Over these two years, Bege had fought countless giant beasts, making rapid progress. He had roughly grasped Observation Haki among the three types of Haki, but unfortunately, he couldn't figure out Armament Haki no matter how hard he tried.
Dozens of shadows flitted down from the distant giant trees, landing before Bege.
There were eighty people in total, all survivors of the two-year training. Fifty adults, half the original number, but those who had survived had grown immensely in strength. Each of them possessed at least the strength of a Navy Lieutenant, with over ten of the stronger ones reaching the level of Lieutenant Commander. The strongest among them had even reached the level of a Navy Commander.
Thirty of the teenagers had survived, thanks to varying degrees of protection. Their growth rate was even faster than the adults', and with another four or five years of training, they would undoubtedly surpass the adults. Among the teenagers, a monstrous talent had emerged: Hank!
Calling him a monster was also due to luck. Hank had been fortunate enough to discover a Devil Fruit in the forest, a rare Mastiff Zoan type of the Dog-Dog Fruit.
Bege had taken some time to teach Hank, guiding him in developing his Devil Fruit abilities. The kid was impressive. He made the most astonishing progress during the two years of life-and-death training, developing his fruit abilities to a high degree. He also became proficient in some of the techniques Bege had taught him.
Although Hank was only twelve years old, he could reach the strength of a Navy Major when unleashing his full power.
Bege judged that this kid had the potential to become a Navy Commodore and would be a valuable asset under his command in the future.
Bege, holding in his mouth his cigar, looked at this group of people with satisfaction. He turned to Modi, who stood at the front of the group, and chuckled, "Hehehe, Teacher Modi, you've done a great job training them."
Modi smiled faintly. It wasn't just them who had improved over the two years. Modi had also been silently training. He had pushed past his limits again and again, raising his swordsmanship by several levels. Modi's current strength was comparable to a Navy Commodore, perhaps even a Rear Admiral.
"Teacher Modi, the two-year training is temporarily over. Let's return to Sassi Island for a few days of rest," Bege said.
"Alright!" Modi replied succinctly. In two years, he had jumped two ranks. And he was even more aware of how incredibly Bege had improved during this time. Modi was eager to follow Bege and witness the strong fighters of the sea.
Bege walked over to the rhino-dragon's corpse and placed his hand on it. A dark red spatial distortion appeared, and the rhino-dragon's body slowly shrank, eventually becoming the size of a palm. Bege casually tossed it through the gate that had opened on his chest. Inside the castle, four miniature figures carried the rhino-dragon. Those four could carry the behemoth that had weighed over a hundred tons just moments ago – it was unbelievable.
This was Bege's ability. In these two years of training, he hadn't just cultivated his swordsmanship and Haki; he had also been training his Devil Fruit abilities.
During these two years, he had discovered some of the secrets of the Castle-Castle Fruit. The size of the castle space formed by the fruit was directly related to Bege's mental and physical strength.
The greater his mental and physical strength, the larger the internal space of the castle.
The growth of his mental power, in particular, was crucial for expanding the castle's space. This related to the second secret of the Castle-Castle Fruit: the ability to shrink objects.
The user of the Castle-Castle Fruit could shrink objects to a certain extent. Bege discovered that the shrinking ratio was related to the strength of his mental power. The stronger his mental power, the more freely he could shrink and enlarge objects. The smaller the objects were shrunk, the larger, relatively speaking, the internal area of the castle became.
The abilities of the Castle-Castle Fruit certainly didn't stop there; there was still the Awakening stage. The Awakened abilities of Doflamingo's String-String Fruit were still fresh in his memory.
"Hehehehe, alright, you lot, let's set sail!" Bege's laughter grew more and more unrestrained, more and more joyful. Unrestrained laughter had become a habit of his.
"After two long years, we're finally back." Bege, a cigar in his mouth, stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the approaching port. Seeing the relatively unchanged harbor, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
The ship quickly docked at the port, and Bege led the group off the large vessel.
"Alright, lads, let's go home!" Bege called out, and the group cheered, following him towards the Capone family's headquarters.
"Yo, if it isn't our little Bege. You've finally returned after spending two years outside." A group of burly men in suits approached. The middle-aged man leading them was tall and imposing, with a slicked-back hairstyle. He also had a cigar in his mouth and a scar on his face, clearly not a good guy.
Bege narrowed his eyes at him. "Isn't this Uncle Rodger? Are you heading out to sea as well?"
This middle-aged man was Bege's father's cousin, Capone Rodger.
Rodger narrowed his eyes, took a puff of his cigar, and said contentedly, "Little Bege, a lot has happened on Sassi Island during your two-year absence. I'm in charge of this port now."
Bege raised an eyebrow. Sassi Island's port was a lucrative piece of territory. Sassi Island itself was small, with almost no business inland. The Capone family had always relied on overseas trade for income. Therefore, controlling the port meant controlling Sassi Island's shipping, and thus, controlling the island's destiny.
The importance of the port was undeniable, and it had always been under Bege's father's direct control.
The Capone family was a sizable clan. Bege's father was the head of the family, but there were other branches. Rodger's branch and Bege's branch had always been at odds. Now, with the port in Rodger's hands, something must have happened.
