West Blue, Nostra Island. The headquarters of the Capone Mafia Family.
Capone Bege was a notoriously short man, standing at only 166 cm (5'5"). In the One Piece world, where ordinary humans routinely reached massive heights, his stature was extremely rare for a fully grown adult. Yet, as Bege sat silently in the single, dominant chair at the head of the conference room, his sheer aura projected a suffocating pressure that kept every single Capone Family executive completely silent. They only spoke when explicitly addressed.
"Vito. How is the operation proceeding?" Bege asked, taking a slow puff of his cigar.
"Everything is running smoothly, Godfather," Vito replied, his long tongue flicking out nervously. "Give us half a month, and we'll have the daily itineraries and travel routes for the heads of the other four Great Families."
"Excellent. Gotti. Crank up the pressure on the buffer gangs. Make sure everyone is moving exactly where we want them."
"Yes, Godfather."
"As for the rest of you—"
Before Bege could finish his orders, the heavy conference room doors were violently thrown open. A panicked family member scrambled into the room, gasping for breath. "Godfather! It's an emergency! We have intruders! A group of people just fell right out of the sky and landed directly in front of the manor gates!"
Capone Bege's face instantly darkened. Without a word, he drew his pistol, aimed it at the panicked subordinate, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet struck the man squarely in the shoulder, sending him flying backward through the doorway.
"Do not panic," Bege ordered coldly, his voice echoing in the silent room. "Everyone, execute the primary defense protocols. Let's go see who has the absolute sheer nerve to trespass into the headquarters of the Capone Family."
With a thought, Bege activated his Devil Fruit powers. A massive swarm of armed mobsters rushed toward him from the adjacent rooms. As they approached, they rapidly shrank down to the size of action figures, seamlessly marching into the miniature castle doors located on Bege's abdomen.
As a Castle Human, Bege's internal body was a literal, fully functioning, heavily armed fortress. The moment his crew entered, they mobilized with practiced efficiency. Snipers took positions at the miniature windows along his collarbone, cannoneers loaded heavy artillery on his chest, and a fully mounted cavalry unit lined up near his waist, ready to charge out at a moment's notice.
Flanked only by his top two executives, Vito and Gotti, Bege walked out to the front of his estate.
It was bizarre. The intruders had dropped directly onto his front lawn, yet they hadn't launched an attack. They were just standing there, waiting. Bege couldn't fathom what their objective was.
At the manor gates, Bardock and his crew were completely surrounded by heavily armed Capone Family mobsters who had rushed in to respond to the alarm. The mobsters held the high ground along the walls and balconies, dozens of rifles aimed squarely at the small group. Bardock's crew didn't move, and the Capone Family didn't fire—they were waiting for Bege's order.
"Not bad at all. These guys are well-trained elites," Bardock praised genuinely, looking around at the disciplined mobsters. "Capone Bege really knows how to run a crew!"
"Hey, Bardock... isn't this way too arrogant?!" Perona whispered, sweating nervously as she stared down the barrels of dozens of rifles. "There are so many guns pointing at us! Let me get out of here first so I can hide my physical body!"
This was the first time she had ever been surrounded by a firing squad. She deeply regretted not asking for the full plan before they landed. If she had known this was the strategy, she would have just flown in as an intangible ghost!
Robin, Leo, and Mansherry, however, were completely calm. They had witnessed Bardock's Conqueror's Haki instantly knock out a ship full of people, and Robin had personally experienced its pressure. Daz Bonez simply stood like a statue, fully trusting his captain. If Bardock chose to land directly in the center of an enemy encirclement, he had a good reason for it. Besides, ordinary firearms couldn't even scratch him. He was currently scanning the crowd, looking for Capone Bege.
When Bege finally stepped out of the manor, he stopped and stared. 'Just six people? Six people have the audacity to invade the Capone Family?'
Seeing the main event arrive, Bardock smirked, deciding to adopt Trafalgar Law's signature speech pattern just for fun. "Capone-ya. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Bardock of the Dandelion Organization, and these are my crewmates. We apologize for the sudden intrusion, but we have a small favor to ask of you, Capone-ya. I hope you don't mind."
