"Opponents?"
Carina couldn't help laughing when she heard that.
"Rolchart, do you really think the Soul King sent me back just to help me reclaim the throne and call it a day?"
Rolchart's eyes widened in shock. "Your Majesty… you mean?"
"That's right," Carina said calmly. "I came back this time with only one goal. To plant the Itel Kingdom's banner across the entire West Blue."
Rolchart froze.
Plant the Itel Kingdom's banner across the entire West Blue?
It sounded exhilarating.
But where would that kind of strength come from?
"Enough. Don't worry about these jumping clowns," Carina waved him off. "Just focus on doing your job."
Clearly, she had no intention of discussing it further.
Rolchart was full of doubts, but under Carina's pressure, he could only bow and withdraw.
...
Within the capital, Bege's men had already clashed with the Five Great Families' forces.
Because of the gap in numbers and strength, Bege's side lost far more than they won.
To reduce casualties, Bege ordered his people to pull back and concentrate their forces in a few key areas, holding them defensively.
This retreat convinced Luno, who was in charge of the operation, that the Itel Kingdom truly lacked strength.
"In that case, let's finish this in one stroke," Luno sneered. "Tonight, we'll wipe the Itel Kingdom off the map for good."
After all, the longer things dragged on, the more variables there were.
...
After nightfall, three separate forces advanced toward the palace from three different directions.
Before long, Luno noticed that the residents around the palace seemed to have been evacuated in advance.
The palace and the surrounding streets were completely deserted.
"Heh. They even prepared the battlefield for us," Luno said with a cold laugh as he led his men through the palace gates.
There wasn't a single guard at the entrance either.
That finally made Luno uneasy.
Had Carina run away?
Was she planning to hide elsewhere, build up her strength, and retake the Itel Kingdom later?
Thinking of that, Luno immediately barked an order. "Find Carina. Do not let her escape!"
Just then, a cold, authoritative voice echoed out.
"Escape? This is my palace. Why would I run?"
From within the palace, Carina stepped out slowly, dressed in luxurious royal attire.
Behind her stood Victor, his reserve Shadow Dragon Guards, and a group of absolutely loyal palace guards.
"Hahaha! You've got some guts," Luno laughed mockingly the moment he saw her. "Too bad you're an idiot!"
"You don't actually think that just these few hundred people can defeat the elites of our Five Great Families, do you?"
Behind Luno was a sea of black-clad figures, filling the courtyard almost to the brim.
At least two thousand men.
With such an overwhelming numerical advantage, even if the reserve Shadow Dragon Guards could win through sheer individual strength, very few would survive.
And this was only the first wave sent by the Five Great Families.
At that moment, Luno also spotted Bege standing at the edge.
He grinned. "What's wrong, Bege? Not going to say hello?"
"You had to come back here instead of staying in the Grand Line, just to throw your life away."
"And look at the result. Because of you, the Capone Family lost business on three islands. I hear your uncle, the godfather, has already abandoned you."
"Too bad. It's too late for regrets now. Anyone who offends the Five Great Families only has one path left. Death."
After watching Luno's impassioned performance, Bege took a deep drag from his cigar and spat out just two words.
"Idiot."
The simplest sentence in the entire scene, yet it completely shattered Luno's composure.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!"
Bang!
Luno raised his gun and fired.
Bege didn't even frown, instantly activating his Devil Fruit ability and turning his body into a fortress.
Pfft!
But to Bege's shock, the bullet pierced straight through his castle body and slammed into his real form.
"Seastone bullets?"
Bege stared at the blood flowing from his shoulder, his expression darkening.
"Hahaha! Bege, did you really think we'd be unprepared for a Devil Fruit user like you?" Luno laughed triumphantly.
"How does it feel? These are Seastone bullets we specially bought from the Grand Line. Pretty good, right?"
To win this battle, the Five Great Families had made thorough preparations.
And Bege, as a Devil Fruit user, had been one of their top priorities.
"Kill them! Take the Itel Kingdom completely into the hands of the Five Great Families!" Luno roared.
"Whoever kills Carina or Bege gets promoted three ranks on the spot!"
With a sweep of Luno's hands, two thousand fighters charged forward, eyes blazing with greed.
Luno was working so hard because after this battle, the Five Great Families no longer planned to prop up any proxy rulers.
He would be the supreme authority here.
With power like that on the line, of course he wanted to make this a perfect victory.
Facing the terrifying charge of two thousand men, Carina's expression didn't change in the slightest.
She looked down at the mercenaries driven by profit, a cold light flashing in her eyes.
"When did this king ever allow you to move?"
Buzz!
An invisible wave surged forward like a tidal flood.
The charging crowd hesitated for a split second.
Then, like dominoes being knocked over, they collapsed row after row.
In the blink of an eye, out of those two thousand men, fewer than ten were still standing.
Clatter.
The gun slipped from Luno's hand and fell to the ground.
He stared ahead blankly, shouting in disbelief, "H-how is this possible?"
Bege snorted coldly. "A frog in a well. In the end, your world is just too small."
Conqueror's Haki.
The moment Victor realized Carina might have awakened Conqueror's Haki, he had already reported it upward.
Oguro himself had contacted Karina and taught her some insights into Conqueror's Haki.
In this world, Conqueror's Haki couldn't be trained directly. It only grew stronger as one's spirit and presence grew.
And to control it required an unshakable will.
Carina's will was never in doubt.
After several days of practice, while she still couldn't fully control it, she could at least release it at will.
Victor and the others stood behind her precisely to avoid being caught in its range.
That was why Carina had been so confident when she learned the Five Great Families were coming.
Because their so-called human-wave tactics had already become meaningless the moment this power was unleashed.
"Ginovese Luno, is it?"
Standing atop the steps, Carina gazed down at the rising star of the West Blue underworld and spoke calmly.
"So this is all the strength the Five Great Families have?"
In that moment, the Carina reflected in Luno's eyes was no longer merely the queen of a small kingdom like Itel.
She was a goddess standing above the heavens.
Run.
Luno turned and fled.
He had to escape and tell everyone in the Five Great Families one thing.
The Itel Kingdom… was untouchable.