The Fall of the Five Families (Final)

The Capone Family stronghold.

Adams had just set foot in the family compound, surrounded by heavy stone walls and more like a military fortress, when the Den Den Mushi in his arms began to ring.

"Captain, our mission here is complete. Gambino Francis has been confirmed killed."

"Good. Take all valuable spoils and documents, then return to Floating Island and wait for me. I'll be back soon."

Click. The communication was cut off.

"So I've really been... completely underestimated, huh?!"

A dark, furious voice came from the shadows of the fortress's main building. Capone Bege slowly emerged, short and barrel-built, a cigar clenched between his teeth and a top hat on his head. His expression was utterly dreadful.

He had heard that line—"I'll be back soon"—perfectly clearly. The attitude of not taking him seriously at all had thoroughly enraged him.

Adams looked at him without any change in expression.

"I was merely stating a fact that is about to happen. All right, stop wasting time and let's begin. I won't take up much of your time."

That matter-of-fact contempt drove Bege's fury to its peak.

"Arrogant!! So guns and cannons don't work on you! But you'll never be able to deal with this!!"

"Big Father!"

With his furious roar, his body rapidly swelled as if inflated. Brick-like patterns emerged across his skin, while windows, cannon ports, and battlements rapidly formed over his body.

In the blink of an eye, a horrifying giant ten meters tall and composed entirely of castle structures appeared before Adams. Its immense weight cracked the ground inch by inch.

In his castle giant form, Bege let out a dull, thunderous roar, his voice filled with confidence and cruelty.

"I weigh a full seventy-three tons now! Even your body of steel will be crushed into pulp beneath me!!"

Before his words had even faded, the castle giant lunged forward and viciously bore down on Adams, trying to crush him outright.

Adams's gaze remained calm, even carrying a trace of... boredom?

He lightly leaped from where he stood. Rather than retreating, he shot straight toward the descending massive foot. The instant they came into contact, he twisted at the waist and threw a seemingly plain, unremarkable straight punch at the castle giant's chest.

Boom—!!!!

A deafening muffled sound, like a giant solid iron bell being struck, erupted as a powerful shockwave spread outward in a ring.

The castle giant's unstoppable advance abruptly stalled. Its massive body was actually knocked slightly backward by that punch, stumbling back two or three steps before barely steadying itself. Each step left a deep footprint in the ground.

"N-No way!!"

Bege cried out in disbelief.

"Your strength... how can it possibly be this great?! This isn't strength a human should possess!!"

Adams landed lightly and shook his wrist, his tone carrying unconcealed contempt.

"You've spent too long ruling over a tiny puddle like West Blue, Bege. Your vision has been completely trapped by this broken castle. You have no idea how vast the world beyond is. On the Grand Line, there are plenty of people who could send a clumsy target like you flying with their bare hands."

He knew very well that on this sea, absolute physical toughness, defense, recovery, and endurance relied more on talent, race, and even Devil Fruit abilities. Without the necessary prerequisites, they could not be improved through training alone.

However, raw muscular strength could reach inhuman levels through extreme training.

Great strength was standard equipment for every genuine powerhouse.

"I don't believe it! It's fake! It's all fake!!"

Adams's words had thoroughly shaken Bege's understanding and confidence. Panic and rage caused him to lose his reason.

"Die!!"

He forgot that his opponent was unfazed by cannon fire. The cannon windows along the castle giant's arms and chest instantly opened, and more than several dozen pitch-black cannon barrels extended outward, aiming at the silver-haired youth below. He intended to raze this guy and everything around him to the ground.

Firelight gathered at the muzzles.

Watching this, Adams let out a helpless sigh.

"A frog at the bottom of a well. Take a look at how vast the world truly is."

Before his words had faded, his pupils suddenly contracted into cold yellow slits. Mysterious ancient-tree-ring patterns emerged over the skin of his entire body, and a heart-palpitating aura burst forth from within him.

He kicked off the ground! The earth exploded! Adams vanished from where he stood!

The next second, he was already before the castle giant's chest, his fists striking out like a torrential storm.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every punch was as heavy as a battleship's main cannon. The castle giant's thick wall armor visibly dented, cracked, and shattered at an alarming speed! Chunks of brick and stone rained down like a storm.

"Arghhh!" Bege screamed again and again, his voice full of pain and terror.

Under Bege's despairing gaze, Adams suddenly drew in a deep breath. The muscles in his right arm bulged, the tree-ring patterns glimmered faintly, and he gathered all his strength into one punch.

An incomparably condensed force of impact slammed into the castle giant's already shattered chest!

Rumble—!!!

The ten-meter-tall castle giant violently exploded from within. Its walls broke apart, its towers tilted and collapsed, like a building-block toy violently demolished by a child.

The castle structure instantly dispersed and reverted. Capone Bege's short, fat original body fell from the air, covered in blood, and crashed heavily onto the ground. His eyes were wide open, and he had already stopped breathing.

At the same time, the Capone Family members who had been hidden inside his body were also "spat out" as his ability was released.

Adams landed and released his human-beast form. Looking at these remaining enemies, there was not the slightest trace of pity in his eyes.

To cut the grass, one had to pull out the roots.

The battle ended quickly. When the last Capone Family member fell, this military fortress had completely become a silent graveyard.

TO BE CONTINUED