Snapping out of her daze, Reiju met the sharp, suspicious gazes of Pudding and Galette, who were both glaring daggers at her. Lucas, standing nearby, wore his usual half-smile, as if thoroughly enjoying the tension in the room.
Reiju flushed with embarrassment and hurried to explain. "Don't get the wrong idea—I only said that to trick Judge!"
Lucas nodded approvingly. "Relax. You did it for me, after all. But don't worry, I'll make sure to help you live up to those big words."
Reiju's face fell. What's that supposed to mean? she thought, already dreading what Lucas had in mind. It's not enough that you're after Germa's technology—you want to make me the princess of Germa too?
In the Chat Group
Whitebeard's laughter echoed in the chat.
Whitebeard: "Gurararara…..Lucas, that's enough! The girl's already had a rough life. Stop teasing her."
Fire Fist Ace: "I always thought my life was the most tragic. But now? There are people who've had it way worse than me."
Pirate King Roger : "…"
Sometimes, even the Pirate King had no words for Lucas's antics.
Fire Fist Ace "My mom… she gave her life to bring me into the world. I never got to meet her, but she gave me the greatest gift of all—her love."
Fisher Tiger: "I agree. Your mother was a great woman. It's just a shame your father wasn't worth a damn. He ruined her life."
Fire Fist Ace : "Yeah. I've hated Roger my whole life. All he left me was a legacy of infamy and hatred. But at least if I keep my identity hidden, no one can really hurt me."
Whitebeard : "Silly boy! It's easy to say that, but much harder to live it. The World Government will never stop hunting you. And no matter how tough you act, no one can truly ignore the weight of other people's opinions."
Fire Fist Ace : "I'm not denying my life's been tragic. But honestly? It's not the worst. The Charlotte family and the Vinsmoke family? They've got it way worse."
Whitebeard : "I won't argue with that. They've definitely had it rougher than you."
Fire Fist Ace :"At least I don't have a mother who'd eat me alive, or a father who'd turn me into an experiment. No one's ever tried to sell me off as a tool for marriage or sacrifice."
Gold Thief Woonan : "When you put it like that, yeah, they've had it pretty bad. Imagine being eaten by your own mother or used by your father for experiments."
Fire Fist Ace : "Compared to them, I'm lucky. I've got a brother like Luffy who'd risk everything for me, and even Gramps—Garp—who, despite being a pain, still cares about me."
The chat went silent for a moment.
Pirate King Roger finally broke it.
Pirate King Roger: "Let's not bring Garp into this."
Lucas: "Don't worry! I won't let beautiful girls with tragic pasts suffer. Leave them to me—I'll take good care of them."
Another wave of silence hit the chat.
Lucas: "What's the matter, Whitebeard? Oh, I get it! You've got that Ice Witch in your crew, don't you? I've seen her…"
Whitebeard's message appeared, then disappeared almost immediately.
[Message Deleted]
Lucas : "Don't unsend that—I'm serious! Speaking of your crew, it's rare to find any daughters among all your 'sons.' Don't worry, though! I only have eyes for the beautiful ones. The ugly ones? They're safe."
Whitebeard : "I was wrong to say anything!"
Lucas : No, you were right! Thanks for reminding me. Speaking of which… those nurses who treated you when you were alive? They were all beautiful, weren't they? Where'd they go?"
Whitebeard : "Whitebeard officially petitions for silence."
After his playful exchange in the chat group, Lucas turned his attention back to the room. Reiju was still standing there, embarrassed and unsure, while Pudding and Galette exchanged annoyed glances, clearly not over the earlier misunderstanding.
With a shrug, Lucas signaled that he'd be stepping out. "It'll take a while for Judge to show up. I've got some serious business to handle first."
Three women under one roof could stir up quite the drama, but Lucas wasn't interested in that—not today. He had bigger fish to fry.
Now was the perfect time to handle Tesoro.
Golden City – Top Floor
On the top floor of the Golden City, Gild Tesoro sat with his three closest confidants. The tension in the room was thick. Tesoro's normally confident demeanor had vanished, replaced by nervous fidgeting.
"As rumored, Lucas has the powers of the Gold-Gold Fruit…" Tesoro muttered, his face darkening. The idea of someone else wielding the same fruit ability didn't sit well with him. In fact, it terrified him.
He finally snapped, his voice sharp. "When is the Marine supposed to arrive?"
Mr. Tanaka, ever the loyal subordinate, replied quickly. "We've adjusted our course to head toward Marine Headquarters to shorten their travel time. But even with that, it'll take over ten days for them to get here."
