One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

This was a somewhat rundown and seemingly ordinary butcher shop.

But, in reality, beneath this butcher shop lay a hidden underground casino.

Inside the casino, there were many people, and Rayleigh was among them.

After sensing Rayleigh's presence, Takumi wasted no time walking into the butcher shop.

Behind the counter was a large, burly man with a big cleaver in his hand, chopping nonchalantly at some meat bones on the board. He glanced at Takumi and asked indifferently, "You here to buy meat?"

Takumi glanced at a wooden door behind the man, which was tightly closed, and replied, "No, I'm here to find someone."

Upon hearing this, the burly man stopped what he was doing and looked Takumi up and down, sneering, "Find someone? Kid, are you here to cause trouble? There's no one here but me. If you're looking for someone, go elsewhere. This is no place for some broke kid like you."

Takumi wasn't in the mood to argue. He simply pulled out a gold bar from his pocket.

The butcher's disdainful expression immediately shifted upon seeing the gold bar. His eyes practically lit up.

"Why didn't you say you had money?" The butcher instantly got the hint, stepping aside and opening the door for him. "The person you're looking for should be 'down below.' Go find them yourself."

Takumi put the gold bar back in his pocket and silently walked through the door.

Inside was a small storage room that looked pretty ordinary.

In front of him stood a massive "freezer," which took up half the room. To an outsider, it might have looked like it was just for storing meat.

But, in reality, it was the entrance to the underground casino.

A rundown casino going to such lengths to stay hidden—Takumi found it a bit amusing.

He chuckled softly, stepping up to the freezer and eying the rotary handle on the door.

The butcher kindly offered some advice, "First time here, right? Turn that round handle three times clockwise, and you're good."

Takumi followed the instruction, twisting the round handle three times. With a click, the mechanical lock shifted, and the door opened.

Behind the door was a staircase that descended at a forty-five-degree angle.

Upon reaching the underground casino, Takumi was greeted by a man stationed at the entrance. The man was wearing a tank top and had two guns hanging from each side of his belt. He gestured towards a large barrel for weapon storage and said, "To enter, put any weapons you have in that barrel. You can collect them when you leave."

Takumi remained silent.

"No," he replied plainly, not interested in entertaining the man's demands.

The guard placed his hand on one of his gun holsters, his tone irritated, "We have our rules here. No surrendering weapons? Then leave—you're not welcome here!"

Takumi looked at the man with exasperation.

In an instant, the guard's eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the ground.

Takumi then casually walked into the bustling casino.

Everyone was so engrossed in their games that nobody noticed what had just happened at the door.

It wasn't until several minutes later that the casino staff noticed the unconscious guard at the entrance.

Takumi wasn't much interested in gambling games, nor did he know much about them.

Though there were many people here, finding Rayleigh wasn't difficult.

Takumi didn't even need to use his Observation Haki—he just needed to head towards the most crowded table.

Rayleigh's presence always seemed to bring the casino luck. It was almost impossible not to make money when you followed him around.

Soon enough, Takumi located the most crowded table.

Sure enough, Rayleigh was right at the center of it.

Everyone holding chips stared nervously at Rayleigh.

As for Rayleigh, he casually stroked his beard, then pushed all the money he had left onto even numbers. With a smile, he said, "I have a feeling it's gonna be even this time."

Seeing Rayleigh place his bet, the surrounding people hurriedly placed their own chips on odd numbers.

"Alright, bets are in," the croupier said expressionlessly before tossing two dice into the pit in the middle of the table.

Everyone watched with anticipation as the dice rolled. Soon enough, they came to a stop: a one and a four.

The croupier looked at the result and announced, "Five. Odd wins."

"Oh dear, guess I miscalculated," Rayleigh said, sounding disappointed. "My sixth sense was so sure it would be even."

"Haha! Old man, you really don't have any luck, do you? I've never met anyone as bad as you. Thanks for helping me make some cash, though," someone laughed.

"Seriously, you lose every time, but you still come to the casino twice a month with a lot of cash, just to lose it all. I just gotta know, where do you get all that money? If you've got some other way to make cash, why bother coming here just to lose it all?"

"Yeah, I've been wondering the same thing. I know you work at the shipyard, but that pay wouldn't be nearly enough to cover your bets. Come on, tell us—what's your secret?"

Seeing the curiosity on everyone's faces, Rayleigh scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Hahaha, knowing that information isn't free, you know. How about lending me some money? I've got a good feeling about the next round."

But at the mention of lending money, everyone took a step back.

Nobody was interested in lending out the money they had just won.

Seeing their wary faces, Rayleigh didn't seem bothered at all. In fact, he just laughed louder, "Hahaha, you all are so stingy! But don't worry, even if you won't lend me anything, someone else surely will."

As he said this, Rayleigh turned his gaze to the edge of the crowd, where Takumi stood watching him.

"Hey kid, lend me some cash," Rayleigh called out.

Takumi answered bluntly, "No."

"Well then, I guess I'll just go make some 'money' myself." Rayleigh made his way out of the crowd.

He didn't seem surprised at all by Takumi's appearance.

As for making some "money" himself, Takumi could easily guess what Rayleigh meant—he'd probably go to the auction house, sell himself, and then rob whoever bought him...

"If you've got nothing else to do, go help me coat my ship," Takumi said casually as Rayleigh passed him.

Rayleigh kept walking, his voice nonchalant, "That long-nosed kid of yours knows how to do the coating, doesn't he? There are plenty of folks at the shipyard, too. Whether I help or not, it'll get done—it's just a matter of when."

"I'm in a hurry."

"Oh? And what does your hurry have to do with me?"

Takumi: "..."

After a moment of silence, Takumi took the gold bar he had just stashed in his pocket and tossed it towards Rayleigh.

Without even looking, Rayleigh caught the bar with ease, glanced at it, then stopped walking. He turned back to Takumi, smiling slightly, "What's this supposed to mean?"

"Commission for coating."

"Just one gold bar?" Rayleigh held the bar in one hand, stroking his beard with the other, and smiled, "That's not enough. Make it two, and we have a deal."

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