"So, the auction starts tomorrow, right? Why aren't we there yet?"
After glaring at Oliver, Betilla grabbed her silver rapier and walked over with an impatient expression.
"Now, now, have some patience. After entering this sea area, we've already seen several ships. Our destination shouldn't be far," Aeridar said, waving his hand, taking a sip of juice through his straw with a content look.
"Hear that, woman? Be patient," Oliver said in a deliberately annoying tone.
"You bastard~"
Betilla's beautiful eyes widened as she glared at Oliver, slowly unsheathing her rapier.
"Ane, calm down, calm down, calm down..."
A beautiful, long-legged blonde woman in a dark green coat quickly ran over and hugged Betilla, stopping her from drawing her sword.
"Woah, woah! We're at sea here! Don't do anything crazy!"
Aeridar and Oliver were also startled, jumping out of their deck chairs. With Betilla's swordsmanship, a single swing could be enough to critically damage the entire ship. The blonde beauty tried to reason with Betilla for a long time, and Aeridar even sent Oliver to the stern of the ship. Only then did Betilla's anger subside.
The blonde beauty was a former subordinate of Betilla and the second-in-command of the Rain Scorpion Pirates. In that battle, most of the casualties were low-level crew members. Perhaps because the Rain Scorpion Pirates had many female members, a lot of them were captured. The remaining captured crew members were all placed under Betilla's command after she joined, forming the Seventh Division, though it wasn't fully staffed.
"I didn't take in a subordinate, I took in a living ancestor," Aeridar grumbled in his heart, looking at the still-furious Betilla.
Oliver had a vicious tongue and was always trying to provoke people, while Betilla was the type of person who would explode at the slightest provocation. The key point was, according to her former subordinate, she didn't used to have such a hot temper. Aeridar guessed that she was trying to save face after joining him, which was why she acted this way. However, Betilla's attitude made Aeridar feel a little more at ease.
"Captain! I-I see the target!!! Oh my god!!!"
At that moment, the lookout's broadcast echoed, his voice filled with shock. However, when Aeridar and the others looked up, the entire ship was already silent.
In the distance, a massive golden ship, resembling an island, was anchored at sea. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with a brilliant gold, looking like a literal mountain of gold.
"Gulp~ Is that... fake?"
"Oh my god~ that's an island, isn't it?!"
"I must be seeing things, I must be!"
"H-How much gold would that take?!"
"That's unbelievable! Is all the gold in the world there?"
Seeing the golden ship that resembled an island, along with its tall golden buildings, the crew members couldn't help but swallow. Their eyes were filled with disbelief and a hint of greed they didn't even realize they had.
"No wonder they call that guy the Golden Emperor."
Betilla was completely stunned. She had never seen so much gold before.
"That guy... he really has a way with things! Gran Tesoro!"
Although Aeridar knew that this was Tesoro's Devil Fruit ability, such a huge golden ship still left him in awe.
"It's far beyond the City of Gold we saw in Skypiea."
Oliver, at the stern, was also shocked. Even after seeing something as magnificent as the City of Gold, he was still stunned. It was nothing short of a miracle.
While everyone was still in shock, the Chris Pirates' ship was already approaching the island-like golden ship. Compared to the enormous golden ship, which was tens of thousands of meters long and had towering walls like those of a god's city, the Chris, which was only a hundred meters long and twenty meters high, looked like an ant. It made everyone feel insignificant.
As they approached the entrance, they also saw two giant sea turtles pulling the golden ship, but they seemed to be sleeping. The turtles' shells that were exposed above the water looked like small, uninhabited islands. At the entrance, four prominent golden spiral horns extended out. In the middle was Gild Tesoro's skull symbol. On both sides were neon signs shaped like playing cards, with a huge neon sign that read "GRAN TESORO" on top of them. A golden crown was placed on top of the sign, and everything was golden, giving it a truly magnificent appearance.
"Gran Tesoro..."
Betilla stared ahead, her shock still not fading. The Chris entered through a dark gate. As the ship went in, a faint yellow light gradually lit up...
"Is this... gold dust?!"
Aeridar caught some of the glowing powder falling from above.
"This is real gold!"
Betilla also caught some, and a berry sign appeared in her eyes.
"Wow, even the water is golden."
Oliver came from the stern and leaned on the railing, looking at the golden sea.
"Hmph~"
Seeing Oliver, Betilla snorted and ignored him. Just as Oliver was about to say something, Aeridar rushed over, covered his mouth, and whispered fiercely, "Shut up! Just be quiet!"
After Aeridar's warning, Oliver reluctantly swallowed what he was about to say.
Seeing that Oliver was being quiet, a happy smile appeared on Betilla's face. For a moment, it was as if flowers were blooming. Her beautiful face stunned the nearby crew members.
"Stop embarrassing yourselves! Wipe off your drool! Haven't you ever seen a woman before?!" Oliver scolded the pig-like expressions of his subordinates.
"I have a bad feeling about this gold dust..."
Aeridar frowned as he looked at the falling gold dust.
Suddenly, a look of understanding came over Aeridar, and he said with an ugly expression, "Tesoro... he's playing this card. We're inhaling this gold dust through our noses and mouths. If there's gold dust in our bodies, he can control us!"
Thinking of this, Aeridar's eyes narrowed. He shivered, shaking off the gold dust on his body. At the same time, his internal organs, bones, and blood began to vibrate.
"Ptooey~"
A few seconds later, Aeridar spat out a lump of golden, blood-streaked phlegm. Seeing the golden phlegm he had spat into the sea, Aeridar's expression confirmed his suspicions.
Tesoro, the user of the Gold-Gold Fruit, could control gold.
So once the gold dust entered a person's body, he could easily control and kill them with it.
It seemed that anyone who passed through this tunnel and entered Gran Tesoro would have their life completely controlled by Tesoro. Combined with his awakened Gold-Gold Fruit ability and home-field advantage, it could be said that he was virtually invincible and his ability was almost inescapable here.
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