The silver moon hung high. Beneath the night sky, an agile figure infiltrated the manor.
Most strangely, whenever an insurmountable obstacle was encountered, the figure seemed to transform into water, seeping through the cracks in the walls or floor tiles.
The manor was located outside the noble district, far from the bustling city. It was heavily guarded, with countless major and minor posts. Guards armed with swords patrolled the stone paths, their sharp eyes constantly vigilant for any disturbance in the surroundings.
"The guards here are somewhat different from what I imagined. They seem to have undergone special professional training. Their vigilance is even greater than the guards in Impel Down," Wilder thought, his body transformed into swamp, weaving and turning to evade the surrounding sentries.
It wasn't just the guards; there were also Visual Den Den Mushi monitoring the area—on the corridors, on the lampposts—providing surveillance with virtually no blind spots. Even a cat couldn't have slipped through.
There were also searchlights positioned at the highest points. This place didn't resemble a manor so much as a prison or a military base.
If not for his Swamp-Swamp Fruit ability, even Wilder wouldn't have had the confidence to reach Vassalo's room undetected.
And this was just the exterior. The manor was vast, with many open areas lacking cover. Most of these spots were exposed under bright lights, while areas untouched by the lights were heavily focused on by the guards. Almost every minute, a patrol of guards would pass by the same locations.
Wilder sensed something abnormal; the manor's security was excessively tight.
Fortunately, Wilder possessed the Swamp-Swamp Fruit. He could sink into the ground, directly bypassing the surface surveillance, and travel underground.
Footsteps frequently passed "overhead." Occasionally, he heard snippets of hushed conversation. The content of these talks startled Wilder somewhat; it wasn't idle chatter. Without exception, it was all about spontaneously reminding each other to maintain vigilance and inspect carefully.
With such a mindset, one could imagine how terrifying these guards would be to any infiltrators.
Wilder didn't linger, significantly increasing his speed.
From the intelligence he had purchased from Dana for five hundred thousand Beli, he knew the location of Vassalo's room. He also knew that Vassalo was constantly accompanied by a guard named Gang—the only individual Wilder needed to be wary of.
"Am I finally here…?"
Wilder emerged from underground, his body reforming into its human shape.
Before him was a wall, and… a window. Normally, one could see inside through the window, but unfortunately, it was now blocked by curtains.
Luckily, the window wasn't shut tight; a gap the width of a finger remained. Someone with good hearing could discern the sounds of conversation from within.
Wilder pressed his ear to the window. Behind him was a flower bed filled with thorny green plants, about half a person tall, perfectly level with the windowsill. Further back was an enclosing wall, surrounding the area to form a courtyard. If anyone were to sneak in, these would clearly serve as obstacles.
Wilder pressed his ear against the lower edge of the window, controlling his breathing to slow it down, making the sound almost inaudible. His heartbeat, also under his control, dropped to its lowest rate, beating only once every six or seven seconds. This wasn't difficult for him, possessing Life Return.
His Observation Haki sensed a total of two people in the room, plus a Den Den Mushi. The one speaking into the Den Den Mushi was undoubtedly Vassalo himself. The other, hidden in the shadows, who would have been undetectable without the scanning function of Observation Haki, should be Vassalo's personal bodyguard—Gang.
There wasn't even the chirping of insects around, only the sound of conversation from the room.
Vassalo was about two and a half meters tall, slightly plump, his hands adorned with rings set with various gemstones. He sat on a sofa, his back to the window, lightly toying with the rings on his fingers while speaking to the Den Den Mushi on the table. The surface of a nearby mirror reflected half of his smile, resembling that of a scheming, cunning old fox. In truth, his age couldn't be called old, and his rugged features didn't match a fox at all, yet his smile gave the distinct first impression of one.
"Why?" he said, lifting his left hand, his thumb gently playing with one of the rings. His smile remained, but a chilling coldness that startled the heart emanated from the depths of his eyes.
