Maglin Island

A day and a half later, the Mad Bull Pirates carried Carlos to the vicinity of Maglin Island. The weather was overcast that day, and a white fog blanketed the sea, hazy and indistinct.

Carlos stood on the deck in casual clothes, his hands behind his back as he quietly admired the misty scenery.

"Boss, Maglin Island is almost here," Olsen quietly reminded him from behind.

"I know. Stop the ship. Any farther in, and we'll enter the Marines' regular patrol area."

"Bring that thing out. We'll use Den Den Mushi to contact each other from now on."

"Yes, Boss."

Olsen agreed readily, but his eyes were full of confusion. He simply could not understand what use his boss had for the thing they had captured...

He had guessed it might be for riding, but that was far too absurd. That creature was wild and untamable, not to mention utterly vicious!

Soon, more than a dozen tall, sturdy pirates strained as they dragged a large net along the ship's side. Watching his men struggle so pathetically from behind them, Olsen immediately cursed, "Move, move, move! You're all useless. Let me handle it."

Olsen strode over and shoved the pirates aside. Grasping the net with both hands, he bent his knees slightly. The muscles in his arms, as thick as an ordinary man's thighs, tightened as he exerted all his strength. With a heave of both arms, he flung a Great White Shark trapped in the net onto the deck. The fall hit the shark hard, greatly weakening its struggles.

Carlos turned around, and his Three-Tomoe Sharingan emerged. His hypnotic ability activated, and a Three-Tomoe Sharingan suddenly appeared in the Great White Shark's eyes before swiftly fading away...

"Train hard. Don't let there be no place for you among those who follow me to the Grand Line someday. That would be too embarrassing."

"I understand, Boss!"

Olsen was deeply moved and energized. With a boss so powerful despite being so young, they would never again be driven out of the Grand Line with their tails between their legs.

Carlos nodded and controlled the Great White Shark as it struggled off the deck and into the sea. Then he leaped from the ship, landing steadily atop the shark's smooth back before quickly disappearing into the thick fog.

Olsen and the pirates under him clicked their tongues in amazement. This method was truly interesting, powerful, and convenient!

Out on the sea, Carlos stood atop the Great White Shark's back as it sped toward Maglin Island. The fog had truly come at the perfect time. It made slipping onto the island unnoticed much easier.

As for arriving at Maglin Island aboard a Pirate Ship, forget it. As the commercial center of the Southern West Sea, the island had a sizable Marine force stationed there, guarded by a Marine Brigadier General. Sailing a Pirate Ship here would be no different from courting death.

Carlos did not want to take a merchant ship or passenger ship either. Since someone in his headquarters might have been bought off by the John Family, his whereabouts and appearance had basically been exposed. The moment he set foot on the island, he would likely be watched, and then his advantage of knowing the enemy while remaining hidden himself would be gone.

That was why Carlos had gone through the trouble of controlling a shark to secretly land on the island.

Half a quarter-hour later, Carlos reached the shore. He jumped onto land, put on sunglasses and a half-face mask, then headed toward town.

Before long, Carlos found himself in the heart of this prosperous island. Residences stood row upon row, shops were densely packed together, and the streets teemed with people. All kinds of goods were displayed in dazzling abundance, while the nearby docks were packed with ships of all sizes and bustling with activity.

Maglin Island was the commercial center, logistics hub, and transportation nexus of the Southern West Sea. All kinds of people mingled here, from nobles to commoners, while bounty hunters, assassins, and pirates alike hid among the crowds.

Carlos's outfit was somewhat unusual, but not overly conspicuous. It drew some looks, but as long as no one special came looking for trouble, it did not matter.

Carlos did not hurry to gather information on the John Family. Instead, he wandered around Maglin Island, intending to enjoy the sights before considering how to cause trouble for the John Family. He was still rather curious about this world.

As he walked and looked around, he never deprived himself of anything he liked—whether trinkets or tasty food. He simply took out money and bought them. After all, he was the Boss of a Mafia family now. This little bit of money meant nothing.

As he walked, he suddenly heard someone shouting. Intrigued, Carlos changed direction and headed over.

"Come to the city square and watch the excitement! The Royal Court Hotel is holding an absolutely spectacular cooking competition! Get there early and you can sample the exquisite skills of every master chef for free..."

Some people were interested in this obvious planted promotion, while others were not. Carlos belonged to the interested group and decided to go check out the cooking competition for himself.

He remembered that the Royal Court Hotel was one of the highest-rated hotels on Maglin Island. A cooking competition held by them ought to be of fairly high quality.

When he arrived at the city square, he found that more than half of the enormous plaza was already filled. Some small vendors were doing business around the square, and the onlookers enthusiastically cheered from time to time. A gentle breeze occasionally carried over a variety of aromas, mostly the scent of seafood.

Carlos was still a teenager and had not fully grown yet. Many people present were taller than him, and since he had arrived rather late, he could not see what was happening inside.

That annoyed Carlos somewhat, but it was not enough to trouble him. He immediately charged into the crowd, squeezing left and right. It did not take long before he pushed his way to the front, drawing a torrent of colorful curses from countless people!

Once he reached the front, he could see clearly. Ten grand and imposing cooking stations had been set up in the center of the square, and ten chefs in white uniforms, men and women alike, were preparing all kinds of exquisite and delicious dishes.

Each of them displayed their skills—dazzling knife work, incredible carving techniques, and flashy cooking methods. They had practically turned cooking into an art. Whether the food actually tasted good, though, was another matter...

After examining the ten chefs, Carlos swept his gaze toward the judges' table. The judges included men and women, young and old. Every one of them was dressed in gaudy finery. Some chatted quietly, some sipped fine wine, some stared off into space, while others carefully observed the ten chefs at work.

When his gaze landed on a flamboyant young man in a gold-striped suit, his hair slicked up into the air with pomade and various rings on both hands, Carlos paused slightly. Was this guy really just as the rumors said?

Carlos had gathered little information on the John Family, only some basic details, and this flamboyant young man was included among them.

This man was called John Dilton. He was the fourth son of the current John Family patriarch, a wastrel and the most useless of the patriarch's sons. He loved fine food and beautiful women!

Carlos considered whether he should find an opportunity to kill this guy. Although his death would not stop the John Family from making a move against him, the pain of losing a son should at least disgust the John Family patriarch, right?

After weighing it carefully for a while, Carlos decided not to kill him. Instead, he would kidnap him. As the fourth young master of the John Family, no matter how much of a wastrel he was, he surely knew quite a bit about his family's affairs.

However, this was only a spur-of-the-moment idea. Silently kidnapping this man would not be easy. This young wastrel had quite a few bodyguards around him, and they were all the finest elites of the Mafia family!

Unfortunately, he was still quite a ways from Dojutsu at the level of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Otherwise, kidnapping a wastrel would have been as easy as turning his hand over!

Kamui was simply perfect for kidnapping!

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