At this moment on Gran Tesoro, Knight appeared just like any other regular tourist, touring around the place. He would occasionally tap his fingers on the walls as he walked, but unlike the ordinary tourists, he knew the true nature of this place.
The current Gran Tesoro was completely different from the one in the original timeline. Tesoro wasn’t using the power of the Gol-Gol Fruit to enslave people through bets and wagers.
The core staff on the ship were from the Beasts Pirates, while the remaining employees were recruited from all over the world. However, the supervisors and such were all retired members of the Beasts Pirates. In addition to that, many of the shops onboard were franchises.
To open a store here, one had to pay high franchise fees and rent, and Tesoro would also take a portion of the profits. On top of that, there were taxes. This added up to a significant expense.
Even so, those who wanted to open a shop on Gran Tesoro had to pull some strings and even get a recommendation from officials of the World Government.
As a special center of the gray economy, the revenue generated here was enormous. Even though Tesoro took the biggest share, the shop owners could still earn vast amounts of money from tourists who came from all over the world.
The people who could afford to travel here were not regular salaried workers. Most of them have already achieved financial freedom, or at least they have brought enough Berries and are ready to spend lavishly.
In the midst of the crowd, Knight appeared quite ordinary, just like a regular tourist.
His squad had been wiped out during the mission targeting Queen. Although he managed to fake his death and escape using his Devil Fruit ability, bringing back some fragments of Arceus Steel, it wasn’t enough to offset the punishment for his failure. This was something Cipher Pol agents were used to—no matter how great their achievements had been, any failure that harmed the government’s interests would result in punishment.
Sometimes, those being punished couldn’t even understand why. Who’s-Who was a prime example. He could never figure out why the higher-ups were so furious over an ordinary Devil Fruit.
Training a CP0 agent required a significant investment, and since his squad was annihilated, Knight, as the captain, had to bear some responsibility. As a result, the intelligence operation concerning Gran Tesoro was handed over to him.
Though it seemed like a relaxed assignment, it was far from risk-free. This mission involved power struggles among the Celestial Dragon families, and there was always the threat posed by the Beasts Pirates. Moreover, it was incredibly time-consuming.
Gran Tesoro might have been called a ship, but in essence, it was a maritime city. Knight didn’t believe that such a massive ship’s cabin was hollow inside. He was certain there were things hidden within, but he just hadn’t found the entrance yet.
It looked like an ordinary tourist city, but the ten-kilometer-long deck had been built like a maze. He had also witnessed the structures on Gran Tesoro transforming multiple times for various special events.
This was why it had taken so long to construct Gran Tesoro. Arceus Steel, a shape-shifting metal, had also been used in its design.
He had already been here for some time, spending a considerable amount of money, but with no real results. The Celestial Dragon who had ordered him here was starting to lose patience.
Spending money was inevitable. If someone came to a place like this and didn’t spend a dime, it would surely raise suspicions.
The Celestial Dragon didn’t care about these small expenses, but they couldn’t tolerate him wasting the money.
“Damn Queen and the Beasts Pirates…”
Thinking of the source of his failure, Knight’s mood soured. Just then, another firework bloomed in the sky, and at the highest point of Gran Tesoro, Tesoro appeared on a platform with his subordinates.
The screens on the ship switched to this new scene.
“Everyone, I bring you some exciting news! Gran Tesoro will be randomly selecting a few lucky individuals to enjoy an unprecedented level of special service for the rest of their trip—and it’s completely free!”
“Whoever gets the golden ticket will be the lucky winner!”
As Tesoro spoke, he signaled Baccarat, who released several balloons. As the balloons exploded among the crowd, colorful tickets filled the sky. No one noticed that Baccarat’s hands were subtly glowing with a faint light.
The power of her Luck-Luck Fruit had already been activated. What appeared to be a random event was, in fact, fully under her control.
Knight had no intention of participating in this. He planned to take advantage of the new event to infiltrate some areas that were usually off-limits. However, just then, a gust of sea breeze blew by, and a golden ticket floated over and fell directly on his head.
He took the ticket off his head, and before he could even examine it, several spotlights shined down.
“Congratulations to all the lucky winners! By the way, that ticket is made of Pure Gold, so please don’t wander off. The staff will soon guide you to a new area for your tour.”
Holding the golden, foil-like ticket in his hand and noticing the envious stares from the people around him, Knight decided not to draw any attention and followed the staff to Gran Tesoro’s main venue.
Since his plan had been disrupted, he figured he might as well see what’s this new event.
A scattered group of over twenty people gathered together, and then the stage began to rise and fall. Each person found themselves standing on an individual elevator that took them to different areas. As the light and darkness shifted around him, Knight realized that everyone around him had disappeared.
Although he felt something was off, he didn’t become suspicious just yet. After all, he couldn’t think of any reason why he would be exposed. He hadn’t taken any action yet and, at most, looked like a tourist behaving a little suspiciously.
He had assumed this was some kind of special venue, but upon closer inspection, he realized he seemed to be in the middle of a desert, surrounded by dazzling sand.
“Is anyone there? What is going on?”
Knight shouted as he scooped up a handful of sand, only to discover that it wasn’t ordinary sand—it was all pure gold.
A sense of dread began to build inside him, but he didn’t act. After all, he was still maintaining his cover as an ordinary person, and regular tourists didn’t know how to use Geppo.
Just then, the surrounding golden sand seemed to come alive. The sand began to gather and swirl, quickly surrounding him from all sides. The golden sand then started to melt, transforming into an opera house-like structure made entirely of gold, with Knight standing at the center of stage, while up in the audience seating, Tesoro appeared.
“Mr. Tesoro, is this the ‘surprise’ you were talking about? It doesn’t seem very friendly.”
“If you were an ordinary tourist, this wouldn’t be happening. But you’ve crossed a line, haven’t you, Mr. Knight?”
The golden sand had all been manipulated by Tesoro’s powers, and this golden theater was a special space he had prepared.
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