Ch 24 Remember kids, Gambling is good for you... No, wait...

(I made some corrections to the previous chapter.)

After exiting the portal and arriving in Yuba once more, the group gathered up and everyone was told what was happening. Leo made the Jeep again and everyone got in. He had switched back to his camo trousers and army boots get-up.

They then started heading out, but just when they got some distance from Yuba, there was was a sand tornado heading towards it.

Leo saw the tornado and stopped the car. Getting out, he wound up his arm, built up his power of vibration and punched out towards the tornado, creating a gale and a thunderous boom from breaking the sound barrier.

The sand around him was blown away from where he stood. The force from his punch destroyed the tornado, so he turned around and went back into the car, then started driving again.

Leo's actions did attract some stares from the others. They had seen his prowess already, but it's still astounding to see him in action.

Sanji - "Hey, how are you so strong?"

Leo answered nonchalantly.

Leo - "Push-ups, sit ups and plenty of juice."

Seeing that he wouldn't get a straight answer, he gave up with a grumble.

- 5 hours later -

It took a bit longer than anticipated to get to Rainbase.

At one point they got lost for almost an hour, because Vivi pointed Leo in the wrong direct. Then Luffy got hungry and wanted to have a full stomach to fight Crocodile, so they stopped for food.

Leo was irritated by all this and ended up driving faster than some people were comfortable with.

Ignoring that little annoyance, Rainbase was actually quite a beautiful city. Too bad it's the base of an evil asshole.

They were all currently gathered in the city centre, discussing their next move.

Leo - "Can we look around before messing things up and are no longer welcome here?"

Nami - "I agree. I want to go to the casino!"

Leo could swear that he saw money signs appear in her eyes.

Luffy - "But I want to fight Crocodile now!"

Leo - "Come on, you could go get more food to eat. It would only be a few hours or so."

Luffy froze and seemed to struggle over the matter, but finally gave in to temptation.

Leo and Nami looked at each other with gleaming eyes, slightly grinning.

Leo - "Well, I'm gonna go scam some chumps at the casino. Who's coming?"

Nami - "Me!"

Sanji - "Why the hell would you do that of all things!?"

Leo + Nami - "Why not?"

The others looked at the duo incredulously. Leo and Nami looked at each other, then spun their heads away embarrassedly.

Zoro - "Ignoring those two. I wanna go see a weapons shop and check out their swords."

Vivi, seeing that there was little to do, looked at Zoro.

Vivi - "I will take you to one, if you wish."

Zoro nodded and started walking off with Vivi. Then Luffy ran off to find a restaurant.

Sanji decided to go look at cooking equipment, Usopp went to go find stuff for making ammo and Chopper went with him.

In the end, only Leo and Nami were remaining there. Glancing at one another awkwardly.

Leo - "So... How about we visit a clothing store and we get you out of those god awful robes? Wouldn't fit to well with the casino scene."

Nami gave herself a once over and laughted.

Nami - "Haha, yeah, that would be nice."

He then presented his arm to her playfully.

Leo - "Well then, shall we?"

She played along and took his arm with a blush on her face.

They then set off in search of a clothing store, which they found after 10 minutes.

Half an hour later and they had left the store, only Nami now wore a tight fit, dark blue dress.

No matter the world, women always take their time when buying clothes. Fortunately, Leo managed to get Nami to only try a few dresses, before deciding on the one she was now wearing. It wasn't the one that he suggested, considering how it hugged her figure a little too tightly, but he had to admit that she looked great.

Leo bought the dress for her, simply because he had too much money that was going to waste. It also was because this little expedition was quite similar to a date, though she did try to refuse at first, he just waved her off. He'd probably get it all back from the casino anyways.

Leo also dressed up for the occasion and made himself an expensive looking three piece suit.

Now the two of them looked more like refined nobles, rather than random wanderers.

Fully dressed for the occasion, they made their way to the casino owned by Crocodile himself. Bold, but what is Sandy gonna do about it.

After a short walk, they got to the casino and walked inside without a care in the world. Exchanging some money for house currency.

Nami - "What do you want to do first?"

Leo - "How about blackjack?"

Nami - "Sure!"

They went over to the nearest table and started playing. A little while later and they were basically winning every game they played, losing some to avoid suspicion.

Being an empath makes things way too easy. Nobody can bluff you when you can read their emotions. And as for Nami, she basically just cheated.

They also went over to some roulette tables as well. He cheated by infusing Hellfire into the ball and table so that he could manipulate it. Seeing everyones faces when he won a dozen times in a row was great.

An hour or so later and Leo had got more money than he originally exchanged. Nami also had her fair share as well.

They went and exchanged all their chips in for Berries, much to the dismay of the casino staff.

As they were leaving, Leo noticed that someone was staring at him and radiating an aura of caution, curiosity, fear and bewilderment. Needless to say, he was curious who it was.