Ten days?!
Tesoro's heart sank. If Lucas had any ill intentions, he'd be dead and buried long before the Marines arrived.
"Tesoro, don't be so hard on the Marines," one of his subordinates murmured. "They don't have the power to fly or teleport. Making it here in ten days is pretty fast, all things considered."
But before Tesoro could respond, a cold, unfamiliar voice echoed through the room.
"Is that so?"
A section of the golden wall suddenly liquefied, and Lucas stepped through, his presence filling the room like a storm cloud.
"Lord Lucas!"
Tesoro forced a smile, rising from his seat with exaggerated politeness. "What an unexpected pleasure!" he greeted, his voice dripping with false warmth.
Lucas eyed him with amusement, his smirk predatory. "I hear you've been busy entertaining the Celestial Dragons. How's that going for you?"
Tesoro's smile faltered, but he recovered quickly. "I wanted to meet with you as soon as you arrived, but you were occupied with Germa 66. I didn't want to interrupt."
Lucas's expression didn't change. His tone, however, grew sharper. "Oh? And tell me, Tesoro—how does serving the Celestial Dragons now compare to when you were their slave?"
The room fell into stunned silence.
Tesoro's face went pale, and his body stiffened. The mention of his dark past cut deeper than any blade.
His three confidants stared in shock, the revelation hitting them like a ton of bricks. None of them had expected Lucas to strike at Tesoro's deepest wound so effortlessly.
Lucas took a step forward, his eyes narrowing. "So, tell me—when you cater to the Celestial Dragons these days, does it feel any different from when you were groveling at their feet as a slave?"
In the Chat Group
Fisher Tiger: "Is it true? This Golden Emperor, Tesoro, was once a slave to the Celestial Dragons?"
Lucas: Of course, it's true. And he's got a deeper connection to you than you think! He escaped from Mariejois thanks to you."
Fisher Tiger: "Wait… Tesoro was one of the slaves I freed from Mariejois?"
Lucas: "That's right! And he's not the only one. Among the slaves you freed, there were quite a few who've become big names."
Golden Lion Shiki: "Big names?"
Lucas: "Don't get excited. I mean they're big shots for ordinary people. For guys like you, they're small fry."
Outside World
Tesoro's face flickered between rage and fear, his emotions roiling beneath the surface. The temptation to lash out at Lucas surged within him, but a sliver of rationality kept him from making such a suicidal move. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to appear calm.
Finally regaining some composure, Tesoro smirked and said, "Lord Lucas, you shouldn't spread baseless rumors. Who can prove I was ever a slave to the Celestial Dragons?"
It was a calculated move. Denial was his best defense. If he never admitted it, there was no evidence to confirm it.
You say I was a slave? That doesn't make it true, Tesoro thought smugly. You've got no proof.
The slave mark once burned into his flesh had long been covered with larger scars, erasing any trace of his past. Mariejois saw countless slaves come and go, many dying before their names were even remembered. Tesoro, an unremarkable, scrawny boy back then, had been nothing more than a face in the crowd.
Who would believe that such a mediocre, skinny kid had grown into the infamous Golden Emperor?
Tesoro had meticulously erased every trace of his past. After amassing his vast wealth, he had bribed the World Government and even the Celestial Dragons themselves. Slave traders, auction house owners, and Mariejois's slave overseers—anyone who could have linked him to his former life had been silenced permanently.
Feeling a surge of confidence, Tesoro looked at Lucas, convinced he had nothing to fear.
Lucas sighed, shaking his head slightly. "So, you're going to deny it to the end?" His tone was casual, almost bored. "There's really no need. Do you think I'd bother telling anyone about your past as a slave?"
Tesoro's face remained stoic. "I was never a slave."
Lucas raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. "I have to ask… how do you serve the Celestial Dragons now, knowing they were the ones who enslaved you? They humiliated you, killed the woman you loved… Don't you want revenge?"
Tesoro's body stiffened, a faint tremor betraying his inner turmoil. But his voice remained firm. "I was never a slave."
Lucas shrugged, unbothered. He sauntered over and casually sat down as gold swirled around him, coalescing into a grand throne.
"Whether you admit it or not doesn't matter to me," Lucas said, settling into his seat. "I need your strength to deal with the World Government and the Celestial Dragons."
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp. "You can pretend you were never their slave, or you can face the truth. But right now, you've only got two options—ally with me, or be crushed by me."
The room grew tense as Lucas's words hung in the air, heavy and undeniable.
