Inside her office, Bernice swiftly finished changing into fresh attire, standing motionless as she gazed pensively at the closed door.
What Drake didn't realize was that the sole reason Bernice had prepared a bath inside her private office was precisely because of him.
She had known that once Drake decided to return, it wouldn't take him long to arrive. At the same time, the Dark Clan had an endless mountain of administrative affairs that demanded her immediate attention, leaving her without a single moment of leisure.
If she needed to freshen up and change, doing so right in the office was the most efficient option.
And so, she had decided to take a brief, relaxing bath once the day's pressing matters were resolved. Yet even she hadn't anticipated Drake arriving this quickly.
It had only been half a day since their call. She remembered distinctly that Drake was stationed in the East Blue.
No matter how one looked at it, his arrival speed was practically superhuman.
The instant she recognized that the intruder was Drake, after a fleeting moment of blank shock, a subtle, indescribable flutter had stirred in her heart.
She had even felt a quiet trace of anticipation!
Yet in the end, Drake's visible conflict and hesitation had left her thoroughly disappointed. She couldn't help but recall the woman who had stood beside Drake during that earth-shattering war.
That woman had appeared by his side more than once.
Regarding Weitian, from the very first moment she saw her standing near Drake, Bernice had instinctively run a comprehensive background investigation on her.
The exact motive behind that impulse was something even she couldn't fully explain.
When Bernice finally stepped out of the office in her new outfit, her face wore her usual composed, radiant smile. "Shall we, my Lord Drake? Let's head to the vault."
"Alright."
The two descended quickly into a secluded subterranean level. Drake had known of this underground area in the past, yet stepping into it today gave him the distinct impression that he had wandered into the wrong facility.
Before him stood a reinforced blast door roughly six meters tall. Its structural density and sheer durability likely surpassed the main vault doors of Big Mom's Whole Cake Chateau.
Not a single guard stood watch outside, and Drake couldn't detect a single living presence beyond the threshold either.
He wondered if Bernice had dismissed all sentries in advance.
"Try not to look too shocked when you see what's inside," Bernice smiled with absolute confidence, initiating the door's opening sequence.
Accompanied by the deep, heavy hum of massive mechanical gears grinding into motion, a seam split down the center of the colossal gate as both halves slid smoothly into the reinforced bedrock walls.
Once the two of them stepped inside, Bernice tapped an inconspicuous protruding stone on the adjacent wall, and the heavy doors sealed shut behind them.
Drake watched the mechanism operate with genuine surprise; he hadn't expected this place to be engineered with such intricate, automated compartmentalization.
Glancing at the smooth, seamless walls, Drake couldn't identify the exact metallurgy used, but it was unquestionably far superior to standard industrial alloys.
The architecture alone revealed volumes. The Dark Clan's growth over this period had truly been astonishing; the caliber of this underground treasury was easily worthy of an Emperor of the Sea.
"It's a bit early to look this stunned. The truly mesmerizing parts lie further ahead," Bernice teased with a playful smirk, leading the way deeper into the complex.
Drake's expression turned quite colorful. At a loss for words, he silently followed behind her.
The facility was far more convoluted than Drake had imagined. Countless long corridors crisscrossed in a dizzying labyrinth; even if an intruder managed to pinpoint the main entrance, finding the actual vault chamber would be practically impossible.
He finally understood why no guards were posted.
With a maze this maddening, even an expert capable of spatial teleportation like him felt a prickle of anxiety across his scalp.
Was this layout even designed by a sane human being?!
Any master thief who broke in here would suffer a total mental breakdown on the spot. After turning through what felt like dozens of endless loops, Drake finally saw a glimmer of light up ahead.
All surrounding pathways converged into a single grand corridor—the vault seemed to be right before his eyes.
In the next heartbeat, his expression went completely numb.
That single converging path branched out once again, presenting four identical corridors ahead.
"How much further is it?" Drake asked, turning his head abruptly.
"Almost there."
Bernice offered a harmless, impeccably sweet smile.
Yet that very smile made Drake's scalp tingle with dread.
Anyone foolish enough to trust that innocent expression would inevitably be led into an inescapable ditch—the kind where not even their bones remained.
And if someone were foolish enough to trust her words on top of that, they'd not only die without knowing why, but end up doing all her heavy lifting before they went down!
Truly terrifying!
A cold bead of sweat trickled down Drake's neck. Could this woman still be holding a grudge over the bathroom incident earlier?
If that were true, then...
While Drake and Bernice were navigating the underground labyrinth, an uninvited guest arrived on the island.
Rather, an entire crew!
"The Dark Clan! Drake! And that woman... None of you ever imagined I would strike at a time like this, did you? Fuffuffuffuffu..."
"Not bad at all... Dark Clan!"
"Doffy! Let's just charge in! The Dragon Flag Pirates definitely aren't here right now—this is our golden opportunity for revenge!" A grotesque man draped in white, viscous slime, with long mucus dripping over his upper lip and a cane in hand, chuckled maliciously.
"I can hardly wait!" another voice chimed in.
A cadre of roughly ten figures stood assembled, their eyes fixed on the man at their center: draped in a flamboyant pink feather coat, wearing cropped trousers, with unruly blonde hair and tinted shades.
Paired with a sharp, arrogant sneer, he radiated an air of supreme disdain for the world.
It was none other than the former Warlord of the Sea, Donquixote Doflamingo!
During the world-shaking summit war earlier, the global upheaval had triggered a massive containment breach within the greatest undersea prison, Impel Down!
The assault on Impel Down back then had been spearheaded by the former Head Jailer Shiryu alongside the captains of the Blackbeard Pirates.
Their objective had been to recruit monstrously powerful crewmates from Level 6 to storm the New World once more and vie for that solitary, supreme throne.
And the man who had succeeded the mantle of Commodore after Blackbeard's fall was none other than Shiryu!
"To think the world would end up in such a state... The Legendary Four Brothers... Truly staggering!!" Doflamingo's grin widened into a manic curve. "Just which direction this era will plunge toward—let me bear witness with my own eyes!"
"Fuffuffuffuffu..."
After a long moment, Doflamingo's expression settled into icy composure. "Our objective this time is the Dark Clan's main treasury! And while we're at it, we'll leave them a little parting gift."
He placed heavy, menacing emphasis on the word "gift."
"Do you all understand?"
"Understood!" the executives chorused in unison.
Though bitter about their current circumstances, they had no other choice.
Attempting an open, direct frontal assault to eradicate the Dark Clan right now was sheer suicide!
The Dragon Flag Pirates were an Emperor-level crew. From the intelligence they had gathered, Drake had already proven capable of clashing directly with an entity like Im.
Even Whitebeard might not hold the upper hand against him.
Even if they managed to dismantle the Dark Clan's headquarters here, they were completely outmatched against the main strength of the Dragon Flag Pirates.
Thus, their objective today was crystal clear: plunder the Dark Clan's entire treasury reserves and use that immense wealth to rebuild their syndicate from the shadows.
At the very least, they could not afford to operate out in the open just yet!
Pulling this off would serve as a satisfying measure of payback for being ruined by Drake and Luffy.
"Good! Avoid raising any alarms and execute the plan!" Doflamingo waved his hand, and the high-ranking officers of the Donquixote Family sprang into motion behind him.
Before long, every single one of them vanished from the shoreline, as though they had never set foot on the island.
Cruel, cold sneers hung on their faces; to them, this operation was their glorious vengeance, and they intended to strip the Dark Clan of every last Berry in their vaults!
Yet what they never could have anticipated was the sheer, suffocating abyss of despair waiting for them in the dark!