Capone's Backstab

As Buono John fell, gunshots and the sounds of blades piercing flesh immediately rang out all around them, accompanied by a chorus of screams.

"Mr. Cody, watch out!"

Bax and Xie Wen immediately moved to protect Cody. Xie Wen also tucked Sanji Meow behind him, while Klee Meow lay perched on his shoulder, fearlessly poking her little head out to look around.

The other merchants' guards reacted much the same way, rushing to shield their respective employers.

But they soon realized that this attack wasn't aimed at the merchants at all. Everyone falling seemed to belong to the Buono Family...

The merchants who had just reached agreements with the Buono Family instantly looked displeased.

The situation couldn't have been clearer: Simment and the Capone Family had joined forces to attack the Buono Family.

"Relax, relax, everyone." The Shimento Family's second son stepped forward and picked up the microphone from John's now thoroughly dead hand. "You probably don't know me very well. My name is Lane, Simment Lane."

Watching Lane's actions, Xie Wen couldn't help shaking his head. Someone had just died on that stage, yet this guy still dared to walk up there. Wasn't he afraid of meeting Buono John's fate?

The second son, however, wasn't worried. He smiled reassuringly. "That was merely a minor internal disagreement, and it has now been resolved. It won't affect our dealings. Those of you who reached agreements with the Buono Family will have someone come to renegotiate with you later. Don't worry, we'll preserve as many of the terms the Buono Family promised as possible."

Under his reassurances, the merchants' unrest quickly subsided. Living in the West Blue, they were long accustomed to gang warfare. They had seen plenty of scenes like this; this one was simply on a slightly larger scale.

They also now understood why Simment and the Capone Family had backed down so readily during the earlier scramble to recruit people.

But while the merchants settled down, the Buono Family, suddenly stabbed in the back by their allies, couldn't stay calm. A senior Buono member who had been shot through the lung but hadn't died yet coughed up bloody froth as he roared, "Why?! Why did you attack us?!"

Although backstabbing was commonplace among gangs, of the three families, Buono and Simment had actually been closer. Their ideals and methods were more alike, and both looked down somewhat on the utterly unscrupulous Capone Family.

"Because if we didn't attack you, Gures would become the property of your Buono Family..." Lane still wore his smile, but his gaze turned vicious as he looked at the senior member. "Become an affiliated nation to gain the World Government's protection, then openly collect taxes from the people-that was the arrangement you originally proposed. But you never mentioned secretly cutting us out and making only the Buono Family royalty... You almost got away with it."

Gradually, Lane's smile vanished altogether as he spoke through gritted teeth. But soon he regained his earlier smile, looking even happier than before.

"But... now the ones becoming royalty will be our Shimento Family and the Capone Family."

The senior member's face went pale, and he lowered his head in defeat. With their scheme exposed, it was only natural that the other two families would join forces to settle accounts with them.

He wasn't the only one. Even the Buono Family members who had still been shouting curses fell silent. They might not have known their family's plans, but they understood what happened to the losers in a gang conflict.

"Well? Everything taken care of?"

Capone Bege, wearing a pinstriped suit with a cigar clenched between his teeth, reappeared at that moment. His two distinctive subordinates, however, were no longer following him.

"Of course. What about your end?" Simment Lane asked in return, maintaining his smile.

"No idea." Capone Bege removed the cigar from his mouth and, seemingly oblivious to Lane's suddenly sour expression, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke before continuing at his leisure. "But I have faith in my men. I'm sure we'll have good news in a few minutes."

Only then did Lane's expression improve a little. Forcing a smile, he warned, "Don't underestimate the Buono Family. If your men don't finish them off in time, all the progress we worked so hard to make at this trade fair will go to waste."

Just then, the defeated senior Buono member suddenly shouted, "The World Government will never allow one country to have two royal families!"

His attempt to sow discord had no effect, however. Biting down on his cigar, Capone Bege said disdainfully, "So what? I'm not interested in becoming royalty anyway. If your Buono Family had approached our Capone Family from the start, perhaps none of this would have happened today."

