Big Winds and Small Winds

The news of Mike Henry's death quickly reached the other two leaders, leaving Mike Kellen and Mike Klin unsettled and suspicious. Each suspected the other had made a move, lamenting the other's ruthlessness for hiring assassins to take out their own eldest brother...

At the same time, both felt a pressing urgency for their own safety. The deaths of Mike Moxie and Mike Henry made them vaguely sense a hidden hand pulling the strings behind the scenes, but the specifics remained shrouded in fog, utterly unclear!

But regardless of the truth—whether outsiders were scheming against their family or it was all an internal conspiracy—for the sake of their own safety, status, and power, both were determined to seize the position of Mike Family patriarch!

The next morning, after breakfast, Carlos sat in the courtyard reading a newspaper. It chronicled major events unfolding across the turbulent seas.

For instance, the recently concluded bizarre battle between the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates in the Edowall Sea Area. The Golden Lion Pirates, who held an overwhelming advantage, had inexplicably lost.

The paper claimed that a once-in-a-century storm and tsunami had suddenly struck, decimating most of the Golden Lion Pirates and handing the Roger Pirates a comeback victory. Their luck was simply off the charts.

Carlos smiled faintly at the report, neither confirming nor denying it. He had a habit of thinking the worst of people. Rather than luck, he leaned toward two other possibilities.

First, the Roger Pirates knew a super-massive storm and tsunami would hit that sea area and turned it to their advantage. Second, Roger's strength had reached an unfathomable level, allowing him to silently control the storm and raise a tsunami!

Luck? Carlos didn't really believe in that word.

The newspaper devoted the most space to Roger. Besides the recently ended Edowall War, it mentioned that the Roger Pirates had set sail for the final island, Raftel.

Storm clouds were gathering over the New World. Reaching Raftel wouldn't be easy for Roger. The Navy, the World Government, and ambitious pirates wouldn't sit idly by. Another super war was brewing!

Roger was undeniably the protagonist of the paper. Aside from him, Whitebeard also occupied considerable space. The future Four Emperors, Kaido and Big Mom, were rising to fame in the New World, becoming great pirates beneath the legendary ones!

In the New World, aside from Whitebeard, Roger, Golden Lion, and Redfield, no pirate could firmly suppress Kaido or Big Mom.

Among the big names in the New World, Carlos wasn't most interested in Roger, Golden Lion, Whitebeard, or even Kaido and Big Mom. His interest lay with the Lone Red, Redfield!

This was an absolute monster of a man. Alone, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Roger, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion—so strong it was unfair!

Searching through the paper, Carlos finally found a small piece of news about Redfield in a corner. It reported that a top-tier New World pirate crew with a bounty exceeding two billion had stumbled upon Redfield on some island. Foolishly entertaining murderous intent, they were completely slaughtered by Redfield within half an hour.

Truly strong. The article included a picture: Redfield floating midair, thrusting his bat-shaped umbrella. The air visibly warped around it, and the island was pierced through. Terrifyingly powerful!

The more Carlos read, the more his blood boiled. He longed to charge into the New World, to witness it, to fight, to clash with those peak powerhouses!

But no matter how fired up he got, he had to suppress it. No matter how impulsive, he had to restrain himself. With his current strength, he could only manage in the Four Blues. Forget the New World—even the Grand Line might be a stretch!

Carlos set the paper aside, lit a white cigarette with some melancholy, and took a deep drag...

He had to hurry and improve his strength, expand his influence. The Great Age of Pirates was an unstoppable tide. He couldn't stop it. Having come to this world, he had to set sail and experience this dazzling era!

To stand firm when the Great Age of Pirates arrived and pirates exploded in numbers, he needed not only his martial arts cultivation but also to elevate the Eye of the Devil to the point where he could unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan!

If along the way he could unify the West Blue Mafia and become its sole godfather, that would be a massive boost to his voyage!

The West Blue Mafia spanned the entire West Blue, controlling vast resources. When he eventually formed his pirate crew, he wouldn't have to worry about any necessities or key personnel. How satisfying would that be!

Carlos was lost in a daydream of raising his arm and countless underlings answering the call, when a panicked subordinate came running over, shouting, "Boss, it's bad, it's bad..."

"Calm down! Are you calling for a ghost? If the sky falls, your boss will hold it up. What's the damn rush?"

"Stand at attention!"

Carlos frowned and barked coldly.

Though Carlos wasn't tall for his age, his authority had long been drilled into his subordinates through repeated beatings. Hearing his voice, the running subordinate instinctively stopped, snapped his legs together, and stood ramrod straight.

"Now you can talk. What happened?"

"Reporting, boss! Our people got into a conflict with other brothers in the family. It got intense—almost to the point of pulling guns."

"Is it a conflict with Kellen's men?"

"Boss, how did you know? I haven't even said yet!"

"Idiot. A boss has to be different from the rest, or you'd be the boss."

"Go. Gather all the brothers. Arm up and back up the ones who got bullied!"

"Only I get to bully my men. No one else. Tell the brothers to prepare for a fight!"

"Yes, boss!" The burly man in a suit, over six feet tall, replied excitedly, then dashed off to rally the brothers.

After the subordinate left, Carlos smiled happily. The conflict was escalating, and it wouldn't be long before things came to a head.

If he wasn't mistaken, both Mike Kellen and Mike Klin had made their moves—probing, scheming.

He, Carlos, was a subordinate leader under the leader Carlton. Carlton should be the one both sides were vying to win over. Why would anyone deliberately attack or provoke them?

He said it was Kellen's men, but the real hand behind it was probably Klin.

A son and a nephew were different. Klin's faction within the Mike Family was only slightly weaker than the eldest son, Mike Henry's. That guy had a much sharper mind than Mike Kellen, who was just a brute with a bit of cunning.

After Mike Henry's death, both his faction and Carlton's were targets for recruitment. Only if Kellen had his head stuck in a door would he provoke Carlton's people. This had to be a frame-up!

Though he knew it was a frame-up, Carlos had no intention of exposing it. All he wanted was to escalate the conflict, force a break, and stir up a chaotic firefight—to open a spot for him to rise!

He didn't care who ended up as the Mike Family patriarch. After this move secured him a leader position, he planned to train in silence for a while.

When he struck again, it wouldn't be for the leader's seat. It would be to destroy the Mike Family, build an organization centered on himself, and replace the Mike Family's position on Iron Island!

Everything was just paving the way for him. Hidden true strength, a hidden Devil Fruit ability—the enemy in the light, him in the dark. If he couldn't become the big shot of Iron Island like this, he might as well jump into the sea!

"Boss, the brothers are all ready."

"Move out!"

Starting tomorrow, I'll be updating twice a day. New book, please collect and recommend. Thank you!