One Piece: Gambling to The Top
Chapter 42 - 42

Josh was sitting next to the seaport in one of the spots in Alabasta. Around him, people were coming and leaving. If one examined these people, however, they looked so rich.

Josh could tell that they hold tens of millions of Berries with them, and they were heading to one of the richest cities in Alabasta. ​​

That City was rich for one reason; Crocodile is having a casino there, and his reputation as a Warlord got the curiosity of many of the rich people.

"Thanks, Robin. I'm ready now to move."

Putting the snail back to its place, Josh stood up and adjusted his new hat - a cap, a black one.

Josh currently was hiding his face as he was moving in the street, toward an isolated spot in the desert, which should be quite far from the people.

According to what Robin had told Josh, Crocodile had just left the Casino and now was moving to kill him.

Robin had told Josh not to worry since she had made some group burn the green powder not so long ago.

While walking forward, Josh looked at the sky, in the hope for the clouds to start gathering soon.

—— Flash Black ——

Three days ago.

Later that night after that talk, which was to play on the nerves of Crocodile, Josh was lying down on the bed, with his crazy girlfriend hugging his body.

This is the time when he is supposed to be lucky — surrounded by danger and having a stunning beauty hugging his naked body in the hotel room.

After beating four of the bosses of Crocodile, Josh had gained four mystery boxes, with + tier 3. (Mr 5, 4, 3 and 2)

Also, he had gained 20 draw points for each one, giving him 80 points in total.

Josh, for real, is going to do something crazy, which is to bet before the final battle.

"Joshy…"

Turning his head, Josh saw Mikita hugging his body close to her body, generating heat enough for them to face the coldness of the night in the desert.

He turned and kissed her sleeping lips, before deciding to gamble on his current luck.

The Mystery Boxes started getting opened, giving Josh the next items in his hand.

[+ Chef cooking talent (Excellent)]

(Can cook very delicious things and learn recipes faster and better by 500% than most of the people)

Josh frowned. Alright, not so bad if he wanted to open a restaurant. However, he isn't going to open a restaurant.

[+ Healing Pill 65% (Excellent)]

[+ Ability increasing cigar (Epic)]

(Can increase the effect of any ability the man has by choice by 50%)

[+ Swordsmanship guide to Master level (the breath of steel) (Epic)]

Alright, the other things he got were good, it seems.

The ability-increasing cigar was something else, that made Josh wonder if he should increase his physical talent, or healing factor, which happened to be a physical constitution.

Josh decided to use it on his healing factor, which was mid-grade.

It didn't grow to good rank, however, his constitution changed to Above Mid Grade Healing Factor.

That would allow him to regenerate faster, and, thus, dealing better with critical injuries, which can kill and damage him even with his healing factor.

That's why he needed to increase that ability.

The last thing was something that almost made Josh's heart melt.

It was a Swordsmanship guide to master level.

It should allow him to learn quickly how to use blades and cut the steel with them.

However, when he started reading it, he knew that he needs many days. Even with his talent that allows him to have better talent than most, he needs a couple of months to reach max level.

Still, by reading that manual, he could tell it talks about positions, how someone should breathe while cutting and move the blade.

The last chapter of this manual was about the Breath of Steel, which explains how to hear it.

Josh pushed Mikita's sleeping body, took a long dagger under the bed, stood in the middle of the room, and started playing with it as the manual suggest to a beginner swordsman.

Josh had to start from the first level, after all.

He then stopped moving all of the sudden and put the dagger back in its place.

Because he had been excited to increase his skills in the given three days before meeting Crocodile, he forgot to use 80 Draw Points.

Josh found himself in two hard choices. One: spend the points one by one, raising his trials, but having low chances. Two: using more points in each trial and he would have a higher chance, but fewer trying times.

In any case, he is gambling, and it felt hard for him.

Josh smirked and decided to try this.

