He has been working here for more than ten years and have seen many intruders, but Zebro has never seen a guest who ca to visit so formally.
He was completely dumbfounded. He had pushed himself to the limit just to open just one door. Pushing open the Testing Gates was the minimum requirent to work for the Zoldyck Family, but that young man had actually opened six doors.
It took a good while before to Zebro react finally snapped out of his shock. He hurriedly picked up the internal phone and dialed the direct line to the butler's quarters.
After a while, the call was connected.
"What is it?"
A rather old female voice ca from the other end of the phone.
Zebro imdiately recounted everything that had just happened at the fastest pace he could manage.
Once he finished, the other end fell silent, clearly surprised by the fact that soone had opened six gates at once.
"I see."
After a pause, the elderly woman's voice responded briefly before hanging up.
Zebro listened to the dead tone coming from the phone, exhaled with difficulty, and then slowly placed the phone back.
At this mont, his mind was still filled with Law's face.
Unbelievable. That was the word lingering in his thoughts. Perhaps it was due to his lack of experience, or maybe it was simply because Law was so young.
Either way, Zebro felt he would never forget the shock Law had just given him.
The Zoldyck Family's estate was built on Kukuroo Mountain, which was surrounded by a vast sea of trees. All of this land was the private territory of the Zoldyck Family.
At the edge of the area, towering walls are built, leaving only the front entrance, the Testing Gates.
While the forest around Kukuroo Mountain belonged to the Zoldyck Family, its natural ecosystem remained untouched.
Law discovered this shortly after he entered the forest.
From the main gate, it didn't take much distance before a path beca visible… one that looked like it had been trodden out by footsteps, though upon closer inspection, faint traces of human work could still be seen.
This path likely led straight to Kukuroo Mountain, and it is also the road that the Zoldyck Family uses all year round.
Law had co to the Zoldyck Family's estate alone for one reason: the death of the tad dragon.
He moved swiftly, paying no attention to the scenery around him.
Before coming, he had considered asking Netero to accompany him. After all, having soone familiar around would make things less awkward.
Unfortunately, Netero had coldly refused on the grounds that he was busy with work.
He wasn't lying, as the aftermath of the Demon Island's incident hadn't been fully resolved yet. The plan was to hand that ss over to the authorities, so Netero had his hands full lately.
But even if he couldn't co along, couldn't he at least call Maha Zoldyck in advance to smooth things over? In the end, Law was still rejected.
Left with no choice, Law had co unannounced. He vaguely rembered that pushing open the gate was enough to enter the Zoldyck Family's estate, so that's exactly what he did.
Letting a tad dragon belonging to the Zoldyck Family killed was a serious matter, but he doesn't know how much money he has to pay in compensation.
The Zoldyck Family is very wealthy and they likely wouldn't cut corners when it ca to compensation.
But if this could be resolved with money, then it'd be simple. What worried Law was if they demanded he replace the dragon with one of equal value, as that would be troubleso.
'Co to think of it, the guard dog, Mike, which is responsible for dealing with intruders, was also a tad monster raised by the Zoldyck Family. This shows that the Zoldyck Family has mastered good taming skills.'
'However, why hadn't I seen Mike yet despite having been inside for a while? Was it because I had entered through the front gate?'
Law thought to himself.
In reality, Mike wouldn't beco the Zoldyck Family's guard dog until a few years later, so he naturally wouldn't see it now.
Law maintained a steady pace and soon covered most of the distance. When he reached the middle section, he began sensing a gaze watching him from the shadows.
He pretended not to notice and continued walking along the path.
The observer made no effort to hide their presence, yet there was no trace of human warmth in that gaze.
The source of the gaze was actually surveillance caras installed across the 'courtyard'. Law didn't realize this, after all, he was a guest. Even if he noticed being watched, it wasn't his place to investigate.
The path was flanked by low grass and trees, with a walking width of just over two ters.
At one point, Law suddenly stopped, because a young man was standing in front of the road.
