Smoker nodded slowly. "Tesoro?"
After speaking, he glanced down at the document in his hand. It contained detailed business plans, meticulously crafted. Someone had clearly invested considerable time and effort into this.
"Did you write this?" Smoker asked.
"Yes, Boss Smoker!" Tesoro answered quickly.
"Interesting," Smoker murmured.
Gild Tesoro, the future Golden Emperor, had not joined the Revolutionary Army or followed Tiger after the Mary Geoise arson incident.
He'd traveled to the New World alone, wandered for a time, and recruited a handful of followers, wanting to establish his own enterprise.
But he was genuinely weak. The underlings he'd gathered were fine for waving flags and shouting slogans, but relying on them to accomplish anything substantial was utterly foolish.
According to the original timeline, Tesoro should have stolen the Gold-Gold Fruit from Doflamingo two or three years from now, and from that point forward, he'd embark on the road to vast wealth, becoming the richest man in the pirate world in one fell swoop.
Finn had noticed this man and specifically asked people to search for him. He'd had the impression Tesoro should have been working in the Sabaody Archipelago previously, but they hadn't found him, and the matter had been dropped.
Who would have known this guy would now come to surrender to Smoker voluntarily?
After spending time in the New World, Tesoro had realized there was no future for him working alone. He didn't want to be a pirate. He simply wanted to become a person of status, a wealthy man.
This guy had a sharp mind. Even without receiving professional education due to the incident at Mary Geoise, he still possessed many valuable ideas and insights. Sometimes one had to admit that natural talent mattered tremendously.
After realizing he couldn't accomplish anything significant working alone, Tesoro had begun searching for a backer in the New World.
The two largest powers in the New World were the Whitebeard Pirates and the alliance between Charlotte Linlin and Kaido.
But neither of these organizations suited Tesoro's purposes. Smoker, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was the one who'd caught Tesoro's attention.
In Tesoro's assessment, although Smoker flew a pirate flag, he was affiliated with the World Government as a legal pirate. This single factor made him far superior to Whitebeard or Kaido.
After all, if he wanted to earn substantial wealth, he'd need to deal with all kinds of people and conduct major business. It would be impossible to bypass the World Government.
Smoker had the credentials to conduct business with the World Government openly and legitimately. Did Whitebeard have that? Did Kaido? Did Charlotte Linlin?
Of course, aside from Smoker, he'd also observed the other Seven Warlords of the Sea. For example, the world's greatest swordsman who'd appeared in the New World not long ago but had soon vanished without a trace.
But it was obvious Mihawk wasn't suited for business.
As for Bartholomew Kuma, he was nowhere to be found. As for Crocodile, he'd gone to Alabasta to become a noble. Tesoro had heard he'd even been knighted recently.
So after considering everything, Tesoro could only think of Smoker.
Smoker was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and he wasn't particularly vicious. He'd begun legitimizing his operations. His primary business was no longer piracy. Now he was a tycoon in the New World, a major boss in the underworld. He owned the Amway Group and earned a fortune daily. Who knew how many ships conducted business on his behalf?
He'd heard Smoker also cooperated with Pleasure Street. In Tesoro's view, Smoker was simply a business magnate wearing a pirate's disguise!
Such a person possessed strength, influence, and a platform. If you could gain his favor, your ideas and talents might be able to flourish, allowing you to become a new tycoon yourself!
So Tesoro had studied the New World's situation in detail during this period. He'd also researched the Amway Group's surface operations and formulated a series of business plans. Then, with considerable courage, he'd come alone to Smoker's Tobacco City to seek an audience.
He hadn't known whether Smoker, such a high-ranking figure, would meet him. But he'd come anyway. He had to take this gamble!
Fortunately, Smoker had agreed to meet him, and he'd personally handed his business plan to Smoker.
To be honest, if Smoker accepted the plan now and then kicked Tesoro away, Tesoro would suffer an enormous loss. Smoker might genuinely be able to take his business to the next level with these innovative ideas.
Therefore, Tesoro's actions could indeed be considered a gamble.
He was betting that Smoker possessed the foresight to recognize his talents through this plan.
He believed Smoker, like himself, was a man with sharp business acumen. After all, without such intelligence, how could the Amway Group operate so successfully?
However, Tesoro had truly miscalculated on this point. Smoker didn't possess any particular business acumen. On the surface, he was the boss of the Amway Group, but the organization's business operations had always been managed by Marine Headquarters and Pleasure Street. Smoker simply provided the banner of the Seven Warlords and handled some operational matters.
Therefore, these business plans Tesoro had presented... Smoker couldn't understand them at all!
So naturally, he couldn't appreciate Tesoro's talents.
Fortunately, Tesoro wasn't particularly unlucky. After the Mary Geoise arson incident, Smoker had received instructions from Finn, asking him to check if there was a person named "Gild Tesoro" in the New World. If so, finding this man would be extremely useful.
Not only Smoker, but Queen Stussy had also received instructions from Finn.
However, the timeframe had been too short, and Tesoro was indeed a minor figure with only a dozen or so subordinates. For "big bosses" like them, the New World could easily produce tens of thousands of such small-time operators.
So neither Smoker nor Stussy had located Tesoro yet.
