Chapter 354: Chapter 354: Rain Dinners
Chapter 354: Rain Dinners
Rainbase.
Aside from the royal capital, Alubarna, it was one of the few places in Alabasta where water was not a constant concern.
A camel cart rolled slowly through the busy streets.
Pedestrians gave it a wide berth.
The reason was obvious.
A human-shaped figure lay on the cart beneath a straw mat.
In the desert, covering someone that way usually meant transporting a corpse.
No one wanted to get unnecessarily close to a dead stranger.
But that was not the only reason people avoided the cart.
Two other figures rode alongside the covered body, both with cloth wrapped around their faces.
Wearing a hat beneath the desert sun was normal.
Wrapping most of one’s face in thick cloth was another matter.
They looked suspicious.
Possibly dangerous.
So the crowd naturally opened a path around them.
One of the masked figures was lying lazily beside the supposed corpse.
Despite the intense sunlight, the exposed skin of his arms remained unnaturally pale, untouched by the desert heat.
Strands of white hair escaped from beneath the cloth around his head.
It was Axel.
He glanced at Vivi.
"Do you honestly think these disguises are doing anything?"
Vivi was dressed similarly, though she had taken far more care to conceal herself.
"At the very least, they’ll buy us some time."
Axel looked toward the roadside.
"I’m not sure about that."
Vivi immediately became wary.
"What?"
"The merchant at the supply stall on the left has been watching us since we entered the street."
He continued without changing his tone.
"There’s also a man pretending to rest about two hundred meters ahead, slightly to the left."
"And on the right..."
"Enough."
Vivi cut him off.
If Axel continued listing everyone observing them, she would probably start acting suspicious enough to expose herself.
She lowered her voice.
"Do you actually have a plan now that we’re here?"
Axel thought for a moment.
Then answered as though the conclusion were obvious.
"We’re in Rainbase."
"So naturally, we go to Rain Dinners."
Vivi nearly raised her voice.
"Rain Dinners?"
She leaned closer.
"That’s Crocodile’s headquarters!"
Axel had said he intended to confront Crocodile, but Vivi had assumed there would be some preparation involved.
A route.
A plan.
Anything other than casually walking into Crocodile’s own casino.
Even after seeing what Axel was capable of, she did not feel comfortable with the idea.
What she did not know was that Axel had recently fought Admiral Kizaru directly.
Had she witnessed that battle, her concerns might have been somewhat different.
Axel nodded.
"I know."
"Then why are you saying it like we’re sightseeing?"
"Because we’re already here."
He stretched slightly.
"We might as well look around."
Then his expression became faintly nostalgic.
"Besides, Rain Dinners reminds me of someone."
Vivi glanced at him.
"Who?"
"A blind friend who likes gambling."
Vivi stared.
"A blind man?"
"Yes."
"Who gambles?"
"Yes."
Vivi paused.
"How?"
Axel smiled.
"That’s exactly why people keep cheating him."
He looked toward the distant casino.
"Then five minutes later, he goes back and gambles again."
Vivi searched for an appropriate response.
"That sounds like a very strange person."
Before Axel could reply, a muffled voice came from beneath the straw mat.
"Can you two stop chatting and decide already?"
The mat shifted.
"I’m dying under here!"
Chopper.
Koza’s injuries required ventilation, so Chopper had positioned himself beneath the covering to keep the straw mat raised and create enough space for air to circulate.
Unfortunately, the arrangement was miserable for him.
The straw trapped heat.
The desert was already scorching.
And Chopper’s thick fur made everything worse.
Axel nodded.
"Right."
"I’ll gather information without Crocodile noticing."
He paused.
"Probably."
Vivi stared at him.
That last word did nothing to reassure her.
Then again, trying to persuade Axel not to do something was usually pointless.
Selective deafness seemed to be one of his strongest abilities.
Vivi pointed toward a nearby hotel.
Rainbase attracted gamblers and travelers from across Alabasta, so inns were everywhere.
"Fine."
"Chopper, Wapol, and I will stay there with Koza."
"You go investigate."
She pointed at Axel sternly.
"Then come back immediately."
Wapol was following some distance behind the cart.
With his unusual build and the metal incorporated into his body, having him walk alongside two suspiciously disguised travelers carrying a supposed corpse would only attract more attention.
