297 Gran Tesoro

The atmosphere on the Thousand Sunny was rather bright, especially with the Barto Club fangirling over the Straw Hats.

Nami and Chopper took in the attention happily, whilst Brook dealt with it like a seasoned professional due to his time as a rock star.

Brook was somewhat disappointed that the Barto Club didn't have any ladies, though.

"Look, it's the famous reindeer doctor of the Straw Hat crew~! Doctor Chopper, disciple of Doctor Hiriluk and Doctor Kureha~! He's the greatest doctor in the world~!" Bartolomeo gushed.

"He's even more manly than I ever dreamed~!" Gambia added with awe.

This combination assault almost made Chopper eat a Rumble Ball to hide his embarrassment. "Oh stop it, you bastards~ I'll kick all your asses~!"

Being recognised as a proper member of the crew and as a man did wonders for his mood and self confidence.

Sanji whipped up an excellent feast for everyone (using the supplies from Bartolomeo's ship), so everyone was quite satisfied by the time Bartolomeo and his men parted ways with them tearfully, swearing to meet again.

They were mostly ignored, but Cherry and Chopper made a point to see them off with a smile.

"So, we're off to Zou next, right?" Zoro asked.

"That's right. We'll meet back up with my crew and from there we'll head towards Kaido, in Wano. We just have to follow that vivre card, because Zou doesn't have a magnetic signal for log poses to locate." Law said.

"Is Zou a cold place?" Chopper asked. He sure hoped so.

"Depends on the weather." Law said. Not a very satisfying answer.

"Don't say anything else, Tra-guy! I want to see it for myself!" Luffy insisted.

"Suit yourself." Law shrugged.

"I've finished inspecting the Sunny! We can go at any time!" Franky shouted whilst posing.

As if on queue, the sun finished dropping below the horizon. The sea was bathed in darkness, but this darkness created a stark contrast to something they hadn't noticed before now.

A sparkling light could be seen on the horizon.

"What is that?" Kin'emon wondered, squinting his eyes at the mysterious glow.

"Could that be…?" Jinbe spoke, seeming to know something.

"GOLD!!!" Nami had Beri signs in her eyes. "Hard to port, 30 degrees! We can't let the gold get away!"

Nami may be the greediest one among this group, but that didn't mean she was the only greedy one.

Even Law, who missed his crew quite a bit, couldn't help but be tempted. However, he quickly realized what they were looking at and wasn't quite so eager anymore.

"That's probably Gran Tesoro; a giant casino ship. The largest in the world, in fact. It's said to be a rare neutral ground where pirates and marines won't, or rather, CAN'T fight each other. We should probably leave it well enough alone." Law explained.

"Really?! That's THE Gran Tesoro?! Then we HAVE to go! It's the largest entertainment city in the world where dreams come true!" Nami exclaimed.

"So long as your dream is money." Robin added helpfully.

"Exactly!" Nami was almost drooling just thinking about it

"Let's gooooo~!" Luffy shouted and laughed uproariously.

Jinbe was already at the helm having anticipated this turn of events.

The three residents of Wano also couldn't help being curious. They had important business to take care of, of course, but nothing that couldn't wait a single night longer. The gambling dens back in Wano couldn't compare to a giant ship made of gold in its allure.

As they approached the golden vessel, it became clear that it was indeed the Gran Tesoro. It was gaudy beyond belief and pulled by two massive turtles with two giant cannons strapped to their backs.

Blaring music could be heard coming from inside; it sounded like a concert was being performed. Cherry didn't doubt that such spectacles would be a nightly occurrence for such a lavish place.

"Ooohohoho! This is so exciting! Shishishi!" Luffy was practically bouncing up and down in anticipation.

Everyone else was feeling it as well, the pounding bass from the concert seemed to echo their beating hearts.

Provided that nothing went awry, this would be a great way to have some fun before what was bound to be some rather brutal fighting against Kaido and his Beast pirates.

They sailed straight into the wide open entryway for the Gran Tesoro at the front without any resistance. That wasn't to say they were unguarded, as Cherry could sense a multitude of individuals hidden from sight behind the walls. No doubt if they made any trouble, then a buster call's worth of firepower would be rained down upon them.

That wasn't the only thing of interest, though. Cherry could sense the energy of a devil fruit flowing throughout the entire ship. If she were to hazard a guess, then she would bet that it was the gold in particular that the devil fruit was being influenced.

The Thousand Sunny pressed onwards into the tunnel before them. Gold dust started to flow down onto the ship and the water took on a golden hue.

Whilst the others were ooh-ing and aw-ing at the spectacle of it, Cherry leaned over to Chopper and asked "Do you think any of them are going to get heavy metal poisoning from breathing this stuff?"

That made Chopper snap out of it real quick and hastily made the others cover their faces with masks. He came back over to Cherry to assure her, "Heavy metal poisoning isn't very likely from gold, but there could be complications from breathing too much of it."

"Oh, that's good to know. I'd hate to help you pull their lungs out for a good cleaning." Cherry nodded.

The others who were a bit nonchalant about the masks secured them better when they heard her say that. Law chuckled to himself thinking that she was referring to his devil fruit ability that would make that process painless and safe. That hadn't actually occurred to her when she said it.

"Franky! Do the thing! I can't wait any longer!" Luffy ordered.

"Alriiiight! COUP DE BURST!" Franky shouted.

The Sunny lurched forward and flew through the rest of the tunnel at blistering speed.

Right before it landed back in the water, the ship entered into what looked like a small artificial bay. Ships were moored around the edges and above them was a massive crowd in an audience cheering their hearts out.

"Wow, would you get a load of that guy? Talk about narcissism." Cherry commented, pointing towards a man dancing alone on a golden pillar as a multitude of beautiful dancers danced on pillars around him.

Cherry's keen eyes had seen the guy clearly notice their entry, then he promptly ignored them to continue his own little dance which she thought made him look more than a little lame.

"Yohohoho! He IS overdoing the flashiness, isn't he?" Brook concurred. He would know, being a rock star and all.

Nami was sweeping gold dust into a bucket when Cherry went over and had a look at it, taking a small handful and feeling it out. "This is pyrite."

Nami's face dropped, then she belatedly realized that she'd done this shameful behavior in front of a live audience all for nothing.

Before Nami could curse 13 generations of the family of the person who had done this to her, the sound of cannon fire drew everyone's attention as the cannonball hit the water just beside their ship.