Special Paramecia (Part 2)

He slowly felt his way to the base of the villa. He looked up at the villa, which was over forty meters tall, and then Carlos quietly searched behind the large villa for the safest climbing route. A few minutes later, a route appeared in Carlos's mind.

This route was the one with the fewest bright windows, leading directly to the top floor of the villa. It was a bit roundabout and a bit strenuous, but concealment and safety were the most important!

Carlos calmed himself down, stood up straight, his fingers like hooks. It looked like an ordinary posture, but the barely perceptible, hazy energy within him all gathered at his fingertips. He bent his legs and leaped into the air, jumping over four meters. His fingers dug into the villa's hard concrete.

The villa's material was even harder than the wind-battered rocks of the cliffs behind the mountain. It was quite strenuous and consumed a lot of energy, but there were many footholds and points of leverage on the villa.

Carlos climbed the villa like a nimble gecko, winding his way around. In five minutes, he safely reached the top floor of the villa.

Carlos didn't actually climb to the very top of the villa, but outside the bright display windows on the top floor, he searched for the room of Mike Moxie, the Patriarch of the Mike Family. One room, two rooms, three rooms, four rooms...

Not to mention, the Mike Family was truly wealthy. Both the scale of the villa and the furnishings within exuded luxury. This was merely a medium-sized Mafia family, still a considerable distance from the five major Mafia families of the West Blue.

There are so many rich people in this world...

After a slight sigh, Carlos continued his search. In the seventh room, perhaps by fate, he finally found it.

Carlos cautiously looked through the bright, grand, and luxurious window and saw the Patriarch of the Mike Family and three of the family's top bosses. These three bosses were all direct lineage members of the Mike Family, either Mike Moxie's sons or nephews, all closely related.

The Mike Family had a total of four top bosses. The one who was absent was not a direct lineage member of the Mike Family, but a boss who was promoted exceptionally based purely on merit, considered a legend in the Underworld of Iron Island.

This person's name was Carlton. He was originally a doctor, but for some unknown reason, he got involved with the Mafia. He was known throughout the Underworld of Iron Island for his Body Techniques, medical skills, poison skills, and sharp mind!

In the opulent room, Mike Moxie, who was about fifty years old, wearing a casual black robe, with a thick beard and a chubby face, was sitting on the sofa, smoking a cigar and discussing something with his son and nephews. He looked quite imposing.

Carlos couldn't hear clearly. The soundproofing of the villa was good, and the distance was not close. There was nothing he could do. To avoid exposure, he could only wait quietly for an opportunity.

He listened to the wall for a while, which was initially quite interesting, but it became very boring when he couldn't hear anything.

Just then, one of the top bosses disappeared and reappeared. Something that made Carlos's eyes water appeared: a peculiar Devil Fruit was placed on a plate before him. From Carlos's perspective, this Devil Fruit was no ordinary item!

Although rumors of Devil Fruits were basically spread everywhere in this world, they were most prevalent on the Grand Line. The deeper one went into the Grand Line, the easier it was to encounter Devil Fruits!

Some people believed the rumors about Devil Fruits, while others didn't. However, considering the total population of the world, the majority did not believe them.

This might be because communication between islands was mostly closed off, and those without the means had very limited activity ranges. Most ability users gathered on the Grand Line, and they were rarely seen elsewhere.

For example, in the East Blue arc of the original story, Nami saw the Dile-Dile Fruit for the first time and said she had always thought Devil Fruits were just rumors... In the East Blue arc, many people were shocked by Devil Fruits, but this situation was almost nonexistent on the Grand Line.

As a medium-sized Mafia family and a member of the Underworld, the Mike Family naturally knew about the existence of Devil Fruits and their value.

However, they did not have a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, not even a partial one. Therefore, they were completely unaware of the Devil Fruit they possessed. Although Carlos also didn't know what ability this Devil Fruit granted, he was certain it wasn't any of the ones he had seen in anime or manga.

This Devil Fruit was very miniature, only the size of a grape; it was also very peculiar. Its base color was colorless and transparent, and the small fruit was covered with colorful patterns that divided the entire fruit, making it incredibly exquisite!

The moment Carlos saw this Devil Fruit, his heart trembled, and he became extremely excited. For some unknown reason, he had a premonition that this Devil Fruit was extremely compatible with him. He was the true owner of this Devil Fruit, the only one who could unleash its true power!

Just like Whitebeard with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!

Carlos was excited and impulsive. He swore that if anyone in the room showed signs of eating this Devil Fruit, he would rush in and kill them regardless of the consequences to snatch the Devil Fruit. As for the aftermath... he'd worry about it after he got it!

Fortunately, the four people in the room had no intention of eating the Devil Fruit. They surrounded it, chattering and arguing. Finally, after a heated debate, they seemed to reach an agreement.

Carlos couldn't hear what they were saying, but he guessed it was about whether to eat the Devil Fruit or sell it, who would eat it if they decided to, and how to proceed if they sold it.

In the end, three bosses left, leaving Mike Moxie and the Devil Fruit. Judging by the outcome, it seemed they decided to sell it.

This result was normal. If they didn't know the ability, they might eat a useless or weak ability and suffer a huge loss.

From the family's perspective, selling was a sure profit. It started at one hundred million, which was not a small sum for a medium-sized Mafia family. And that was just the starting price. If handled well, hundreds of millions, or even billions, were not out of the question!

This was of great significance for the development of a Mafia family. Expansion required a lot of money, and money was needed for everything, especially for high-quality weaponry.

The arms trade had always been highly profitable, but the Mike Family could only get scraps from this level of business, not even enough to drink the soup. There were too many big players in the world.

After the three bosses left, Mike Moxie seemed a bit tired. He was already old, and it was almost three o'clock.

Whether it was his confidence in his villa's security or the belief that no one knew he had a Devil Fruit, the Devil Fruit remained on the coffee table next to the sofa, untouched.

This made Carlos's heart pound with excitement. "Great, my friend, this saves me a lot of effort!"

What if Mike Moxie hid the Devil Fruit in a secret place, or even in a safe? That would be a big problem.

He had to interrogate Mike Moxie, which carried many risks, including subduing him, interrogating him, and finally escaping.

After a while, a woman dressed in a provocative manner appeared in the room. This made Carlos's teeth ache. He already had an idea of what was going to happen next...

Carlos patiently waited outside until snores could be heard from inside. Then, with a little effort, he completely opened the window and quietly sneaked in...

It took him a full two minutes to cover the not-so-long distance. Using the moonlight outside, Carlos stared intently at the exquisite, miniature Devil Fruit. He carefully picked it up with two fingers, then quickly threw it into his mouth and covered his mouth.

The next moment, Carlos grinned and smiled silently.

Special Paramecia, that was the first piece of information he learned. Besides that, he didn't taste the indescribable, notoriously bad flavor that even Luffy complained about. He directly swallowed the grape-sized Devil Fruit.

"I am indeed clever!"

"God, this is great!"

"I should be the first person who didn't taste the flavor of a Devil Fruit, right?"

After a moment of self-congratulation, his mood calmed down. Carlos looked towards Mike Moxie's bedroom. His pupils turned blood-red, and a black tomoe appeared in his pupils, eerie and dark, filled with killing intent!