What a load of fucking bullshit!

Xie Wen, who knew Capone Bege's personality all too well, scoffed inwardly.

His claim that he wasn't interested in royal status might actually have been true. To Capone Bege, warfare was what bombs were to Klee Meow: a personal hobby. And his favorite activities were cutting off rival bosses' heads and betraying allies. Status and territory came second.

Precisely for that reason, whether the Buono Family had approached Capone Bege or not, he would definitely have made his move...

The Shimento Family probably won't last much longer either.

"Y-young Master Lane! Something terrible has happened!"

Xie Wen apparently had a bit of a gift for prophecy-or for jinxing things. Just as he was thinking that the Shimento Family's good days were numbered, a blood-covered gang member staggered inside.

"What happened?! Weren't you working with the Capone Family's men to wipe out the Buono Family's forces on the island?!" Lane demanded anxiously.

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out. Before the gang member could answer, his head acquired a fresh hole as well.

"Sorry, Godfather. I accidentally let this brat escape all the way here, lick." Holding his two enormous revolvers, Vito the Weird Gun walked over to Capone Bege and offered an apology with little sincerity. Clearly, he didn't consider it a big deal.

"Doesn't matter. The result's the same anyway." Capone Bege evidently shared that view, waving it off indifferently.

"Capone!" Lane glared at Bege, his eyes nearly bursting with rage. He couldn't understand what gave the man the confidence to wage war against both families at once.

Besides, most of the Capone Family's men had gone to deal with the Buono Family. Here in the Royal Palace, the Shimento Family had more people.

"I'll kill you!" Lane pulled a pistol from inside his coat and aimed it at Capone Bege's head.

At the same time, the Shimento Family members throughout the hall aimed their weapons at Capone Bege and Vito the Weird Gun.

Yet Capone Bege acted as though he hadn't noticed. He tapped the ash off his cigar, then made a grabbing motion toward Vito beside him. The latter vanished with a swish.

"Open fire!" Though he didn't understand what had happened, Lane immediately pulled the trigger.

In an instant, gunfire and cannon blasts thundered together. Every Shimento Family member, Lane included, fell into a pool of blood. Their target, Capone Bege, had undergone a dramatic transformation: his body had become a brick-and-stone structure, easily blocking every attack.

Then several doorways opened in his brick-and-stone body, and a large number of Capone Family members, including Vito the Weird Gun, charged out.

"A D-Devil Fruit!" Lying on the ground with several bullet wounds, Lane instantly understood the source of Capone Bege's confidence.

Beyond the strength granted by his fruit's abilities, Capone Bege had kept a contingent of men hidden inside his body all along. The Capone Family's overall strength was therefore far greater than what they usually displayed.

Capone Bege ignored him and instead strolled over to Xie Wen.

"I told you, didn't I? Gures wouldn't be very safe after the trade fair."

"So that's what you meant..." Xie Wen nodded in understanding, then complimented him. "Quite a show."

"Heh heh heh... Hahahahaha!!!" Bege started with a few chuckles, then laughed louder and louder. "Interesting, kid. I'll give you a chance..."

He pointed his cigar at Vito, who was flicking his long tongue in and out. "Beat my subordinate, and I won't pursue that earlier incident."

After saying that, Bege also glanced at Uncle Cody. It was subtle, but Xie Wen still noticed.

So this is another concession to Uncle Cody's mysterious identity?

Tch... He really is underestimating me...

Xie Wen curled his lip in displeasure and gripped the hilt of his Nodachi, ready to step forward and teach Capone Bege a lesson he wouldn't forget.

Then a pair of little paws reached over from beside him and turned his face away.

"Klee wants to fight the bad guys too, meow!"

I clearly made it into the second round of recommendations, so why are the numbers getting worse instead? There have been so few paragraph comments lately, too. Please leave more comments, everyone.

My internet suddenly cut out halfway through writing last night. Luckily, there's now a PC version of Writer's Assistant that supports saving locally while offline. Otherwise, I would've been in trouble.