"....."
Listening to these bizarre game rules, even Yamato understood that Arceus was joking.
"Dad, isn't this cheating? Who plays rock-paper-scissors where the other person goes first?"
Originally it was a fair game, but just the phrase "goes first" had already broken the balance.
"That's also the nature of lottery tickets. We're the issuers; the odds of winning can be arranged. No matter what, we won't lose money."
"In the end, the prize money will come from the contributions of other people who will buy the tickets."
"If we are shameless enough, we could even have insiders take all the prizes, but there's no need for that. Losing credibility is not a good thing."
"As long as I find what I'm looking for, a bit of money means nothing."
Compared to the plates, money is insignificant. Compared to absolute power, Berries are nothing but worthless scraps of paper.
"That's true. But Dad, you're a man of your word, right?"
"I've never lied to you. What's up?"
"I'm thinking about how I can win at rock-paper-scissors even if I go first. Maybe someday I'll pull it off."
"Don't bother. Unless your opponent wants you to win, that's just not realistic.
Instead of hoping to win when going first, you'd be better off thinking about how to beat the version of yourself in the mirror."
After settling a few details, Onigashima's lottery tickets began the manufacturing process. Meanwhile, Tesoro was also preparing for the publicity. With Beasts Fruits' current reputation, issuing lottery tickets wasn't difficult, though it did require coordination with various distribution channels.
Kuzan was still gradually coming to terms with the situation in Wano Country, while Yamato was leisurely enjoying a vacation in Kaido's absence. Kaido himself was roaming the seas, acting as he pleased, while his officers continued to forge their reputations on the seas.
In this new, chaotic era where the number of pirates was skyrocketing, the Beasts Pirates' position remained unshaken. In fact, they forged an even greater name for themselves through bloodshed.
Through constant daily battles, Jack quickly achieved a reputation on par with the original 3 Calamities.
Though Jack hadn't defeated any particularly heavyweight opponents, he had fought in far more battles.
Jack's quantity hadn't yet turned into quality, but he had accumulated a significant number of victories. The title of "Drought" was growing louder.
Kaido was pleased that his underlings had grown stronger. Ordinary pirates also celebrated Jack's success. However, over on Whole Cake Island, not everyone was happy.
"Snack, you failed. You actually lost to a rookie."
"Ma-Mama I was careless! Please give me another chance! Just one more chance!!"
A man with a long nose, a slightly chubby build, and gourd-shaped hairstyle was kneeling on the ground. The armor on his arms was now heavily damaged, and his outer clothing was torn in many places, showing he had just been through a battle.
He was none other than Charlotte Snack, one of the four Sweet Commander, with a bounty of 600 million Berries.
Not long ago, he had been defeated by Urouge, who had intruded into Big Mom's territory, and was now facing her wrath.
"Snack, did you know that brat Kaido recently got a fourth Calamity? Those rookies are no match for Kaido's subordinates.
Even that newly promoted Jack could easily defeat Drake, who, like Urouge, is part of the Worst Generation. And you, one of the Sweet Commander, was defeated by a 'rookie' like that!"
"No, Mama, it was… it was his ability… that freak monk's ability…"
"Enough! Snack, you've brought me shame. All these years, apart from Bege who chose to join us, not a single rookie has ever made it past the first line of defence. And you… you've disappointed me."
"From now on, there are no longer Four Sweet Commanders here….only three. Snack, you are dismissed."
Kaido had once been Charlotte Linlin's little brother. Even though this little brother had grown powerful, Charlotte Linlin still felt that way.
The once-little brother was now thriving on his own, with extremely powerful officers under his command.
Originally, her Four Sweet Commanders outnumbered Kaido's Three Calamities by one. But now, Kaido had filled in a Fourth Calamity, while her fourth Sweet Commander had been defeated. To Charlotte Linlin, this was a humiliation.
As a result, she decided to take a page from Kaido's book: if the strength isn't enough, it's better to leave a vacancy than promote someone unworthy to the senior officer's position.
Snack was no longer fit to serve as a senior officer. Since he was defeated, he should obediently step down.
"Mama… I…"
"Snack! Shut up!"
Hearing that he was about to be dismissed from his position, Snack panicked and tried to explain, but Katakuri interrupted him.
"Brother Katakuri"
"Mama, I will punish Snack for you. But for now, let's deal with that intruder first."
Right now, Charlotte Linlin still hasn't lost control, she was still within manageable limits. But if Snack kept trying to justify himself, and she truly lost her temper, things would go much worse for him.
Compared to the punishment of extracting lifespan or removing a body part, being dismissed was already a very light punishment.
"You're right. Cracker, you go and deal with that intruder just as Katakuri said and let him know the price of trespassing."
"Yes, Mama."
Hidden inside a biscuit armor, Cracker responded, then picked up his "pretzel" and headed in Urouge's direction.
"Karmic… Punishment!"
Taking the brunt of Cracker's repeated attacks, Urouge's arm muscles bulged as he attacked the person in front of him.
But that punch only landed on Cracker's biscuit shield.
As Urouge continued his attacks, Cracker not only remained unhurt, but manipulated the biscuits to add several more arms to himself. Even the number of weapons inexplicably doubled.
Cracker was the user of Paramecia-type Bis-Bis Fruit—a biscuit human—with a bounty of 860 million Berries.
Because he was extremely afraid of pain, he usually hid inside the biscuit warrior he created, using the biscuit armor to protect his body.
As a result, most people didn't know what he really looked like. Even the portrait on his bounty poster was of his biscuit warrior.
With the power of the biscuits, Cracker was confident he could defeat Urouge here.
Unlike Snack, who was crushed by Urouge, Cracker hadn't even sustained a scratch on his biscuit shield so far.
In the end, under Cracker's assault, Urouge suffered a crushing defeat and fled Big Mom's territory in disgrace.
Meanwhile, on another island, the landscape was bizarrely split in half—one side engulfed in blazing flames, the other a world of ice and snow.
This was Punk Hazard, also known as the Island of Ice and Fire. At this moment, Sister and Tiger had already arrived near the island.
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my pa*reon.