*Purururu purururu purururu~~~*
...
Just as the Dream Team had decided to set sail tomorrow, Nami's Den Den Mushi suddenly started ringing.
Everyone turned to her, curious and waiting to see who it was.
Nami glanced at the snail, then said to the group, "It's from Morgans."
As she spoke, she pressed the answer button. "Morgans, what do you want from us? Did something happen?"
Morgans' excited voice came through the line: "Hello, Miss Nami! Here's the thing—Ryuen asked me to track down that blind gambler, and we've finally found him!
He's in the Kingdom of Prodence right now. One of my people has been watching his every move.
So I wanted to ask, what should we do next? Should we try to bring him in and keep him under control?"
Morgans was so excited because he didn't expect his people to actually find the blind gambler.
Despite being blind, this man was incredibly skilled at gambling. When it came to dice games, he could always guess the outcome correctly.
Sometimes he'd get tricked by casino dealers, but his guesses were always right.
This made Morgans even more curious and interested in him.
He couldn't help but wonder—was Ryuen planning to use this guy to help them win a ton of money?
After all, in the mysterious and dangerous New World, there was a legendary entertainment kingdom known as "Grand Tesoro"!
This place was officially recognized by the World Government and was the biggest entertainment city in the world. It even had the largest casino anywhere.
But it was also under the control of Tesoro.
Morgans knew Grand Tesoro well because he had been there himself.
What shocked him the most was that Tesoro controlled 20% of the world's cash flow!
But strangely, very few people ever won big money at Grand Tesoro...
...
Blind gambler?
Everyone in the Dream Exploration Group looked at Ryuen. They'd all heard what Morgans said, but no one knew why Ryuen was looking for this blind gambler.
Nami handed the Den Den Mushi to Ryuen.
Ryuen took it and said straight away, "Morgans, just tell me exactly where he is. I'll take care of the rest."
"Huh?"
"Alright, got it..." Morgans was caught off guard for a moment.
Did he guess wrong?
He quickly gave Ryuen the blind gambler's exact location, along with the contact info for the person keeping an eye on him.
After hanging up, Ryuen saw everyone staring at him like curious kids.
"This blind gambler isn't just any ordinary guy. He's strong enough to become an Admiral. That's why I'm considering him as the next Admiral for the Marines." Ryuen smiled slightly as he spoke.
"A blind Admiral?"
Reina's eyes widened, her mouth slightly open in disbelief.
The others also frowned, clearly confused.
A blind man? And a gambler? How could someone like that be fit to be an Admiral? They couldn't help but doubt Ryuen's words.
Ryuen wasn't surprised by their reaction.
He knew it was hard to believe that someone who seemed so unremarkable could be that strong.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me. But it's true," Ryuen said calmly.
He paused for a moment, then added, "Kuina, he owns one of the twelve Supreme Grade swords. That's not something just anyone can get.
And on top of that, he has the Gravity Fruit—he's a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user!"
Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard that.
The Supreme Grade swords were legendary, and the Gravity Fruit was known to be rare and powerful.
"But what really makes him scary is his Observation Haki," Ryuen continued. "He can use it along with his gravity powers to call down meteors from space with ease.
It's the kind of power that leaves people speechless."
The group fell silent, thinking about everything Ryuen just told them.
A blind gambler, hiding such incredible strength—it was hard to imagine.
But after hearing Ryuen explain it all, they stopped doubting. Instead, they began to feel a quiet respect for the man.
"Ryuen, is his swordsmanship really that good?" Kuina's eyes were full of fighting spirit.
She couldn't help but grip her Wado Ichimonji tightly, like she was already eager to fight this warrior with one of the Supreme Grade swords.
"I'm not really sure about that," Ryuen replied, shaking his head.
He knew a bit about Issho, but not enough to judge how skilled he was with a sword.
"All I know is, this blind gambler's name is Issho. His Devil Fruit power is gravity, and his sword is one of the twelve Supreme Grade swords—Gambler's Hot Line."
"The important part is, he's not just strong. He also has a strong sense of justice. And his kind of justice fits perfectly with what the Marines need right now," Ryuen added.
After Ryuen finished speaking, everyone seemed to understand.
...
"So... Ryuen, are we heading to the Kingdom of Prodence to find this Issho guy now?" Nami turned her eyes to him.
Ryuen shook his head slightly and looked into the distance with a firm gaze. "No, we can't go see him directly right now.
If someone finds out we've been in contact with Issho, Akainu will definitely get suspicious. And if that happens, there's no way Issho would ever be allowed to become a Marine Admiral.
That would ruin our whole plan."
He took a deep breath and went on, "The global Marine draft just started, so Issho probably hasn't heard about it yet.
We just need to secretly send someone to leak a bit of information to him, and at the same time, let Aokiji know how strong he really is.
That way, we can avoid catching Akainu's attention, and make sure Aokiji supports Issho becoming a Marine Admiral."
After hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up with understanding.
Nami nodded and said, "I see now. You really thought this through. This way, we're not only helping Issho live out his idea of justice, but we're also setting things up for a better future."
With the plan set, Robin pulled out a bug-proof Den Den Mushi and dialed Aokiji's number.
...
Marine Headquarters.
After hanging up on Robin's call, Aokiji fell deep into thought.
"Issho... gravity powers... a Supreme Grade sword... If he really has one of those, then he must be strong. But still, why's he blind?"
---
You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my
pat reon.com/GMadman