But while Smoker hadn't found him, Tesoro had shown up on his own, wanting to join Smoker's organization.
This surprised Smoker and made him intensely curious. How had Admiral Finn known about this person?
Although he couldn't understand the business plan or grasp Tesoro's talents, this was someone the Admiral was looking for. Naturally, Smoker had no reason to reject him.
After a brief silence, Smoker spoke. "In this world, everyone has their own desires. Some seek justice, some power, some wealth, and some strength. So, Tesoro, you came to me and presented this valuable plan. You can't possibly be completely selfless, can you? Or perhaps you genuinely intend to serve me as nothing more than a pirate underling?" He chuckled darkly. "Tell me, what do you want from me?"
It had to be said that while Smoker acted like a subordinate who'd been suffering under Finn's command, in front of others, he genuinely played the role of a major boss.
His words made Tesoro nervous.
After thinking for a while, Tesoro finally abandoned the urge to deceive Smoker. He said seriously, "Boss Smoker, I hope to gain your protection under your banner, your financial backing, and the authority to oversee implementation of these business plans. I will prove my capabilities to you and hope to gain the status you grant me." He paused. "Finally, I want the Gold-Gold Fruit."
Smoker didn't take the previous requests too seriously. Since this kid had already caught the Admiral's attention, there shouldn't be any problem allowing him to rise in position eventually.
In any case, he didn't understand these business matters. If the Admiral knew about this, he might genuinely let Tesoro handle things.
But this Gold-Gold Fruit?
"Gold-Gold Fruit?" Smoker murmured.
Tesoro felt surprised at this moment. Boss Smoker was only surprised by this request? It seemed he didn't care about the previous conditions. Was there hope?
Judging from his words and expressions, Tesoro was quite perceptive. However, he quickly suppressed his surprise and explained, "Yes, the Gold-Gold Fruit, a Paramecia. After consuming this fruit, you become someone who controls gold. For a businessman, this is the optimal ability!"
"Really?" Smoker nodded, then said, "You want to borrow the Amway Group's resources to help you find this Devil Fruit?"
Tesoro nodded first, then shook his head. "Actually, there's no need to search for it. I already know where it is."
"Where?" Smoker asked.
"In the hands of Heavenly Yaksha, Donquixote Doflamingo," Tesoro said without hesitation.
In truth, the Gold-Gold Fruit had a special connection with Tesoro. After he'd escaped from Mary Geoise, he'd gathered a small group of followers at a dock on a New World island, worked as a laborer, and become a minor boss at the docks.
Then, one time while helping the Donquixote Family load cargo, he'd accidentally overheard news about the "Gold-Gold Fruit." After that, this man had become obsessed with the Gold-Gold Fruit, investigating extensively. The more he learned, the more excited he became.
It was just that he lacked the ability to touch the Donquixote Family's goods. Judging by timing, the Gold-Gold Fruit should have fallen into Doflamingo's hands by now.
If it weren't for Smoker and Finn, Tesoro would have continued following this lead in detail. Finally, several years later, when Doflamingo used the Gold-Gold Fruit as a "prize" for an auction, Tesoro would make his decisive strike, steal the fruit, and flee.
That's right. There were actually several years between when Doflamingo obtained the Gold-Gold Fruit and when he used it as auction bait.
Doflamingo had originally had no intention of selling the Gold-Gold Fruit. He'd wanted to wait for a suitable candidate to consume this ability. However, before he could find that person, the fruit had been stolen by Tesoro.
It was precisely because Tesoro had been planning for several years that he'd been able to succeed and snatch Doflamingo's prize.
If it had been too hasty, how could he have possessed such capability? Doflamingo would just announce a prize, and Tesoro would steal it without resistance?
Did people really think Doflamingo was easy to bully?
But now the situation had changed. Tesoro had still obtained news about the Gold-Gold Fruit, but he didn't plan to steal the Devil Fruit himself.
He planned to surrender to Smoker and see if he could borrow Smoker's power to quickly obtain the Gold-Gold Fruit.
"You're quite bold, coveting Heavenly Yaksha's goods," Smoker said with a slight smile.
"Compared to you, Heavenly Yaksha is nothing," Tesoro said without hesitation.
"Then you underestimate that man," Smoker said calmly. It was clear that Tesoro might have some understanding of Doflamingo, but his knowledge definitely wasn't deep.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, if he truly knew Doflamingo, he definitely wouldn't have the courage to provoke him.
Before Tesoro could speak again, Smoker smiled. "What will you do if I refuse?"
"I'll find a way to handle it myself," Tesoro said with determination.
"Find a way? Relying on yourself? You'll die," Smoker said with obvious disdain.
This time, Tesoro looked up at Smoker. His eyes filled with solemnity and unwavering resolve. "Apart from this life, I have nothing else. So if I want to reach the top, to become a tycoon, and never be bullied again, I have to fight with everything I have! Boss Smoker!"
This miserable life had long been worthless after Stella's death anyway. What was there left to cherish?
If there genuinely was a chance to turn everything around, Tesoro would never treasure his own life!
"Hahahahahaha!" Smoker suddenly burst into laughter. Then he said, "You've said many words today, but only that last sentence made me think more highly of you."
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