40…40

He was gambling what worths 40 million Berries in Lottery, not knowing if he get an epic thing.

Usually, spending ten points gives him better chances at getting above average and many times good.

Forty, he didn't know what should it be.

[+ agility increasing serum (Excellent) (+ 50% agility)]

With this serum, Josh would have taken Mr 2 in less time, given the new speed he would get.

Increasing agility usually means increasing his reaction and attacking speeds, with his basic speed and a bit of his stamina would be increased.

[+ A Stainless Steel Katana (Epic) ]

(A master-crafted sword, hard to break, and very sharp)

Waving his hand, Josh had a black sheathed Katana appearing in his hand.

Although Josh isn't a swordsman, he practises Kung Fu.

Kung Fu was a martial art that makes him a master with most of the weapons, swords were included in the list.

Just, it's a different style.

'Well, one can train swordsmanship later with this.'

Josh didn't refuse it. He is a master of martial arts, and including swordsmanship could do him a great favour.

But because he has a great battle waiting for him, he needed to practise what he is good at most. Taking his dagger again from under the bed, he started practising silently, while leaving Mikita hugging an empty sheet.

—— End Flashback ——

Josh stopped and rubbed his nose, the weather was getting wetter, yet seemed dried up at the same time.

His feet stopped walking on the sand, and he quickly turned back, seeing a black-haired man, who was standing at the height of 253 centimetres, making Josh look like a kid.

He was wearing a black tuxedo, a cigarette in his mouth. Josh looked at the man's square face, and tight black eyes, with the scar on his nose that almost split his face in half.

"Boss, you are here. I didn't expect for you to come this early."

"The previous Mr 7," Crocodile said the name slowly, while carefully observing Josh from head to toe. "Never thought you are this Tiny."

"Tiny!" Josh took a step back, as if offended, and pointed to himself with his thumbs. "That wasn't what your mama has said."

Crocodile, whose original plan was to give Josh some trash talk and teach him about how there are people at a higher level before killing him, couldn't help but clench his teeth in anger, his cigar splitting in half.

Josh looked at the angry face of Crocodile, and then at the cigarette that fell.

Crocodile would expect that Josh would feel fear, just like everyone who had seen this face on the boss of the Baroque Works in the past.

However…

"Learn to keep her teeth away. Do you kiss your parent with that mouth?"

Josh smirked as he looked at Crocodile, reaching his back and taking one dagger while pointing at Crocodile.

"Bastard!"

As Crocodile was growling behind his clenched teeth, the sky was getting darker and darker with each second.

Josh knew that Robin had burned the green powder.

However, it had yet to rain.

Crocodile, who was feeling wrath, felt invincible the moment the sky darkened in his anger.

"You will beg for mercy when I'm done with you." Crocodile believed that he would kill Josh before even the first drop of water leave the sky.

Josh, who had to anger Crocodile to forget about the sky, lifted both of his hands.

"I won't use your mom to comment on this."

Josh shook his head and looked at the ground.

Crocodile sneered at Josh when he saw him silent. Crocodile's hand started morphing into the sand, which took the shape of a sword that had a faint layer of yellow air around it.

Josh continued as he smiled at Crocodile face with a playful expression.

"I won't. I promised her to be gentle."

"To hell with it!" the last line got Crocodile. Screaming, Crocodile waved his sand blade down.

The ground shook and split in front of Josh, starting from Crocodile, and it seemed about to swallow him.

The crocodile's swung just showed how strong he is to do that with a sand sword.

Using Shave, Josh managed to dodge five meters to the right.

He looked behind him, to see the ground split in half.

Had he stayed in his place, he would have split in half.

Luckily, he got his agility increased.

"You're strong physically." Josh looked at Crocodile. With this, he can tell, Crocodile is strong even without his fruit. Josh cracked his fingers. "Not a problem."

*Rumble*

A lightning bolt flashed in the dark sky.

Crocodile looked down at Josh with a dark angry face.