While Bege instinctively realized this group of six wasn't ordinary, he was the Godfather of the Capone Mafia Family. He couldn't afford to show an ounce of weakness or hesitation in his own stronghold, in front of his entire crew. Furthermore, there was nothing Bege loved more than watching arrogant enemies march into his territory only to be effortlessly crushed under his heel.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Bege sneered, puffing his cigar. "Dandelion Organization? Never heard of it! Men, kill them!"
Click-clack!
Dozens of rifles cocked simultaneously. Inside Bege's body, his internal army aimed their artillery and lit their cannon fuses.
"Hmph. I can't let your fodder get in the way of a good fight," Bardock sighed.
A terrifying, invisible pressure exploded outward from Bardock's body. The focused wave of Conqueror's Haki violently washed over the entire Capone Family.
Before a single trigger could be pulled, the mobsters felt as if their souls had been struck by a sledgehammer. Their eyes rolled into the backs of their heads, and they collapsed like dominos, foaming at the mouth.
Within seconds, the only people left standing in the entire Capone Family were Bege, Vito, and Gotti. The two executives were swaying heavily on their feet, the mental shock completely disrupting their aim.
"What... what is this power?!" Bege gasped, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. "He knocked everyone out instantly?!"
This ability was a complete and utter hard-counter to his entire combat style. A massive portion of his internal army had been knocked unconscious as well, rendering his fortress practically defenseless.
"Alright, Bonez. Have at him," Bardock gestured toward Bege.
"Yes, Boss." Daz Bonez cracked his knuckles and began walking menacingly toward the Godfather.
"You think we'll just let you pass?!" Vito and Gotti roared, fiercely loyal to the end. Having finally shaken off the Haki induced dizziness, they raised their guns to fire at Bonez.
"Negative Hollow!"
Perona wasn't going to just stand around. Having finally recovered from her own shock at Bardock's Haki, she immediately summoned two glowing ghosts and sent them flying forward.
"I talk too much... it's because my tongue is so disgustingly long... I just want to be a quiet, handsome boy..." "Everyone definitely talks about my bad temper behind my back... they call me baldy... it's not my fault I'm balding..."
The ghosts phased straight through Vito and Gotti's chests. The two executives instantly dropped to their hands and knees, assuming the classic position of utter despair as they sobbed out their deepest insecurities.
"I'll stitch you! Stitch you! Stitch you!"
Leo dashed forward in a blur. His needle flashed in the sunlight, instantly sewing the two depressed executives directly to the brick wall of the manor. They couldn't even twitch a finger.
"Vito! Gotti!" Bege yelled in disbelief. In the blink of an eye, his two top lieutenants had been completely neutralized. Who the hell were these people?! They had so many bizarre, terrifying Devil Fruit abilities!
Now it was just him against all of them. But surrendering was absolutely out of the question.
"You think you've got me cornered?! Don't you dare look down on me!" Bege roared. "Castle Tank!"
Bege's legs retracted into his body and transformed into heavy tank treads. He rapidly accelerated backward, firing his pistol wildly at the approaching Daz Bonez.
He had quickly analyzed the situation. They were sending the tall, thick-lipped guy to fight him one-on-one. Until there was a clear victor, the rest of them probably wouldn't intervene. Bege refused to believe his men would stay unconscious forever. If he could just stall for time and survive this fight, his army would eventually wake up, and the advantage would shift back to him.
Clang! Clang!
Daz Bonez didn't even bother dodging. The bullets struck his chest and ricocheted off harmlessly with the distinct sound of metal striking metal.
"Dammit! Another Devil Fruit user. This is going to be annoying," Bege cursed, continuing to kite the bounty hunter with his tank treads while formulating a plan.
Unfortunately for Bege, Daz Bonez had already mapped out the tank treads' movement patterns during their brief chase.
"Atomic Spurt!"
Daz Bonez vanished, instantly reappearing right next to Bege, and unleashed a ferocious barrage of blade-strikes.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The sound of steel hacking against solid stone echoed through the courtyard. Bege had instantly activated his Devil Fruit defense, turning his skin into the impenetrable outer walls of a fortress. His stone defense was incredibly sturdy, possessing a hardness equivalent to steel.
"You brats forced my hand!" Bege roared furiously, blood trickling from his forehead from the sheer impact of the blows. "Castle: Big Father!"