There was an entrance, with square stone pillars about two ters high standing on both sides. Starting from the stone pillars, simple guardrails extended to both sides. Every one ter, there was a wooden stick inserted into the ground, with only two iron wires tied horizontally on it.
The young man stood tall, dressed in a black suit, with a neat buzz cut, refined features, and a pair of glasses that gave him a scholarly air.
'Gotoh?'
Although the young man did not have a mustache, Law still recognized his identity based on his similar facial features.
In the original work, Gotoh was the head butler of the Zoldyck Family. But at this point, he wasn't, as that position was still held by Tsubone. The voice that had spoken to Zebro earlier belonged to her.
She was already quite old, and though her ntal and physical condition remained strong, she had recently been considering stepping down and had even thought of recomnding Gotoh as her successor.
After receiving Zebro's call, Tsubone had instructed Gotoh to head to the boundary entrance. After all, there's a 'guest' who could push open six doors, so an ordinary butler would not be able to handle it.
Gotoh stood at the entrance, his expression cold and unreadable, exuding an aura that clearly warned others to stay away. He stared at Law, who was several dozen ters away, without saying a word, but his deanor expressed it clearly.
'Get lost!'
Seeing Gotoh remain silent while radiating hostility, Law pondered for a mont before cutting straight to the point, "I'm here to see Maha."
He stated his purpose directly and even called Maha by na.
Gotoh had a high hairline, leaving much of his forehead exposed. When he heard Law casually refer to Maha Zoldyck without any honorifics, a visible vein popped on his temple.
He glared at Law and coldly replied with a single line, "I have received no such permission."
Law scratched his head, pretending not to notice Gotoh's irritation, and said, "Then could you call him and tell him Law is here?"
After a pause, he added, "And that I brought Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."
After hearing Law's words, Gotoh just continued to stare at him expressionlessly, neither speaking nor making any move to take out a phone.
Seeing that Gotoh remained silent and hostile, Law imdiately blad Netero in his heart, 'If only that old man had made a simple phone call, things wouldn't be so troubleso.'
"Not possible?" Law pressed.
Gotoh still refused to respond.
Law sighed, then raised the lunchbox in his right hand, and said seriously: "Although I used Aura to keep it warm, but if too much ti passes, it'll eventually cool down. And once it does, the flavor won't be as good. To prevent that from happening… I'll have to apologize to you."
The 'it' he referred to was the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall dish. The apology was because Law was now considering forcing his way in.
After all, he had clearly stated his purpose, but Gotoh didn't even bother to inform Maha. This was not a reasonable way to treat guests.
The Ten on Law's body turned into Ren, and his Aura surged smoothly… refined and powerful.
Gotoh's expression darkened before turning grave.
Before Law had released his Aura, Gotoh hadn't been able to gauge his strength. Now that he saw Law's Ren, he imdiately felt the pressure.
'Ren!'
Gotoh also activated Ren, and his whole body was covered with Aura.
'If the one before is him over a decade later, it might be a bit tricky. But right now? I could probably handle him with one hand.'
Thinking this, Law suddenly took several steps forward. Just as Gotoh's nerves tightened, Law suddenly stopped.
Silently, a figure slowly appeared on the path behind Gotoh.
That person was Illumi.
Walking without making a sound was one of the basic skills all Zoldyck Family's mbers must mastered. While his steps were silent, Illumi made no effort to conceal his presence, so both Law and Gotoh imdiately sensed him.
Law halted, now caught in the tense standoff. When Illumi saw Law, a faint flicker of surprise passed through his dark eyes.
'Not long ago, this guy borrowed our family's tad dragon from Great-Grandfather. And now he's here on foot?'
"Young Master Illumi."
When Gotoh saw Illumi, he imdiately bowed slightly in greeting.
"Yo."
After seeing Illumi, Law also raised a hand in greeting, while restraining his Aura.
"What's your purpose?" Illumi asked calmly. He had been on his way down the mountain and hadn't expected to run into Law here.
"I'm here to see Maha. This is what happened… The dragon I borrowed so ti ago..." Law hooked a finger against his cheek, and said embarrassedly, "It's dead."
"…" Illumi.
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