Gild Tesoro

Gild Tesoro (also known as Gold Emperor and the Monster of the New World) is the main antagonist of One Piece Film: Gold. He was formerly the Casino King who was the proprietor of Gran Tesoro, the largest entertainment city-ship in the world, before his defeat and arrest.

Despite making his first full debut in One Piece Film: Gold as its main antagonist, Tesoro appears as a cameo of both the filler arc, Silver Mine Arc (EP 747~750), and Heart of Gold special, where he serves as the Greater Scope Villain in both of them.

Early Life
Teroso was born inside a poor family where his father wasted all of their money on gambling. Teroso's father squandered so much that there was not even a penny left in their family, and due to this poverty, Teroso's father died in sickness after failed to afford medical fees. Teroso liked singing when he was a child and dreamed to become a famous star, but his mother, who was an alcoholic, abused him and forbidded him from realizing his dream. Fed up with his childhood life, Teroso left his family at the age of 12. He started stealing money, and befriended some people after giving money to them. He spent the money on gambling, liquor, and fighting.

When he was 16 years old, Tesoro suffered a devastating loss in an illegal casino, causing his friends to desert him and nearly resulting in him being enslaved. He managed to escape from the slave dealer, suffering many injuries in the process. He then met a girl named Stella in a human shop, and they fell in love. Since Stella hated criminals, Tesoro started legitimately earning money in order to purchase her freedom.

However, a World Noble came into the shop three years later and bought Stella easily. An enraged Tesoro attacked the World Noble, but was defeated by his security guard; Tesoro was enslaved and taken to Mariejois as well. During his time as a slave, Tesoro was constantly mocked and abused by his masters, who even forbade him from smiling. Two years later, Tesoro heard that Stella died, and was enraged that he could not buy her away from her fate, causing him to become obsessed with money. Tesoro was freed from slavery five years later during Fisher Tiger's attack on Mariejois, and resumed a life of crime. He changed the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon mark on his back into a star mark.

Three years later, the Donquixote Pirates held an auction for the Gol Gol no Mi. Tesoro sent criminals to the auction venue to kill many people and eventually gained possession of the fruit. Donquixote Doflamingo got angry, as he never actually intended to sell the fruit, but Tesoro defeated his assassins. Three years later, Tesoro's fame grew and Tanaka joined his crew. Doflamingo heard of his exploits and tried to kill him again a year later, but he was unable to defeat Tesoro's strong crew. Doflamingo decided to use Tesoro as a business partner instead of killing him, and gave Tesoro connections in the World Government. Dice joined Tesoro's crew around this time.

Two years later, Tesoro's illegal business succeeded and he became very rich, building the Gran Tesoro and becoming a respectable world power for the World Government and World Nobles. He intended to use vast wealth to become the most powerful person in the world, and aimed to make the World Nobles obey him in the future.

At some point afterwards, Tesoro defeated the captain of the Silver Pirates Alliance, Bill, and his crew with the power of his wealth. Since then, Bill served Tesoro and paid him a regular tribute of silver from the island of Silver Mine, setting up the later events of Silver Mine Filler Arc.

Silver Mine Arc
At the final episode of this filler arc, Tesoro was revealed to be the one behind Bill and the Siver Pirates Alliance. When Bill met his first defeat, Tanaka appeared in front of him and warned Bill that Tesoro would be displeased when he knew about Bill's failure. Not wanting his master to abandon him, a horrified Bill consumed a great amount of silver ore and turned into a monstrous living furnace filled with molten silver before engaging his final fight with Luffy, but was defeated. After that, the molten silver released by Bill destroyed the island of Silver Mine and made it sunk together with its owner. Later, Tanaka informed Bill's destruction alongside Silver Mine to Tesoro, who stayed calm with this news.

Powers & Abilities
Tesoro was formerly the proprietor of the Gran Tesoro, which is the largest entertainment city-ship in the world, giving him authority over everyone on it. His wealth accounted for 20% of all the money circulated in the world, and made him a very influential person. He was not restrained by the World Government, who recognized his city-ship as neutral territory and largely independent, and even submitted to his requests sometimes due to his vast wealth and influence. His influence also extended to the black market. Tesoro's influence has given him the title "Monster of the New World", and Koala stated that his power is equal to that of the World Nobles. However, after being defeated by Luffy and arrested by the Marines, Tesoro lost all his wealth and power.

