The news of Mike Henry's death quickly reached the other two leaders. It left Mike Kellen and Mike Klin deeply suspicious, each suspecting the other of making a move and marveling at the other's ruthlessness in actually spending money to hire assassins to deal with his own elder brother...
At the same time, Mike Moxie and Mike Henry's deaths gave both men an urgent sense of danger. They vaguely felt that an unseen hand was manipulating things from behind the scenes, but exactly what was going on remained shrouded in fog, impossible to see clearly!
But regardless of the truth—whether outsiders were plotting against their family or it was all an internal family conspiracy—for their own safety, status, and power, both men were determined to seize the position of Mike Family patriarch!
The next morning, after breakfast, Carlos sat in the courtyard reading a newspaper that recorded major events taking place on the turbulent seas.
For example, the strange battle that had recently concluded between the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates in the Edowall Sea Area. The Golden Lion Pirates, who had held an overwhelming advantage, had inexplicably suffered defeat.
The newspaper said that a once-in-a-century storm and tsunami had suddenly struck, destroying seventy to eighty percent of the Golden Lion Pirates and allowing the Roger Pirates to turn defeat into victory. The Roger Pirates' luck was simply heaven-defying.
Carlos merely smiled at the newspaper's account without commenting. He was used to assuming the worst of people. Compared to so-called luck, he believed in two other possibilities.
First, the Roger Pirates knew that a gigantic storm and tsunami would arise in those waters, so they played along and used it to their advantage. Second, Roger's strength had reached an unfathomable level, allowing him to manipulate storms and raise tsunamis without a sound!
Luck? Carlos truly did not believe in that word.
Roger received the most coverage in the newspaper. Besides the recently concluded Edowall War, it also mentioned that the Roger Pirates had already set out for the final island, Raftel.
A storm was brewing over the New World's seas. Roger would not reach Raftel easily. The Marines, the World Government, and certain ambitious Pirates would not sit back and watch. Another colossal war was coming!
Roger was undeniably the newspaper's protagonist, but Whitebeard also received considerable coverage. The future Four Emperors, Kaido and Big Mom, had likewise risen to prominence in the New World, becoming great pirates beneath the legendary Pirates!
In the New World, apart from Whitebeard, Roger, Golden Lion, and Redfield, no Pirate could reliably suppress Kaido and Big Mom.
Among the New World's major figures, Carlos was most interested not in Roger, Golden Lion, or Whitebeard, nor in Kaido or Big Mom, but in the Lone Red, Redfield!
He was an absolute monster. Alone, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Roger, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and the others. He was ridiculously strong!
Carlos searched through the newspaper and finally found a report about Redfield tucked away in a corner. It told of a first-rate New World pirate crew with bounties exceeding two billion that had encountered Redfield on some island in the New World. Overestimating themselves, they had tried to kill him, only to be slaughtered to the last man by Redfield within half an hour.
He really was powerful. The article included a picture of Redfield floating in midair, thrusting with his bat umbrella. The air was visibly distorted, and the island had been pierced through. It was terrifying as hell!
The more Carlos read, the more his blood boiled. He wished he could charge into the New World, see it for himself, fight his way through it, and trade blows with those top-tier powerhouses!
But no matter how fired up he was, he had to suppress it. No matter how impulsive he felt, he had to restrain himself. With his current strength, he could only get by in the Four Blues. Forget the New World—even surviving on the Grand Line would be difficult!
Carlos set the newspaper aside, lit a white cigarette with some melancholy, and took a deep drag...
He had to hurry and increase his strength and influence. The Great Age of Pirates was an unstoppable trend, not something he could prevent. Since he had come to this world, he had to sail the seas and experience this wonderful world for himself!
To gain a firm foothold when the Great Age of Pirates arrived and the number of Pirates exploded, he needed more than his own martial strength. He also had to raise the Eye of the Devil to the point where he could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan!
If he could unify the West Blue Mafia in the process and become the West Blue's sole godfather, it would be of immense help to his future voyage!
The West Blue Mafia was spread throughout the entire West Blue and controlled abundant resources. When he formed a pirate crew in the future, he would not have to worry about any necessities or needed personnel. How damn satisfying would that be!
Carlos was imagining himself raising an arm and countless underlings responding in unison when one of them came running over in a panic, shouting as he ran, "This is bad! This is bad..."
"Calm down! Are you calling the dead? Even if the sky falls, your Boss is here to hold it up. What the hell are you panicking for?"
"Stand at attention!"
Carlos frowned and shouted coldly.
Because of his age, Carlos was not particularly tall or imposing, but his authority had long since been drilled into his underlings through repeated beatings. Hearing Carlos's words, the underling who had run over instinctively stopped, brought his legs together, and stood straight.
"Now you can talk. What happened?"
"Reporting, Boss, our men clashed with some of the family's other brothers. It got intense—they were just short of pulling guns."
"Did you clash with Boss Kellen's men?"
"Boss, how did you know? I hadn't even said that yet."
"Nonsense. A Boss has to be different from everyone else. Otherwise, you'd be the Boss."
"Go gather all the brothers. Grab your weapons and back up the brothers who got bullied!"
"Only I can bully my underlings. No one else can. Tell the brothers to be mentally prepared for a fight!"
"Yes, Boss!" The suited man, over six feet tall, said excitedly before darting off to gather the brothers.
Once the underling had left, Carlos smiled happily. The conflict was escalating; it would not be long before they completely tore off their masks.
If he had guessed correctly, both Mike Kellen and Mike Klin had made their moves, probing and plotting in every possible way.
He, Carlos, was a subordinate leader under the leader Carlton. The leader Carlton should have been someone both remaining sides were scrambling to win over, so why would anyone deliberately attack and provoke them?
He had said it was the leader Kellen's men, but the real mastermind should have been the leader Klin.
There was still a difference between a son and a nephew. The leader Klin's influence within the Mike Family was only slightly weaker than that of the eldest son, Mike Henry. His brain was far more useful than Mike Kellen's. Mike Kellen was merely a brute with a little petty cleverness.
After Mike Henry's death, both his forces and Carlton's were targets everyone wanted to win over. Mike Kellen would have to have his head caught in a door to provoke Carlton's forces. This was definitely a scheme to frame someone else!
Although he knew it was a framing scheme, Carlos had no intention of exposing it. All he wanted was to intensify the conflict, tear off their masks, and let chaos and bloodshed erupt so there would be room for him to rise!
He did not care who ultimately became the Mike Family patriarch, because after making his move this time and obtaining a leader's position, he planned to cultivate quietly for a while.
The next time he made a move, he would not be aiming for a leader's position. He would be aiming to destroy the Mike Family, establish an organization centered around himself, and replace the Mike Family's status on Iron Island!
Everything was making a wedding dress for him. With his true strength hidden, his Devil Fruit ability hidden, and the enemy in the open while he remained in the shadows, if he still could not become Iron Island's top dog, he might as well jump into the sea and kill himself!
"Boss, the brothers are all ready."
"Move out!"
Starting tomorrow, there will be two updates a day. Please bookmark and recommend the new book. Thanks!
Before you continue