Tap... tap... tap
The crisp sound of leather shoes hitting the stone floor echoed through the empty corridor.
Victor, with his golden hair casually draped, wore a luxurious black cloak, leisurely strolling along the spacious but cold-toned corridor. The high vaulted ceiling was adorned with classical murals.
Behind him, Perona, a girl with long pink hair dressed in a black Gothic dress, followed closely, refusing to put down her small parasol even in this corridor.
The footsteps stopped. The two stood before a pair of lacquered wooden double doors.
Screeeech~~~!
With a slightly tooth-aching, grating sound, Victor slowly pushed the large doors open. What greeted their eyes was an empty but enclosed stone chamber, with no windows or torches. Only the faint light from the corridor outside the door illuminated the room. In the center was a sturdy square iron cage.
A short, stout man in tattered suit trousers, his bare upper body wrapped in bandages, sat in the middle of the cell, resting with his eyes closed. It was Capone Bege, defeated by Victor.
Perona scampered to the side of the room, lit the candles placed on small protruding platforms on the wall, and then pulled a chair to place it directly in front of the cell.
Victor sat down in the chair, looking at Capone Bege, who seemed to be asleep, and said gently: "Mr. Bege, why must you go through such trouble? You promised to join our 'Coral' after the battle."
"Yes! I did chicken out then!!" Capone Bege's face contorted with anger. He suddenly lunged at the cage, grabbing the steel bars and roaring at Victor:
"But the agreement didn't say that the 'Capone Gang' joining 'Coral' meant disbanding all Capone gang members! You're not annexing us, you're trying to completely destroy us!! I poured all my heart and soul into building the 'Capone Gang'! And you, you bastard, with a mere piece of paper, directly ruined everything!"
"So you attacked Doctor Luluta, who was treating your wounds? He's a true gentleman." Victor smiled, took a box from his pocket and opened it. Inside were two of the finest cigars from Waifu Island. He handed the matches and the cigar box to Capone Bege, who hesitated for a moment but still took them.
Victor quietly watched Capone Bege light a match, skillfully and somewhat impatiently roasting the cigar over the flame. It wasn't until Bege took two puffs from the cigar and showed a look of contentment that Victor spoke gently: "Mr. Bege, I know there are some misunderstandings between us, so you see, I've come, wanting to communicate with you."
Bege's face was enveloped in smoke. He remained silent for a few seconds, then opened his mouth and asked: "A gang that doesn't seek money, women, or power, Victor, what exactly are you after?"
Victor leaned forward slightly, smiling softly: "This world."
Capone Bege was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter. He laughed so freely and wildly that Perona, standing behind Victor, showed an irritated expression.
After a long time, Bege finally stopped laughing, wiping away the tears that had formed from his eyes, and scoffed: "Oh, Victor, my dear boss... you are indeed young and talented, but your strength is nothing compared to those monsters."
Faced with such blatant mockery, Victor was not angry. He stood up, walked to the cage, leaned in, and whispered a few words to Bege. Just a few words, but Capone Bege's face turned pale in shock. He stepped back a few paces, looking at Victor in disbelief, muttering: "You're really crazy... crazy..."
This time it wasn't mockery, but rather panicked self-comfort.
Victor wore a playful smile: "Mr. Bege, is your tolerance only this much? Come on, a magnificent era is about to begin. Board my ship, and you'll have the chance to witness the view from the world's summit."
Capone Bege took puff after puff of his cigar, and Victor patiently awaited his reply.
After a long while, Bege threw the cigar butt onto the ground and asked in a hoarse voice, "What's your plan?"
A smile appeared on Victor's lips: "First, we go to the Land of Kano."
"Kano Country? That land of martial arts? Can I ask what we're going there for, Boss?"
Bege put on his tattered suit jacket.
"There lies the 'power' I need." Victor watched Perona open the cell door, responding to Capone Bege.
The morning two days later.
"Boss! Take me with you! I promise I absolutely won't be a burden!"
At the Humming Wharf in the northern part of Algaro Town, a conspicuous large merchant ship was moored. A group of black-clad gang members were seeing Victor off, while a small, scrawny boy eagerly volunteered himself to Victor.
"You clumsy monkey, Mim! Onii-chan is going to the Land of Kano to discuss weapon deals! Don't you dare cause trouble!" Perona angrily put her hands on her hips and cursed the small boy. If Victor hadn't stopped her, she would have started hitting him.
The scrawny boy, called Mim, completely ignored Perona and instead looked at Victor with eyes full of adoration, excitedly saying:
"Boss Victor! Please, I can definitely be useful! I... I've been training for a long time! Look!" As he spoke, he hastily rolled up his sleeves to reveal his scrawny little arms, trying to squeeze out some muscle.
Capone Bege, standing behind Victor, curled his lips in disgust and whispered to the black-haired man beside him: "Clansner, what's with this little monkey?"
The questioned man, with long black hair, wore a black trench coat and a gentleman's hat, leaning on a pure wooden cane. He smiled and replied:
"Mr. Capone might not be familiar with Mim's situation. He was originally an orphan from the Narva Town slums. One time he was caught stealing bread, and Boss Victor saved him. Since then, he's worshipped the boss as his idol."
The truth was not as simple as Clansner described. At that time, Mim was almost starving to death. He couldn't bear it any longer and had to take a risk, going to the notoriously stingy 'Dodorobeli Bakery' to steal some food, but his hands and feet were weak from hunger, and the owner discovered him. Just as he was about to be beaten to death, Victor, who was on a mission in the area, found and rescued him.
Victor paid double the price for the bread for Mim, personally bandaged Mim's wounds, and left all the packed food he had bought from a restaurant for him. Having been abandoned since childhood and never knowing what care was, Mim felt 'care' and 'warmth' for the first time. He went to great lengths to find out Victor's background, then secretly took a passenger ship to Algaro Town and joined the 'Coral' organization, eventually becoming one of Victor's subordinates through hard work.
At the dock, Victor was helplessly dealing with Mim's persistence. To be honest, he didn't really want to take Mim to the Land of Wano, not because he looked down on Mim, but because the journey was genuinely dangerous. Besides the necessary crew for the voyage, Victor only brought his new advisor Perona, new warehouse manager Capone Bege, and cadre Clansner Edmond. The latter was a considerably capable cadre within the 'Coral' organization, but unfortunately, he had been suppressed by Pippin due to Pippin's jealousy.
Victor thought for a moment, then straightened his face and asked Mim:
"If you insist on coming aboard, you must agree to one condition—you must obey Perona's orders unconditionally."
Mim reluctantly turned his head to look at the sneering Perona, then bowed deeply to Victor: "Please rest assured, Boss!"
Victor nodded, then turned to look at the white-haired old man who had been standing quietly to the side, and said gently:
"Mr. Windrew, I'll trouble you to look after the gang during my absence."
"Please rest assured, Boss." The old man bowed slightly and respectfully said: "I wish you good fortune on your journey."
Victor showed a slight smile. This old man was very clever and had probably guessed his true intentions for this trip.
"Alright, everyone aboard! We're off to the Land of Kano!"
-----
Support me with Powerstones, Reviews and comments
100 Powerstones = 1 Chapter
[Maximum Bonus 7 Chapters]