Keeping him separate made the group look marginally less suspicious.
Axel waved a hand.
"Got it."
Vivi was not finished.
"And if you decide to do something ridiculous, tell us first."
"At least give us some warning."
Her expression turned increasingly irritated.
"Last time at Navarone, you suddenly started fighting, then gave us instructions in the middle of it and expected us to understand what was happening."
Axel looked innocent.
Vivi continued,
"And half the things you’ve done since then haven’t made sense until afterward."
She gestured toward the camel cart.
"I still don’t know where you stole this from."
"Borrowed."
"You didn’t ask."
"Details."
Vivi sighed.
"Just come back."
Axel waved again and left.
...
He headed directly for Rain Dinners.
Finding it was effortless.
The casino was one of the defining landmarks of Rainbase.
Its enormous structure towered over the surrounding buildings, crowned by a gigantic golden statue modeled after one of Crocodile’s Banana Crocodiles.
If the statue were solid gold, even impure gold, it would be worth billions of Berries.
Of course, whether the interior contained genuine gold was another question entirely.
Answering that question would require cutting into the structure.
No one had been foolish enough to try.
The casino belonged to Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
In recent years, many citizens of Alabasta had come to regard him almost as a guardian.
Pirates and criminals viewed him rather differently.
Stories about Crocodile’s victims circulated throughout the region.
Bodies reduced to dry husks.
Every trace of moisture pulled from them until they resembled corpses that had spent days baking beneath the desert sun.
Few thieves found the possibility of hidden gold worth that kind of death.
Besides, most people entering Rain Dinners believed there was an easier way to become rich.
Gambling.
Axel stopped outside.
"Rain Dinners."
His eyes moved over the entrance.
People had followed him all the way here.
None had interfered.
Almost as though someone wanted him to arrive.
"A trap?"
He sounded mildly interested.
Then walked straight inside.
The interior lived up to the casino’s reputation.
Golden decorations.
Bright lights.
Rows of tables.
Roulette wheels.
Cards.
Dice.
Slot machines.
Waiters moved constantly through the crowded floor, attending to gamblers chasing their fortune.
The moment Axel entered, an employee approached with a practiced smile.
"Welcome, sir."
"Is there anything I can assist you with?"
Had Vivi been present, she might have thrown something at him.
Axel had promised to investigate quietly.
He was no longer wearing any disguise.
White hair.
Red eyes.
His face completely visible.
He might as well have walked through the doors carrying a sign that read:
I’m here. Come find me.
Axel looked around.
"I’ll take a look first."
"Of course."
The employee bowed.
"If you require anything, please call for us."
He stepped away.
Axel wandered deeper into the casino.
It was still daytime, yet the place was already packed.
Hundreds of people chased the dream of instant wealth.
But gamblers were not the only ones present.
Well-dressed men used the casino as a place to conduct business or approach women.
Loan sharks lingered nearby, ready to lend money to anyone desperate enough to keep gambling.
Waiters watched wealthy winners carefully, hoping for generous tips.
And despite Crocodile’s reputation, pickpockets still moved through the crowds looking for careless prey.
Axel watched them briefly.
Then lost interest.
He had no right to dictate how other people lived.
He simply found the obsession with fortune gained entirely through luck rather dull.
Eventually, his attention settled on a roulette table.
One of the simplest games in the casino.
And one of the most dependent on chance.
The table was relatively quiet.
Most experienced gamblers preferred games where they could at least pretend skill mattered.
Axel approached.
He reached into his clothes and produced roughly five hundred thousand Berries.
The money was exchanged for chips.
Then he walked to the table and placed every chip on a single number.
Twenty.
The nearby gamblers looked over.
Five hundred thousand Berries on one number.
Either the young man was incredibly confident or incredibly stupid.
The croupier glanced at Axel’s face.
Then his expression subtly changed.
An instruction had just reached him.
Do not let the ball land on twenty.
The order had come from above.
From Crocodile himself.
The croupier did not understand why his boss cared about one young gambler making an absurd bet.
He did not need to understand.
He only needed to obey.
The wheel spun.
The ball bounced rapidly across the numbered slots.
The croupier subtly interfered with the mechanism.
Then stared.
The ball slowed.
Bounced once.
Twice.
And settled.
Twenty.