He focused on finding where it was coming from and then turned to Nami.

Leo - "I'm going to hold onto you for a second, okay?"

Without giving her time to answer, he picked her up and vanished, causing even more confusion in the person spying on them.

Leo appeared behind the person as they turned their head side to side, searching for him.

Seeing who was spying on them, Leo was surprised. It was none other than Robin, dressed in her cowgirl outfit and a white fur coat. Crazy woman...

Nami was also alarmed to see Robin infront of her, but Leo kept her calm and gave her a shushing gesture, so she stayed quiet.

With a mischievous grin on his face, he creeped closer to her and place his mouth beside her ear.

Leo - "What you looking for?"

Robin jumped in fright and spun round, coming face to face with Leo, a little too close together.

Leo and Nami sniggered at her reaction, causing her to blush a little from embarrassment.

She backed up and regained her composure, remaining wary of Leo, knowing just how dangerous he is.

Leo didn't really care however and started talking with a serious expression.

Leo - "You know, it's rude to spy on people."

Robin - "I apologise for that, but what else should I do when an enemy of the organisation I work for, is sitting right inside our base?"

She stood with a nonchalant smile on her face, but deep down, she was just trying to make sure she didn't accidentally anger Leo.

Leo - "I can see your point... But, that only applies when you are able to plot against the target you are spying on, otherwise, the smart option would be to run away and hide. Wouldn't you agree?"

He was kind of enjoying messing with her.

Robin - "*Gulp* Well, that would be smart... But, I'm not really in a position to run away either. Even if you didn't notice me."

Leo - "I suppose. However, that leaves the question of who you should be more afraid of? Crocodile? Or me!?"

He released a small amount of killing intent, making Robin sweat nervously, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Nami - "Leo, come on, stop messing with her. If you were going to kill her, she would already be dead... And look how scared you've made her."

She did have a point... And Robin was genuinely scared of him, which he didn't really want.

He gave Robin an apologetic smile.

Leo - "Alright. Sorry for scaring you, I have recently found myself to have become quite sadistic and was enjoying messing with you."

Seeing his sudden change in demeanour and hearing him apologise, she was surprised, but felt an ethereal weight lift off of her.

Leo's face then became a little expressionless and his tone dull.

Leo - "On the matter of apologising, I would also like to apologise for the way I acted on our first meeting. You caught me at a bad moment and I didn't like the charade you were showing."

(A/N: Don't anybody call him a simp or something. He is just apologising for being an ass.)

Nami came to his side and held his arm, looking at him with a little worry, but he gave her a smile to show that he was fine.

Robin was shocked that he was apologising for that. She didn't even mind. In fact, it hadn't crossed her mind at all, she was more concerned by his strength than his behaviour.

Her image of him was taking a massive change in but a short moment. He went from hidden monster to well-mannered gentleman in seconds. (I couldn't think of a better description😑)

Robin ended up standing there with her mouth hung open for a moment, only to realise that Leo and Nami were staring at her.

Robin - "*Cough* R-right, no need to apologise. I am your enemy after all."

Leo - "Oh are you now?"

Nami - "Because an enemy totally tries to help their own supposed enemy."

Robin smiled at their playfulness, a smile they reciprocated.

Leo - "I don't believe we have been formally introduced. I'm Leonardo Blaze, but you can just call me Leo."

Nami - "I'm Nami. Nice to meet you."

Robin laughed with a hand in front of her mouth, hearing them introduce themselves.

Robin - "Hahaha. Well, as you know, I am Nico Robin. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Robin was amazed at herself. She never would have thought she could find such enjoyment from a simple exchange of introductions.

Leo could feel the enjoyment coming from her and was also happy, as was Nami.

He decided to try moving on to a topic that would make Robin interested, as he thought it would help her.

Leo - "So, I know of something that might interest you in-"

*Bang*

He was interrupted by the sound of the casino doors being slammed open and the shouts of people.

The trio looked over and saw Luffy, Zoro, Vivi, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper, barging into the casino while being chased by Smoker.

The trio looked at each other and sighed.

Robin - "Well, it seems our conversation will have to be cut short."

Leo - "I guess so. We can always continue it some time later."

She wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she nodded and left.

Leo and Nami were now alone.

Nami - "Shouldn't we be following them?"

Leo - "It's okay. I told Luffy that he could fight Crocodile and I will let him. We'll follow, but give it a moment."

They watched Robin walk up to a casino employee and tell him something, then a bunch more employees started to direct the crew towards the V.I.P. section.

Nami - "Are you sure that we shouldn't go help them?"

Leo - "We will in a moment, just wait."

They waited while watching the door that the others ran through.

While waiting, Leo suddenly felt the beacon he gave to Koza break into multiple pieces, so he made a clone at half strength.

His clone, dressed for battle, opened a portal and walked through.

