A thin layer of gold spread over Orange Town from the direction of the docks at dusk.
The last cargo ship flying the Uchiha Gunbai flag had finished unloading. The laborers sat on the pier in twos and threes, sharing a pot of cold tea. The sea breeze had blown away most of the heavy daytime smells of tung oil and salted fish, replacing them with the sweet citrus scent drifting over from the market.
The Capone Family's docking documents had all been signed two days ago. The strategist had been stuffed into Gwen's old little office on the second floor of the trading company, where he was still using a Den Den Mushi to contact the West Blue.
Barlow had not left his office either.
When Koldo came downstairs, the copyists in the first-floor main hall had already gone home. Sixteen long oak tables stood empty in two neat rows, their surfaces spotless. Quills rested in pen holders, and ledgers were arranged by catalog number on the shelves along the wall.
Koldo stood in the middle of the hall for a moment, listening to the echo of his leather shoes against the marble floor, then let out a long breath.
He adjusted the collar of his vest, pinched the folded corner of his pocket square back into place, and strode toward the waiting room at the end of the side corridor.
Rosa was already waiting there.
Rather than sit in one of the armchairs, she leaned against the windowsill, her elbows braced on the wooden frame as she watched two vendors with handcarts packing up along the cobbled street outside.
She wore a plain fitted dress, with that polished short dagger still tucked at her waist. Her fingers idly spun the leather cord at the end of its hilt.