"If you can do it, go ahead and try."
Seated before the gambling table, Ozz smiled and lightly extended one hand.
The direction he reached toward happened to be Baccarat, whose figure was as alluring as ever.
"Ability... what does that mean? Is she a Devil Fruit user?" Usopp asked, confused.
Mr. Tanaka gave a sly laugh. Since they were temporarily allies, he answered.
"Slulululu... That's right. Baccarat ate the Paramecia-type Luck-Luck Fruit. She can absorb the luck of anyone she touches."
"Luck?!"
Nami and the others' jaws nearly hit the floor.
"Doesn't that mean she can win every time in a casino?!"
"There's actually such a cheating Devil Fruit?!"
The thought left them shivering. If they had unknowingly been targeted by that ability in a casino, they would have lost everything down to their underwear.
"Then... if we have that Devil Fruit ability on our side, doesn't that mean beating Mr. Ozz isn't impossible?!" Usopp said, smiling as if it were obvious.
"That only exists in theory."
In truth, Tesoro's side was still doubtful.
Could the Luck-Luck Fruit really work on this legendary man?
In theory, as long as even the tiniest chance of winning existed, the Luck-Luck Fruit could magnify it without limit.
It was similar to Baccarat's fighting style. She could casually toss a coin and turn a chain of extremely unlikely coincidences into reality, causing her opponent to suffer miserably.
But the premise was that the possibility had to exist in the first place.
For example, no amount of luck could let an ordinary person defeat Imu.
Multiply zero probability ten thousand times, and it was still zero.
But many members of the Straw Hats were clearly optimistic.
They believed that with Luffy's good luck and the Luck-Luck Fruit's support, even a hopeless situation could gain a sliver of hope.
They all looked at Baccarat.
Baccarat slowly removed her gloves and lightly stepped over to Ozz's side.
"Forgive my rudeness, Lord Ozz."
Somewhat nervous, Baccarat placed her hands on Ozz's shoulders and began massaging him. At the same time, she activated the Luck-Luck Fruit and started absorbing his luck.
But...
How should she describe this?
At that moment, Baccarat felt like a water pump facing an entire lake, or perhaps a vast sea.
Just how terrifying was this fortune?!
If an ordinary person's luck, enough to earn a lot of money and have a happy family, was valued at ten, then Ozz's luck had to be counted in units of ten thousand.
He was the strongest man of an era, a true monster who controlled the fate of countless people. His luck, or perhaps his destiny, was terrifyingly dense.
After absorbing it for a while, Baccarat even felt as if she had been stuffed full.
"What a strange feeling. My body feels a little heavier."
Ozz's Observation Haki was sensitive to an extreme degree. At that moment, he only felt that his body was not as light as usual. It was a vague, indescribable sensation.
"But it doesn't really matter."
Just as Ozz said that, the chandelier above the VIP room seemed to loosen and sway, as if it were about to fall right onto his head.
But in the next second, it became firm again.
"It's useless."
Ozz sat before the table, one hand supporting his face, his expression barely changing.
Within the range of his Observation Haki, no movement, no matter how small, could escape his senses. No change could affect him either.
Even a cannonball that had accidentally been fired toward his direction from several kilometers away exploded mysteriously before it came anywhere near the VIP room.
Within ten thousand meters around Ozz, all matter was under his control.
He could not imagine how he was supposed to suffer bad luck.
"This is the limit."
Baccarat returned to Tesoro's side, sweat faintly showing on her face.
"Lord Ozz did not use Haki to resist just now."
"I see."
Tesoro hesitated slightly. Seeing Ozz sitting there unharmed, he did not look at all flustered by bad luck.
"No matter what, we have to try."
He then looked toward Luffy.
"You're a man with good luck, aren't you? Then you'll be the one to gamble against Mr. Ozz."
"Oh, sure."
The representative did not matter much to their side. As long as Luffy winning benefited them, the "strong luck" Baccarat had absorbed from Ozz would take effect on him.
Luffy walked over to Ozz and sat on the stool. Together, they looked toward the huge covered dice.
One was Ozz, whose luck had been drained.
The other was Luffy, supported by their side's strong luck.
"Who do you think will win, Mihawk?" Little Sand asked, clearly very interested.
As a veteran gambler, she actually felt the urge to join in herself.
Unfortunately, many years ago, she had already lost herself to Ozz and owed him hundreds of billions of berries.
Although Ozz had never asked her to repay it, she had also lost the right to gamble with him.
As for Little Hawk, he turned his face slightly toward her and calmly looked in Ozz's direction.
"Who knows?"
"At least I've never seen that man lose."
At that moment, Ozz sat calmly before the gambling table, watching as the two giant dice were sealed inside.
In his lowered eyes, a faint scarlet glow slowly bloomed.
He saw the future.
No matter what number he called, if he did not interfere, the final result would be the opposite of his guess.
"So when your luck is bad, nothing goes your way?"
"I choose odd."
Ozz said it lightly, as if he was not worried at all about the future he had seen.
"Then I choose even," Luffy said directly, trusting his luck.
With a loud bang, the huge dice cup was smashed open.
Everyone stared at the center of the smoke with full tension.
Only Ozz casually took a sip of water.
When he felt something stuck between his teeth, he forcibly teleported it into his stomach.
See?
As long as you were strong enough, you could suppress any amount of bad luck.
Inside, the two dice showed one and five.
Together, they made an even number.
"Oh! I won!"
Luffy jumped up happily, raising his fist and laughing.
"We... we really won?!"
Usopp and the others were moved to tears. They had never expected their wish to actually come true.
"Oh? Did you really win?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"
