Bege nodded. "Bottom line, preserve as much strength as possible. And keep an eye on the Five Great Families' movements. Luno isn't the type to swallow losses quietly!"
While arresting Monkas's accomplices, Carina also took the opportunity to wipe out several warehouses belonging to the Five Great Families.
A huge batch of banned drug powder was destroyed on the spot. All the people who had been abducted and prepared for sale were released.
As for the smuggled goods and funds, they were confiscated outright.
You could say the Five Great Families' work for the past half year had gone straight down the drain.
"Luno, huh? Got it!"
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Slay immediately made a series of arrangements.
To be extra safe, he even took the initiative to contact the head of the Five Great Families, the Gambino Family.
"Mr. Karl! Long time no see!" Slay greeted him warmly, his expression flawless.
Gambino Karl, the current godfather of the Gambino Family, was also the most capable and ambitious godfather the family had seen in nearly thirty years.
"Slay." Karl spoke calmly. His face showed no expression, yet he exuded an intimidating authority.
"Regarding Bege, you owe us an explanation. Otherwise, I don't see why the Capone Family should continue to exist."
Half a year's worth of goods.
Gone. All of it.
That was like plunging a knife straight into their hearts.
A trace of cold malice flashed through Slay's eyes.
As expected, the Five Great Families never took the Capone Family seriously.
"Fine. Enjoy yourselves while you can," Slay thought coldly. "When the time comes, we'll see who gets the last laugh."
Outwardly, he still wore that perfectly fake smile.
"Mr. Karl, I've already looked into it. That kid Bege took a job on his own in the Grand Line. It has nothing to do with the Capone Family."
"To be honest with you, before you contacted me, I didn't even know he'd returned to the West Blue."
Karl's gaze turned icy. "What, so you're saying you won't take responsibility for this? Isn't Bege a member of the Capone Family?"
Such a flimsy excuse, and he thought it could offset losses on that scale?
Was he joking?
Slay fell silent for a long moment before letting out a helpless sigh.
"I understand. Then we'll give up the three islands you took from us. But you can't keep pushing your luck!"
A vicious glint appeared on Slay's face as he finally showed the ferocity befitting a mafia godfather.
"Bege acted on his own. We won't get involved, and you can't use this as an excuse to keep targeting us."
If he agreed too quickly, it would look fake.
So Slay had to fight hard first, then reluctantly offer compensation, as if forced into it.
And he had to set conditions of his own.
Karl didn't suspect a thing.
Instead, he asked with some surprise, "So you're abandoning Bege?"
Between the lines, Karl was clearly confident he could wipe out Bege, Carina, and the others, and reclaim the Itel Kingdom's business.
Slay sneered inwardly.
You really think being one of the Five Great Families guarantees victory?
You've got no idea this time it's people from the Grand Line you're up against.
I hope you'll still be this confident later.
Slay kept his face perfectly neutral and shrugged. "When he chose to go to the Grand Line back then, it was basically the same as leaving the family."
"Since he didn't want to stay, why should we go out of our way to cling to him?"
Karl nodded.
That made sense.
For people like them, family interests came first.
Those who went off to the Grand Line were usually fringe members with little ability.
Honestly, someone like Bege, strong yet still choosing the Grand Line…
Within the Five Great Families, that was almost equivalent to being a traitor.
"In that case, let's consider this settled," Karl said. "We won't need to worry about the ties between our families anymore."
With his goal achieved, Karl immediately switched to a friendly tone, making Slay want to roll his eyes.
Those three islands brought in over a hundred million Beli a year.
That "sentiment" sure was expensive.
After exchanging a few perfunctory words, Slay finally hung up the Den Den Mushi.
"Hmph! Enjoy yourselves while you can," Slay growled darkly.
"You don't have much time left."
Gambino Family headquarters, Newker Island.
Karl had just ended his call with Slay.
On the other side, another Den Den Mushi was still connected.
"Do you believe what Slay said?" The speaker had narrow eyes and an extremely soft, sinister tone.
One of the Five Great Families… the godfather of the Ginovese Family, Ginovese Leon!
Karl let out a scornful snort. "What's there to believe? He's just hedging his bets."
"If we win, he trades three islands' worth of business for the Capone Family's safety."
"If Bege wins, they take everything back with interest."
Leon chuckled. "He's calculated things so well. And you just agreed?"
"Hahaha!" Karl threw his head back and laughed. "Why wouldn't I? That's three islands' worth of business for free!"
"As for Bege winning… do you really think that's possible?"
Leon fell silent for a moment, then laughed as well.
The Five Great Families had dominated the West Blue for so many years. If they could be defeated that easily, they'd have been replaced long ago.
"Once we reclaim the Itel Kingdom's business, we'll divide those three islands properly," Karl said, already imagining how the spoils would be shared.
Too bad they didn't know…
Cracking the champagne at halftime was a huge taboo.
Itel Kingdom.
After several days of relentless cleanup by Carina, the capital was basically under her complete control.
The first thing she did after taking power was purchase large quantities of weapons from Water 7 and expand the military.
The Soul King wanted her to dominate the West Blue, so of course she had to prepare thoroughly.
But in the eyes of the Five Great Families, this looked like a direct declaration of war.
They immediately dispatched large numbers of personnel toward the Itel Kingdom.
"Your Majesty, a lot of outsiders have entered the capital recently!"
Rolchart rushed to Karina, his face full of anxiety.
"The Five Great Families are probably about to make a move!"
"Your Majesty, you acted too hastily! You shouldn't have openly expanded the military right away. You've put them on alert!"
Back when Carina proposed purchasing weapons and increasing troop numbers, Rolchart had already opposed it.
After two coups, the Itel Kingdom's national strength had dropped sharply. It really couldn't afford more turmoil.
Unfortunately, Carina had pushed the decision through by force.
And now, trouble had arrived.
"Hehehe!"
To Rolchart's shock, Carina not only showed no fear, she laughed with excitement.
"It's good that they're here. I'd be worried if they didn't come."
Rolchart asked uneasily, "Your Majesty… what do you mean?"
A fierce light flashed in Carina's eyes.
"I was just worrying about finding an excuse to deal with them. And now they've handed me the knife themselves."
Rolchart was so startled his voice nearly cracked.
"Your Majesty! The Five Great Families have dominated the West Blue for over a hundred years! We're no match for them!"
***
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