In that dark room, the man who had carried himself so elegantly earlier finished the last sip of wine in his glass. But instead of pouring himself another, he pulled a black mask up from his neck, covering most of his face.
The mask also had two round, steel-rimmed lenses. As thick as riot-resistant glass, they hid his eyes deep behind them.
He had not yet hung up the Den Den Mushi in his hand. Thanks to its ability to mimic the caller, it now had strangely upturned eyes and a brazen grin.
"Barn Bashut, huh? Now that's a valuable man."
Holding the Den Den Mushi in one hand, the man straightened the enormous black top hat on his head with the other, then spoke into it.
"Boss, do you think we should..."
He left his sentence unfinished, hinting at something. Of course, the person on the other end understood a hint that obvious.
"Gladius, how many men do we have on Fish-Man Island right now?"
The man named Gladius gave a number almost without hesitation.
"Three thousand."
An eerie laugh came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Heh heh heh heh... Good, Gladius. I heard this Barn fellow was put on the Celestial Dragons' wanted list because he openly declared war on them. They're the ones behind that ten-billion bounty, too. Here's what you'll do: go test him..."
Hearing the order from the other end, Gladius nodded, his enormous top hat bobbing along with his head.
"Understood, Boss."
The man's voice came through the Den Den Mushi again.
"Take everyone with you. If you can kill him, all the better. Ten billion Beli-even my family would need some time to put that together. But if you're no match for him... run, Gladius. Those useless fools should