Chapter 624: Ian's Deep Schemes!
Tesoro’s treasury was located in the tallest building in the Golden City.
This building, entirely gleaming with gold, was shaped like an arm with its index finger pointing towards the sky. It was a landmark structure in the Golden City and also served as the central monitoring hub for the entire city.
Such a prominent building was naturally easy to find, but as Karina had mentioned, it was heavily guarded. Within a 500-meter radius of the building, numerous armed guards were stationed, preventing any unauthorized personnel from approaching.
As Ian and his large group appeared, they immediately drew the guards’ attention.
However, recognizing the Dragon Hunter Pirates, the guards knew that these people were guests of Lord Tesoro. A group of black-clad guards approached and politely said to Ian, “Honored guests, please forgive us, but this is a restricted area and not open for public tours…”
Ian smiled and turned to look at Perospero.
Perospero was somewhat annoyed. Ian’s look was clear—he wanted Perospero to be the first to act. Aside from Big Mom, Perospero had never been ordered around by an outsider before, which naturally made him a bit displeased. However, since he had already reached an agreement with Ian, he suppressed his irritation and acted directly.
Under everyone’s gaze, Perospero’s legs dissolved like liquid, forming a pool of syrup with a sweet aroma on the ground. This syrup quickly spread out, flowing towards Tesoro’s guards.
“What… what is this?!” The guards realized something was wrong and tried to run away from the syrup, but it was too late. Under Perospero’s control, the syrup immediately climbed up the guards’ legs, coiling around them like living creatures and quickly enveloping them in the sweet liquid.
In an instant, the fifteen guards who had come to greet them were covered in a layer of syrup. Once they were completely encased, the syrup rapidly cooled and hardened.The guards were instantly immobilized. The hardened syrup was as strong as steel armor, and no matter how much they struggled, they couldn’t move an inch.
Moreover, Perospero was ruthless. Under his control, the syrup not only covered the guards’ bodies but also completely encased their faces. As the syrup hardened, an airtight mask formed. The guards, unable to breathe, tried to scream in terror but couldn’t make a sound and ended up suffocating…
This scene naturally caught the attention of the remaining guards. They immediately realized that these people were not guests. While loudly calling for reinforcements, they opened fire with their guns and mortars, aiming at Ian and his group.
Aokiji shook his head, crouched down, and pressed his hand to the ground. The next second, a solid ice wall rose from the ground, expanding to cover a vast area and shielding everyone.
Bullets and shells exploded against the ice wall, producing flashes of fire and smoke, but they couldn’t even chip away a bit of the ice.
“Such high durability!” Ian couldn’t help but give a thumbs up to Aokiji in admiration.
“No need for your praise!” Aokiji replied grumpily to Ian.
He’s not an idiot; even though he couldn’t figure out the exact reason, he had a nagging feeling that Ian had tricked him. Just a short while ago, they were fighting each other on the battlefield at Edd War, and now, inexplicably, he was helping Ian rob a place. Anyone would feel something was off…
However, Ian just chuckled. Since Aokiji had already acted, there was no turning back now.
A large number of guards continued to pour out from the tower, but Perospero’s syrup spread like a tide, coating anyone who couldn’t evade in a sugary shell, turning them into sweet statues.
This eerie scene naturally frightened the remaining guards. As more and more guards were subdued by Perospero, the gunfire and artillery fire weakened significantly, allowing Ian and his group to continue advancing towards the tower.
“Hurry! Close the door! We can’t let them in!” A lead guard shouted, leading his men into the tower and working together to shut the heavy golden door.
Yes, the majority of this building’s structure was made of gold—the floors, walls, and ceilings were all golden. That’s why the tower looked so magnificent; it was truly made of gold.
The weight of the gold was self-evident. This golden gate, the entrance to the tower, served as the first line of defense for the guards.
However, just as the guards shut the door and braced against it, a massive force suddenly struck, smashing against the gate!
Boom!! With a loud crash, the entire golden door, as if struck by a battering ram, bulged inward, sending the guards behind it flying and spitting blood from the impact.
Outside the door, Katakuri maintained his punching stance, looking at the rebounding door and said, “Pretty sturdy!”
