I came to laugh at you

Bang, bang, bang!!!

A dense barrage came flying in. Gunpowder immediately turned into gunpowder, letting the bullets pass through his body.

Bege bared his teeth viciously:

"Full Size: Big Father!"

His feet became treads, his legs turned into stone structures, his torso and head became a pointed-roof fortress with a human face, and his arms became two pointed watchtowers.

The incoming bullets struck the walls and instantly shattered into fragments, failing to penetrate their defenses.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Is he an ability user like the boss?!"

"The bullets aren't doing anything! Retreat!!"

The eight-meter-tall war fortress stood there, sending the surrounding gangsters into a panic and throwing the scene into chaos.

"Quiet! Quiet! That thing isn't invincible! Raise your guns and shoot!!"

Boren bellowed, struggling to control the situation as he fired several shots at the castle.

Brandon and the others followed suit. With someone taking the lead, the surrounding gangsters instinctively opened fire despite their fear.

The castle giant stood silently in place, letting the bullets strike its body.

By now, Bege had transferred his consciousness back inside his body. A Bege emerged from the floor, a vessel for his consciousness that could perform more precise operations.

The trade-off was that his external body could only perform simple actions.

Inside the castle, he quickly dug out a Den Den Mushi and called Bullet for reinforcements.

"This is Bege. I'm on Cologne Island. Send reinforcements, fast!"

"Understood. Estimated arrival in six hours."

The operator on the other end answered without hesitation.

Bege was a promising talent in their gang, after all. The Castle Fruit's abilities were simply too well suited to warfare and assassination.

"Hurry! I'm under siege!"

Click~

The call ended, and Bege's expression turned ugly.

This operation had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, so he had arranged no one to support him in advance, and reinforcements would take another six hours to arrive.

Though he had enough weapons inside his body, he faced a very serious problem.

No one to reload!

The flintlocks could fire repeatedly, but their ammunition wasn't infinite.

He could twist the floor into hands to fire the guns, but he couldn't manage delicate operations like reloading.

"I need to grab people and bring them inside to help me fi-urgh!"

A sharp pain struck his abdomen, and Bege spat out a mouthful of blood.

His consciousness returned to his main body, and Bege saw... three giant slingshots.

Each end of a large elastic cord was tied to a tree. By pulling it back and aiming, the men could launch targeted shots.

"Switch to kerosene barrels!"

Several men placed a kerosene barrel in the net pouch, then strained to pull back the elastic cord.

Geno swept his hand forward:

"Release!!"

Whoosh~

The kerosene barrel traced an arc through the air and slammed squarely into the castle giant.

Bullets struck the walls, throwing off sparks that instantly set the entire castle ablaze.

"So much for that! Hahaha~"

Watching the castle become engulfed in flames, the surrounding gangsters burst out laughing.

But their laughter soon died.

Bang, bang, bang!!!

Bege began fighting back, countless bullets sending everyone nearby scrambling for cover.

The castle giant bent down, intending to draw water from the hot spring to extinguish the flames on its body.

Boom!

A boulder slammed into it, interrupting the castle giant's movement.

The slingshot squad under Geno's command kept up its assault, launching boulder after boulder to obstruct Bege's movements.

Why is everything designed to counter me?!

Bege gritted his teeth, utterly baffled. What kind of mafia used something as unwieldy as giant slingshots?

The mastermind behind it all was standing on the hot spring inn's roof, watching the spectacle.

Robin adjusted the Den Den Mushi beside her and looked up to ask:

"That guy seems to be trying to escape. What do we do next?"

"Let the fire burn a little longer. Tell Pica to use explosive barrels to slow him down."

Dill lowered his binoculars and gave his instructions methodically:

"Then have Julia pump up water to cool down those heated stones."

Robin nodded and repeated Dill's orders into the Den Den Mushi.

The explosive barrels Pica threw slowed Bege's advance.

Julia sprayed hot spring water to put out the castle giant's flames. Between the heat and the cold, small cracks appeared in the stones covering its body.

Geno's slingshot squad kept up the pressure, landing boulder after boulder on Bege.

Unfazed by the prospect of death, Gunpowder aimed his submachine gun at the treads and sprayed them with bullets.

Boren directed the gangsters to use hit-and-run tactics, doing his best to avoid casualties.

Brandon led the charge, fighting the most fiercely.

After a dozen or so minutes, Bege moved out of the slingshots' range, leaving only the gangsters' guns capable of damaging him.

"But that's enough. He probably can't reload. He's been firing just one gun for three minutes now."

Dill held a Thompson, a confident smile on his lips:

"He'll surrender within the hour!

Tell Boren to start trying to persuade him to surrender. Say we won't kill him."

