speaking, you weren’t the third one to come aboard. Over twenty years ago, when Ohara was destroyed..."

Crocodile more or less understood, pinching the cigar at her lips and exhaling a puff of smoke.

"So that means Orin has been laying out this plan from the very beginning?"

When it comes to scheming, he’s probably already number one in the world~"

Of course, she didn’t feel any particular sympathy.

Luffy had consecutively sent two Shichibukai flying, and Orin hadn’t pursued the matter. She had already been displeased by that for a long time.

If he kept stirring things up like this and exposing everything they Shichibukai had done, it wouldn’t be surprising if one day even the title Shichibukai disappeared.

"Hey!!! Robin, is this true?!"

"...Yes..."

Robin herself never expected this past incident to be brought up again at this moment. Ever since she became an adult, Orin had never mentioned it once.

She had thought he had already forgotten...

And when Sanji saw it, he inexplicably began to sweat as well.

He seemed to have something like this too!!!

But no one had the time to pay attention to him right now. Instead, everyone was staring at the aged piece of paper in Orin’s hand.

"I get it!!!"

As the captain, Luffy stepped forward and accepted the gamble.

"As long as I win, you give Robin back to us!!!"

"Of course~ Any wish is acceptable."

Tesoro also walked over with his hands in his pockets and asked a question he deeply cared about, one that could even decide the outcome.

"Orin-san, you said any means can be used. Then... can Baccarat’s ability be used as well?"

"Oh..."

Orin smiled, seemingly seeing through Tesoro’s intentions, and lightly nodded.

"Of course~ As for luck and such... You can absorb as much as you want."

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