Revenge. Revenge against the Celestial Dragons.
That was the only reason Tesoro had to keep living at this moment.
He craved power, craved it to the point of madness.
The Gold-Gold Fruit was important, but compared to a truly powerful backer, compared to a clear promise of revenge, those two were even more alluring.
What was more, the other party didn't seem stingy about giving him the fruit as well.
Tesoro's heart was at war.
Reason told him that submitting to an eight-year-old child sounded utterly absurd.
But his instincts howled that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance—
A chance that might change his fate.
He thought of Stella's gentle smile,
of the look of utter despair in her eyes when she was taken away by the Celestial Dragons,
of the unwillingness frozen on her face before she died,
of all the humiliation and resentment he had suffered in the darkness all these years.
He stared at Ronan as if trying to see straight through him.
Facing Tesoro's gaze, Ronan's face held nothing but deep confidence.
At last, Tesoro clenched his teeth hard, as if using up all the strength in his body.
He staggered two steps forward and, under Ronan's gaze, dropped to one knee and lowered a head that had never bowed to anyone before.
"I, Gild Tesoro—"
His voice trembled, but it carried firm resolve.
"—am willing to pledge my loyalty to you, Ronan-sama! From this moment on, my strength, my life, everything I have will belong to you! All I ask is that you grant me the power and chance to take my revenge!"
The people in the auction hall had no idea what was happening.
They were too far from Ronan and Tesoro to hear a word of their conversation.
All they saw was Ronan saying something to the leader of the rioters,
and then that very same leader suddenly dropped to one knee in front of Ronan in submission.
"This is way too much…"
The same thought flashed through everyone's mind.
Barely a few minutes had passed, and the other side was already acting like this.
If not for the corpses of the rioters Beth had cut down still lying on the floor, they would have seriously suspected Ronan had staged all of this with the rioters just to put on a show for the audience.
When Ronan heard Tesoro's vow, and especially when he saw the Quest Points jump on the panel in his mind as the quest completed, a satisfied look appeared on his face.
He reached out, took the tray holding the Gold-Gold Fruit, and held it out in front of Tesoro.
"Very good. Tesoro, I, Ronan, second prince of the Lulusia Kingdom, accept your loyalty.
This power belongs to you.
Eat it—then come with me."
Tesoro stared at the Gold-Gold Fruit before him, expression complicated.
He had never imagined that in the end, he would still obtain this fruit.
Without hesitating any longer, he immediately grabbed the Gold-Gold Fruit and took a huge bite.
At the same time, Ronan had Beth hand the chest filled with Berries over to the auction side.
He did not linger.
He simply led his people out of the venue.
No one moved to stop them.
No one dared to.
Just like that, Ronan's group swaggered out.
Only after Ronan and the others had left did the Donquixote Family executives like Trebol finally show up, dragging their feet and arriving late.
They took in the wrecked state of the hall and, upon learning that the culprit behind it all had already been taken away by Ronan, immediately contacted Doflamingo.
Doflamingo, however, had already seen everything through the surveillance.
Even though he hadn't heard what Ronan and the others said, he was the first to know that the leader of the rioters had been taken away.
By now, Doflamingo had calmed down from his earlier fury.
As much as he wanted to strike back at Ronan right away, he was forced to consider the existence of Beth and the others.
And in the end, Ronan had also handed over 400 million Berries to him.
When Doflamingo thought of his follow-up plans, he ultimately forced his anger down.
On the way back to the hotel, Tesoro looked at the small figure walking in front of him, his heart brimming with hope for the future.
After they reached the hotel room, Tesoro could no longer hold himself back.
He immediately began laying out the blueprint that had been brewing in his heart for so long.
"Ronan-sama," Tesoro's voice was a little hoarse,
"my plan is to use the powers of the Gold-Gold Fruit to build an unprecedented, massive business empire that spans every industry!"
Enduring the pain in his ribs, he laid out the vision in his mind for Ronan:
"We can start with the entertainment industry!
We build the most luxurious casinos, hotels, and theaters in the world!
We draw in the wealthy and nobles from all over the globe, and even… those World Government officials!"
"Of course, if we have the backing of your kingdom, we can even extend our reach bit by bit into shipping, mineral resources… and weapons."
At that, a different kind of ambition flashed in Tesoro's eyes.
"Weapons are the most lucrative business in this world.
We can sell arms to the various resistance forces in the New World and use that to build an economic kingdom hidden within the Underworld.
By then, not only will we rapidly amass wealth, we'll also be able to weave an enormous intelligence network!"
Tesoro grew more animated as he talked:
"We can even build a ship!
A gigantic ship!
It'll be a moving kingdom!
I've already thought of the name—
We'll call it the Golden City!"
After saying all this, Tesoro looked at Ronan somewhat nervously.
He had no idea whether this young lord would accept what sounded like a completely insane plan.
But Ronan's reaction was completely beyond his expectations.
There wasn't a hint of doubt on Ronan's face.
Instead, he nodded in satisfaction.
"It's a grand plan, Tesoro.
We'll do it exactly as you've envisioned."
Tesoro froze.
"Ronan-sama, you… you don't think it's too…"
"No."
Ronan cut him off.
Fragments of memory about the "Golden City" flashed through his mind.
He knew very well how magnificent the Golden City would be in the future.
The only issue back then was that Tesoro's methods of controlling people were a bit underhanded.
Now, with his own backing, they could build a Golden City that was not only stronger, but also more humane.
"Your idea is very good.
Controlling the economy can sometimes be even more useful than brute force.
A business empire hidden behind the curtain can indeed bring us enormous convenience and cover.
Especially that 'Golden City'—
it will make for an excellent base."
(End of Chapter)
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