Cherry doled out 5 million Beri to everyone on the crew to play with as they pleased.
This may seem like a small amount compared to the total sum she possessed, but 5 million Beri was about how much the average dual income household earned in a year.
Needless to say, blowing that much money gambling was a bit extravagant.
When Nami's turn came, she accentuated her bikini clad chest and fluttered her lashes at Cherry. "You can give me a little extra on top, can't you? You know that I'm good for it, right Cherry~?"
Cherry frowned and pinched both of Nami's cheeks. "Why do you have to be so adorably coquettish?"
Nami didn't understand why she was acting so disappointed, then Robin's chuckling reached her ears.
"I guess all the candy is mine~" Robin said, clearly amused.
"What? What's going on? Candy?" Nami was confused.
"We made a bet regarding what would happen after you found out about our savings," Robin enlightened her. "Cherry didn't think you'd be shameless enough to flirt with her in front of me."
Nami went very red in the face. She hadn't forgotten that the two of them were in a relationship, but the sight of money had apparently affected her decision making a bit too much.
"What about the candy, though?" Nami asked. This was the only point that didn't make much sense to her. Couldn't they just buy candy whenever they wanted? Why gamble with it then?
"Big Mom's people bought a box of super gourmet candy at auction for 100 million Beri after I deliberately drove up the bid to annoy them. Then we robbed them, heh." Cherry explained with a smirk.
"""...""" there was a stunned silence at the audacity of messing with an Emperor's crew over a box of candy.
"Bahahahaha~!" except for Luffy who thought it was hilarious.
Luffy then swooped in close to Robin and fluttered his eyelashes in a remarkable impression of Nami and said "You'll share, won't you Robin~?"
""Pfft!"" Usopp and Chopper could barely contain their laughter.
"Huhuhu, of course Captain. I'll let Chopper and Momonosuke have some too." Robin found his antics just too adorable.
"YOU WILL?! YIPPEE!" as a sweet lover, Chopper was ecstatic.
Momonoke was clearly very tempted as well, but forced a stern expression onto his face and said "A samurai doesn't indulge in sweet things."
Sanji shot his hand into the air like an eager student. "I'll take it if he doesn't want it, Robin-chwan~!"
Cabernet had taken out the box of candies from her compartment for Robin who promptly handed out a few. Even Sanji got one since he asked nicely, and also because he was the crew's cook so it was only fair.
Cherry and the three samurai watched the scene with deep-seated jealousy.
Cherry looked at the samurai and asked "So, did you guys want some money to play with?"
"A samurai doesn't accept charity." Kin'emon declared stubbornly.
"Who said it's charity? It's a loan, you gotta pay me back later with Wano-Bucks or whatever you guys use for currency." Cherry countered.
"Hm? Well, in that case…" Kinemon was tempted, but something occurred to him that was fairly important. "How much exactly are Beri worth? I've not spent enough time outside of Wano to have a good grasp of the value…"
"Well, the 5 million Beri I gave to each of them is enough to outright buy a small house in most places." Cherry mused.
Kin'emon and Kanjuro's eyes bulged.
"I thought your 'Beri' just used big numbers to sound like it was more than what it's really worth!" Kin'emon exclaimed.
"No no no, the Skypeian's are the ones who do that with their Extol. They're ten thousand to one Beri, apparently." Cherry said.
"Nevermind that! How can you waste so much money on gambling?!" Kin'emon complained.
"You don't want it?" Cherry waved a bundle of bills in his face.
Kin'emon snatched the Beri out of her hands and muttered "How much is the interest?"
"There's no interest between friends." Cherry said magnanimously. "I will break your kneecaps if you don't pay it back in a timely manner, though."
Cherry went to join the others and Kanjuro leaned over to Kin'emon. "She has quite the sense of humor, doesn't she?"
"I sure hope she does. I won't have to find out as long as I win!" Kin'emon's eyes shone with madness.
"Wow! Amazing! Might you be the Straw Hat Pirates?" a bombshell redhead in a revealing dress strutted over to them. "It's a pleasure to meet you~!"
Before anyone could say anything, Sanji was already in front of the woman introducing himself. "It must be destiny that we met here tonight, mademoiselle~! I am Sanji, world renowned cook of the Straw Hats, at your service~!"
"I'm honored~! My name is Baccarat, concierge for esteemed V.I.P. guests such as yourselves~!" Baccarat introduced herself in a tone dripping with sugary professionalism.
"You know who we are?" Luffy asked and Cherry shot him a look that said 'Really? You're not used to being world infamous yet?'