"Looks like a lot has happened in these two years. Uncle Rodger, I just got back, so I'll head home first. When I have some free time, I'll pay you a visit personally," Bege said with a smile, then led his group straight past him.
Rodger narrowed his eyes, watching Bege's departing figure. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he chuckled softly, "Little Bege, even your return won't change anything. Sassi Island isn't what it was two years ago."
Sassi Island hadn't changed much in Bege's two-year absence. He easily found his way home.
"Old man, I'm back!" Bege entered the Capone family headquarters, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"What's all the racket? I heard you," Rod emerged from the mansion shortly after, scowling.
"Hehehe, old man, did you miss me?" Bege laughed heartily.
A smile spread across Rod's face, and he gave Bege a bear hug. He gripped Bege's shoulders and laughed, "Good, you've gotten a lot stronger. Looks like you've made great progress in these two years."
"Of course! I didn't waste a single day in those two years. Your son is a powerhouse now," Bege declared with overflowing confidence.
"Good, good! Come on in, I'll have the chef make your favorite roasted meat." Rod was beaming, pulling Bege inside.
"Old man, quite a few things happened on the island while I was gone, right?" Bege said casually.
"You already know?" Rod's expression became serious.
"I ran into Uncle Rodger as soon as I got off the ship. He's taken over the port. It'd be strange if something big hadn't happened on the island," Bege said.
Rod's face darkened, and he snorted coldly, "That traitor Rodger! Did he give you any trouble?"
"Not at all. Any one of my men could take down his entire crew," Bege scoffed dismissively. "Old man, tell me what's been going on. Now that I'm back, everything will return to the way it was."
"My good son, the situation on the island isn't as simple as you think. Sit down first, and I'll tell you everything from the beginning," Rod sighed, gesturing for Bege to sit.
"It all started a year and a half ago. Rodger somehow got connected with the Black Tiger Pirates. He used their power to attack the family's businesses. Over the past year and a half, our businesses have plummeted. Then, Rodger incited the other branches of the family to turn against me, seizing a large portion of our businesses. Now, I only control the businesses on Sassi Island; Rodger has practically stolen all our overseas operations," Rod explained.
"The Black Tiger Pirates? Are they the ones with a captain who has a bounty of fifty million?" Bege frowned, asking.
"That's right. Their captain, Lilos, is a Devil Fruit user, incredibly vicious and cruel, and also extremely strong. The Navy has tried to capture them several times, but they've always escaped. I used to have business dealings with the Black Tiger Pirates, but Rodger offered them a bigger cut, so they chose to help him," Rod said gravely.
Bege's lips curled into an excited grin. "A bounty of fifty million, hehehe. Old man, leave the Black Tiger Pirates to me. I'll personally cut off his head."
"Son, Lilos is no ordinary character. Don't be reckless," Rod said sternly.
"Old man, without exaggerating, even if Lilos's bounty was over a hundred million, I'd still be able to fight him," Bege declared proudly.
"Are you serious?" Rod was startled, his expression a mix of surprise and doubt.
"Rod, Bege's strength is no joke. In these two years, I've also made significant progress, basically comparable to a Navy Commodore, but I still can't beat Bege," Modi spoke up.
Rod's face lit up with a mixture of delight, astonishment, and disbelief... a whirlwind of emotions. After seeing Modi's firm nod, he burst into joyous laughter, his booming voice echoing throughout the house.
"Good, good! My son has made me proud! Your old man finally doesn't have to swallow his anger anymore."
"Old man, tonight, we start cleaning up Sassi Island. Then, we'll go take down the Black Tiger Pirates," Bege said, a fierce glint in his eyes.
"Alright, this time, we'll thoroughly cleanse the Capone family. All the branches that sided with Rodger will be eliminated." Rod's eyes held an even fiercer glint. As the mafia boss of Sassi Island, Rod's heart was even harder and more ruthless.
Bege had no particular feelings for the other branches of the Capone family, especially since the Capone family was a notorious mafia organization. Almost all the family members had blood on their hands; they were not good people. Even if they died, Bege wouldn't feel much pity.
Rod immediately summoned his subordinates to begin gathering gang members. The family headquarters filled with black-suited mafia members.
"Is this all that's left? Looks like you've had a really tough time, old man," Bege said, his gaze growing colder as he looked at the hundred-odd mafia members before him. Two years ago, Rod had a thousand gang members under his command, with three to four hundred core combat members.
"Tonight, everything will return to how it should be," Bege said, a cigar in his mouth, his eyes flashing with intense confidence.
Suddenly, the mansion gates were violently smashed open, and a large group of fierce thugs wearing black suits with white ribbons tied around their shoulders stormed in.
These thugs, armed with machetes and guns, quickly surrounded Bege and his group in the courtyard, their weapons trained on them.
Then, Rodger, accompanied by a group of well-dressed men, walked in through the gate. Rodger, with a cigar in his mouth and a smile on his face, stood in the middle of the group, looking at Rod, and laughed, "Big Brother Rod, what are you planning to do, gathering all these people?"