Baccarat dipped into a graceful bow, the practiced smile of a concierge never leaving her lips. "Rhett Vane-sama, Tesoro-sama has asked that I escort you through the Golden City of Gran Tesoro."

Inside, however, her heart pounded. It was not just the pressure of standing before a newly crowned Emperor of the Sea, but also the shock of how effortlessly handsome Vane looked—young yet impossibly commanding. Even Baccarat, who spent her life charming pirates and kings alike, felt a twinge of awe.

Vane's companions stood on either side of him. Kalifa adjusted her glasses, eyeing Baccarat. "That smile screams professional hostess," she muttered to Esdeath.

"Average looks, a tan, and airs like a social butterfly," Esdeath replied, voice low.

"I could short-circuit her."

"I could freeze her solid."

Although their whispers were soft, Baccarat heard every word and broke out in a nervous sweat.

"Please, everyone, into the car," she urged, gesturing toward a sleek turtle-powered automobile. Four broad-shelled Muscle Turtles in sunglasses flexed beneath the chassis, ready to sprint the moment a jolt of electricity hit their reins.

With a crackle of current the turtles lurched forward, launching the car down a glittering boulevard lined with fountains of molten gold.

"I will begin with the high-end district," Baccarat said. Years of training under Gild Tesoro had made her the perfect guide, equal parts charm and calculation. In the past she lured naïve aristocrats into bottomless debt, turning them into Tesoro's indentured workers. But this time the strategy was different. Whitebeard had once walked these streets unmolested; the newest Emperor deserved at least that courtesy.

For Tesoro, treating Vane like royalty was an investment he could not afford to botch. The boy was only fifteen—yet his rise promised to reshape the New World's balance of power.

"I wonder where Vane-sama would like to go first?" Baccarat asked, voice honey-smooth.

"I'm looking for a place to stay," Vane said, gazing at the neon nightscape.

"The best suite in the highest-star hotel," Kalifa added crisply.

"Of course," Baccarat answered. The Muscle Turtles broke into a sprint, the car streaking past casinos, opera houses, and gold-leafed skyscrapers found nowhere else on the sea.

At Gran Tesoro's heart stood the Golden King Hotel, Tesoro-sama's own residence and the most extravagant palace in the city.

"Does the hotel serve food—or is it only for drinking?" Esdeath asked, puzzled by the foreign word.

Kalifa smirked. "Country girl, a hotel is for sleeping and eating both. Simple enough?"

Esdeath reddened. "Fine, I understand."

"You are adorable when you pout," Kalifa teased, earning a faint smile from Baccarat.

"Let's sight-see a bit before checking in," Vane said, leaning forward to drink in the swirling lights and distant fireworks.

"As you wish, Vane-sama." Baccarat guided the car through a plaza packed with revelers. Many of them, she knew, were victims of Tesoro's debt web, condemned to spend their lives repaying what they could never clear. Desire had chained them more tightly than any seastone.

---

Meanwhile, inside the Golden King Hotel, Gild Tesoro swirled a goblet shaped from living gold, crimson New World wine sloshing silently within. News of the fledgling Emperor's arrival had reignited his boredom-numbed heart.

"First Red-Haired Shanks at forty, and now a sixteen-year-old sets foot in the New World," Tesoro mused, shoulders shaking with quiet laughter. "The board is ready for another shuffle."

Beside him, Mr. Tanaka adjusted his sunglasses. "Vane-sama is not yet sixteen, Tesoro-sama."

"Fifteen, sixteen, what is a single year?" Tesoro tossed the wine back, the goblet melting into a ripple of gold at his feet. "The question is whether the Fire-Sword prodigy will topple the old order and reach Laugh Tale—or become another pirate king marched to the gallows like Roger."

He reclined on a velvet sofa, eyes fixed on the gilded ceiling. "I rule this city, Tanaka, because in a world where Berries are god, I am their highest priest."

"That is beyond doubt, Tesoro-sama," Tanaka replied.

Tesoro's grin widened as fireworks burst outside. Somewhere out there Rhett Vane was touring his streets. Whether the boy proved friend or foe, tonight Gran Tesoro glittered for him alone.

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