The purple fruit lay quietly inside the chest. Most of the army commanders of the Revolutionary Army, as well as Dragon himself, were Devil Fruit users. After the fruit was discovered and delivered into Dragon's hands, the first person he thought of was Sabo.
Given Sabo's current situation, a single devil fruit could greatly boost his strength. For the Revolutionary Army, which was at a critical juncture, this was no trivial matter.
"This is…"
"Karasu's North Army found it a few days ago from pirates who had been plundering a kingdom. I've already confirmed it. This fruit is the Dark-Dark Fruit, the most peculiar among Logia-type fruits.
The user can't elementalize, but they can absorb injuries, at the cost of double the pain.
It allows control over the gravitational force of darkness, absorbing and devouring everything. It can even restrain other Devil Fruit users. In the information I've seen, there are even rumors that it can plunder the abilities of other Devil Fruit users, though I don't know how true that is."
As he spoke, Dragon took the fruit out of the chest, and Ivankov at the side also became interested.
"The Dark-Dark Fruit? Back in Impel Down, that guy's ability was the Dark-Dark Fruit, wasn't it?
Not only the Quake-Quake Fruit, but this one has reincarnated as well?"
"That's right. Its power is not to be underestimated, but whoever eats it will inevitably endure unimaginable pain. The Levely is about to begin. If you decide to eat it, I'll help you master its abilities as quickly as possible during this time."
"There's no need to think about it, Leader. I'm already prepared."
Before Dragon had even finished explaining the fruit's abilities, Sabo had already realized just how powerful it was.
Blackbeard killing Thatch for the Dark-Dark Fruit and attempting to use it to seize the Quake-Quake Fruit was something outsiders shouldn't have known about, but Ace had mentioned it to Sabo back in Dressrosa.
Combined with the fact that Ivankov had also witnessed this fruit's power before, Sabo already had a rough understanding of it.
"These 'Dragon Claws' that I've honed exist to shatter those ruthless and overbearing powers. Countless have suffered in the process. Under the rule of those royal families, the people cry out in misery.
Mr. Kuma, everyone in the Revolutionary Army, they have already sacrificed so much.
Compared to that, mere double the pain is nothing at all."
With that, Sabo took a bite of the Dark-Dark Fruit, and his body immediately began to tremble uncontrollably.
"What's wrong, Sabo-boy? Is there a problem?"
"No… it's just that this fruit tastes absolutely awful."
Suppressing the urge to vomit, Sabo swallowed it down. Before long, wisps of black aura had already begun to coil around his hands, and Dragon immediately started an emergency special training with him.
No one else could directly help with the development and control of a Devil Fruit. The only thing they could do was fight, allowing the Devil Fruit user to quickly adapt to integrating the power into their combat.
Time was tight. Although it took a long while for nations around the world to reach Mariejois, the earliest ones to set out had already arrived.
The Revolutionary Army needed to complete their plans before the Levely officially began. After subtracting travel time, Sabo himself didn't have much time to spare.
Usually, the Revolutionary Army was scattered across the Four Seas and the Grand Line, accumulating strength and searching for suitable locations to act. This rare gathering showed just how seriously they took this operation.
During the days of Sabo's special training, the others weren't idle either. Everyone was organizing plans and confirming their own assignments, striving to ensure there would be no mistakes.
Besides using military force, they also exert effort in other areas, like having a member of the Revolutionary Army stationed in Gran Tesoro.
At night, Gran Tesoro was the Venus of the seas. Reflected by gold, its radiance spread across the surrounding waters. [TN: Venus is the brightest star in the sky.]
Night usually signified the end of a day's labor, but in Gran Tesoro, night meant the beginning of a new life.
Some people spent money freely here, while others hurried about for their livelihoods. Those who had settled in Gran Tesoro in particular knew that night was an opportunity to make a fortune.
For example, the haunted house from before. Gengar had already slipped into Mariejois together with Ditto by mingling among the Celestial Dragons, but Tesoro quickly built a brand-new haunted house.
Celestial Dragons were a special kind of allure to the nobles of other nations. Many of those nobles had fantasized about becoming Celestial Dragons themselves, so places liked by the Celestial Dragons also served as a kind of advertisement to them.
In the end, quite a few nobles were scared into howling in terror there, yet still had to put on an act of extreme satisfaction.
And it was at times like this that Tesoro would deal with certain special situations.
"I say, it's about time you stopped. Being too greedy can lead to trouble, Raise Max."
Inside Gran Tesoro's casino, Tesoro spoke calmly to the gambler in front of him.
Here, Tesoro was the dealer, while the circulating funds came from the other gamblers. In theory, the dealer would never lose money. They earned a cut from the winners.
Only under special circumstances would their profits be reduced.
"I didn't cheat."
"Of course I know you didn't cheat. If you were using that kind of method, I wouldn't be taking this attitude. If you want to keep gambling, then come to the VIP room."
As he spoke, Tanaka emerged from the floor beside Raise Max and gestured politely for him to follow.
Raise Max had no intention of stopping. He tidied up his formal wear and followed him inside.
Only after passing through several walls in succession did Tesoro turn around.