"No matter what, our transactions have always been smooth, haven't they?" he continued, his posture unchanged, one leg crossed over the other, his eyes intently focused on the rings on his hand.
"Vassalo, you're right. I don't want to break off our dealings either. No matter what, you are my best friend. But this time, I really can't go any cheaper. You know, the last few times I gave you a discount, and this time the raw material prices have gone up," a voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, its tone as casual as if discussing household matters, similar to Vassalo's attitude.
Hearing the words from the Den Den Mushi, the coldness in Vassalo's eyes eased slightly. He pondered for a moment before saying in a heavier tone, "I think we should both talk about this face to face. Perhaps our transaction can break through this limitation if we discuss it in person?"
The other end of the Den Den Mushi seemed to fall silent. Vassalo stared quietly at the device. Perhaps he had waited too long; he frowned impatiently. "Well? Diamante."
Diamante!
Outside the window, Wilder's pupils contracted slightly. He was no stranger to this name. As one of the top executives of the Donquixote Family, Diamante was highly valued by Doflamingo, and his own strength was considerable. A Devil Fruit user with superb swordsmanship.
"It seems… the transaction is directly linked to Doflamingo."
Wilder suppressed his thoughts and continued to listen.
The silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was broken after Vassalo spoke. "Since you've said so, then you can set the time."
Hearing this, Vassalo's brow smoothed out. "No, no, no, my friend. Since I was the one who proposed this, you should set the time."
"No, you do it."
"You do it."
"You."
"Alright then…" Vassalo decided to accept Diamante's "kindness."
But just then, Diamante's voice suddenly boomed from the Den Den Mushi! "Since you insist! Then it would be rude of me to refuse! Let's set it for two in the morning, the day after tomorrow!"
"..." Vassalo wore an expression that suggested he was used to this; clearly, he had long since figured out this manner of conversation.
After hanging up, Vassalo, his back still to the window, suddenly chuckled. He picked up a silver pitcher from the table and began to toss it playfully in his hand.
Without any warning! The silver pitcher flew from his hand, smashing through the windowpane!
"Was I discovered?!" Wilder's expression changed. The silver pitcher flew over his head. Immediately after, the sound of dense footsteps came from outside the courtyard!
"Can't wait any longer!" Killing intent flashed across Wilder's face. He hadn't wanted to be so direct, but now it seemed this mission itself was not simple.
His body leaped, bursting through the window. He threw a punch at Vassalo, who was already on alert inside the room!
Wilder's speed was immense. A flicker of surprise was evident on Vassalo's face; the punch was already right in front of him.
Boom! A shockwave erupted from the impact. Wilder's pupils contracted. Vassalo's hand had actually managed to steadily block his fist!
A grim yet cunning smile appeared on his face. Immediately, Wilder sensed a fierce gust of wind attacking from his side. Without time to think, Wilder's figure flashed and disappeared from the spot!
Thump! The room's floor sank several inches. A large crater appeared, cracks rapidly spreading outwards from it. In the crater, a lean, powerful figure maintained the posture of having just punched the ground—precisely where Wilder had been standing moments before.
Wilder directly exited the room, fleeing towards the outside of the manor. Clearly, this mission was far more troublesome than expected. What he had thought to be a simple task had unexpectedly deep waters. Even Vassalo's own combat strength had been concealed.
*"That figure afterward was the bodyguard, Gang. The power of that punch… and Vassalo's strength…" *Wilder's expression wasn't looking too good. His original plan was to kill Vassalo quietly, but he hadn't expected his actions to be discovered, forcing him to make a hasty move. That was the original plan, and the biggest threat was supposed to come from the bodyguard. But he had never imagined that Vassalo himself also possessed formidable combat prowess! Vassalo's own powerful strength made this mission instantly tricky.
"Don't let him escape," Vassalo said from the room, his face grim. His bodyguard wordlessly exited the room.
