"I didn't expect he'd actually come here."

Gild Tesoro watched as Vane and the others made their way into the ordinary district of Gran Tesoro, a sly smile playing on his lips.

At that moment, Tesoro stepped onto the stage. The entire venue erupted in a thunderous uproar. Every spotlight in the Golden City converged on him. In his hand was a golden microphone, and as he gripped it, the pole extended to over a meter long in a gleaming flash.

"Tesoro!"

"Tesoro!"

"Golden Emperor!"

The crowd's wild cheers shook the air. They worshipped him, pouring all their fanatic enthusiasm into every chant. In this floating city, he was a god. And no matter how many years passed, he never tired of hearing their reverent cries.

Gild Tesoro — the Golden Emperor — ruled this city, a man who believed wealth bought everything, including life itself. And here, it did.

Raising his golden microphone high, Tesoro slowed his movement deliberately, relishing the attention. He let his hand hang for a heartbeat in the air before slamming the mic's base into a custom slot in the stage floor.

"Showtime!"

His voice rang out, and behind him, an enormous cascade of liquid gold poured down from the stage's upper decks. The roaring sound filled the air. But what truly left everyone breathless was that it wasn't light, or illusion, but pure, gleaming gold — endless wealth on display.

The power of the Gold-Gold Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, allowed Tesoro to manipulate gold freely. He could forge towering golden walls or turn it into liquid at will.

In Gran Tesoro, gold was king. And Tesoro was its emperor, master of this boundless wealth.

The crowd's excitement surged even higher. The Golden Emperor had ignited the entire arena.

Around him, dancers swayed and spun, shimmering under the lights, as Tesoro sang and danced among them.

He was a performer, a singer, a dancer, and above all else — a man intoxicated by the worship of others.

But for Vane and his crew, this was a mere sideshow.

They didn't stop to watch the spectacle, uninterested in Tesoro's theatrics. They had already entered Gran Tesoro's ordinary district.

The city was divided into two main sections: the ordinary area and the premium district. A sharp contrast between wealth and squalor, much like the world beyond the city's borders.

In a city built on vice and greed, sin was unavoidable. Tesoro's dark past had twisted his humanity long ago. In his eyes, money bought power, control, and ownership of others. And here, it was true. Anyone who lost their fortune in Gran Tesoro was doomed to live as a slave within its glittering prison.

Tesoro ruled it all. Backed by his immense wealth and connections to the Celestial Dragons, even the World Government treaded carefully around him.

"This place is incredible," Esdeath said, taking in the dazzling buildings surrounding them. Neon lights danced in the air, and peculiar vehicles unlike anything she'd seen in her own world zipped down the streets. In the world she came from — where carriages pulled by beasts were still the norm — this was an entirely new experience.

Since arriving in the pirate world, she'd spent most of her time aboard Vane's ship, the King. They'd visited Dressrosa, which with its Mediterranean-inspired streets reminded her somewhat of her homeland, but nothing so far had truly impressed her.

Cake Island, with its candy-colored landscape and strange, saccharine houses, had only irritated her.

But here, in Gran Tesoro, the endless streets of glittering gold, the lights reflecting in the water, and the towering structures mesmerized her.

Kalifa smirked, watching Esdeath stare wide-eyed.

"What's wrong, Ice Queen? Never seen a real city before?"

"I've seen more than you ever will, Glasses Girl. You sure you can see without them?"

"I can see you clearly enough to count your pores."

"Amazing."

As usual, the two traded light jabs, though beneath the banter was a grudging friendship.

Vane chuckled softly.

"Let's stay here for a few days," he said. "Gran Tesoro's ten kilometers long. No harm in seeing what it offers."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Captain."

"First, let's find a place to stay."

"And something to eat," Kalifa added, rubbing her stomach.

The group walked leisurely through the lively streets, passing rows of opulent shops and vendors.

Gran Tesoro was likely the most advanced and extravagant city in the world.

About a hundred meters ahead, a striking woman with long, crimson hair appeared in their path.

It was Baccarat.

A subordinate of Tesoro, Baccarat possessed the Luck-Luck Fruit — a Devil Fruit that allowed her to manipulate luck itself. While theoretically valuable, in practice, it was nowhere near as devastating as the Gold-Gold Fruit. Or perhaps Baccarat herself lacked the ambition to truly unleash its potential.

In contrast, Tesoro, with his monstrous aptitude and ruthless nature, had pushed the Gold-Gold Fruit to near-awakened levels.

Devil Fruit awakening was rare, a unique phenomenon attainable only by the most formidable users.

Baccarat had come at Tesoro's command to personally greet Vane. Though the Golden Emperor considered himself untouchable in Gran Tesoro, he was no fool. He understood well the power of the Four Emperors. While he might pretend to act with casual bravado, Tesoro knew better than to openly challenge a pirate emperor — especially one as young and unpredictable as Vane.

Should Vane choose to act, even Tesoro could fall in an instant.

---

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