He hated the current Celestial Dragons not because he disliked their behavior or conduct but because they refused to take him back.
His father made him fall from the “altar.” In his view, without his father’s actions, he would still be a high and mighty Celestial Dragon.
However, what has happened cannot be undone. He could never be a Celestial Dragon again. Since he cannot return, he wanted everyone to fall together. This was Doflamingo’s idea.
As someone born a Celestial Dragon, he knew many secrets about them. He understood that achieving his goal couldn’t be done just by talking. To fulfill his revenge, he meticulously planned and developed himself bit by bit.
Gran Tesoro was full of opportunities. He had already seen many key figures of the Underworld and was preparing to get in touch with them.
The Donquixote Pirates planned to enter the New World next year, and this was him paving the way in advance.
Doflamingo did not bring his subordinates here with him. He had to handle these matters personally, the middlemen being his targets. During this time, his identity as an “distributor of the Beasts Pirates” helped him a lot.
Doflamingo’s name still has some value in North Blue or the first half of the Grand Line, but in the New World, no one knew who he was. The industry giants completely disregarded him.
Without the title of Shichibukai, he was just a pirate worth over a hundred million. Such people were dime a dozen in the New World, making him nothing special.
But being associated with the Beasts Pirates was different. At least it showed that he had some connection with them, so those people were willing to give the Beasts Pirates some face and listen to what he had to say.
Overall, Doflamingo’s development was relatively smooth, and he achieved significant results during the party.
When he walked back to his room, his gait was much more arrogant than before.
…
The next morning, Issho woke up in his room, changed his clothes in a practiced manner, picked up the swordstick beside him, and walked out. Although he still used it as a white cane to explore the path ahead, it was just for show. Whether he had it or not, it didn’t affect his walking.
A new day began. He decided to go to the casino again to test today’s luck.
He rarely went to the same casino twice. Casinos that used tricks were usually flattened by him, while those that didn’t and could afford to lose would blacklist him. No one could bear to have him win every day.
Issho usually wouldn’t tempt fate, but there was only one casino on Gran Tesoro, so he decided to give it a try. To his surprise, he was not stopped at all and was promptly paid after he won.
Tesoro had prepared many means, but those means were not for ordinary people. He could afford to lose to regular folks, and if some people had good luck, he accepted it. These means were used in special situations.
He also discovered something interesting. People were not allowed to lose everything they had. Instead, they were kicked out after losing half of their money.
“Let me go! I can make a comeback. What kind of casino doesn’t do business?”
“Sorry, we make the rules here. Your luck has run out today. Do you really want to lose everything?”
This was a small rule set by Tesoro. He used to be a gambler and knew the feeling of being addicted to gambling, so he set this rule for the guests in the ordinary hall to give them a cooling-off period.
He never considered himself a good person, nor did he think he is qualified to be one. Good people wouldn’t touch so many gray industries. The “good people” here had long been eaten clean. He just had his own bottom line.
The Beasts Pirates have special personnel patrolling here to handle situations like this. They also bring qualified individuals to the VIP hall, where there are no such restrictions.
In the end, that person was thrown out of the casino. As the cold wind blew over his head, he seemed to sober up a lot.
“Interesting rule…”
Issho, who only played one game, also walked out. At this time, a voice was broadcasted to the entire Gran Tesoro.
“Everyone, the postponed concert will start in half an hour. Interested friends can participate in the event at the central square. Don’t worry if you can’t find a seat; you can enjoy the concert throughout Gran Tesoro!
Our new star, Uta’s debut concert!”
Tesoro’s voice came from the microphone. Then, they noticed that the sky above had changed, and a fantastical palace appeared in the sky.
The sky was filled with jagged rocks, as if showcasing the extraordinary craftsmanship of nature to the humans, and the palace at the center gradually turned into a stage.
This was Uta’s debut venue, created by Ann’s Vision-Vision Fruit to produce fake projections.
Ann’s illusions didn’t deceive senses like Olga’s illusions did, bringing real touch. One could pass through them and were entirely fake illusions. However, they were easier to create.
This is what Tesoro discovered during this period. As long as there were images with settings information in documents, Ann could project them. The consumption was minimal, and even large-scale illusions could last a long time.
So, Tesoro tried something. He specifically hired artists and authors to write a book and carefully annotate the images with data. Then, he tore it up and handed it to Ann to see if she could project it. The result was positive.
Since then, Ann became the dedicated special effects artist. Any scene that could be drawn and marked with precise data, Ann could project it.
Large screens appeared on the ship’s buildings, playing pre-recorded advertisements while also conducting final tests.
Uta stood on a prepared basket. Later, Heracross would carry her to the stage in the sky. The basket had many speakers installed, but with Heracross’s strength, it wasn’t a problem.
Although the concert hadn’t started, the background already attracted everyone’s attention.
Listening to the surrounding people’s exclamations, Issho also looked up. However, he sensed nothing there, only detecting faint power fluctuations.
“What a pity. It must be a spectacular scene.”
“Yeah, it’s an amazing special effect, but you can’t see it, old man. Want me to describe it for you?”
Yamato and others appeared near Issho, holding cheering sticks. Seeing that the blind old man had really appeared, Yamato made this suggestion.
“Haha, then I’ll trouble you. Let me hear how spectacular it is.”
Ordinary people were just amazed by the gorgeous special effects, but for some people, it was different.
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