A Furnace attendant led the way ahead. His uniform was pressed razor sharp, his steps steady, each stride measured as if laid out by a ruler.
Gild Tesoro followed behind. His flamboyant pink suit looked painfully conspicuous in the dim corridor.
The fight earlier had seemed like a clean, effortless crush, two bounty men worth over a hundred million each reduced by a gorgeous yet eerie method.
But only Tesoro knew the truth.
Behind those two victories was a gamble so dangerous it bordered on madness.
Against "Bonecrusher" Barro, he had played along, deliberately acting weak. Only at the instant Barro lunged in did he trigger his Devil Fruit.
Half a second slower, and the one turned to pulp would not have been Barro.
It would have been him.
Against "Landslide" Gray, the bet was even bigger.
When that massive axe came down wrapped in pitch black Armament Haki, Tesoro even saw it in his mind, the golden wall ripped open like paper, his own body split clean in two.
He poured everything into that wall, wagering that Gray's Armament was not enough to punch through a defense built with his entire existence on the line.
He won that bet.
And it made him remember.
He remembered being on a rocking merchant ship, dozens of pirates pointing blades at his nose, and all he could think about was how to get the captain's gold tooth into his own pocket.
He remembered a shadowy dock where cargo worth tens of millions of berries was swallowed whole by the mob, and he simply lit a cigarette and calmly calculated how to make them spit it back out with interest.
Even when a black bullet grazed his scalp and the muzzle still smoked, what crossed his mind was only that the shooter's aim was terrible and needed more practice.
He had never been nervous.
But now, standing outside this unremarkable private room, Tesoro realized his palms were damp with fine sweat.
He drew a slow breath, straightened the collar of his suit, lifted his hand, and tapped the heavy door three times.
"Come in."
A cool female voice answered from inside.
Tesoro pushed the door open.
The room was nothing like what he'd imagined. No three headed monster. No demon wreathed in killing intent.
A black haired man sat lazily on a sofa with his back to Tesoro, posture relaxed, almost poetic.
Beside the sofa stood a black haired woman in a dark dress, quiet and composed, like a shadow with manners.
Tesoro's pupils shrank.
That woman…
He only needed one glance to recognize her face.
Demon Child, Nico Robin.
The sole survivor of Ohara's Buster Call. Wanted by the World Government for more than a decade. Countless organizations and powers had hunted her to seize forbidden knowledge, and all of them had failed.
And yet here she was, standing safely in this room, as casually as any ordinary secretary.
That realization hit harder than killing two top fighters with his own hands.
The last strand of wishful thinking inside Tesoro snapped.
He steadied himself, walked to the center of the room, and bowed deeply toward the man's back.
"Aaron Kael Grylls, sir."
Kael did not turn around. He simply rose from the sofa and walked, unhurried, to the massive one way glass.
"Come here."
His voice was gentle, unreadable.
Tesoro obeyed, stepping forward and stopping one pace behind him.
Below, the arena had already been cleaned. A new round of deathmatch was underway.
Two pirates tore into each other like animals. Steel flashed. Flesh burst. The crowd's roar rose in waves, higher and higher.
"You're smart," Kael said, watching the slaughter below with calm eyes. "You knew the most direct way to catch my attention."
Tesoro's heart tightened. He could not tell whether that was praise or warning.
"I also appreciate your decisiveness," Kael continued. "Especially the second match. That golden wall must have cost you a lot."
"Yes," Tesoro admitted plainly. "That strike, I put everything on it."
"A good wager." At last, a trace of approval surfaced in Kael's tone. "You have ambition. And you have the nerve to match it. Doflamingo brought me a fine gift."
A surge of joy rose in Tesoro's chest, but he crushed it down at once and lowered his head even further.
"But…"
Kael's tone shifted.
At that moment, the fight below reached its end.
One pirate had his arm severed. He stared at the bleeding stump, then at the enemy closing in with a cruel grin, and something inside him broke.
He let out a shriek and turned to sprint for the exit.
That was the Furnace's greatest taboo.
Once you stepped onto the deathmatch platform, only one person walked off alive.
Running was the most unforgivable insult to the rules.
"Everything needs rules," Kael's voice said beside Tesoro's ear.
Before the words even settled, Kael lifted his right hand and flicked the thick glass with two fingers as casually as if flicking away dust.
No sound. No light.
Tesoro only saw an invisible ripple spread from Kael's fingertip.
A pinprick hole appeared out of nowhere in the special glass, glass designed to withstand cannon fire.
And hundreds of meters away, the fleeing pirate stiffened.
The next second, it was as if an unseen hand crushed him from the inside.
His entire body exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
So fast. So unnatural.
One moment he was alive.
The next he was nothing but evenly scattered red dust falling onto the sand.
The arena's roar stuttered into a brief, shocked pause.
Kael slowly turned his head. Golden eyes reflected the chaos below, yet a warm smile rested on his face.
"I like capable people. I also like people who understand the rules."
Tesoro's back was instantly soaked through with cold sweat.
He stared at that smile and felt an icy blade crawl from his soles to the crown of his skull.
So this was the "Wave King," Aaron Kael Grylls.
"Tesoro, if you want to stay under me, ambition and nerve aren't enough," Kael said as he turned away and returned to the sofa. "You still need to prove you can create value for me."
"I understand." Tesoro drew a breath, forcing down the shock in his chest. "Give the order. Any task. I'll complete it."
He knew this was his only chance.
"Good." Kael accepted the tea Robin handed him and gently blew on the steam. "Your gold can't be created from nothing, can it?"
Tesoro's heart lurched.
That was the Goru Goru no Mi's biggest flaw, and his greatest weakness.
He could manipulate gold, even assimilate other matter into gold, but he could not conjure it from empty air.
The total amount of gold he could command depended entirely on how much gold he had access to.
He had never told anyone that.
How did this man know?
Seeing the disbelief Tesoro could not fully hide, Kael gave a soft laugh.
"Relax. I'm not interested in your secrets. I'm interested in the value you can produce."
He set the cup down and leaned back lazily.
"I'll send you to a place. A place where gold is everywhere. Enough for you to build a true empire of gold."
Gold everywhere?
Tesoro's breathing quickened.
"At the same time, that's where your assignment is." Kael's mouth curved with quiet amusement. "On that island, there's a man who calls himself 'God.'"
"Your task is simple. Use your ability and bring back as much gold as possible."
"Of course, if you can also wrap up that 'God' and bring him back too, make him understand who the real ruler of this sea is, I'll be even happier."
Kael paused. A hint of anticipation flashed through his golden eyes.
"Remember the name."
"Skypiea."
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