"Naturally~! Royals, high level government officials, the upper ranks of the marines, and infamous pirates are all on our V.I.P. list~!" Baccarat explained slowly. "Ah, here comes our ride~"
A fancy looking vehicle rolled up behind her and stopped. It was porcelain white with gold trim and red velvet carpeting. Inside were a number of small turtles that appeared to be the ones who powered the vehicle.
Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, and Franky rushed over to have a look at it as Baccarat explained "This is our patented 'Turtle-mobile'. A very handy vehicle to have on such a large ship. The muscle turtles may be small, but are quite strong~!"
"In other words, it's a gaudy carriage pulled by turtles." Cherry plucked the wind from her sails and Franky's interest diminished considerably, though he still found it to be novel.
"Yes, I suppose it is~" Baccarat was seemingly completely unfazed.
'She probably hears that a lot from stuck up, rich losers.' Cherry reckoned.
A second turtle-mobile pulled up and a couple of turtles opened the doors for them to climb inside.
"We can head straight inside if you like~?" Baccarat suggested with a smile.
They all clambered into the luxury vehicles, some commenting on the high quality of the seats and such. Luffy took his preferred position on the hood of the front car.
"Off we go~!" Baccarat turned the key in the ignition of the turtle-mobile as did the driver of the second in tandem.
A small current of electricity zapped the muscle turtles, who responded by quickly starting to row to power the cars. Cherry's lips turned downward slightly and her eyes sharpened.
'They torture animals for the convenience of their guests… That's strike one.' Cherry tallied in her mind.
Gran Tesoro had now proven to her that it can be needlessly cruel to animals. A damning sin in her opinion already and they haven't even reached the gambling floor yet. If they received two more strikes, then this would be the final night that the Gran Tesoro remained in business.
Baccarat rattled off the various services provided by the Gran Tesoro as well as some interesting trivia to stoke their excitement.
"All that gold is just lying around!" Usopp whispered conspiratorially. "I wonder how much we could get away with?"
"You're telling me!" Nami concurred. "I've been dying to steal something since we got here!"
"I don't recommend that~" Baccarat chimed in. "There are security den den mushi all over Gran Tesoro~! Our head of security deals with thieves quite harshly, so I recommend behaving yourselves during your stay~!"
Baccarat had spoken the warning so casually, clearly indicating how common such thoughts are, as well as how confident they were with dealing with thieves.
"Are we there yet?" Luffy complained more than inquired.
"We'll be there very soon, my valued customers~! Perhaps we should update your wardrobes to something more befitting your station first, no~?" Baccarat tempted. "On credit, of course~!"
Nobody was particularly against free clothes (it was wordlessly agreed upon that they would keep them and wouldn't pay), so they stopped by a luxury clothing store to be outfitted in style.
Cherry wasn't really fond of the white theme that Baccarat chose for their new outfits, something that Baccarat took notice of immediately. "My my, white doesn't seem to be your color, Ms. Harpin~! How about this instead~?"
Baccarat handed her a deep black, cashmere turtleneck and the most comfortable denim jeans she'd ever felt, along with vintage red tinted glasses to give her a mysterious intellectual look. "Ohhh~ Neat."
"Now then, are you ready to-" "HEY HEY! YOU PEOPLE!" Baccarat started, but was suddenly interrupted by four children who charged over to them, brandishing flowers.
"Buy our flowers!" "You're all V.I.P.s, yeah?!" "You can afford a few flowers, can't you?!" "Please…?" The children did a poor job with their sales pitches.
Usopp tried to assuage them. "Fine fine, we'll buy! How much are they?"
"5 thousand Beri!" a boy with green hair said with a scowl on his face.
"What?! That much?!" Usopp was shocked.
"Of course! We need it to buy our freedom!" The boy shouted in frustration. "You buyin' or not?!"
"Now, now~! Run along children~! Don't bother our esteemed guests~!" Baccarat shooed them with an undeniable threat in her tone.
The children hesitated for only a moment before turning tail whilst apologizing.
Baccarat turned around to give an empty apology to her 'esteemed guests' before it died in her throat. The group was looking at her in mild confusion with the exception of Cherry, whose smile dripped with menace and didn't reach the cold gaze of her piercing eyes as they burrowed into her very soul.
Cherry blinked and the expression vanished like a ghost, making Baccarat wonder if she imagined it. Baccarat shook off the chill running down her spine and stepped right back into her role as a concierge. "My apologies~! Shall we go straight to the casino~?"
'Strike five...' Cherry sang in her mind.