Chapter 306: The Five Major Mafia Families of the West Blue
"A Castle-Castle Fruit… I never thought it would show up here!"
Charlotte muttered as he held the Devil Fruit in his hand.
Seeing their father's intrigued expression, the people around him were already growing impatient—especially Robert, who looked anxious. After all, he was the one who discovered the fruit first.
"Dad! What kind of Devil Fruit is it?!"
Robert asked eagerly.
Charlotte glanced at his son's excited face and smiled.
"It's a Paramecia-type Castle-Castle Fruit. The user can turn their body into a castle and store anything inside it, including people and objects. Everything inside shrinks in scale and returns to normal when removed. It's a very good ability."
Charlotte looked at the Devil Fruit admiringly and then placed it back into the box.
It was definitely worth adding to his collection.
Robert beamed with pride, glancing around triumphantly at his siblings.
Charlotte recalled that this Devil Fruit would eventually belong to Capone Bege. He hadn't expected to find it so early here in the West Blue—especially on such a random pirate ship.
"Dad, according to the pirate's diary, this crew found the fruit by accident on a deserted island. They didn't know what it was, so the captain planned to sell it at an auction run by the Five Major Mafia Families of the West Blue."
Tesla explained while holding the pirate's journal.
Charlotte looked at Tesla's diary with interest and chuckled.
"Pirates keeping diaries? Now that's something you don't see every day. Let me have a look."
Tesla handed the journal over.
Charlotte flipped through it—sure enough, it really was a proper journal. The one-eyed pirate captain seemed to be quite the sentimental type, recording each day of his journey at sea.
The recent entries were especially detailed, explaining exactly how he found the fruit and why he hadn't eaten it.
"Hah… Had ambitions, did he? Wanted to find a more powerful Devil Fruit instead?"
Charlotte chuckled.
"Alright then. Let's go check out that island run by the mafia—perfect timing for their auction!"
Charlotte said to his crew.
"Yes, Captain!"
Everyone lit up with excitement—more fun awaited them. Even the younger kids were thrilled.
"An auction? I've never seen one before!"
A group of little ones cheered and ran around the deck in anticipation.
Charlotte smiled wryly and held his forehead.
To be honest, he had only attended two auctions in his entire pirate career—and both had been unforgettable.
The first one had taken place in Water 7, and in that one… he himself had been the product up for sale, auctioned off as a slave alongside Redfield.
The second had been in the Sabaody Archipelago—he had caused a huge uproar there, which resulted in Fleet Admiral Kong showing up and nearly beating him to death. He had barely escaped with his life.
Auctions, in Charlotte's mind, were cursed.
Nothing ever went smoothly at them. Which was why he avoided them as much as possible.
He just hoped this one wouldn't spiral into another disaster.
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Kardan Island
A mafia-controlled island in the West Blue, entirely run by gangsters.
The island was divided among five major mafia families:
Feldor Family
Luciano Family
Capone Family
Gambino Family
Gotti Family
These five families held the power on Kardan Island.
According to the intel Charlotte had gathered, the Feldor Family was currently the most powerful among them—far stronger in both influence and military might than the other four.
But even the strongest of them didn't amount to much in Charlotte's eyes.
Their power was respectable for the West Blue, sure—but against Charlotte? They were nothing.
Still, to avoid causing too much commotion, Charlotte ordered a low-profile approach. He did not raise his pirate flag and kept his crew's presence quiet as they neared the island.
As they got closer to Kardan Island, the number of ships around them steadily increased.
There were merchant vessels, military ships, and vessels belonging to major noble families of the West Blue—all here for the auction.
Charlotte even spotted pirate crews chatting amicably with marines.
That alone piqued Charlotte's curiosity.
The marines here in the West Blue were… quite the characters.
Using special channels, Charlotte acquired the details of the upcoming auction. The information had been sent to him by the Loan Shark King, who had quickly passed along all the intelligence regarding West Blue's power structure the moment he heard Charlotte had arrived.
Ever since allying with Charlotte, the Loan Shark King had been doing exceptionally well—whether in the New World, the Grand Line, or even the Four Blues.
On holidays or Charlotte's birthday, the man would always send gifts—eager to please.
Why?
Because Charlotte had Big Mom to thank for that.
Due to her aggressive expansion, many of the Six Dark Emperors of the Underworld—powerful leaders in the black market—had begun aligning with either Charlotte or Big Mom for protection.
The six emperors had now split into two factions:
With Charlotte:
Loan Shark King
Shipping King
News King
With Big Mom:
Pleasure Queen
Killer King
Storage King
The New World's underworld was just as dangerous and chaotic as the seas themselves.
The Killer King's faction was collapsing fast. Assassins were fine against regular targets, but up against true powerhouses, they were just cannon fodder.
Even in the underworld, it was survival of the fittest.
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