"Has the Revolutionary Army fallen to such poverty? You can only rely on gambling in a casino to raise funds?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do know. Revolutionary Army soldier, Raise Max. When I found out that you, this so-called Legendary Gambler, had joined the Revolutionary Army, I was surprised for quite a while.
Don't worry, I don't have any ill intentions. If anything, I saved you. People from the World Government have their eyes on you as well."
As he spoke, Tesoro snapped his fingers. The surrounding display screens immediately showed several images, with a few faces deliberately marked out.
"My intelligence says the Revolutionary Army has been making big moves lately. Would it be convenient to share exactly what that is?"
"No comment. What exactly do you want?"
Raise Max couldn't understand Tesoro's actions. And Tesoro was only doing this to make things more troublesome for his enemies. The conflict between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government was even greater than that between the World Government and pirates.
Even now, they still regarded Dragon as the World's Worst Criminal, since the actions of the Revolutionary Army ran directly counter to their fundamental interests.
With the World Government liable to turn hostile at any moment, Tesoro naturally had no reason to hold back.
"What do I want? Let's gamble once. You've won a total of 2.3 billion Berries here. If you beat me, the stakes double, and I'll round it up for you—5 billion Berries, taken straight away. I'll even make sure you're sent to a safe island."
Hearing the figure of 5 billion, Raise Max was tempted.
"5 billion… that amount would let Leader relax for quite a while."
His purpose in gambling here was money. Tesoro was right—the Revolutionary Army was poor, and funds had never been abundant.
One of the reasons Vegapunk had refused Dragon's invitation back then was precisely because he thought the Revolutionary Army was too poor to support his research.
Without cheating and relying purely on real skill, Raise Max felt he wouldn't lose. The way he looked at Tesoro now was like looking at a god of wealth.
"Don't be happy too soon. If you lose, you won't get a single Berry, and you'll have to tell me everything you can."
"Fine, I agree."
After all, he had never experienced what it felt like to lose a bet.
"What are we betting on? Any method is fine with me."
"What are we betting on? Interesting question. Then let's bet on life itself. Setting aside seniority and status, and not counting wealth or assets. Let's bet on whose life, yours or mine, is more remarkable."
At those words, Raise Max froze. He had indeed never lost in casinos, but in life he had gone through two divorces, and his relationships with his former wives had ultimately fallen apart.
Tesoro seemed to be voluntarily giving up quite a few advantages, yet in truth he had already completely got Raise Max in his grasp.
"So you've investigated very thoroughly. Looks like I won't be taking this money with me after all."
There were patterns in casinos. As long as no cheating was involved, with enough brainpower one could find them through certain algorithms, and Raise Max gambled by relying on precisely that kind of intellect.
The meaning behind Tesoro's words was obvious to him. He had probably been investigated so thoroughly that nothing was left uncovered. In his view, Tesoro never intended to let him leave with the money.
"Greed makes people lose their reason, and you're no exception. This is 1.8 billion Berries. After deducting our usual cut, this is exactly what you would be able to take. Consider it my personal sponsorship to you."
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"It's simple. I just want you to be a bit more careful when you act. At the very least, stir up something big."
To Tesoro, 1.8 billion Berries was not a large sum, and they could afford to lose it. Under normal circumstances, this was about as much as Raise Max could take away anyway.
By handling it this way, however, the money effectively became an extra favor—an investment that cost him nothing and also established a bit of a connection with the Revolutionary Army.
"Alright, I won't ask you anything more. After all, whatever you can say, I probably already know. Tanaka, see our guest out."
After Tanaka escorted Raise Max away, Baccarat arrived with the good luck she had gathered.
There were no cheating devices anywhere on Gran Tesoro, because Baccarat alone, with her ability to manipulate luck, could control the entire casino.
"Boss, is there really any point in doing this?"
"Of course there is. With 1.8 billion Berries out there, you wouldn't find such a useful group of mercenaries.
Our ideals may differ, but the World Government is our common enemy. As long as they can cause the World Government enough trouble, our own actions will go more smoothly."
The relationship between the Beasts Pirates and the Revolutionary Army was also quite complicated. On one hand, the Revolutionary Army believed that the Beasts Pirates' practice of shipping weapons all over the world undermined peace.
Yet they had also bought weapons sold by the Beasts Pirates. The Revolutionary Army had to fight wars too. Without weapons, that was impossible.
The internal complexity of the Beasts Pirates also left Dragon unable to fully grasp them, since within the Beasts Pirates there were not only pirates, but also a special cult, with highly variable methods of operation.
But overall, they were far better than that group of Celestial Dragons.
Given the Revolutionary Army's current situation, the Beasts Pirates were not their primary enemy—the World Government was.
And as for Kaido, everyone could be an enemy. The more people drawn into war, the more excited he became.
So Tesoro's actions were not really a loss to the interests of the Beasts Pirates themselves. On the contrary, they maximized the benefits of that sum of money.
The only ones feeling frustrated were the agents tracking Raise Max's whereabouts. Tesoro's actions caused them to lose track of him halfway through, yet there was nothing they could do about it; after all, Tesoro was simply following his own procedures.
A casino taking someone who had won too much into a VIP room was perfectly reasonable. They had wanted to follow at first, but lacking the funds, they didn't have the qualifications to enter. When they tried gambling a bit to see if they could get in, they nearly lost what little funding they had left.
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