Ascendancy (Middle)

The moment the private room doors closed was the signal to act!

Mike Klin and the others left most of the men they had brought outside the private rooms, bringing only a small number of core bodyguards inside.

Not every Mafia Boss possessed great strength. Some relied on power and money, though most Mafia Bosses still had some skill of their own.

Noah smiled as he led several subordinates pushing dining carts down the corridor. The carts were laden with fine wine and food, not for the Bosses inside the private rooms, but for the people in the hallway.

With a planned move against unsuspecting targets, and since they all belonged to the same Mafia family, the subordinates brought by the various Bosses had no guard against Noah and the others. Who could possibly imagine that a leader would seek to rise to the top in a single step?

Thus, under Noah and his men's enthusiastic persuasion and hospitality, everyone ate some food and drank some wine, including Carlos's subordinates. The food had all been specially prepared; only Carlos's people knew what was safe to eat and what was not.

Inside the private room, the luxurious dining table was already covered with a lavish dinner. Everyone sat in their places according to status, white napkins draped over them, knives and forks in hand as they ate, chatted, exchanged pleasantries, and laughed.

Carlos stayed with them for a while before leaving to retrieve the priceless treasure he intended to show them.

Soon, Carlos emerged carrying an exquisitely luxurious box in both hands. He carefully placed it on the table. The Bosses stopped embracing and drinking, set down their cutlery, and curiosity appeared in their eyes.

They were very curious about what kind of priceless treasure required all of them to appraise it together. And if it truly was a priceless treasure, how exactly would the profits be divided?

Come to think of it, Carlos was such a good young man. Rather than hiding away a priceless treasure he had found, he brought it out to share. Truly... his path was only getting broader and broader...

Carlos lowered his head with a smile, took a key from his pocket, and unlocked the box. Everyone's attention was drawn to him.

When the box opened, no dazzling treasure light emerged. Carlos reached inside, then raised his head. His smile had vanished, leaving only icy killing intent. Three scarlet tomoe appeared in his eyes as he launched two powerful Illusion Techniques at the two bodyguards he had long investigated and identified as the strongest people present.

Carlos raised his right hand and pulled a fully loaded, chambered pistol from the box. His finger squeezed the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets shot out, striking the two strongest bodyguards first. Blood sprayed everywhere...

His left hand reached behind his back and drew another pistol. The muzzle flashed as bullets poured forth again, taking down the unprepared bodyguards one after another.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, the Bosses were completely dumbfounded. By the time they reacted, every bodyguard at their sides had been taken out by Carlos. The stench of gunpowder and blood filled the luxurious private room.

"Bastard, kill him!"

"He's courting death! Men!"

"Traitor!"

"Scoundrel!"

The four men each took cover behind something, cursing as they pulled out their concealed pistols and fired wildly at Carlos. Bullets flew everywhere through the private room, tearing it to pieces.

"Hahaha..."

A smug, unrestrained laugh rang out. Carlos activated the Golden Bell Shield, and a faint golden radiance flowed over his skin. With his speed unleashed, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly spun. The bullets flying toward him seemed to move in slow motion, their trajectories perfectly clear!

The bullets and firepower of four pistols posed no pressure to Carlos at all. In an instant, he arrived above one of the leaders. His five fingers curled into claws and viciously, brutally pierced the leader's skull. Force surged through them, smashing his brain into mush and killing him instantly!

With a casual flick, white fluid slid off his hand. His figure moved, and he arrived before another leader. This leader had been prepared; he threw a heavy, powerful punch at Carlos's face.

Carlos tilted his head and dodged the punch. At the same time, his left hand swept upward, his eagle claw gripping the other's elbow joint. Force surged through it, and with a crack, bone fractured and shattered.

The excruciating pain made the man's next attack falter. Seizing the opportunity, that deadly claw clamped around his throat. Crack! Another bone-chilling sound of breaking bones rang out, and he died instantly!

It sounded like a long sequence, but it had all happened within a single breath.

After killing that leader, Carlos swiftly ducked and turned aside, evading two bullets. At the same time, he moved while gripping the dead leader by the throat, using the corpse to block three bullets flying in from the other side. Every movement was smooth and natural, flowing like water!

Taking advantage of the gap in their attacks, Carlos flung the corpse in his hand at Mike Klin. Turning his head slightly, his scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan met the eyes of his immediate superior, Carlton!

Carlton felt his vision blur. An eerie, sinister pair of strange eyes dripping with blood appeared in his mind, staring at him as though he were already dead!

In reality, Carlton's face was filled with terror, and the pistol in his hand slipped weakly to the floor.

On the other side, the flying corpse made Mike Klin instinctively dodge. When he raised his head again, Carlos was already before him. His eyes met Carlos's Sharingan, and tragedy followed!

The moment he broke free of the Illusion Technique was the moment his neck was snapped. Mike Klin's body crashed heavily to the floor, his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace...

Only Carlton, the final immediate superior, remained.

Carlos walked up to Carlton and was about to snap his neck. For some reason, Carlos had grown increasingly fond of killing people by breaking their necks. Perhaps the sound of bones cracking was rather pleasant.

Just as Carlos's eagle claw was about to touch Carlton's neck, Carlton's terrified expression instantly turned to excitement and smugness. His left hand gripped a sharp dagger and stabbed toward Carlos's heart, while the pistol in his right hand aimed at Carlos's head, ready to pull the trigger and make a desperate counterkill!

Yet in the next moment, Carlton's expression froze completely. The dagger in his left hand seemed to have struck hardened steel and could not pierce in at all; meanwhile, the pistol in his right hand did not even get the chance to fire before the entire gun was crushed into fragments by Carlos!

"Before these eyes, every little trick is futile!"

"I was merely playing with you, letting you experience the journey from hope to despair..."

"Farewell, Boss Carlton!"

Carlos gave an evil smile. His left hand was already clamped around Carlton's neck. Crack! A crisp, horrifying sound of bone breaking rang out, and the final leader died.

Carlton died with the greatest unwillingness. His eyes were opened so wide that they looked as though they might burst from their sockets.

He had wanted to trick Carlos? Wasn't that overestimating himself? Carlos had cast the Illusion Technique himself; how could he not know whether the other man had broken free of it?

Not to mention all those seemingly covert little movements that, under the Sharingan, were actually full of glaring flaws.

"Come in!"

Carlos walked over to the seat where Mike Klin had been sitting and called out coldly.

The private room doors were immediately pushed open. Noah led ten underlings inside. Looking at the wrecked private room, the corpses scattered across the floor, and Carlos sitting calmly in a chair while swirling a glass of red wine, they were excited, shocked, and wary all at once!

Their Boss was truly incredible!

Even Noah felt that way, let alone the others. The gazes they turned on Carlos were filled with awe and worship!