Kill All Those Historians in Ohara!

West Blue, Sunflower Island.

The gigantic circular island, shaped like a flower disk, was packed with buildings.

As a mandatory stop along several sea routes, Sunflower Island saw heavy traffic. It had numerous ports and shipyards and served as an important cargo distribution hub in the West Blue.

At that moment, inside a low building at the center of the island, sunlight streamed through the blinds onto a dark red carpet.

Behind a broad solid-wood desk, the head of the Capone Family tossed the West Blue Times onto the table.

"Did they kill all my men? Those people from Ohara..."

He leaned back in his chair and turned toward the window. Removing the cigar from his mouth, he let out a long stream of smoke, his expression obscured.

"What do you think we should do?"

Three people stood across from the desk—the Capone Family's designated next head, Capone Bege, along with his two capable subordinates, strategist Vito and combat captain Gotti.

The three exchanged glances. Bege frowned and said, "Ohara won't be easy to deal with. The other families are watching us, so we can't go all out... Shall we handle it the same way as before?"

Handling it the same way as before meant sending a few good fighters to Ohara for a fight.

If they won, they could naturally demand an outrageous price and take whatever they wanted.

If they lost, Ohara would also offer some compensation to settle the matter.

That gave both sides a way out.

Of course, Bege knew that while there were supposedly two possibilities, in reality there was basically only one outcome: defeat.

The Capone Family was powerful, but not powerful enough to casually send a few people who could single-handedly tear through Ohara.

Unless he led the team personally.

But if he did that, the other families would surely be happy to lend a hand, dragging Ohara into a drawn-out mess and making the Capone Family bleed continuously.

For now, turning a major matter into a minor one and letting it go seemed like the most suitable solution.

After all, no matter how much could be said about the Chest Hair Pirates, they were merely a pair of black gloves.

There were plenty of pirates on these seas willing to risk their lives for the Capone Family.

If one died, they could simply replace them.

The Capone Family head shook his head and pointed a thick finger at Bege.

"I want you to lead the team yourself and kill every one of those historians in Ohara!"

The three people across the desk were stunned.

"Father, what did you say?"

"Wait, Boss, it's not worth it!"

"Leave it to me!!"

Smack!

Bege irritably slapped Gotti on the head, then turned around and planted his hands on the desk.

"Father, if we do this, the other four families will definitely seize the chance to move against us!"

The Capone Family head blew out a thick cloud of smoke, a meaningful smile appearing on his face. "That's exactly what I want—if they make a move!"

Huh?

All three stared at the family head in confusion.

The Capone Family head looked at Bege and patiently said, "Bege, you know the Capone Family has already reached its limit of growth, don't you?"

Bege nodded.

The Five Great Mafia Families had already spread their reach into every corner of the West Blue. There was nowhere left to expand.

But what did that have to do with attacking Ohara?

"If the Capone Family wants to keep growing, we can only turn toward the sea."

"But the sea has the Marines, and the Happo Navy..." The Capone Family head sneered.

"In the past, they would never have allowed us to meddle in matters at sea."

"But things are different now!"

"Why do you think I secretly left the family and came to Sunflower Island alone?"

"The time has come, understand? This is a turning point for the Capone Family!"

He leaned closer to Bege, lowering his voice. His gaze was wolfish.

"That shipment... the one I told you to hide."

"As long as the deal succeeds, someone will be willing to give us a piece of the pie at sea!"

"By the time you take over as family head... the other four families will discover, hehehe~ that the West Blue is no longer theirs to command!"

A flicker of surprise passed through Bege's eyes.

He knew what that shipment was. It was enormous in quantity and extremely dangerous!

He just hadn't expected it to affect the development of the entire Capone Family.

Seeing Bege's serious expression, the Capone Family head knew he understood the importance of the matter. A faint smile curled his lips as he leaned back in his chair and said leisurely,

"But the other four families definitely won't be willing to watch us take this step."

"In fact, they've already grown suspicious."

"So I want you to attack Ohara, kill all those historians, and make as much noise as possible! It would be best if you drew the attention of the other families over there too!"

"Hohoho~ If they want to interfere, let them interfere."

"Someone at the main house is already impersonating me. I'll oversee the deal in secret on Sunflower Island, and by the time they realize what's happening..."

The Capone Family head leisurely exhaled a cloud of smoke. "There will be no place left for them in the future!"

