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"That's pretty much the situation. What you need to focus on right now is recovering your body and mastering the power of the Suke Suke no Mi. For the time being, you'll work with Shuma's intelligence network."
Aaron finished explaining everything he knew about the Donquixote Auction House in detail to Absalom, who was staring back at him with his jaw hanging open in shock.
Aaron wasn't surprised by Absalom's reaction. Even he knew how dangerous it was to try stealing the Munch Munch Fruit from the Donquixote Auction House. Even with solid intel and thorough preparation, the difficulty of succeeding was still extremely high.
And if they failed—there was no second chance. It would almost certainly mean death. So it was understandable that Absalom felt such enormous pressure right now.
One of the Donquixote Pirates' officers had strength on par with a Marine Headquarters captain.
The user of the Ishi Ishi no Mi could merge with a fortress and control its stone at will.
And the fortress itself was filled with countless lethal traps.
Hearing all that, Absalom couldn't help but want to stay as far away from the Donquixote Auction House as possible. He knew his own limits well. Aside from invisibility, he had little to no combat ability—without the element of surprise, he doubted he could even win against an average civilian.
Aaron sending him to such a dangerous place to steal a Devil Fruit was practically the same as sending him to his death.
But he didn't have a choice. If he refused, he probably wouldn't live to see another day. He had already experienced firsthand how ruthless the young man before him could be. If he dared to say no, he'd likely be killed on the spot—or worse, thrown back into that hellish cell to suffer all over again before dying.
"I understand. I'll do my best," Absalom said loudly, straightening up. The moment he remembered the agony of those two months behind bars, all thoughts of avoiding the Donquixote Auction House vanished from his mind.
If he had to choose, he'd rather risk death breaking into that dragon's den than ever return to the torment of that prison.
"Good. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do. I'll be training you intensively over the next while," Aaron said with a faint smile, having sensed Absalom's shifting emotions through his Observation Haki.
Then he opened a drawer and pulled out a Den Den Mushi to contact Shuma.
"With Absalom's invisibility on our side, the plan to steal the Munch Munch fruit is already halfway to success. What remains is figuring out how to distract or deal with Pica and Lao G, and how to infiltrate the fortress safely. That Devil Fruit must be secured as soon as possible."
After Shuma took Absalom away, Aaron rose from his chair and walked over to the window. He stared out at the bustling street below, his expression heavy with thought.
Ever since Reggie had executed Willard, the other gangs in the city had noticeably quieted down. Even the aggressive Dars Gang had abruptly pulled back their forces, relinquishing all the territory they'd seized from the Akio Gang and ordering their men to avoid conflicts with them—like they were deliberately lowering their banners and withdrawing from the fight.
Because of that, Aaron's takeover of the B-District slums had gone smoothly.
In the past month, there hadn't been a single clash with other gangs over his new territory. Instead, most of the fighting came from pirates and all sorts of scum hiding in the slums clashing with his men as he launched development projects there.
Those pirates and lowlifes were nothing more than minor pests—useful for training his subordinates and intimidating the unruly. Only incursions from rival gangs posed a true threat.
Yet Aaron didn't see the current calm as a good thing. On the contrary, it filled him with an intense sense of pressure.
"When things are too quiet… something bad is coming."
According to the intel he'd gathered, the Dars Gang's leader was not the kind of man who swallowed his pride. He was a ruthless figure—when the Akio Gang had tried to suppress them back when Dars was still weak, he'd dared to wage war against them single-handedly.
At that time, he had rallied his pack and pushed toward Villia Port, forcing the Akio Gang to make concessions through sheer force of will.
Though that ruthless man hadn't made a move in a long time, that didn't mean his temper had softened. In fact, it had only grown worse due to his daughter's deteriorating illness and the lack of proper treatment.
And now, for such a hot-tempered leader to suddenly go quiet? That was far from normal.
So Aaron had secretly ordered Shuma's intelligence network to investigate the activities of every gang in the city.
With funding from the Shining Gold Chamber of Commerce and their steadily improving operations, Shuma's intel network had grown into a force of over a hundred members over the past few months. All were orphans and abandoned children from the slums, trained, indoctrinated, and given a new home—turning them into brave and loyal informants.
Using their youth and harmless appearance, they could easily slip into rival gang territories and bring back crucial information.
Through them, Aaron learned that the Dars Gang, the Regis Gang, and several smaller outfits had begun quietly upgrading their weapons and pushing their members into training. Some minor gangs were even recruiting aggressively with generous pay.
On top of that, Aaron learned from Dorak—who had risen to the rank of squad captain in the city guard thanks to his strength and bribes—that the guard was also quietly mobilizing and reinforcing its ranks, with fresh troops being transferred in from outside.
Finally, there was the surge in pirates arriving at Villia Port—many of whom had even settled temporarily in the slums.
The gangs, the government forces, even the pirates—they were all moving.
"The calm before the storm…"
That was the first thought that popped into Aaron's mind when he pieced all this information together. He didn't know how long this eerie calm would last, but he knew he needed to grow stronger—fast.
In fact, his strength was growing quickly. Thanks to his growing number of subordinates, he no longer had to run around like he did when he was a patrol captain. As long as nothing major happened, he could stay at his base and handle routine matters, leaving him far more time for training.
Now, on quiet days, he could train up to fifteen hours. As his physique improved, the number of times he could practice the Kuja Body Refinement Technique each day also increased—from twice a day to three times. Combined with his swordsmanship training, his progress had skyrocketed.
In just over a month, both his stamina and strength attributes had surpassed the 30-point threshold, with speed climbing to 28 points.
And ever since the assassination incident, his mentor Reggie had undergone a complete change in attitude—becoming uncharacteristically enthusiastic. He not only sparred with Aaron but personally instructed him in swordsmanship.
With guidance and sparring from a swordsman whose strength rivaled that of a Marine vice admiral, Aaron's swordsmanship and Observation Haki had advanced rapidly. He had even learned two powerful sword techniques from Reggie.
Such tremendous progress would have thrilled Aaron in the past—but now, all it did was remind him how unprepared he still was.
The coming storm weighed heavily on his heart. He had no idea if he or the people around him could endure what was about to happen.
Which is why he had to get stronger—fast.
The Munch Munch fruit was the one treasure he knew could give him the explosive growth he needed.
He had to get his hands on it.
"Biu~! Boom!"
Suddenly, the sound of fireworks exploded in the night sky.
Aaron's face darkened as he saw a bright burst of color bloom outside the window. He immediately left his office and began gathering his men.
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