Tesoro was able to defeat Bill and his crew, and was capable of striking fear into Bill since then. Tanaka stated that Tesoro would easily dispose of Bill should the latter disappoint the former. His crew fought evenly against the Donquixote Pirates, a very famous and powerful pirate crew led by a former Shichibukai.

He is also a very skilled performer, regularly singing and dancing in concerts for the residents of Gran Tesoro.

Devil Fruit Power
Gild Tesoro used power from his Devil Fruit, Gol Gol no Mi / Gold-Gold Fruit, which is a dark yellow Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that appears to resemble a combination of a gourd and a pineapple. It has a few leaves on top, and expands at the middle. Like all natural Devil Fruits, its surface is covered with swirling patterns. It is about the same size as the palm of Tesoro's hand.

The Gold-Gold Fruit allows him to telekinetically manipulate gold he has touched at will. He can use this power to create huge fountains of liquid gold, trap his enemies, infuse gold dusts and flakes into other people's bodies so that he can then slowly transform their skin into gold. He is also able to create gold armors that grant increased power and defense, to the point where he can turn into a massive gold golem. The gold is strong enough to withstand a slash from Zoro's swords. By showering his guests with gold dust when they enter his ship he is able to control the movements of everyone on-board and should he will it use the gold their bodies have absorbed to turn them into gold statues, cementing his authority in the city.

Tesoro can use this power to create huge fountains of liquid gold, trap his enemies, infuse gold dusts and flakes into other people's bodies and even slowly transform their skin into gold. He is also able to create an armor of gold for increased power and defense, to the point where he can turn into a massive gold golem. The gold is strong enough to withstand a slash from Zoro's swords. By showering his guests with gold dust when they enter his ship he is able to control the movements of everyone on-board and should he will it use the gold their bodies have absorbed to turn them into gold statues, cementing his authority in the city.

Since consuming his Devil Fruit he has been able to awaken its powers, furthering the range of his influence over gold and enabling him to use all of the gold in Gran Tesoro that he has touched as a complex sensory network. Through it he is able to detect attempted break-ins or attacks on the city. When utilizing large gold constructs he is also capable of unleashing focused light beams or explosive force through unknown means that have the power to destroy a Marine warship or critically injure an opponent from a single blow.

However, most of these times he is shown to be rather reliant on such powers; as a result, foes such as Luffy may be able to overpower him in a close-ranged fight.

Weaknesses
The main weakness of this Devil Fruit power is that it cannot create gold and that its power is thus directly proportional to the amount of gold present in its user's surroundings.

Furthermore, the user can only manipulate gold that they have previously touched, and contact with sea water will instantly nullify that effect: gold constructs will crack and crumble, and the user will need to touch the gold once more before being able to manipulate it again. Other than that, the user is also affected by the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses.

Gran Tosoro

 * Carina (defected)
 * Baccarat
 * Tanaka
 * Dice

Silver Pirate Alliance

 * Bill (deceased)
 * Desire (defected)
 * Pesesta
 * Aveyron

Trivia

 * "Tesoro" is Italian and Spanish for "treasure", and "to gild" means to cover thinly with gold, both of which corresponds with Tesoro's Devil Fruit power, the theme and composition of his ship, and Film: Gold's title.
 * Tesoro's love of gold is shared with El Drago, the antagonist of the first One Piece movie.
 * The scar on Tesoro's back might be a reference to the Joestar Birthmark from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series.
 * Despite not making an appearance in manga, Teroso appeared on the cover of Chapter 817 since it is a promo to the film One Piece: Gold.
 * ​Teroso also made an appearance on One Piece Volume 777, a free volume This volume number is a reference to the slot machine result "Jackpot" which in shown as the number "7" on each of its three reels, also known as "Triple Seven", fitting the gambler identity of Teroso.