His thoughts racing, Wilder's expression gradually calmed. He heard the sounds of guards pursuing him from behind, and those in the distance had probably already been notified. The manor must have been surrounded layer by layer.
Wilder didn't want to expose his identity, so using his Swamp-Swamp Fruit ability was out of the question. He glanced at the lean, powerful figure rapidly chasing him from a distance behind and frowned.
The current situation was a classic case of plans being unable to keep up with changes. Wilder's mind raced, and he ultimately decided to retreat. For no other reason than what he had overheard from their conversation.
Wilder recalled everything that had just happened and finally understood how he had been discovered.
*"That bodyguard…" *
Recalling the scene, Vassalo himself hadn't noticed him. The one who had discovered him was the bodyguard hidden in the room, whose line of sight happened to cover Wilder's position.
"Moreover, he didn't discover me from the start. It was probably… only when the call was about to end that he noticed me and secretly signaled Vassalo." This was why the other party had waited until after hanging up the phone to make a move—not because they intentionally let him overhear the call, but because they hadn't known someone was eavesdropping outside the window initially.
"There are two choices in the current situation. One, kill the target regardless of everything. But in this situation, the commotion will inevitably be huge, and there's also the risk of exposing my identity. The transaction mentioned in the call might be disrupted because of this."
After all, if something happened here, and the commotion was too large, it definitely couldn't be hidden from the other party in the transaction—Diamante. It was very likely to derail the original trajectory.
"The second choice is to retreat now, let their transaction proceed normally, and secretly obtain the details of the deal. If that doesn't work… then I can only find a way to make the target disappear silently, without alerting Diamante's side. This way, unaware of the target's death, their plans won't change, and the trajectory won't be altered."
Wilder decided to choose the second option, while also keeping the other as a last resort.
His body leaped between eaves and city walls. Guards from within the manor gradually closed in.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets traced brilliant arcs in the night sky. Wilder's figure continuously flashed. He closed his eyes, his Observation Haki radiating outwards like a tidal wave.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Heavy, powerful footsteps sounded from the ground. The First Bodyguard, Gang, rushed towards Wilder at lightning speed!
Wilder opened his eyes, raised his hand, and an exquisite short pistol appeared in it. With a jolt of the muzzle, a bullet shot out from the barrel!
Swish!!
The bullet sped towards him. Gang's body flickered a few times like an unstable signal and reappeared on the other side. He looked up expressionlessly at Wilder on the eaves, then his right leg suddenly tensed! With a stomp!
Whoosh!
His body shot high into the air, instantly arriving beside Wilder.
Smack!
Their fists collided. Wilder was sent flying into the distance, while Gang landed steadily on the rooftop, his arms like refined steel, firm and heavy.
There was no expression of discomfort on Wilder's face. He used the force of the impact to rapidly distance himself. In the blink of an eye, he was already out of the manor, disappearing into the dense forest in the outskirts.
"Terrifying explosive power and speed," Gang quietly watched the spot where Wilder had vanished. His pace gradually slowed until he stopped.
Wilder hadn't gone far. He observed the situation at the manor from within the dense forest. Tonight's operation had been unexpected, but not entirely out of his control. Gang's strength was undoubtedly formidable; Wilder had to admit that.
After observing for a while, just as the manor gates opened and a large number of soldiers and guards poured out to search the forest, Wilder's figure flashed, and he departed.
"The honored guest those two in the restaurant mentioned should be Diamante. Which means… Vassalo might have fallen into a trap. Diamante will secretly land tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, at dawn, will be their time of action. So… what is Diamante after?"
Wilder sensed there were unknown connections at play here.
"It can only be for profit or revenge. Revenge is unlikely, so it must be profit. The profit from the arms trade has likely been overshadowed by something else, and this something is in Vassalo's hands. Then… the patience those two mentioned earlier is worth pondering."
Wilder mused over all this. He returned to the vicinity of the casino and found an inn to stay in. Tomorrow, Diamante would very likely appear at the casino. He needed to find an opportunity to obtain some information.