Chapter 437 – Protection of Dressrosa.

    [Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]

    Third Person POV

    New Word.

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    While the world continued reacting to the war between Yonkos, in Dressrosa, not even an hour had passed since the two old men had met at the betting house. As they played calmly, someone entered the establishment.

    At that moment, the betting house manager looked surprised at the new visitor and quickly approached the newcomer.

    "Lord Luffy, it is an honor to have you here. If I had known of your presence, we would have organized a reception worthy of you!" He seemed eager as Luffy entered, but the latter merely shrugged it off. Many people treated him this way now, and it was often irritating.

    "You don''t need to be so formal. I''m just passing through. I want to talk to one of my guests," Luffy said calmly as he walked forward, stopping in front of the two men betting, who seemed deeply focused on the game.

    "Mr. Luffy, it''s good to see you here. I hope you bring me some luck," Fujitora murmured with a smile, not even glancing at Luffy, who kept his attention on the game.

    However, beside him, his opponent threw an unsatisfied look at Luffy, seeming to think he might use Conqueror''s Haki to intimidate him.

    Luffy merely smiled at this, unconcerned that before him sat a monster, even greater than Fujitora.

    The man observed Luffy''s silence and said nothing as well, returning to the game while it continued. It was a card game—poker. Chips clattered onto the table continuously as they played on. Both eventually laid down their cards after trying to bluff each other in a particularly tense round. They each aimed to outwit the other until, in the end, Fujitora lost after revealing his hand.

    "Tell me, Mr. Luffy, did I lose?" Fujitora asked, a glimmer of hope in his tone.

    "You could have spoken directly to me, Fujitora. I don''t think I''m petty enough to cheat a blind old man out of some gold..." The man in front of Fujitora spoke in a stern tone, also casting a displeased look, seeming offended at the insinuation of dishonesty in gambling.

    "Our guest is right, Fujitora. You lost," Luffy said, as the result was clear.

    "That''s unfortunate... It seems I''ll have to work for the rest of the day to earn some money and play again tomorrow..." Fujitora remarked in conclusion.

    Luffy raised an eyebrow. That man simply worked to rebuild Dressrosa, helping the other citizens, earning money just to gamble against that opponent and, invariably, lose. Although he sometimes won, the truth was that Fujitora always ended up at a loss, playing until he had nothing left.

    ''This guy... How can he be a Marine Admiral like this?'' Luffy couldn''t help but think as he watched Fujitora begin to stand and leave his chips behind with a sorrowful expression.

    Luffy merely sighed as Fujitora departed and turned back to the man still seated, now gazing at him.

    "Is it alright if I play with you?" Luffy asked, ignoring Fujitora, while the other man narrowed his eyes at him.

    "Fine. It''ll just be more money for me, considering you''ve been ignoring me for a month," the man said with some irritation.

    "Don''t take it the wrong way. I told you, I''ve been training my crew. And I''m a new father—I had to give some attention to my family and relax a bit. I need a vacation too, don''t you think? After all, you''ve lived a long life. We young folks need to enjoy ours as well," Luffy said calmly, while the man stared at him with emotionless eyes for a moment.

    "May I sit?" Luffy spoke again after the silence, taking the seat Fujitora had vacated and facing his new opponent.

    Meanwhile, he addressed the manager standing nearby, beginning to pull several sacks of gold from his pocket.

    "Take this and exchange it all for chips," he said, as the man widened his eyes and scrambled to catch the sacks tumbling onto him, falling flat to the floor under their weight.

    "Lord Luffy!! I don''t think we can accept this from you!!" the manager murmured hesitantly. After all, Luffy stood above King Riku and was the hero of this country.

    "This must be worth around 500,000,000," Luffy commented calmly before standing and looking at the seated man. "Thank you. Don''t worry, keep all this money. After all, I don''t want you to go unrewarded for the service you''ll do for me. Although it''s not much, I''ll reward you more next time we meet, Patrick Redfield," Luffy said, walking out, leaving the man deep in thought as he watched the Straw Hat''s back disappear into the streets of Dressrosa.

    "Well, looks like I don''t have a choice," the man murmured, letting a smile escape his lips.

    Luffy was satisfied he had managed to convince him. He had arrived over a month ago, and Luffy hadn''t wanted to face him then. The idea of using him for protection had come just a few days ago. In Dressrosa, Luffy had already ensured protection against any Government attack, but having Patrick Redfield would make things even better.

    He didn''t know exactly what the Government would do, but he knew they wouldn''t use Uranus to destroy his kingdom. After all, Dressrosa and the other allied kingdoms were under the world''s watchful eye at the moment. An attack of that scale would damage the World Government''s reputation.

    "It''s still morning... Now, let''s see how the others are organizing for tomorrow''s departure," Luffy said at last before disappearing into the skies over Dressrosa.

    Meanwhile, his crew and fleet were scattered across various islands and kingdoms, preparing themselves to finally march to war.

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