Indeed, that punch just now was thrown by him. Like Luffy’s rubber arms, Katakuri’s arm could also stretch, and with his fist hardened by Haki to be as solid as steel, it brought immense destructive power.
However, since the door was made entirely of gold, it had excellent malleability. Katakuri’s punch didn’t shatter it but made it bulge and then rebound.
Katakuri looked back and saw Ian and the Dragon Hunter Pirates just standing there with their arms crossed, clearly not intending to help. Helpless, Katakuri had to strike again.
This time, however, his fist swelled to an enormous size. As he punched out again, with a thunderous roar, he finally blasted the closed door off its hinges!
The terrifying power left the guards inside dumbfounded. Realizing they were no match, they quickly scattered and fled as Ian and his crew began entering the hall one after another.
The enemy had invaded, and they needed to report this to Tesoro immediately.
In fact, Tesoro didn’t need their report. After awakening his Devil Fruit powers, he had developed a sensory connection with all the gold in the city. The moment Katakuri’s first punch struck the golden door, Tesoro had already sensed it.
So, he immediately stopped, looked up, and focused his gaze through several buildings toward his stronghold, the Golden Tower.
“Damn it! Who is it!?” Tesoro gritted his teeth and said, “Who dares to target my vault at this time!? They must be tired of living their miserable lives!”
Due to the ongoing search for the revolutionary leader, Dragon, there was some chaos in Golden City. Most of the people here were pirates and criminals. While they might usually behave, chaos was exactly what these people thrived on. Tesoro knew this well, so when he sensed intruders at the Golden Tower, his first thought was that some opportunistic pirates were trying to take advantage of the situation.
“Tanaka, Baccarat! Take a group back immediately!” Tesoro ordered.
Without wasting any time, Tanaka and Baccarat led a team away, while the World Government official, Solomon, asked Tesoro, “What’s going on?”
“Just some rats in the gutter, thinking they can cause trouble on my turf while we’re distracted,” Tesoro replied with a cold expression.
“Don’t worry!” Solomon said nonchalantly. “After learning that Dragon appeared here, the nearby naval base has already dispatched warships heading this way. Once we catch those opportunists, you can deal with them however you see fit. The World Government will back you up!”
“Let’s hope so,” Tesoro said.
However, for some reason, he still felt uneasy. Ever since Dragon had shown up, he had been feeling a persistent sense of unease. The sudden, heart-pounding alarm he had just experienced made Tesoro realize that things might not be as simple as they seemed.
“Let’s go and capture Dragon as soon as possible,” Solomon urged. “Let your subordinates hold off the intruders for now.”
Tesoro nodded, realizing there was no other choice.
However, just as he started moving and following Solomon, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket suddenly started ringing frantically.
Pulling out the Den Den Mushi and answering it, Tesoro heard the panicked cries of the guards at the Gold Tower!
“Lord Tesoro! It… it’s bad! Perospero and Katakuri of the Big Mom Pirates are leading an attack on the Gold Tower!”
Tesoro’s face turned green as he yelled into the receiver, “What!? How could they…”
Before he could finish, the guard on the other end continued, “It’s not just them. Admiral Aokiji is there too. He’s also joined the fight, and Black Dragon Ian has brought his Dragon Hunter Pirates with him. They haven’t started fighting yet, but it seems like they’re all in this together…”
Tesoro’s mind buzzed, and he was utterly stunned by this news!
So they were working together after all!
No wonder Perospero and Katakuri asked about Ian as soon as they arrived in the Golden City. I wondered how it could be such a coincidence. As soon as Ian appeared, these people followed. Turns out they were all in on it, plotting against my Golden City from the start!
Even Aokiji, after leaving the Navy, is now acting without any restraints?
Tesoro finally understood where his unease was coming from…
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” Tesoro stomped and cursed through gritted teeth, “I should have realized it earlier. Ian’s money-absorbing powers can’t be satisfied with a mere 20 billion! In my Golden City, this guy is like a rat falling into a granary. How could he possibly resist? It was all fake! Everything was fake! I was completely fooled by his previous law-abiding act! This guy’s scheming is way too deep!”
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