BOOM!
Another violent tremor rocked the surrounding bedrock, pulling Drake back to reality.
"They certainly didn't come with good intentions..." Drake smiled faintly. The intruders likely had no idea he was on the island.
Then again, anyone keeping tabs on current events would know that he and the Dragon Flag Pirates were supposed to be operating in the East Blue.
The Dark Clan and the Dragon Flag Pirates had made no effort to conceal their movements, mobilizing across the seas in broad daylight.
Is that why they chose this exact window to raid the Dark Clan? Drake mused.
"Regarding the treasure..." Bernice looked at him with mild curiosity.
How did Drake plan to transport such a mountain of wealth on his own?
"In that case, I'll be taking it all," Drake said.
With a casual flick of his wrist, the vast hoard of treasure vanished into thin air.
The radiant gold, sparkling gems, and brilliant riches that had illuminated the corridor under the lantern light were swept clean, leaving not a single pebble behind. Bernice stared at the empty gallery, her eyes wide with shock.
"This... Lord Drake, is this your Devil Fruit ability?"
Drake nodded with an easy grin. A minor trick, nothing to write home about...
Seeing his nonchalant reaction, Bernice's eyes lit up with an intense, calculating brilliance. For reasons he couldn't explain, a sudden, icy shiver ran down Drake's spine.
"Alright, that leaves about twenty billion in reserve. Let's head out and greet our guests," Drake waved his hand, a long-absent smile spreading across his face.
"Right away," Bernice chimed in, her eyes curving into cheerful crescents.
Both were in high spirits. What Drake didn't realize was the sheer mountain of logistical work this casual storage display would bring him in the future.
Seeing Bernice in such a good mood completely put Drake's mind at ease. Now, he could turn his full attention to the decisive clash against Im!
Before that, he had an old acquaintance to catch up with.
With his pockets overflowing with funds, Drake walked with immense swagger, striding forward with the commanding presence of a sovereign.
Watching him from behind, Bernice found the sight thoroughly amusing.
Meanwhile, navigating the subterranean labyrinth had driven the Donquixote Family to the brink of madness. With so many elite officers deployed, not a single one had managed to locate the correct path.
At first, they had sneered at the maze-like construction of the vault, viewing it as the petty design of an ordinary mortal.
Such defenses might baffle common thieves, but to Devil Fruit users, they were child's play.
After all, one of their Supreme Officers possessed the Stone-Stone Fruit!
Yet Pica had hit a concrete wall from the start. Aside from the reinforced specialty plating lining the walls, immense quantities of Sea-Prism Stone had been incorporated directly into the masonry.
Fragments of Sea-Prism Stone were embedded throughout the subterranean bedrock; far from reshaping the terrain, Devil Fruit users struggled just to move around without feeling sluggish.
On top of that, countless hidden mechanisms and lethal traps lined every corridor, catching the intruders off guard time and time again.
For the proud and arrogant executives of the Donquixote Family, the humiliation was agonizing.
"Damn it all! Let me tear this place to pieces!" Dellinger snarled, his high heels digging into the floor as he unleashed a relentless barrage of Armament Haki-infused kicks against the adjacent wall.
The reinforced stone began to fracture!
"Stop, Dellinger!" Doflamingo snapped, his brow furrowing as he barked the order.
The surrounding walls were laced with Sea-Prism Stone. If the ceiling collapsed and buried them beneath the rubble, the consequences would be catastrophic!
The Devil Fruit users in their ranks would be instantly paralyzed, and the commotion would draw the Dark Clan's forces down upon them.
Wouldn't that be digging their own graves?
Dellinger reined in his assault immediately.
Though boiling with frustration, he would never disobey Doflamingo's direct command.
"We cannot bring this place down," Doflamingo said coldly, inspecting the corridors with narrowed eyes.
A pair of blue veins bulged across his forehead.
He was thoroughly enraged.
Who could stomach this kind of humiliation?!
Ever since breaching the main blast door, nothing had gone smoothly. No matter which corridor they took, they found not the slightest trace of a vault chamber.
Worse, he could feel that they were being played like fools. At this point, whether a treasury even existed down here remained an open question!
"Stay where you are. Let me find where this vault is hidden!" Doflamingo muttered in a low, menacing voice, extending his hands as countless razor-sharp strings unfurled from his palms.
The strings snaked through the corridors, branching out continuously until they permeated the entire underground network, threading through every single passage.
Moments later, the lead ends of the strings circled straight back to where he stood—every single line had returned to its starting point!
What did this mean?
It meant not a single corridor led to a destination; every path simply looped back to the entrance!
They had been played from the very beginning!
Veins pulsed violently along Doflamingo's brow, yet the corners of his mouth stretched into a manic, twisted grin. "How interesting..."
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the shadows behind them:
"Isn't it? I thought the design was rather amusing myself."
"It seems our tastes align quite nicely."
Not far behind the cadre, Bernice stepped into view, offering them an enchanting, radiant smile.
"Kim Bernice!" Pica's high-pitched, screeching voice sliced through the corridor, piercing everyone's eardrums.
Enemies meeting face-to-face made the air instantly boil with hostility.
Bernice's smile never wavered. "When esteemed guests come calling, Lord Drake would certainly scold me for poor hospitality if I failed to welcome you properly."
"Fuffuffuffuffu..." Doflamingo let out an eerie, manic chuckle. "Fascinating..."
"To think we would meet again under these circumstances. Aren't you worried that pretty little face of yours might end up with a few nasty scars?" Doflamingo's fingers twitched subtly, weaving invisible filament through the air.
Taking out the mastermind behind the Dark Clan right here would serve as an unexpected bonus.
Yet Bernice showed no reaction to the encroaching danger, maintaining her calm, sweet smile.
The tension locked down in heavy silence.
Doflamingo's expression shifted slightly. An instinctual sense of unease gnawed at him, yet he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary.
The razor strings crept forward, coiling around Bernice's slender throat in an instant. A cruel sneer surfaced on Doflamingo's face as he snapped his fingers to sever her neck!
Yet the expected spectacle of a rolling head and a fountain of blood never materialized.
The color drained from the faces of Doflamingo and his executive officers simultaneously.
Perched atop a massive boulder beside them sat a figure who hadn't been there a moment ago, casually waving a hand down at them with a bright, easygoing grin.
That smile was radiant, effortless, and endlessly approachable...
Yet it sent a wave of paralyzing, bone-chilling dread straight down their spines!
"The God of War... Drake!"
"Impossible! Why are you here?!" Supreme Officer Diamante shrieked in sheer terror.
Drake's global reputation was at its absolute zenith, surpassing even the legendary stature of Whitebeard in his prime.
Had they known Drake was stationed here, nothing in the world could have persuaded them to step foot on this island.
This wasn't an opportunistic raid—it was walking straight into the executioner's chamber!
"Yo! Long time no see... Mingo!"
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