"The problem is, they'll be taken down one by one." Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District, let out a quiet sigh. "Haven't you all learned anything from Umit's fate?" "And what exactly are you suggesting?" Du Feld narrowed his eyes, suspicion dripping from his voice. Stussy didn't answer immediately. Her gaze slowly swept across the gathering before she finally said, "Someone among us… has already begun to waver." Peckham's eyes turned sharp. "The Warehouse King Gibson," Stussy said evenly, "and… certain partners in the loan shark trade." Her eyes flicked meaningfully toward Du Feld. Orıginal content can be found at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩 Du Feld's face darkened as he slammed the table and rose to his feet. "Stussy! Don't you dare try to sow discord here!" "Is it discord," she sneered, "or the truth you're too afraid to admit? My people have already discovered that several of your most important clients have been secretly working with the Blood Dawn syndicate… and you've turned a blind eye." "You—!" Du Feld's fury nearly boiled over, but at the last second, he bit back his words. Because he knew… Stussy was right. The meeting ended in bitter silence. In the New World, on a seemingly ordinary trade island, a cloaked man moved quickly through the shadows before finally stopping in front of an unmarked merchant vessel. "Password," one of the guards whispered. "Blood Dawn. Eternal Night." The reply came in a raspy voice from beneath the hood. (Rhett's thought: Since when did we get such a dramatic motto?) The guard nodded and stepped aside. The cloaked man boarded the ship. From beneath his hood, the gleam of gold-rimmed glasses caught the lantern light. This was Azan, the chief accountant and trusted aide of the Warehouse King Gibson. Inside the cabin, Gild Tesoro lounged casually on a throne of solid gold, idly rolling a World Government-minted coin between his fingers. Baccarat leaned lazily at his side, lips curling into a playful smile. "Well, well… it seems our guest has arrived." Azan took a deep breath, then dropped to one knee, holding up a sealed ledger. "Lord Tesoro, this contains the coordinates and access codes to all of Lord Gibson's secret warehouses." Tesoro flipped open the ledger, scanning its contents with a faint smirk. "Oh? Strange. I could have sworn that just three days ago, your master was still conspiring with the other 'kings' to oppose us." (Rhett's reminder: Even without Umit's shipping intel, Rhett is still the undisputed king of the underworld. Don't forget that.) Azan froze, cold sweat soaking through his shirt. Tesoro's words cut through him like blades. He forced a strained smile. "Lord Tesoro, surely you misunderstand. My master's sincerity is beyond question—" "Sincerity?" Tesoro's voice sharpened. His golden eyes glowed ominously in the shadows. "Then why are the three most critical armories missing from this list?" Azan's pupils shrank. How… how could he possibly know?! Those locations were a secret shared only between Gibson and three of his most trusted confidants. Even Azan himself only knew one. "You look surprised." Tesoro's tone was icy as the golden floor twisted upward, transforming into chains that snapped around Azan's legs. "Did you really think Blood Dawn's intelligence network would overlook something so petty? Money, my friend… money can buy more than you can imagine." Azan's face drained of color. With a desperate snarl, he ripped open his jacket, revealing a hidden mini–den den mushi. "Plan exposed! Execute Plan B!" From the shadows along the port, dozens of hidden snipers opened fire, raining seastone bullets toward Tesoro like a storm. But the bullets froze mid-air, a meter from Tesoro's body a shimmering wall of liquid gold had materialized, blocking every shot. "How tiresome." Tesoro sighed. He lifted a single finger. "Gold Authority: Gallows." The golden deck writhed like molten waves. Dozens of razor-sharp spikes erupted upward, skewering the hidden snipers one after another. Screams echoed across the harbor as their blood seeped down into the flowing gold. Azan collapsed to the floor, trembling. "No… impossible… Our plan was flawless…" "Flawless?" Baccarat chuckled, strolling forward with a golden coin between her fingers. "Poor thing. You never realized, did you? One of your own already sold you out~" The coin flipped in her hand, flashing Azan's terrified reflection. "You thought Gibson sent you here because he trusted you?" she purred, her crimson lips curling into a cruel smile. "No… He made a deal with Stussy. He sent you here to die just to test our limits." Azan's eyes widened in horror. He felt the truth hit him like thunder. Tesoro turned away, golden chains winding up around Azan's throat. With a snap of his fingers, the chains constricted. Azan's strangled scream ended in silence. Meanwhile, on a remote island far away… Gibson stood proudly before one of his hidden armories, laughing maniacally. "Foolish Tesoro! Did you really think I'd surrender? While they waste time chasing shadows, the real weapons—" A cold voice boomed from the heavens, echoing across the island. Lightning lit up the skies. Gibson's laughter died instantly. He turned stiffly, his pupils shrinking in terror. The warehouse roof exploded in a flash of blinding lightning. Enel hovered in the air, drums of thunder crackling behind him, looking down like a wrathful god. "You…" Gibson's voice cracked. "Impossible… How could you have found this place?!" Enel picked at his ear lazily. A bolt of lightning shot from his fingertip, vaporizing one of Gibson's bodyguards into smoking ash. "You have three seconds." Gibson's legs gave out, dropping him to the ground. There was no chance of resisting Enel's overwhelming power. "Wait! I can explain! It was Stussy! She forced me into this!" "I-I can help you! I know her plans! She's trying to—" A thunderbolt ripped straight through Gibson's chest. His face froze in a mask of terror as he collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Enel clicked his tongue. Pulling out a transponder snail, he muttered lazily, "Yo, Tesoro. Done here." From the other end came Tesoro's amused chuckle. "Well done. He mentioned Stussy, did he? Bring him back. We'll see what's left to extract." Enel glanced down at Gibson's charred corpse. He looked… a little dead. "Oh well. Sit-ups will fix that." ————————————————————————————————————————————————— Hooked already? Let me know what grabbed you leave a review and fuel the journey forward! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops! Things are just heating up. 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