The sound from the stairs on the second floor immediately captured everyone's attention.
A woman appeared on the stairs. She had striking black eyes, defined features, and straight black hair. She wore a large-brimmed denim hat and stood tall.
It was Nico Robin.
Finn was momentarily surprised to see Robin. His plan had been to confront Crocodile, capture him, and then deal with the rest. But from what Robin's words implied, Crocodile wasn't present.
"Second boss!"
The female dealer bowed respectfully to Nico Robin.
In the Rain Banquet Casino, everyone knew her as the second boss, but her real name and code name were unknown. A staff member had already reported the incident with Finn to Robin.
Robin had observed the commotion through the casino's surveillance and knew she needed to intervene. Otherwise, the casino staff would struggle to handle Finn.
Finn looked at Robin with a faint smile. "Since you want to play a few games with me, why are you just standing there?"
Finn was intrigued by Robin. As the only known scholar who could interpret historical texts in the world of One Piece, she was a person Finn was keen to know more about.
Robin was equally curious. Finn's strength, which seemed disproportionate to his age, was impressive. When she saw him using the Finger Pistol, she momentarily thought he might be a CP9 agent, but his behavior didn't align with their style.
Robin smiled and said, "Sir, the first floor is quite noisy. How about we move to a private room on the second floor?"
"I agree!" Finn responded.
He stood up and led Nami and Tashigi upstairs.
After they left, the few remaining people who had been slapping themselves exchanged nervous glances. One of them muttered, "Damn it! When did I lose to this person?"
Suddenly, an air Finger Pistol projectile pierced through the ceiling and struck his knee.
"Ah!" he screamed, collapsing to the ground.
The others, terrified, slapped their faces even harder.
With Finn's Byakugan, he could monitor every move within his range at any time.
On the second floor, in the private room:
Finn and Robin sat across from each other, while Nami and Tashigi stood behind him. A maid brought in tea.
"Sir, please enjoy the tea," Robin said as she handed the cup to Finn.
Finn felt a bit dizzy under the influence of the Byakugan but managed to stay composed. He took a sip of tea and remarked, "This tea is quite... white."
Robin looked puzzled. "Sir, the tea is... white?"
Embarrassed, Finn quickly corrected himself, "Ah! I mean, the tea is quite good!"
"Good?" Robin and the others looked at Finn in confusion.
"Never mind, it's not important," Finn said, waving off the awkwardness and taking another sip of tea.
Robin observed Finn's reaction thoughtfully. His comments about the tea seemed odd, but she chose not to address it directly.
With a calm smile, Robin asked, "Since you mentioned 'good,' how much would you like to wager?"
Finn was taken aback. "There's an option?"
Then he realized Robin was referring to the stakes of the game.
A prompt appeared before him:
"Ding! Please choose."
Small Bet: Wager to win 10,000 Berries from Robin. Reward: Gentle Fist success!Big Bet: Risk bodily harm to win 10 million Baileys from Robin. Reward: Eight Trigrams Palms success!High Stakes Bet: Risk everything to win Robin. Reward: Gentle Fist success! Eight Trigrams Palms success!
Finn was excited by the rewards. With Byakugan, mastering Gentle Fist was a key step toward mastering Eight Trigrams Palms. These techniques, when used together, were extremely powerful.
Finn looked up at Robin, his determination clear. "If we're going to gamble, let's go all in!"
"I'm in!" Robin responded, ready for the challenge.