"So much money."
Looking at the golden corridor, Kong Tai shook his head slightly.
Clearly, this was not the passage used by Nami and the others in the original work. This place seemed more like Tesoro's personal domain.
This corridor was less about satisfying Tesoro's ostentatious display of wealth and more about being his final trap.
After all, these gold coins in his hands were no longer the gold that the whole world coveted, but a vibrant blood-red.
*Tap, tap, tap!*
In the vast golden passage, another group of people, aside from the owner, arrived before today.
Standing before a thick steel door reflecting the golden metallic light, Kong Tai grasped the hilt of his Zankō sword with his right hand, quickly drew it, swung it twice in front of him, and then performed a flourish with his right hand before sheathing it.
To a swordsman like him, such a steel door was no different from an ordinary door.
As the sound of him sheathing his sword echoed, it seemed to trigger something.
The massive steel door before them, like a perfectly fitted mold, began to slide inward with the application of external force.
*Bang—!*
The immense sound was deafening in the corridor. Of course, the landing of the thick steel door made the ground tremble violently.
However, no one paid any attention to these matters at the moment.
Gazing at the open steel door.
What everyone saw was a corridor that stretched endlessly, and on both sides of the corridor, long walls of Berries, like trains, were piled high.
Looking at all of this, astonishment filled everyone's eyes.
Honestly, even Kong Tai's heart couldn't help but skip a beat at such a scene.
In his two lifetimes, even having seen such scenes in movies in his previous life, experiencing it firsthand was far more thrilling.
However, he only felt a slight surge of excitement.
After all, in this life, in this world where martial power reigns supreme, his strength was too great. So great that if he willed it, he could easily issue a new currency, let alone amass the wealth before him.
Therefore, after the initial exhilaration, his heart quickly calmed down.
Behind him, after their initial excitement, Ah Hua and the others also quickly composed themselves.
After all, once money reaches a certain point, it becomes almost like waste paper in their eyes.
"Alright, we've seen it. Wait for me for a moment, I'll collect these Berries, and then we'll leave here and continue our adventure!"
Kong Tai turned around and smiled at his companions, then walked alone through the steel door.
He returned shortly the way he came and then, with his companions, descended via elevator.
As they departed, those two long walls of Berries also vanished.
As Kong Tai had said, he could keep the gold, but he wouldn't leave such a vast fortune to the World Government or pirates, not a single cent.
*Ding—!*
As the elevator doors opened, Kong Tai and his companions once again stood in the casino on the lowest floor.
Looking at the casino, which was now almost empty due to Tesoro's previous attack, Kong Tai paused slightly.
Because on the right side of the casino, along their path, at a dice table for betting on high or low, he saw an unexpected yet logical figure.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Kong Tai's anomaly, Kuina poked her head from Kong Tai's left, leaned on his shoulder, and looked towards the middle-aged man sitting at the gambling table. He was wearing a purple kimono, a black-purple obi, and a purple scarf around his neck, revealing only his back.
No matter how she looked, this middle-aged man appeared to be an ordinary person. Even when she used her Observation Haki, she could only sense an ordinary presence.
Yet, such an ordinary man dared to stay in the casino and, it seemed, was still gambling, completely unfazed by the commotion that had just occurred.
"Strange."
Recalling her gaze, Kuina turned her head to look at Kong Tai, saying with a solemn expression, "Kong Tai, this uncle is very strong."
If he could attract Kong Tai's attention, then this ordinary-looking uncle, in her perception, could not be ordinary, but a supreme expert.
Although she hadn't used her full strength to sense him, even so, it was enough.
"It's nothing."
Kong Tai reached out and patted Kuina's head, smiling and saying, "This uncle is indeed a character not inferior to an Admiral, but he is not a bad person. He is a wandering swordsman with his own sense of justice."
"You know him?"
Kuina glanced at the middle-aged man, then turned to look at Kong Tai and asked curiously.
"Mm!"
Kong Tai nodded, withdrew his gaze, and offered no further explanation.
Then, holding Kuina, he took the lead and walked forward.
As Kong Tai and the others approached, the middle-aged man showed no reaction, calmly pushing the chips in front of him towards the "high" or "low" positions on the gambling table.
On the other side of the table, at the dealer's standing position, a young bunny girl dealer was not so at ease.
She did not know what had happened upstairs, but as a dealer in the world's largest entertainment city, she had seen an astronomical number of people and handled countless Berries.
And as the creator of the biggest news of the past few days, it would be difficult for her not to recognize Kong Tai and his group.
If not for the professional demeanor she had cultivated over the years, she might have turned and fled at this moment.
However, even so, as Kong Tai and the others drew closer, the dealer's legs began to tremble, her breathing quickened, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her fair forehead.
"Open it!"
Although the dealer was dazed, the middle-aged man, an old gambler, was not. Despite being blind, despite losing nine out of ten bets, despite being poor, none of this prevented him from treating gambling as an inseparable part of his life.
"Ah! Oh..."
"Yes, guest, I'll open it now."
The dealer quickly regained her composure. They were just ordinary people. Surely the world-famous strongest silver-haired Kong Tai wouldn't harm them?
Thinking this, the dealer's heart inexplicably calmed down. Once calm, she quickly bent down and picked up the dice cup in front of her.
"Three, four, six. High."
"I apologize, guest, you've lost again."
Although the dealer said "I apologize," her actions were not slow at all. She quickly picked up a ruler beside her and swept the chips that the blind uncle had placed on "low" towards herself.
Then, she picked up the dice cup again, placed it over the dice, and skillfully raised it, shaking it.
Across from her, the blind uncle looked regretful.
He muttered to himself.
"I don't believe I can keep losing forever."
With that, he gritted his teeth fiercely and pushed all the remaining chips in front of him onto "low."
Looking at him, anyone who didn't know him would truly believe he was a gambler who had lost all his money.
While that was indeed the case, with his rationality, he would never have been driven to such a state.
At the very least, Kong Tai, standing behind him, could clearly feel his perpetually calm inner heart.