Tesoro's face flushed with anger. His fists clenched at his sides as his temper snapped. "Lucas, you're too arrogant!" he roared. "Die!"
With a guttural shout, Tesoro activated his Gold-Gold Fruit ability. The floor beneath them liquefied into molten gold, rising and twisting under his command. The gold reshaped into dozens of gleaming spears, their tips razor-sharp, aimed directly at Lucas.
The spears shot forward with deadly speed.
But Lucas didn't even flinch.
"Stop."
His voice was calm, almost lazy, but the power behind it was absolute.
The golden spears halted mid-air, mere inches from Lucas's face. They hovered there, trembling slightly, as if frozen in time.
Lucas smirked, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "We have the same ability, Tesoro. We both control gold."
His voice dropped to a taunting whisper. "But a battle between two people with the same ability? It's all about who's stronger."
The spears twisted violently, reversing direction and pointing at Tesoro.
"In front of me, you're powerless."
The golden spears launched, slamming into Tesoro and pinning him to the floor.
"Boss Tesoro!"
Mr. Tanaka, Tesoro's loyal subordinate, let out a panicked cry. Without hesitation, he charged at Lucas.
Lucas sighed. "Step aside."
A golden chain shot toward Mr. Tanaka, but it passed harmlessly through him. Lucas raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
"Oh? A Phase-Phase Fruit user? Not bad."
But before Mr. Tanaka could celebrate, Lucas unleashed his Conqueror's Haki with pinpoint precision.
Mr. Tanaka's eyes rolled back as the invisible force crushed his spirit. He collapsed instantly, his body twitching as his consciousness faded.
"Tanaka!"
Tesoro roared, his body covered in Armament Haki as he tried to break free and counterattack. But the golden chains wrapped around him tightened, their strength amplified by Lucas's superior control over the Gold-Gold Fruit.
For the first time, Tesoro truly understood the helplessness his enemies felt when facing his abilities. Now, that helplessness was his own.
"Enough!"
Tesoro's voice cracked as he hung suspended by the golden chains. "You win. What do you want?"
Lucas's smile widened. "Simple."
He leaned in, his tone casual but firm. "Keep doing what you've always done. Run your Golden City. But from now on, you answer to me."
Tesoro's eyes narrowed.
Lucas continued. "Whenever you come across important information, you send it to me. Before making any major decisions, you clear it with me first. And when the time comes to fight the World Government, you fight by my side."
Tesoro hung his head, defeated. "Fine. I agree."
Lucas's grin turned sly. "Good. But just to make sure you don't get any funny ideas…"
A Shadow Clone appeared beside Lucas, vanishing in an instant with the Flying Thunder God Technique. Moments later, it returned, bringing Trafalgar Law with it.
Lucas tossed something small and pulsing to Law. "Take care of Tesoro."
Tesoro's eyes widened in horror as Law activated his Op-Op Fruit ability, extracting Tesoro's heart with surgical precision.
Lucas held the heart in his hand, squeezing it gently. Tesoro's face turned ashen.
"If you ever betray me…" Lucas whispered with a smile, "…you'll regret it."
Tesoro swallowed hard, realizing that his plan to outmaneuver Lucas had failed completely.
After dealing with Tesoro's subordinates, Lucas ordered his Shadow Clone to take Baccarat and Trafalgar Law away.
"Baccarat's ability is too good to waste on gambling."
Baccarat's Lucky-Lucky Fruit was potent, and Lucas had bigger plans for it. While the ability required physical contact to activate, its potential was vast. Unlike abilities such as the Hobby-Hobby Fruit or Back-Back Fruit Fruit, which were limited by the target's strength, Baccarat's luck manipulation was unrestricted.
Even newly acquired, her fruit could sap the luck of powerful figures like Marine Admirals or Pirate Emperors.
Lucas decided she'd be perfect for guarding his prison, draining the luck of captives like Kaido of the Beasts daily, reducing any chance of their escape.
After Baccarat and Law left, Tesoro, still hanging from the golden chains, glanced at Lucas. "I contacted the Marines earlier… do you want me to call them off?"
Realizing he had no way out, and with his hatred for the Celestial Dragons simmering beneath the surface, Tesoro's loyalty to Lucas solidified.
Lucas shrugged. "Sure, give it a shot."
While he doubted the Marines would listen—especially since they'd assume Tesoro was acting under duress—Lucas appreciated Tesoro's first attempt at obedience.
Let him try, Lucas thought with a smirk. It's the thought that counts.
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