The gunfire outside had mysteriously quieted, but Arcadio and the others in the reception room paid no attention to it.
Nezumi ignored the first box entirely. He knew far better than Arcadio about the kind of man William was. Arcadio might have gathered some indirect evidence of William's crimes, but Nezumi had personally witnessed William orchestrate the murder of a high-ranking Marine officer.
From planning to execution, Nezumi had been involved every step of the way. He was acutely aware of William's terrifying nature.
Opening the second box, Nezumi glanced at the stock transfer agreement and clicked his tongue regretfully before tossing it back into the box. "You're certainly generous, but these things are useless to me."
"Useless?" Arcadio frowned and retorted, "How could they be useless? Do you have any idea how much money my trading company makes annually through the underground alcohol market?"
Nezumi chuckled. "Oh, I know. But..."
"But what?" Arcadio felt as though Nezumi was toying with him and asked angrily.
At that moment, a pale young man wearing silver-rimmed glasses suddenly pushed open the door and sneered, "But you're about to die. A dying man's promises—what value do you think they hold for anyone?"
"Who are you?!" Arcadio spun around, staring at the uninvited guest in shock before shouting, "Guards! Guards!"
"Don't bother calling them," William's figure appeared from outside the door, hands clasped behind his back. Under Arcadio's panicked gaze, he leisurely entered the room. "They're all dead."
Simultaneously, Hatcheson, with his bulbous red nose; Edmond, with his fiery red hair; and Aramis, with his ever-present smile, filed into the room.
"Allow me to introduce someone," William gestured toward the young man with silver-rimmed glasses who had entered first. "This is Sherlock from the Flash Gold Guild. Does the name ring a bell?"
Standing near the door, Butler Eaton turned to flee upon hearing this. Arcadio hesitated, struggling to recall the name of the small-time figure he had crushed years ago. But Eaton's memory was sharp; he remembered the name "Flash Gold Guild" all too well and immediately sensed trouble, attempting to escape.
Hatcheson was quicker. He grabbed Eaton by the hair, tripped him with a swift move, and with a loud "thud," pinned him to the ground. Kneeling on Eaton's chest, Hatcheson pulled out his trusty copper flask and crudely shoved it into Eaton's screaming mouth.
Eaton flailed like a fish out of water, but Hatcheson's weight kept him down.
Sniffing with his ruddy nose, Hatcheson chuckled darkly, "Lucky you!" As soon as he finished speaking, he slammed his palm against the flask with tremendous force. The impact drove the flask deep into Eaton's throat, shattering the metal and tearing through the delicate tissues within. Blood mixed with alcohol poured from the wound.
Arcadio recoiled in horror, taking two steps back as he stared at Eaton's gruesome death. He turned his panicked gaze to William. "Stolt—what are you trying to do?"
"My real name is William, though I've grown somewhat accustomed to being called Stolt," William replied with a smile. Noticing Arcadio's eyes darting toward the window, he shattered his last hope. "Don't bother looking. Your men and Rielde's have already been taken care of. The only people outside your estate now are mine."
Arcadio's face turned ashen. Forcing a smile, he stammered, "I don't understand what you're saying, Stolt—William. We've always cooperated well. Why would you do this?"
"Cooperated well?" William raised an eyebrow. "If we cooperated so well, why did you call the Marines to capture me—a pirate?" He then glanced at Nezumi.
Arcadio clung to this lifeline, turning desperately to Nezumi as he backed away toward him. "Yes, the Marines are here! This is Captain Nezumi, the commanding officer of the Marine 16th Branch. You can't touch me... Ah!"
Before Arcadio could finish, Nezumi impatiently kicked him away, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Pointing to the boxes on the table, Nezumi addressed William, "He said one of these contains evidence and information about you. I didn't look, so I don't know if it's real."
Nezumi was shrewd enough to understand that whether the contents were genuine or not, it was better not to know.
Arcadio, now utterly confused and terrified, looked between William and Nezumi, unable to comprehend when the two had joined forces. "They're fake Marines! You hired people to impersonate Marines!"
"Captain Nezumi is a legitimate Marine officer," William crouched down in front of Arcadio. "The saying 'more friends, more opportunities' couldn't be more true. Surprised, aren't you? The newly appointed Marine commander and I, a pirate, are on the same side. I didn't even reach out to Captain Nezumi; I hadn't planned on involving the Marines at all. He contacted me first when he discovered your plans against me."
Arcadio turned to Nezumi, who was smugly stroking his mustache with one hand while holding a Den Den Mushi in the other, waving it mockingly.
"You've got quite the appetite," William continued, "planning to use me to take down Count Rielde and then immediately eliminate me. But I was already planning to get rid of you, so I suppose this is a fair trade."
"Why are you doing this?" Arcadio asked, his face pale as death. "Whatever you want, I can give it to you—just spare me."
Edmond, Aramis, Sherlock, and William all chuckled darkly at Arcadio's plea.
"I want your life!"
As William spoke, Edmond stepped forward, grabbed Arcadio by the collar, and dragged him to the window, ignoring his struggles.
Standing before Arcadio, William locked eyes with him. "Still don't remember? Let me remind you: Prohibition, trade networks, Flash Gold Guild, Barbarossa..."
With each word William uttered, Arcadio's eyes widened further. He pointed a trembling finger at William and Sherlock. "You—you're the smugglers from that local gang! You're still alive?!"
Sherlock approached, holding a revolver. He cocked the hammer and fired a shot at Arcadio's right hand, shattering three of his fingers.
As Arcadio screamed in agony, Sherlock sneered, "Stop pointing fingers."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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