The croupier went pale.
He rubbed his eyes.
Nothing changed.
Around the table, several gamblers erupted.
"He hit it!"
"On a single number!"
"That guy actually won!"
Axel looked toward the croupier.
"What’s the payout again?"
The man swallowed.
"Thirty-six to one."
Axel seemed to think about it.
"Five hundred thousand times thirty-six..."
He tapped his chin.
"Eighteen million Berries."
The number immediately drew more attention.
People from nearby tables began drifting closer.
Eighteen million from one spin.
The croupier felt cold sweat forming.
That amount of money was not the real problem.
The casino could easily afford it.
He had failed Crocodile’s direct order.
That was the problem.
He had heard stories about what happened to employees who failed too badly.
And none of those stories ended outside the Banana Crocodile enclosure.
Then Axel pushed the chips forward again.
Every last one.
Number twenty.
Again.
The croupier stared.
"Sir...?"
Axel looked at him.
"Is there a problem?"
He pointed casually at the number.
"I think twenty might be lucky."
The crowd erupted again.
"Again?!"
"He’s betting everything?"
"That’s eighteen million Berries!"
More gamblers gathered around.
The croupier’s hands trembled.
The probability of the same exact number appearing twice in succession was absurdly low.
Some roulette dealers worked their entire careers without witnessing it.
Under normal circumstances, he would have accepted the bet happily.
But these were no longer normal circumstances.
Then another instruction reached him.
Accept it.
The croupier swallowed.
He spun the wheel.
The room seemed to quiet around them.
The ball bounced.
Circled.
Slowed.
Then dropped.
Red twenty.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then the casino exploded.
"TWENTY AGAIN!"
"That’s impossible!"
"How much is that?!"
"Eighteen million times thirty-six!"
"Over six hundred million Berries!"
The croupier looked like he had stopped breathing.
The gamblers around Axel were beside themselves.
Some stared at him with pure envy.
Others immediately began fantasizing about making the same impossible fortune.
A few men looked at Axel with darker intentions.
Six hundred million Berries had just appeared in front of them.
To certain people, that made Axel less of a gambler and more of a walking treasure chest.
Other regulars simply smiled knowingly.
Winning that much money in a casino controlled by a pirate was one thing.
Leaving with it was another.
The croupier finally snapped.
"You cheated!"
The noise around the table dipped.
Then quickly returned.
Axel looked genuinely amused.
"You operated the wheel."
He gestured toward the table.
"I only placed my chips."
His voice rose enough for everyone nearby to hear.
"So according to your own rules, you owe me..."
He pretended to calculate.
"Six hundred and forty-eight million Berries."
Axel smiled.
"But I’m generous."
"Forget the forty-eight million."
"Six hundred million is fine."
The gamblers erupted again.
The croupier’s face turned gray.
He had no proof.
Of course Axel had interfered with the roulette wheel.
But his manipulation had been too subtle to detect.
If Axel did not want someone to notice his ability affecting the result, then no ordinary observer had any chance of seeing it.
A thought quietly occurred to him.
If he ever ran short on money, visiting casinos might be surprisingly efficient.
The croupier desperately searched for an escape.
Then pointed accusingly.
"You tampered with the wheel!"
Axel tilted his head.
"Did I?"
"Yes!"
"How?"
The man faltered.
Axel looked around at the crowd.
"Everyone here watched."
"I never touched it."
He returned his gaze to the croupier.
"So are you saying Rain Dinners doesn’t intend to pay?"
That question changed the mood.
Several gamblers began murmuring.
"Wait, are they really refusing?"
"But he won fairly."
"This place is run by a Warlord, remember."
"A pirate is still a pirate."
Some had expected this outcome from the beginning.
The Seven Warlords might operate under World Government sanction, but they were still pirates.
Anyone expecting perfect fairness from Crocodile’s casino was painfully naive.
Before the situation deteriorated further, a woman walked through the crowd.
People moved aside for her.
Nico Robin.
To most ordinary customers, she was one of Rain Dinners’ senior managers.
Those more familiar with the city understood that Crocodile was the true owner.
Robin stopped in front of Axel.
Her professional smile remained flawless.
"My employer would like to speak with you."
Axel looked at her.
Then answered without the slightest attempt at discretion.
"Crocodile?"
....
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