Eye of the Devil

Normally, Carlos could have left after eating this Devil Fruit, but with such a golden opportunity right in front of him, he decided to go all the way!

Chaos was the ladder of ascent!

Only if the Mafia descended into internal chaos could he climb higher more easily. Carlos had his own habits when it came to doing things: either he did not do it at all, or he saw it through to the bitter end!

Since he had become part of the Mafia, he might as well rise to the very top of this business. Since he had already infiltrated this place, he would maximize the benefits!

Sailing? Not a chance—at least not for now. His current strength was still insufficient. He could get by in the West Sea, but heading to the Grand Line would be extremely dangerous, while going to the New World would be a near-certain death sentence!

He was still young and needed time to strengthen both himself and his forces. This year was Oceanic Era 1498, the year Roger would become the Pirate King. He still had plenty of time. One day, his name would shake the seas, and he would become one of the world's great powers!

His road to becoming a Boss began here!

In the darkness of night, a pair of crimson eyes emerged in the dark room, radiating an intense sense of ominous evil... Those crimson eyes slowly and resolutely approached the bedroom, opened its door with featherlight movements, and slipped inside like a cat prowling through the night, utterly silent!

Opening a door without a sound and approaching a bedroom was not something just anyone could accomplish. It required precise control over one's body. Carlos had practiced martial arts for around twenty years across both his lives, and his control over his body had reached an exceptionally high level. No matter what he did, he always moved in the most effortless way possible!

Two figures lay on the spacious, luxurious bed. The Sharingan greatly enhanced his perception, allowing him to vaguely make out their identities in the dim darkness. He extended his right hand, his five fingers curling into a claw, and instantly seized Mike Moxie's throat. Strength erupted from his hand. Crack! His throat was snapped at once!

Mike Moxie's neck was snapped in his sleep, and he went to meet the Reaper.

His icy gaze shifted to the woman beside Mike Moxie. He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not act.

The woman was lucky. She slept deeply enough that the sound of shattering bone did not wake her. Otherwise, she would not have survived either.

Carlos never hesitated when it was time to act, but he was not a cold-blooded and heartless man. Going all the way was for enemies who could threaten him. A sleeping woman who knew nothing did not need to be dealt with; doing so would only be unnecessary.

Carlos simply regarded killing as a means of solving problems and handling matters. He valued its directness.

He felt no psychological burden over killing Mike Moxie. As the head of a Mafia family, Mike Moxie's hands were soaked in blood. Even if they bore no grudge, even if Mike Moxie was nominally his Boss's Boss's Boss, Carlos would not hesitate to act for the sake of his ambition. Still, when there was no need, it was better to create less bloodshed.

Simply put: he could kill her, but there was no need.

After taking care of Mike Moxie, Carlos silently withdrew and retraced his path to the back of the villa.

Byakugan, activate!

Carlos closed his eyes, then opened them again. The crimson Sharingan vanished, his black pupils turning pale white as veins bulged at his temples. The world before his eyes underwent a dramatic transformation, leaving only black and white. His vision rapidly extended; mountains, rocks, grass, and trees could not obstruct it. As his gaze swept around, the defenses on the back mountain were all exposed before him.

He had been cautious on the way in, but when leaving, Carlos was far bolder. He easily avoided every sentry post, reached the cliff on the back mountain, hooked his fingers like claws, and slowly climbed down.

After reaching the bottom of the cliff, Carlos did not leave immediately. He spent some time erasing the obvious traces he had left on the beach before finally departing and returning to the Clover Tavern.

With the Byakugan's penetrating vision, avoiding anyone he might happen to encounter was ridiculously easy.

The rewards from this adventure had been more than worth it. Fortune favored the bold—he had made the right gamble!

The Devil Fruit he had eaten was called the Eye of the Devil, an extremely rare Special Paramecia. In the original story, only one Special Paramecia had appeared: Katakuri's Mochi Mochi Fruit!

The Eye of the Devil's abilities were in no way inferior to the Mochi Mochi Fruit. In his hands, it would only become stronger, not even inferior to a Logia!

Its ability was to imitate, evolve, and even create all kinds of eyes with strange powers!

This ability was not particularly valuable to people in this world, because both their knowledge and imagination were limited. At best, they could only scratch the surface in developing this Devil Fruit.

Carlos was different. When it came to Dojutsu, his knowledge far surpassed that of anyone in this world!

Sharingan, Mangekyō Sharingan, Byakugan, Rinnegan, Tenseigan, Yin-Yang Eye, Ghost Eye, Illusion Breaking Eye, Shinigami Eye, Death Beam Eye, Fiery Golden Eyes, Third Eye, and countless other eyes with strange abilities!

Cataracts, glaucoma, presbyopia, nearsightedness, farsightedness, and the like did not count...

Therefore, only in Carlos's hands could this Devil Fruit unleash its most terrifying power. The Paramecia Glint-Glint Fruit was far too weak before this Special Paramecia Eye of the Devil!

But every advantage came with drawbacks. While this Devil Fruit was powerful, it also had certain restrictions.

First: to imitate, evolve, or create eyes with strange abilities, one needed at least a concept. The more detailed the concept, the more complete the result and the greater the power it could display.

Second: the power displayed by the Eye of the Devil was closely tied to its development level, physical strength, and mental strength.

In this regard, the Eye of the Devil was somewhat special. Other Devil Fruits generally had little to do with mental strength, being tied only to physical strength and development level.

Activating the Devil Fruit required a considerable amount of mental strength. At present, the ratio was eight to two, and its power could only be unleashed by consuming both physical strength and mental strength.

That was why Carlos could currently use only the one-tomoe Sharingan and the ordinary Byakugan.

Development level accounted for very little of the problem. Carlos had countless concepts of strange eyes in his mind, especially the eyes from Naruto, whose concepts were the clearest.

The main limitation was his physical strength and mental strength. At present, he could freely use the one-tomoe Sharingan and ordinary Byakugan. If he disregarded the drain and side effects, he could unleash the two-tomoe Sharingan, and the Byakugan's abilities would also improve somewhat.

But using the Mangekyō Sharingan, with its various mysterious and powerful abilities, was impossible for now. As for the Rinnegan, Tenseigan, or an ultra-pure Byakugan—such as the Byakugan as pure as Ōtsutsuki Hamura's, or Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's Byakugan, which was even stronger than Hamura's—he did not even need to think about them.

If he forced himself to use them, his physical strength and mental strength would be depleted, and he would die instantly—faster than sudden death!

If he could directly use those strange and powerful eyes, there would have been no need to kill Mike Moxie and stir up chaos within the Mafia. He could easily make the entire Mike Family submit, and Iron Island would fall under his control overnight...

Though things were a little rough for now, it did not matter. The future was incomparably bright!

Unlike other ability users, he did not need to painstakingly develop his Devil Fruit or research techniques. He only needed to spend a little time on the Devil Fruit itself.

His main focus would be on increasing his physical strength and mental strength to the greatest extent and with the highest efficiency possible!

Until his Devil Fruit awakened, its power would continue to grow along with his physical strength and mental strength. It seemed he would have to be even harsher on himself from now on!

On the way back, Carlos was already considering how to push himself hard—and how to do so according to a plan. Training for three days and resting for two would not do.

After secretly returning to the Clover Tavern, he restored everything to how it had been, put his black suit back on, sat down in a chair, and gulped down the unfinished liquor. Then he spilled some alcohol onto his clothes to make the scent stronger before finally collapsing onto the messy table and falling into a deep sleep...