Carlos slowly felt his way to the base of the villa's wall. Looking up at the villa, which stood over forty meters tall, he quietly began searching behind it for the safest climbing route. A few minutes later, a route formed in his mind.
This route passed by the fewest brightly lit windows and led straight to the villa's top floor. It was a bit roundabout and tiring, but concealment and safety mattered most!
Carlos steadied himself and straightened up. His five fingers curled into hooks. Though his posture looked ordinary, the faint, hazy energy within him gathered at his fingertips. He bent his legs and launched himself upward, leaping over four meters as his fingers dug into the villa's hard concrete.
The villa's materials were even harder than the weathered rocks on the cliff behind the mountain. It took considerable effort and energy, but the villa had plenty of footholds and handholds.
Carlos climbed the villa like an agile gecko, circling around and around. Five minutes later, he safely reached the top-floor level.
Carlos did not actually climb onto the roof. Instead, he searched one brightly lit window after another for the room of Mike Moxie, the head of the Mike Family. One room, two rooms, three rooms, four rooms...
The Mike Family really was wealthy. Both the scale of the villa and its interior furnishings radiated luxury. Yet this was merely a mid-sized Mafia family, still far inferior to the Five Mafia Families of the West Sea.
There were so many rich people in this world...
After a brief sigh, Carlos continued searching. At the seventh room, perhaps because seven was destined to be lucky, he finally found them.
Carlos carefully peered through a bright, grand, luxurious window and saw the head of the Mike Family along with three leaders of the family. These three leaders were all direct lineage members of the Mike Family. They were either Mike Moxie's sons or nephews, all closely related to him.
The Mike Family had four leaders in total. The one who was absent was not a direct lineage member of the Mike Family, but a leader promoted exceptionally through merit alone. He was something of a legend within Iron Island's Mafia.
His name was Carlton. He had originally been a doctor, but for some unknown reason, he had joined the Mafia. He was famous in Iron Island's underworld for his Body Techniques, medical skills, poison techniques, and quick mind!
In the lavish room, Mike Moxie sat on the sofa discussing something with his sons and nephews. He looked to be around fifty, dressed in a casual black nightgown, with a thick beard, a round face, and a cigar clenched between his teeth. He carried an imposing air.
Carlos could not hear them clearly. The villa's soundproofing was good, and he was not close enough. There was nothing he could do. To avoid exposing himself, he could only wait quietly for an opportunity.
He listened at the wall for a while out of boredom. Eavesdropping was supposed to be interesting, but when he could not hear anything, it became incredibly dull.
Just then, one leader vanished. When he reappeared, something that made Carlos's mouth water appeared before him: a strange Devil Fruit sitting on a plate. In Carlos's eyes, this Devil Fruit was anything but ordinary!
Rumors of Devil Fruits had spread to nearly every corner of the world, but they were primarily prevalent on the Grand Line. The deeper one went into the Grand Line, the easier it was to encounter Devil Fruits!
Some believed the rumors about Devil Fruits, while others did not. But among the world's population as a whole, those who did not believe likely made up the majority.
That might have been because most islands had little contact with one another. Without ability, people's range of activity was extremely limited. Most ability users gathered on the Grand Line, making them difficult to encounter elsewhere.
For example, in the original East Blue arc, when Nami first saw the Dile-Dile Fruit, she said she had always thought Devil Fruits were merely rumors... Many people in the East Blue arc were shocked by Devil Fruits, but once they reached the Grand Line, such reactions basically vanished.
As a mid-sized Mafia family and a part of the underworld, the Mike Family naturally knew Devil Fruits existed and understood their value.
However, they did not possess a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, not even an incomplete one. Thus, they knew nothing about the Devil Fruit in their hands. Carlos did not know what ability this Devil Fruit possessed either, but he could confirm that it was not any Devil Fruit he had seen in the anime or manga.
This Devil Fruit was incredibly tiny, only the size of a grape. It was also extremely peculiar. Its base color was colorless and transparent, while multicolored patterns covered the tiny fruit, dividing it into sections. It was exquisitely delicate!
The instant he saw this Devil Fruit, Carlos trembled and became immensely excited. For some reason, he had a premonition that this Devil Fruit suited him perfectly. He was its true master, the only one capable of unleashing its true power!
Just as Whitebeard was to the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
Carlos was excited and impulsive. He swore that if anyone in the room showed signs of eating the Devil Fruit, he would rush in without hesitation, kill them at all costs, and seize it. As for the consequences... he would worry about them after taking it!
Fortunately, the four people in the room had no intention of eating the Devil Fruit. They chattered and argued endlessly around it, and after a heated exchange, they seemed to reach an agreement.
Carlos could not hear what they were saying, but he guessed they were discussing whether to eat or sell the Devil Fruit. If they ate it, who would eat it? If they sold it, how would they go about it? Topics like that.
In the end, the three leaders left, leaving behind Mike Moxie and the Devil Fruit. Judging from the outcome, they had decided to sell it.
That result was only natural. They did not know its ability. If someone ate it and it turned out to be useless or weak, they would suffer a huge loss.
From the family's perspective, selling it was a guaranteed profit. The starting price would be one hundred million. For a mid-sized Mafia family, one hundred million was certainly no small amount. And that was only the starting point. If handled well, earning several hundred million or even over a billion was not impossible!
This held immense significance for the development of a Mafia family. Family expansion required lovely little piles of cash, after all. Everything cost money, especially high-quality arms.
The arms trade had always been enormously profitable. At the Mike Family's level, they could only pick at scraps, not even getting a sip of the soup. There were simply too many big players in the world.
After the three leaders left, Mike Moxie seemed a little sleepy. He was already advanced in age, and it was nearly three in the morning.
Whether Mike Moxie was confident in the security of his villa or believed no one knew he possessed a Devil Fruit, he left the Devil Fruit on the coffee table beside the sofa without any intention of moving it.
Carlos's heart pounded wildly with excitement. Nice one, brother. This saves me a ton of trouble!
If Mike Moxie had hidden the Devil Fruit somewhere secret, even inside a safe, it would have been a major problem.
He would have had to interrogate Mike Moxie. Whether subduing him, interrogating him, or escaping afterward, every step carried considerable risk.
After a while, a woman dressed in an obviously seductive manner entered the room. Carlos felt his teeth ache. He could already guess what would happen next...
Carlos patiently remained outside until thunderous snoring came from within. Only then did he spend some effort fully opening the window and quietly slip inside...
Though the distance was not great, it took him a full two minutes to reach it. With the moonlight from outside, Carlos stared intensely at the tiny, exquisite Devil Fruit before him. He carefully lifted it with two fingers, swiftly tossed it into his mouth, and covered his mouth.
The next moment, Carlos grinned and smiled silently.
Special Paramecia. That was the first thing he learned. Beyond that, he did not experience the indescribable taste of a Devil Fruit, the taste even Luffy had called disgusting. He simply swallowed the grape-sized Devil Fruit whole.
I really am clever!
Heavens, you're awesome!
He should have been the first person who had never tasted a Devil Fruit, right?
After indulging in his excitement for a while, Carlos calmed down and looked toward Mike Moxie's bedroom. His pupils turned crimson, and a black tomoe emerged within them, eerie and dark, brimming with killing intent!
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