Before long, the office door opened.

Bege and the other two walked out.

Vito and Gotti looked dumbfounded, still immersed in the shock of the family head's meticulous scheme.

Bege's mind was already racing.

"Vito, give the list to Gotti."

Vito froze, then hurriedly said, "Wouldn't it be safer to leave inventory work to me?"

Was Gotti's impulsive, hot-tempered nature really suited for this sort of thing?

The corner of Bege's mouth lifted. "Even you think Gotti isn't suitable, so no one else would ever imagine what important cargo Gotti is counting every day!"

"Besides, Gotti's combat strength is more reliable."

Hearing that, Gotti proudly stroked the enormous, heavy triple-barreled machine gun on his arm and laughed. "Leave it to me!"

As the Capone Family's combat captain, no one knew how many strong fighters had died beneath his heavy machine gun.

Bege nodded, lit a cigar, and clenched it between his teeth as he strode forward.

"For the next few days, put on a convincing act."

"Vito and I will gather our men and build up the momentum for attacking Ohara.

"Gotti, don't sit around either. Gather up all the little punks on Sunflower Island. Don't let those idle bastards ruin things."

"Remember, Ohara is nothing. The shipment is what matters most."

"But we can't let our guard down."

"In three days, once Father takes over, we'll set out..."

"Heh~ Those historians are probably still waiting for us to send someone to 'provoke' them."

Mockery flashed through his eyes.

"A bunch of idiots who ruined their brains from reading too many books!"

"Destroy Ohara, and from then on, the future of the West Blue will be decided by the Capone Family!"

Historians?

What kind of gutter profession dared to take advantage of the Capone Family?

They could go die somewhere!

A few hours later.

Word that historians had provoked the Capone Family had already spread through the gangs.

Sunflower Island, outside a hidden private port.

Two thugs dressed in leather jackets and leather pants, their bodies covered in tattoos, squatted beneath a tree. Their slippery, cunning eyes constantly swept over the passing pedestrians.

Once people saw the "Roaring Doghead" patches on the two men's chests, they wisely chose to detour around them.

That was the emblem of the Wild Dog Gang.

Being able to wear such an emblem on Sunflower Island meant their strength had been recognized by one of the Five Great Mafia Families.

They had their own turf and could be considered a proper gang.

For example, the street outside this hidden port was managed by the Wild Dog Gang.

At that moment, one of the thugs toyed with a dagger and frowned as he glanced at the companion beside him.

"Mohawk, what are you looking at?"

"West Blue New Discoveries... That's how you say it, right?"

The thug with a mohawk hairstyle smugly waved the magazine in his hand.

"Didn't Boss say we were going after historians? I specifically bought a magazine about historians!"

The dagger-wielding thug snatched the magazine away.

On the cover was a young man in a navy-blue coat, with black hair and black eyes, smiling brightly. One hand held a medal symbolizing historians, while the other made a V-sign at the camera.

Beneath the photograph was an exaggerated headline—<The Youngest Historian in History Makes His Grand Debut!>

Mohawk leaned over, saying excitedly, "Do you think the Capone Family would reward us if we caught a historian?"

"I only joined the gang yesterday. What if the Capone Family suddenly takes a liking to me and wants me to join them? I'm not mentally prepared to suddenly become rich!"

The dagger thug nodded. "That's possible..."

Before he could finish, the magazine rolled into a tube in his hand and smashed down on Mohawk's head as he shouted angrily,

"But there's only one historian in this magazine! Idiot!"

"The West Blue is huge. Do you think you'd just happen to run into one?"

"Instead of wasting time reading, you'd be better off coming with me to extort a couple of unlucky bastards!"

Mohawk hugged the magazine that had been shoved back into his arms, looking somewhat disappointed.

True enough, even though he had barely attended school, he knew the odds of that happening were far too low.

He scratched his head and was about to throw the magazine away when he suddenly froze, staring blankly ahead.

"Hey, what are you spacing out for?" the dagger thug beside him frowned, beginning to suspect he had recruited an idiot.

"Dag... Dagger..."

Mohawk grabbed the dagger thug. Looking from the magazine in his hand to the front, he became so excited that he could barely speak.

"I think I really found a historian!!"

Amid the distant crowd, the back of someone wearing a navy-blue coat, with short black hair, flashed past.