By the time he emerged, the sky had already dimmed. A silver moon hung high, while on the other side, the sun was nearing the horizon. Wilder took a step, his black robes rustling. He departed from mid-air using Moon Walk. The person following him came out only to find Wilder's figure already gone.
He leaped and landed on rooftops, each step on the air propelling his body forward more than ten meters. "The mission will have to wait until tomorrow."
It was dark, and without a large ship, moving on the sea was very dangerous. As he spoke, his body suddenly descended, landing in a courtyard.
The courtyard was behind the restaurant, with a bungalow in the middle, likely the exclusive resting place for employees or the owner. He walked into the bungalow and stopped at the second door. Seeing the warm, dim light inside, outlining a graceful figure, Wilder pushed the door open and entered. There was a secret passage in the room leading to the underground chamber, but there was no need to go there now.
"I'm heading out on a mission tomorrow. Do you have any information on it?" Wilder briefly told Dana about the mission.
"Kisaro Vassalo?" The figure silhouetted in the room was indeed Dana. She wore a light gauze nightgown, revealing smooth, delicate shoulders and the deadly "weapons" partially visible through her neckline—sexy and alluring, every slight movement filled with temptation. "I heard he's preparing to purchase a large quantity of arms from a certain faction, with an intention to rebel," Dana said, her gaze as captivating as silk as she looked at Wilder.
Wilder nodded. The intelligence he had bought for five hundred thousand Beli had also mentioned this point.
"More detailed information is in my room, but it's not particularly useful. With your strength, this mission isn't difficult," Dana said nonchalantly.
"Let me see it." Wilder wasn't completing the mission merely for the sake of completion; he wanted to use the process to gain a deeper understanding of the underworld.
"Alright," Dana agreed with a nod.
The two opened the secret passage in the room and went down to the underground chamber. Dana retrieved the intelligence file and handed it to Wilder for review. After Wilder had read through all of it, he found that the gains were indeed minimal. The most mentioned point concerned Kisaro Vassalo's bodyguard. That guard, named Gang, was said to be Vassalo's top protector. His strength was unknown, only that all who attempted to get close to Vassalo with ill intent were ultimately killed by that guard, including those fifteen assassins.
"This bodyguard is worth noting." After reading, Wilder didn't focus on anything else; only that bodyguard caught his slight attention.
"Finished reading?" Dana's soft, charming voice whispered gently by his ear. Wilder then felt a soft body press against his back. The atmosphere turned ambiguous.
An indescribable war broke out, only subsiding around midnight. Wilder lay on the bed. Dana snuggled against him, her head pillowed on his arm, sleeping sweetly. He remembered the intelligence treasure box and got up to open it. Inside was a single sheet of paper, with nothing but dozens of lines of text. The text recorded a piece of information that couldn't really be called intelligence. What it said was useless, only making Wilder frown.
"Strength Spinach?" The only thing Wilder thought of when he saw this information was Popeye from his previous life. The intelligence roughly stated that a thing called Strength Spinach existed in the world, and eating it could grant immense power. It then described what Strength Spinach looked like but didn't mention where it could be found or in whose hands it might be. It was like a legend circulating on the seas, with no credibility whatsoever. Shaking his head, Wilder put away the treasure box, casually storing it within his body, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
The next day, when Wilder woke up, he found Dana's body wrapped around him like an octopus. That tender, smooth, soft sensation made his breath catch. He took a few deep breaths, forcibly extinguishing the restless fire within him, and got out of bed. After washing up and enjoying breakfast in the restaurant, Wilder headed straight for the seaside. The mission location was in the Polu Kingdom, not far from here. Of course, it also wasn't far from Dressrosa. The reason Wilder had chosen to have Kaneshiro drop him off here was that being close to Dressrosa made it easier to directly understand Doflamingo's underworld kingdom.
Releasing his small boat at the seaside, Wilder adjusted the sail according to the route Dana had given him, setting it to head towards the Polu Kingdom for a short period. He would only need to adjust the direction if it strayed off course.
