In this world, the West Blue differed from the East Blue, North Blue, and South Blue. In the West Blue, family consciousness ran deep, and everything revolved around the family. The various islands were primarily ruled by different families. There were countries as well, but they were not the mainstream and were far fewer than in the other three seas.
The West Blue Mafia wielded immense power in these waters. It could even be said that they were the true rulers of the West Blue. Aside from the Navy, which had the backing of the World Government and thus warranted some caution, they feared no other forces—not even the Pirates who roamed the West Blue.
The West Blue Mafia not only had connections with all sorts of dark forces, including Pirates, but also maintained countless ties with the governments of various countries and officials around the world. They operated freely in both the light and the dark!
Carlos had spent more than half a year in the Mafia, so he knew more or less about the West Blue Mafia.
The Five Mafia Families of the West Blue were the Capone Family in the north, the John Family in the south, the Ferro Family in the east, the Charlie Family in the west, and the Gambino Family in the center.
The sphere of influence of these Five Great Families included islands directly managed by them, as well as islands where their affiliated forces had intervened. Their influence was enormous.
Iron Island belonged to the latter category. It was an island controlled by the Mike Family, an affiliated Mafia family of the John Family. Although they could not fully control this type of island, a single stomp from them would make Iron Island tremble three times!
The Mafia had a tightly organized and rigid hierarchy. From lowest to highest, its ranks were peripheral members, formal members, combatants, subordinate leaders, leaders, leader, patriarchs, and godfathers.
Peripheral members were thugs attached to the Mafia. Their work was varied, crude, and simple. They had no fixed salary and were paid according to their contributions. Outstanding performers could be promoted to formal members.
Formal members could wear brown suits and carry swords. They received a fixed monthly salary of fifty thousand Berries, along with various additional income, such as rewards from their superiors, compensation, medical expenses, and so on.
Combatants were the Mafia's elite members. In addition to swords, they could carry firearms. They wore black suits with brown capes and received a fixed salary of one hundred thousand Berries, as well as various additional income.
Subordinate leaders were the Mafia's low-level officers. They could wear whatever they wanted without restriction and carry any weapons they pleased. Their fixed salary was two hundred thousand Berries plus a one-percent share of the profits. Naturally, their other benefits were even better.
Leaders received a fixed income starting at five hundred thousand Berries plus a three-percent share of the profits. A leader received one million Berries plus a five-percent share. The position of leader was generally held by members of a Mafia family's direct lineage.
The profits referred to here were gains obtained after winning a battle, not profits from the industries owned by Mafia families.
Above leader were the patriarchs of families large and small. The godfathers above them were actually patriarchs as well, except they were the patriarchs of the Five Mafia Families of the West Blue. To distinguish themselves and demonstrate their status, they were called godfathers. The Five Great Families were the five great godfathers!
A subordinate leader generally had fifty men under him, made up of a mix of formal members and combatants. The higher the proportion of combatants, the stronger the force.
A leader commanded four subordinate leaders, totaling more than two hundred men. A leader had three leaders under him, totaling more than six hundred men.
This was the intelligence Carlos had gathered about Mafia families. Rising to subordinate leader in half a year was already quite impressive. Everyone beneath him had to respectfully call him Boss!
In truth, Carlos could have risen at least to the position of leader, and he even had a fifty-percent chance of reaching a rank higher than that. However, because he wanted to hide his true abilities, Carlos had not displayed all of his strength.
The current Carlos was no longer the Carlos of the past, content with merely becoming a formal Mafia member. He had greater ambitions!
Though the seeds of ambition had already sprouted, they could not yet fully bloom due to his own strength and influence. They needed time to slowly grow!
Thinking back on the past, Carlos relaxed further and gradually fell asleep. He slept until evening. The sun was setting, and the fading light was as red as blood.
"Boss Carlos, Boss Carlos..."
The calls woke the sleeping Lucifer Carlos. He opened his eyes, yawned, and turned to look behind him. A sturdy young man in a brown suit and brown cape stood over ten meters away, calling out to him with a broad smile...
"What is it, Noah? You interrupted my sleep..." Carlos was grumpy from being woken up and sounded quite displeased.
Noah was ordinary-looking, one of his trusted men, and a combatant. His nickname was Poison Mosquito. He was an excellent marksman and loved taking cheap shots!
"Hehe... Don't be angry, Boss. Boss Cani invited you out for drinks..."
"He's treating. He's paying."
