Flower Capital, Entertainment District.
Led by Unta and Kumagoro, Sephiroth arrived in front of a large building. Two blue curtains hung at the entrance, each with the character for "Bet" written on them.
"Boss, this is the biggest gambling house in the Flower Capital... It belongs to Kyoshiro," Unta said with a tone of pride.
"Oh," Sephiroth replied shortly, then he pushed the curtains aside and walked in.
Inside, a variety of gambling games were lined up: dice guessing, Pai Gow, flower betting, and cockfighting. The air was filled with the smell of tobacco smoke and the cries of the gamblers. Some were cheering excitedly because they had won, while others were frustrated from losing. A few of them even immediately borrowed money from the loan sharks beside them, hoping to turn their luck around. They knew that if they won, the high-interest debt could be repaid. But if they lost, they would have to go bankrupt and sell their children to pay for it all.
"Boss, what should we play? Cockfighting is great, the thrill is amazing!" Unta rubbed his hands, grinning.
Sephiroth simply patted the fat man's forehead. "When it comes to chickens, don't talk about it! Be civilized, you and me! Let's be 'harmonious!'"
Unta could only stare, confused.
Ignoring his younger brothers' overly vulgar suggestions, Sephiroth went straight to a dice-guessing table, found a cushion on the tatami mat, and sat down cross-legged.
The table was led by a buxom, beautiful woman. She had a black viper tattoo on her right hand and her hair was neatly tied into a bun. She took off her black kimono, leaving only white bandages wrapped around her chest. Every time she picked up the three dice and shook them inside the cup, her buxom chest swayed, drawing the attention of the gamblers.
Sephiroth came here for no other reason, just to see the culture and customs of Wano Country. While he was at it, he thought he might as well earn a little money to develop his power. After all, Wano Country is a closed country. If he suddenly introduced a large amount of gold from outside, its fragile economic system would surely collapse. Moreover, carrying a lot of gold openly would only invite suspicion.
Hmm! What if I ask for Tesoro's help, the one with the Goru Goru no Mi Devil Fruit ability, to replicate gold in the future? Sephiroth thought to himself.
Bang!
After shaking for a while, the dice cup in the beautiful woman's hand stopped on the tatami mat. She raised her hand, motioning for everyone to place their bets. Some people bet big, some bet small, and some, with the mentality of trying to make a huge profit, bet on specific numbers. The betting table was soon filled with silver pieces, with only a few gold pieces.
For ordinary people, guessing dice could only rely on luck. The dice cup in this gambling house used thick sound-absorbing material, making it impossible for ordinary gamblers to distinguish the numbers by listening. Even if they had Observation Haki, in such a noisy environment, with various sounds and the soundproof dice cup, it would be extremely difficult to know the number of points.
However, for Sephiroth, an expert in Observation Haki who could foresee the future for a short time, that was not a big problem!
Guessing dice = Making money.
For an Observation Haki expert like him, unless it was a gambling game where he had to bet first and then the dice were shaken, it was the same as putting money in his pocket. Even guessing numbers or spinning a wheel, as long as his Observation Haki was strong enough to foresee the future, he could know the result in advance before the wheel even spun!
It was like Fujitora, a blind man with an extremely strong Observation Haki. There was no difference for him whether he had eyes or not. Observation Haki allowed him to use another kind of sight to observe the entire world and foresee the future in the near term.
After Sephiroth knew the number of points on the dice, he did not hesitate at all. He took out fifty gold and threw it onto the "big" area.
His move immediately attracted the attention of many gamblers who secretly sneered at the youth's arrogance.
The beautiful woman then opened the dice cup, revealing three points: a six, a five, and a five. "Big!"
Seeing this scene, Kumagoro was shocked. "Wow! Boss, you're amazing, you could guess it!"
"As expected of the boss, so lucky!" Unta chimed in.
Sephiroth just smiled, without explaining, and collected his winnings.
When the woman shook the dice cup again and landed it on the tatami mat, he did not hesitate. He threw the hundred gold he had just won onto the "big" area.
"A five, a four, a six, big!"
"Wow!"
"He won again!"
"This guy is so lucky!"
The gamblers watched the beautiful woman give two hundred gold to Sephiroth, and their eyes were filled with envy. This man, in just a few minutes, had already made a big profit!
The woman shook the dice again. This time, because Sephiroth had won two times in a row, many people were staring at him and preparing to follow him. Kumagoro and Unta also took out some silver pieces from their pockets, waiting for him to place a bet.
Seeing that, Sephiroth smiled slightly, and he threw his two hundred gold onto the "small" area.
Whoosh!
Many gamblers also started placing bets into the "small" area.
"A one, a two, a four, small!"
"Oh!!!"
"Amazing!"
"I knew I should have bet more just now!"
The faces of the winning gamblers were beaming with happiness. They took their money, waiting for Sephiroth to continue his bets.
"I'm buying small this time!"
As the woman pressed down on the dice cup, Sephiroth immediately took fifty gold from the four hundred and bet it on the betting area. Seeing this scene, even more gamblers than before followed him in placing bets.
"A four, a five, a six, big!"
The crowd: "..."
"Oops! I lost!" Sephiroth pretended to be disappointed and scratched his head.
"What bad luck! I thought I could get my money back."
"Yeah!"
The gamblers who lost money with him looked sad, while some of the ones who had won were making cynical remarks.
"Hahaha! This little brother was just lucky for a moment, you thought you could win money constantly! It's really making people laugh out loud!"
"Who can win all the time!"
"That's right! Exactly!"
"Forget it, it seems like I've run out of luck here. I'll go play somewhere else."
Sephiroth chuckled as he took his three hundred and fifty gold and walked to another gambling table, muttering secretly in his heart, Phew! You guys still want to take advantage of me!? Then, it's up to you to be lucky!
After this incident, he found a problem. If he kept winning, someone would soon follow him. This would attract the attention of the gambling house. In this way, his idea of "shearing wool" from the gambling house would be ruined!
So, he began to move from table to table, betting with a win-lose strategy, but he was winning more than losing. Without him even realizing it, he had already accumulated three thousand gold, and it was beginning to attract the attention of the gambling house management.
Sephiroth knew very well that he had reached his limit. If he came back again, he would probably be blacklisted.
So, he went back to the dice-guessing table, sat in the same spot, and said, "Yo! Beautiful, I'm back!"
The woman was silent.
After seeing the points of the three dice in the cup, Sephiroth pushed all his three thousand gold onto the "small" area.
"A one, a one, a two, small!"
"Hiss--!"
The surrounding gamblers gasped in shock after seeing the dice points, and their faces showed shocked expressions.
"Sir, please wait a moment, I will go get the money."
The beautiful woman bowed to Sephiroth, then hurriedly walked into the backyard of the gambling house.
After a while, she came out again, but without bringing any money. She walked up to Sephiroth, bowed and said, "Sir, our boss, Mr. Kyoshiro, wants to meet with you. Can you please come with me?"
"Yes!"
Sephiroth nodded, put away his three thousand gold pieces, stood up, and followed the beautiful woman to the backyard.
Kumagoro took two quick steps, leaned into his ear, and whispered softly, "Boss, that crazy man is a ruthless gangster who just came out. You have to be careful!"
"Yes! Boss, why don't we just leave now!" Unta's face showed worry.
No matter how foolish they were, the two of them understood that something was wrong with this situation. They were afraid that Kyoshiro was unhappy with the way Sephiroth was making money, and they would also be targeted and hacked to death with him!
"Calm down! Calm down! Don't panic!"
Sephiroth chuckled and shook his head, declining their offer.