Time flew by. By the time Wilder reached the Polu Kingdom, the sun was already directly overhead. Wilder stowed away his small boat and stepped into the town. The intelligence had clearly stated Kisaro Vassalo's residence: the largest manor in the noble district outside the royal palace. Wilder wasn't in a hurry to rush to the manor and kill Vassalo right now. Doing so would only accomplish the mission and nothing more. What he wanted was to learn as much as possible about the underworld and make contact with it through the process of the mission. Besides, daytime was not suitable for such activities. A dark and windy night was the right time for killing. To understand the filth of the underworld, the best way was to go to those places that shunned the light. Doflamingo's organization had risen through arms dealing. This time, the intelligence happened to mention Vassalo purchasing arms from a certain faction, intending to rebel. Therefore, investigating that faction might lead him closer to the underworld.
"Find out the source of the arms supplied to Vassalo, figure out their transaction methods, models, and means. Perhaps following the vine will lead me straight to Doflamingo's organization as the supplier." Wilder walked into an underground casino.
According to the information he had gathered, this casino seemed to be the place where the arms deals took place. It was located on the east side of town, near a stretch of coast with no docks and no crowds. Geographically speaking, it was an ideal place for transactions. The casino's main entrance was on the street. Compared to the rear, the front here was relatively prosperous, with streets, shops, and residences. Entering through the main door, he passed through a lobby and into a dim corridor. At the end of the corridor, two guards stood watch. Between them was an iron gate, which was wide open, revealing a curtain behind it. Through the gaps in the curtain, one could glimpse the casino.
Wilder had already removed his mask before entering, wearing only his black cloak, its hood obscuring his face. Coupled with the shadows, it was difficult to make out his features. However, customers were guests, so the two guards naturally didn't stop him. After asking Wilder a few questions, they stepped aside and let him in. Lifting the curtain and stepping inside, he found it different from the raucous scene he had imagined. Although there were voices, they weren't jarring. Everyone inside was lavishly dressed: men in suits, women in shoulder-baring long dresses. Even their conversations were kept to a low volume. When Wilder entered, a few gamblers heard the sound and looked back. Perhaps Wilder's black cloak seemed out of place here, causing them to look a few extra times.
"Sir, how many chips do you need?" a server approached and asked.
"Ten million," Wilder pulled out a stack of large-denomination Beli from his cloak.
The server's eyes lit up at the sight; ten million was not a small sum, even in a place like this. "Very good, sir. Please follow me." He took the Beli and led Wilder to the counter to exchange them for chips.
With ten million in chips, Wilder unknowingly attracted a few women to his side. They were casino employees who primarily earned money through customers' tips. Of course… they wouldn't mind taking on a side job if necessary. Wilder waved most of them away, keeping only a young beauty who seemed the most enthusiastic. Along the way, the young beauty threw several coquettish glances at Wilder and leaned in close, but Wilder remained unmoved. Although the casino was much quieter than he had imagined, it was still a place where dragons and fish mingled. After observing in secret for a while, Wilder took his ten million in chips to a gambling table that was already crowded. The game was simple: guess the number or guess big/small. Wilder didn't want to make things difficult for anyone, so he placed all ten million Beli on "small."
The table fell silent. Everyone's gaze converged on Wilder. The young beauty behind him gasped, her mouth agape. The croupier glanced coolly at Wilder and said something similar to "bets are final." The others also retracted their gazes, though their voices unconsciously grew softer.
"Small! Small! Small!" Wilder appeared very calm. In contrast, the young beauty behind him, watching the dice cup, clenched her hands, nervously muttering to herself.
The dice cup was slowly lifted under everyone's gaze. The result was: Small.
"Yay!" The young beauty beside Wilder waved her hand excitedly, her eyes shining as she looked at him.
"His luck is really good."
"Yeah." Other gamblers discussed in low voices, occasionally glancing at Wilder.
