Castle of the City Lord; inside a heavily guarded chamber.
"Dars, Regis! You two have to help me! You must help me! That damn bastard killed the CP7 agents sent by the Celestial Dragon to protect me and then he robbed me! I swear I'll never forgive that wretched piece of trash…"
Gilbert's fat face was flushed a dark red, veins bulging, his usual aristocratic composure completely gone. His hair was a tangled mess, his once-luxurious clothes wrinkled and splattered with blood. He looked less like a nobleman and more like a rabid dog cornered in fear; raving, trembling, spittle flying from his mouth as he shouted.
Before tonight's assassination attempt, Gilbert had never been so close to death or so utterly helpless.
When Aaron had his life in his hands, he'd been forced to grovel, to beg like a worm, and even pay a massive ransom just to survive.
As the Governor of Vilia Port, as a Prince of the Drum Kingdom, and as a man who one day sought to become King, Gilbert had never endured such humiliation. The only way to wash away that shame was with blood.
But what terrified him most was that the CP7 agents sent by Saint Charlos, the Celestial Dragon were all dead. Even if he hadn't killed them himself, they'd died protecting him. And how was he supposed to explain that to the World Nobles?
In short, that invisible enemy had left him with a disaster on his hands.
The best and only way to fix it now was to capture that damned man and make him suffer to vent his rage and offer an explanation the Celestial Dragons would accept.
"Alright, Gilbert, calm down," said Regis, watching him quietly lose his composure. "We understand how you feel. But what you're asking us to do… isn't exactly easy. Judging from what you described, the man's eaten the Clear-Clear Fruit — the Transparency Fruit. He can turn invisible. You should know how troublesome that kind of opponent is. Without absolute certainty, going after someone like that could cause endless trouble. After all… most of us have families and friends. A man like that might not win in a fight, but assassinating our loved ones? That's a different story."
As Regis said that last line, he gave a meaningful glance toward Dars.
He immediately noticed Dars's once-relaxed face grow dark and tense and Regis instantly knew that Gilbert's request had just fallen apart.
After all, Regis had known Dars for years. He understood him better than anyone.
The man was a daughter-loving fanatic. Everything he did revolved around his precious girl. If there was even the slightest chance something could endanger her safety, Dars would refuse no matter the reward.
And judging by Gilbert's description, the invisible man was patient, calculating, and skilled. His swordsmanship was sharp, and from start to finish he hadn't uttered a single word, proof of an extremely cautious, deliberate nature.
Someone like that… would be almost impossible to catch.
Most importantly, they didn't even know how strong this "transparent man" really was. If he also possessed Haki, then he was far too dangerous to provoke.
Sure enough, Regis's prediction proved true.
Dars, fully aware of the danger, coldly spoke without hesitation, his tone blunt and unyielding:
"Gilbert, I can't help you with this. Find someone else."
Then, without another word, he turned on his heel, flung open the window, and vanished into the night sky using Geppo, the Moonwalk technique of the Six Powers.
"Regis… what about you?" Gilbert snarled, his eyes bloodshot as he glared after Dars's departing figure. "Are you refusing me too?"
But before the rage could overtake him, Gilbert's expression suddenly changed, relief flickered across his face as he heard Regis's calm reply:
"Of course not, Gilbert. I'm not like Dars. I've got no daughter, no family. Nothing to lose."
Gilbert's eyes gleamed. "Good. Very good! Tell me, what do you want? Money? Power? A noble title?"
Regis's grin widened. "Oh, those are all tempting… wealth, authority, a noble's name; sure, nice things. But what I really want…"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small capsule, a pill. His grin deepened, sharp and playful. "...is the research data for this."
The excitement on Gilbert's face froze in an instant, his expression twisting into wary confusion.
He stared at the pill in Regis's hand, that familiar, infamous design.
Regis, leader of the Regis Family, the third-largest underworld syndicate in Vilia Port, looked as disheveled and eccentric as ever. Unlike the neatly dressed Dars or Akio, Regis wore nothing but a simple floral shirt and loose trousers, same style every day. Despite his youthful face and casual manner, he sported a thick beard like Akio and a massive yellow afro, with two red diamond tattoos on his cheeks. The combination made him look utterly absurd but no one laughed at him for long.
Because this ridiculous-looking man had built a powerful crime syndicate from nothing in just three years.
Even if the Regis Family's growth had slowed recently, partly due to turf wars between Akio and Dars; the fact that Regis's organization still held its ground spoke volumes about his cunning.
Lately, though, Regis seemed to have lost interest in gang politics. Instead, he spent his time mingling among the Drum Kingdom's nobility, acting like a sycophant to the upper class, even to Gilbert himself.
That was why Gilbert had assumed Regis was a harmless man, one who'd abandoned his ambition.
But now, hearing this demand… Gilbert realized just how wrong he'd been. Regis hadn't lost his ambition; he'd only hidden it. And now, it had resurfaced, bigger than ever.
Of all things, Regis was asking for the research data of the Rage Drug: the forbidden stimulant Gilbert had been secretly developing for years.
"Choose another condition, Regis. That one's off-limits." Gilbert's voice dropped to a cold growl.
Two years ago, he'd first learned of the Rage Drug in the black markets, a mysterious substance capable of drastically boosting strength and aggression. Since then, he'd poured billions of Berries into replicating it, funding laboratories and researchers.
And now, he was finally close. Out of the two key materials that couldn't be found on the open market, his team had already found a substitute for one, and they were close to cracking the other.
If not for Wapol's sudden death ruining his timeline, Gilbert would already be mass-producing Rage Drugs, enough to seize control of the entire Drum Kingdom with brute force.
That research was worth everything. He'd never part with it.
But Regis only laughed, a low, teasing chuckle.
"No, no, no, my dear Lord Gilbert," he said, tilting his head with a mocking smile. "That's the only thing I want."
The refusal in his tone wasn't just confident, it was absolute.
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