"Will he believe that? There are too many holes in it, aren't there?"

"No, I'll make him believe it!"

Dill pointed at his eyes. As long as there was a trace of wavering in someone's heart, he could hypnotize them from a distance and amplify that feeling.

With that, he shouldered his Thompson and took the stairs down from the roof.

The second floor was pretty high up, after all.

Another dozen or so minutes later,

Boren stood at the edge of the battlefield and shouted:

"Capone Bege!!"

"We know you like assassinations, so we had no choice but to strike first!"

"Stop resisting! Black Fire doesn't have the guts to make an enemy of the family backing you!!"

Black Fire was merely a small gang on a small island, while Bullet was one of the Five Families. The gap between them was comparable to that between an infant and a grown man.

Who the hell would put their life in someone else's hands?

Bege grumbled inwardly as he manually reloaded and fired inside the castle.

Outside, the castle giant moved woodenly toward town, but Pica and the others' interference kept its progress painfully slow.

"If you don't want to make an enemy of me, then get lost! I'll leave on my own!"

"Quit joking! Who knows if you'll come back to kill us?!"

"Then who knows if you Black Fire bastards will get desperate and kill me?!"

"I, Boren, guarantee we absolutely won't kill you!!"

"And I, Bege, guarantee I absolutely won't come back to kill you!!"

Bege pointed through the window at Boren's side and roared:

"That short guy in the mask keeps firing his Thompson! You aren't showing a shred of sincerity!"

Boren glanced at Dill, who was enthusiastically firing away beside him, and immediately shouted back:

"He's defending himself! That's defensive fire!!

If you weren't constantly attacking, would he need to defend himself?!"

Beli's vision went dark, and he couldn't help cursing:

"Have you got no shame at all?!

My flintlock potshots are offensive, but his Thompson spraying bullets is defensive?!"

Boren nodded as though it were perfectly reasonable and answered loudly:

"Bullets do nothing when they hit you, but they'd leave a huge hole in him, so you're attacking and he's defending;

Enough nonsense! Giving up is better for both of us!"

"Take your men and get lost first, and I'll stop resisting immediately!"

"Stop resisting first, and I'll pull my men out immediately!"

"You first!"

"You first!"

The two sides began bickering like children.

As Bege hurled abuse, his gaze kept unconsciously meeting Dill's.

The idea of giving up gradually gained the upper hand. After all, Bullet was powerful. If he died, none of Black Fire's people would get away with it either.

After thinking it over, Bege decided that unless Black Fire's people had gone mad, his life would be perfectly safe. At worst, he would suffer a little.

I don't have the stamina to fight for six hours, and I haven't managed to capture a single person. Pretending to surrender might be a good choice.

Bege roared, "Stop!"

"I won't attack, and neither will you! We'll stay just like this, and I'll leave as soon as my people arrive!"

Boren immediately prepared to object. That condition was absolutely unacceptable.

If they didn't get Bege under control, wouldn't Black Fire be at their mercy once Bullet's people arrived?

"Agree to it!"

Dill's voice rang out, and Boren immediately changed his tune:

"Fine! Everyone, cease fire! But you have to promise you won't come after us afterward!"

"Of course! I'm a man of my word!"

The scene instantly fell silent.

The eight-meter-tall castle giant still stood in the center of the battlefield.

Small craters blasted out by gunpowder barrels dotted the surroundings.

Brandon and the others kept watch from a safe distance.

"Hey, is this really okay?"

"Why aren't the boss or any of the captains objecting?"

The surrounding gangsters all had their own thoughts. Some had already begun quietly fleeing.

Expect a gang to keep its promises?

They would be better off expecting the Marines not to arrest pirates.

Once Bullet's people arrived, whether they lived or died would be entirely up to the other side.

Boren naturally noticed them and asked quietly:

"Boss, shouldn't we do something about those deserters?"

"Just bring them back and bar them from promotion forever. It's not bad that they only ran now. I thought some would run as soon as the fighting started."

"Well..."

Boren said, looking somewhat embarrassed:

"A few really did run as soon as the fighting started."

Dill: "..."

Running the moment the fighting started was outright desertion.

They were given good food and drink every day, and even paid wages, yet they ran when it was their turn to put in some effort?

Even a gang couldn't be as merciful as the Marines.

"Call the port and have them help catch those people;

I remember a large stretch of wasteland to the east. Send those deserters there to clear it."

"Yes, boss. The things you asked for have arrived too."

Boren nodded and handed over a bag of food and alcohol. Dill took it and dragged it toward Bege.

Next, it was time for a heart-to-heart with Bege.

"Are you here to suck up to me?"

"No, I came to laugh at you."