Right as his clone left, Leo saw Crocodile and Robin exit from the door they were just watching. Robin glanced at him and Nami, giving them a barely perceivable nod, trying to tell them that the crew were still okay, but that they need help.

Leo nodded in response and turned to Nami.

Leo - "Well, let's get going."

He and Nami started walking over to the V.I.P. section.

- With Clone Leo -

Walking out of the portal, Leo was presented with the sight of Nanohana set ablaze and the 'King' spouting shit about using Dance Powder. It was actually Mr.2 using his Devil Fruit of course.

Leo - "Let's get this over with."

He shifted into his Rider form and then moved faster than anyone could see.

Everybody in the surroundings saw him appear all of a sudden, speak a few word and then disappear.

A second later, he reappeared, standing behind the 'King'. Before anyone could react, the 'Royal Guards' started dropping like flies, with gaping holes in their chests.

GR Leo - "Hahahaha!"

Under the shocked and terrified gazes of the civilians and rebels, Leo grabbed onto the arms of the 'King' and forced him to his knees.

GR Leo - "I'm going to give you 5 seconds to release your transformation and show these people that you're a fake."

Leo placed a foot on the kneeling man's back and started pulling back his arms.

GR Leo - "5!"

'King'/Mr.2 - "What do you think you're doing!? I am the King! Release me!!"

GR Leo - "4!"

He started pulling a little harder.

Mr.2 - "Let me go!"

GR Leo - "3!"

A little harder.

Mr.2 - "WAIT! WAIT! LISTEN TO ME!!!"

GR Leo - "2!"

Mr.2 was now frantic.

Mr.2- "STOP! Anything! I'll do what you want!"

GR Leo - "1!"

Mr.2 - "I said, I'll do it! I'll release my transformation! Let me go!"

GR Leo - "0!"

With a sharp tug, Leo ripped his arms off.

Mr.2 - "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Civilians - "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone started screaming in shock and terror, but then, the face of the 'King' started changing, drawing the attention of the people.

Unintentionally, Leo had caused Mr.2's power to stop working. Whether this is from the over bearing pain or because the method to transform had been removed, its anyones guess.

GR Leo - "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Leo couldn't resist the urge to laugh, but because of the situation and the fact that he was a flaming skeleton, it made him all the more terrifying in the eyes of everyone.

His laughter was soon interrupted by the shouts from a bunch of people about a ship heading to the harbour.

Leo looked over and saw a giant ship in that direction. Raising his hand, he shot a concentrated beam of Hellfire at the ship, disintegrating it.

Turning back to Mr.2, he simply snapped his neck and took his soul, along with the Devil Fruit.

He then turned human and looked at Koza, who flinched at his glowing eyes.

Leo - "Continue with the show. Make it appear as though the rebellion is still going and avoid letting this information get out."

Receiving a nod from Koza, Leo disappeared from his spot, going all over Nanohana to put out the fire.

He then headed to the West and found a big tortoise. Heading to it, checked it for a Den Den Mushi, found it and incinerated it.

With nothing left to do, he made a portal to his real body, stepped through and dispelled.

<Low Mortal - 23.69%>

It only took a minute or two to finish everything.

- With Leo and Nami when the Clone left. -

Leo and Nami went to the door and started running down the hall at a moderate speed, eventually coming to a stop when their path had two directions. Left for V.I.P. and right for pirates.

Leo knew that this was simply a trick and that there was a trapdoor near it, so he smashed through the trapdoor and picked Nami up.

He looked at her with a grin, while she had an nervous look.

Nami - "Please don't do what I think you're going to do..."

Leo - "Hmm... Nope!"

He then jumped down the hole.

Nami - "KYAAAAA!!!"

Leo - "Hahahahaha!"

After a few seconds of falling, with Nami gripping onto Leo for her life, they finally landed on top of something.

The thing they landed on was a cell. The very cell that the group was trapped in while water had started flooding the room.

Leo jumped down, into the the ankle deep water, still holding onto Nami who was glaring at him fiercely, then turned to face his trapped crewmates.

Leo - "Hello there."

Crew - "Leo!"

Leo was slightly disappointed that his quote went unanswered, but what was he expecting.

Leo - "Honestly, can't we go anywhere without you being captured Luffy?"

Luffy - "Hey! It wasn't my fault. These bars make are made from stuff that makes me weak!"

Leo - "What about the walls?"

Their heads turned to the walls and *smack* they all facepalmed.

Leo - "Well, whatever."

Leo then placed a hand onto the bars and placed the entire cell in his inventory, making everyone drop to the floor.

Zoro - "A little warning before you did that would have been nice..."

Leo - "Consider it punishment for getting caught. We should get going before anymore water gets in."

He then started making his way out, still hold onto Nami, mainly because she didn't seem to want to let go. Though, that may be because of the water...