After speaking, Noah thought for a moment and added that last sentence.
Cani was also a Mafia subordinate leader, serving under the same leader as him. He had a good relationship with Carlos, and they often drank together.
However, that guy had a bad habit of playing word games, especially when it came to drinking. Carlos had paid for him more than a few times, and his wallet had grown considerably thinner because of it.
"He's paying?"
"Now that's more like it. Looks like he finally found his conscience..."
Although that guy liked tricking people into buying drinks, he was fairly trustworthy. If he said he would pay, he would pay. Still, they had long since grown distant.
"Call any brothers who are free. Come drink with me!"
"By the way, it's the usual place, right?" Carlos said as he walked, stretching lazily.
Although Carlos was only fifteen this year, he was much taller than he had been at the same age on Earth.
Carlos had the facial features and complexion of an East Asian. He stood one meter seventy tall, with sharp brows, bright eyes, a high nose bridge, thin lips, tousled black hair, and a well-tailored black suit. He was youthful and spirited, his heroic bearing carrying a trace of laziness!
"Yes, Boss. Clover Tavern." Noah bowed slightly, reined in his smile, and answered respectfully.
Boss was usually easygoing, but he was no pushover. When Boss had first become a subordinate leader, quite a few people had refused to accept being led by a little brat. Their fates... tsk tsk, had been miserable!
Noah himself had been taught a lesson too. Fortunately, he had not been the one making the biggest fuss. The graves of those who had were already thick with weeds.
"Don't be so stiff. Come with me. We'll drink our fill tonight!"
"Hehe, yes, Boss."
"Leave it to me tonight. I'll go all out and make sure Boss Cani drinks himself under the table for you!"
"Then I'll be waiting to see it."
"I won't let you down, Boss!"
As they chatted, their figures gradually faded into the distance, while their shadows stretched longer and longer across the grass.
Late at night, Iron City, Clover Tavern. In a private room, Mafia Members in suits were drunk senseless. In the entire tavern, only Carlos and another young man in a floral shirt remained seated at the table, still drinking nonstop.
"Carlos, I'll tell you a secret, but don't tell anyone else..." The young man in the floral shirt said through bleary eyes. The stench of alcohol filled the air as he spoke, making him quite unpleasant to be around.
"A secret?"
"Bullshit. What secret could you possibly have?"
"Burp... Don't tell me you found out that so-and-so was sleeping with so-and-so again, or that someone stole someone else's woman. How many times have I told you? I'm not interested in that kind of thing..."
Carlos's face was slightly flushed. Though his head was a little dizzy, his mind remained very clear. His Golden Bell Shield had achieved some success, and his physical condition was excellent. He could hold his liquor well. If he had not been drinking from nightfall until midnight, he would not even be dizzy. They were all a bunch of drunks, and not particularly strong drinkers at that.
"This isn't that kind of petty secret. It's about... about the treasure of the sea... a treasure, the secret of a Devil Fruit!"
Carlos perked up, and much of his drunkenness faded. He became far more serious, though he kept his expression calm. "Keep bragging. How could you possibly know a secret about Devil Fruits?"
"Do you know how valuable a Devil Fruit is?"
"That's a treasure worth at least one hundred million Berries!"
"Who are you looking down on?" Boss Cani shot him a dissatisfied glance through bleary eyes.
"I'm telling you..."
Boss Cani leaned closer to Carlos and lowered his voice.
"Last night, some wreckage drifted onto the shore I was assigned to patrol in our Mafia territory. There were several treasure chests among the wreckage."
"There were plenty of Berries and jewels in those chests. Most importantly, there was a Devil Fruit!"
"Unfortunately, quite a few of my men report directly to those above me. Otherwise, I would've made a fortune. The more I think about it, the more unwilling I am to accept it!"
"What the hell is that little reward from above worth?!"
As he spoke, Cani's voice grew louder. He was full of complaints, resentment, and dissatisfaction, and he no longer stuttered.
"The people above are pretty excessive. What happened afterward?" Carlos followed his lead.
"Afterward... afterward, Patriarch John personally came and took the things... away."
People always say the name Devil Fruit is cringe, but I don't think it is. The reason I chose that name is because the fruits in One Piece are called Devil Fruits. Since this is also about Dojutsu, I used that name. Whatever, I'm too lazy to change it. I'm just writing for fun anyway. No matter how bad it is, I can at least get full attendance rewards and earn a little pocket money. I'll just write what I want to write.
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