The payout for big/small was one-to-one, so Wilder now had twenty million in chips. The second round began. Wilder bet on "big," also ten million. The others quickly placed their bets, like sharks smelling blood, pushing their chips onto "big." Yes, while saying Wilder was lucky, they followed his bet. Of course, some didn't follow; these people more or less had confidence in themselves. The dice cup was slowly opened. The result was: Small.
Ignoring the dissatisfied curses from behind him, Wilder turned and left. The young beauty followed him like a wilted eggplant. Could Wilder see what was in the dice cup? Of course! …If he used Observation Haki to scan it. But using Observation Haki was not allowed in the casino. At such close range, anyone using it would be easily discovered. So, Wilder was genuinely just guessing. Those who followed his bet on the second round had simply followed the wrong person; it wasn't his fault.
"Follow me," Wilder's low voice reached the young beauty's ears, instantly making her whole body jolt. Head lowered, she silently followed Wilder into a private lounge. Such things seemed to be a common occurrence in the casino. No one paid any mind. The young beauty herself, however, blushed deeper and deeper, appearing very nervous.
Once in the lounge, Wilder turned and closed the door. He then turned to the young beauty, whose face was now as red as an apple, and said, "Do you dare to earn some money?"
"Huh?!" The young beauty stared, her mind full of question marks.
Wilder took out ten million in chips and, looking at her, said, "What do you know about the arms deals?"
In the end, Wilder received some trivial information. He didn't leave the entire ten million for the young beauty; after all, that information wasn't worth much. Five hundred thousand was already a handout. From the young beauty, Wilder learned that their transactions took place at two in the morning, and not every day, only occasionally. She didn't know the specifics of what was traded or who was involved. She only knew some of this because she lived there and had overheard some commotion late at night.
"Sure enough, it's not that simple. Looks like I'll have to act myself to get useful information."
Wilder didn't have much confidence in this. Specialized tasks should be done by specialized people, and he was clearly not an expert in intelligence gathering.
"According to the timeline, if they travel nonstop, they should be arriving soon," Wilder said, referring to the Monitoring Unit personnel. "I'll leave it to them when the time comes."
Having gained nothing, Wilder naturally wouldn't linger here any longer. This casino was surprisingly stringent and legitimate; it wasn't easy to obtain information from such a place. After leaving the casino, Wilder found a nearby restaurant and went in.
Perhaps it was the principle of "when mountains and rivers end, and one doubts there's a road, amidst shady willows and bright flowers, another village appears." While dining, Wilder gleaned some useful information from the conversation of the patrons at the next table.
"Hey, hey, I heard Lord Vassalo's honored guest is coming to our casino tomorrow."
"Eh? Lord Vassalo's honored guest? Why is he coming to our casino?"
"I don't know the specifics either. I only found out by accidentally overhearing the director talking to someone. It seems he's coming for something. They mentioned patience and whatnot. The voice sounded like the boss's; it must be him telling our casino to cooperate with the operation."
"Then… isn't that shipment of arms about to arrive? Could it be for the arms? Heavens! The boss wouldn't possibly…" The other person looked around, then lowered his voice. "The boss wouldn't possibly be planning to make a move on Lord Vassalo, would he?!"
"What are you thinking?!" The other person slapped him. "Eat your food! Don't spread such talk."
The two of them moved on from the topic, completely unaware that two cockroaches had quietly slipped away from the outer clothes on their backs.
The distance wasn't too close, and the two were speaking very softly. Wilder had initially only heard the word "casino." It was only with the thought of "perhaps it might be useful" that he had quietly released the swamp cockroaches. He hadn't expected to obtain such news. "Vassalo, honored guest, casino boss…" The person under the black cloak remained expressionless, secretly committing these keywords to memory.
Night fell. It was time for the hunt. Wilder's mission was to kill Vassalo. Regardless of what news he had received today, this point would not change. As for whether the consequences would affect the matters concerning tomorrow mentioned in the news, Wilder didn't care. Moreover… he believed that if Vassalo died unexpectedly, tomorrow's events might become even more transparent. That way, he could just secretly follow and observe to understand everything. Quietly arriving at Vassalo's manor, Wilder, under the cover of darkness, silently infiltrated.