Chapter 155: The Golden Vault Heist

“Wow!”

Jennifer gasped softly and quickly covered her mouth, making sure the people at the door didn’t hear her.

Once they stepped inside, the sight that greeted them was enough to leave anyone stunned and speechless.

Gold and silver jewelry sparkled everywhere, reflecting off one another, while gemstones in every color bloomed like vibrant flowers. Mounds of gold and jewels towered high, some topped with exquisite swords inlaid with glittering gems.

Smith looked out over the golden sea before them and realized following the Celestial Dragons like wallpaper clearly wouldn’t work anymore.

So he quietly moved to Jennifer and White Tiger’s side, transforming them into two huge golden statues. Then he turned himself into one as well. The trio of golden statues began to trail behind the Celestial Dragons.

In this ocean of gold, three golden statues hardly drew any attention.

Just like that, the group followed the Celestial Dragons for nearly two hundred meters. Gold was everywhere they looked, and after a while everyone grew numb to it. Even the thousands of Fishmen inside White Tiger’s body seemed to have money signs in their eyes.

They found themselves totally lost in this sea of wealth, almost forgetting who they were.

They wanted nothing more than to scoop up all this gold right away, but seeing the Celestial Dragons up ahead, they forced themselves to wait. Now just wasn’t the time.

Even though their restraint was being pushed to the limit, they all knew that right now, staying calm and careful mattered most.

Finally, they reached the very front. There was a lift platform, on which were several small boxes—just the right size to hold their target, the Devil Fruits.

“Pick up these boxes and follow me,” Saint Charlos commanded, jabbing his thick, carrot-like finger at a few of the cases as he spoke to the nearby guards.

“Yes, Lord Celestial Dragon.” The guards immediately bowed and stepped forward, ready to lift the boxes containing the Devil Fruits.

“Not good—they’re taking the Devil Fruits out,” Smith whispered urgently to Jennifer and White Tiger.

When the three of them saw what the guards were doing, their faces all grew tense and serious.

They hadn’t planned on fighting, but if the Devil Fruits got taken away, then their whole mission would fall apart.

They exchanged glances, determination flashing in their eyes. At this critical moment, they couldn’t just let the enemy walk out with the Devil Fruits.

By the looks of it…

The three exchanged a final look and made their decision in an instant.

White Tiger slipped up behind the group. While everyone was distracted and unguarded, he transformed from a golden statue back into his true form. In a flash, he unleashed a ruthless and cold-blooded slaughter.

His massive claws slashed back and forth with lightning speed. Before anyone could react, there was a muffled thud.

The guards in suits who’d reached for the Devil Fruits were instantly torn apart, blood and flesh flying, their bodies left in pieces on the floor.

White Tiger moved swiftly and decisively, no hesitation at all, and his eyes burned with killing intent. He knew he had to take out every guard here before anyone outside could catch on.

Jennifer turned back into her human form and hurried to one of the guards. She gripped a dagger in hand, silently crept up beside the Celestial Dragon, and fixed her eyes on the suited man to the left.

She covered his mouth with one hand as she stabbed straight into his throat with the other—giving him no chance to make a sound. He could only let out a muffled “Urg…” before collapsing to the ground. Jennifer was ice-cold and efficient, not wavering for a second. Her eyes were just as ruthless.

“Ah!”

But Smith slipped up. While attacking the Celestial Dragon, he accidentally let the man cry out in terror.

Even so, Smith didn’t panic. He instantly smashed his fist down and caved in the Celestial Dragon’s head, making sure he’d never make another sound.

Every last person in this group now lay dead, a heavy stench of blood filling the air.

But that blood-curdling scream had definitely alerted the guards outside.

White Tiger darted to the doorway, padding on silent paws. He saw two guards headed his way, so he swiftly snapped their necks and dragged their bodies inside, pulling the golden doors shut behind him.

“Now it’s showtime,” Jennifer said, her voice brimming with delight.

She was the first to use her scroll, stashing the six Devil Fruits inside. These fruits were the main targets of their whole mission, and their safety came first.

After all, Devil Fruits collected by the Celestial Dragons definitely weren’t your run-of-the-mill prizes.

She kept pulling out scrolls, sweeping up gold from every mountain of treasure in sight. The gold was just a secondary goal—nowhere near as precious as the Devil Fruits, but still an enormous fortune.

Once White Tiger locked the doors, he hurried back, and next, Fishmen started leaping out from the open window on his body.

The Fishmen were vital to the operation. On their own, the trio never could’ve moved so much gold in so little time.

The Fishmen, already stunned by the golden bounty outside, wasted no time. As soon as they jumped out, they began gathering up every bit of treasure, stacking gold high inside the vault.

Everyone knew they had to get the gold back to the stronghold as fast as possible. Each extra second spent here only increased the risk.

“Follow me,” Smith instructed, leading a small team of Fishmen to stand guard by the Golden Gate, ears peeled for any disturbance so they could retreat at a moment’s notice.

With over ten thousand Fishmen working at full speed, it took less than twenty minutes to collect all the gold and jewels. Soon, everyone headed for the Golden Gate.

Then Jennifer suddenly spoke up: “This is just one of the Celestial Dragons’ palaces, so there’s probably more than a single vault here, right?”

The other two paused, their hands just brushing the Golden Gate, and turned to look at Jennifer.

One human and one tiger slowly nodded. It was true—there was no way this was the Celestial Dragons’ only stash.

They slipped out the door, careful not to leave a trace. The bodies inside had already been disguised with a special potion to cover the bloody smell and avoid drawing attention.

Once outside, they began searching outward from the golden vault, all the while dodging guards and looking for buildings resembling the Golden Gate.

They quickly discovered two more vaults, each packed with gold. After verifying there were only two others like this, they darted into one.

This time, there was no one inside. They squeezed in through a crack in the door and cleaned out every speck of gold and every last precious item.