In the center of the spacious, luxurious hall, an extra long dining table was covered with dazzling dishes that made mouths water.
Seated around it were guests of all shapes and sizes, men and women alike. They were the Gambino family's core members, the highest level leadership of the entire organization.
At the head of the table sat a middle aged man who looked completely ordinary.
He wore a plain black suit. His face was unremarkable, but his eyes shone with a sharp light that made people avoid meeting his gaze.
This man was the helmsman of the Gambino family, Gambino Ante.
It was the Gambino family's dinner time.
By the strict rules Ante had set, aside from cadres who could not return in time due to missions, everyone had to come back at this hour, share the meal, and report the latest developments from each branch.
"Boss, I heard some kingdom called Ze something hurt our people? In the West Blue, there's actually still a country with the guts to provoke the Gambino family?"
As dinner continued, after the cadres reported on their territories as usual, they began chatting casually.
At that moment, a burly bald man spoke. What drew attention was his right arm, which had been modified into a firearm. He pointed it toward Ante and asked in a heavy voice.
Ante sat at the head seat, calmly cutting a piece of beef. He said nothing. His eyes were as still as water, giving no hint of what he was thinking.
"Heh, it's real."
Across from the bald man sat a man wearing a hat. He tipped his head back and took a swig of liquor, then looked toward a woman seated beside Ante. A meaningful smile curled on his lips as he said, "Speaking of it, that Zephyr Kingdom business was handled by Milan, right? Looks like big sis made a little mistake this time."
The woman called Milan smiled alluringly. She looked at the man in the hat and spoke softly, "Clyde, tell your big sister, are you trying to say I handled it poorly?"
"Milan, you can't just throw words around like that. How would I dare mean that?" The man in the hat took another slow sip and replied unhurriedly.
Milan's charming smile deepened, but a cold killing intent flickered quietly in her beautiful eyes.
Including the bald man, all the cadres present wisely chose to keep silent and not butt in.
Everyone knew that even among cadres, there were clear differences.
Take this woman named Milan and that man named Clyde. One was a powerful Devil Fruit user. The other was a swordsman with deep skill.
In daily life, the two were always clashing, constantly at odds. At this point, everyone was used to it.
"Alright, that's enough."
At this moment, Ante, the Gambino family's highest leader who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.
His voice was calm, but it carried an unquestionable authority. Whether it was Milan or Clyde, both quieted immediately.
Because everyone understood that within the Gambino family, the strongest was not the swordsman Clyde, nor the Devil Fruit user Milan, but the seemingly ordinary Gambino Ante, their leader.
"Milan, tomorrow you'll take people and go to the Zephyr Kingdom again. Since they dared lay hands on us, they must pay the price. Don't bother making them submit anymore. Wipe them out directly." Ante spoke evenly as he wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
"Understood, boss." Milan nodded, and a cruel look surfaced on her alluring face.
Seeing this, the other cadres also stopped talking.
Because they all knew that if Milan was personally making another trip, then the Zephyr Kingdom was not far from destruction.
However
Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom!
A series of deafening explosions came faintly from four directions.
Those heavy sounds carried clearly through the quiet night sky, reaching everyone inside the great manor.
"What's going on? Where is that coming from?"
All the cadres jolted. They couldn't help standing up and looking out the windows.
But outside was pitch black. They couldn't see what was happening at all.
"But the direction those sounds came from it seems" One cadre frowned deeply, thinking hard about the direction. Then as if he suddenly realized something, he whipped his head around and shouted toward Ante in panic, "Boss, something's wrong! That sound seems like it came from the docks!"
"What?!" The moment those words fell, every cadre's face changed. Even Ante, who was usually steady, could not stay calm. A flicker of panic crossed his expression.
An enemy attack.
That thought flashed through everyone's mind like lightning, sending a chill down their spines.
Moor Island, where the Gambino family was entrenched, was isolated offshore, surrounded by water on all sides. The island's four docks were key facilities for the family's operations.
If the docks were damaged, they would be like beasts trapped in a cage, with nowhere to run.
And if the enemy then bombarded the island with heavy firepower, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Could it be those two families finally can't hold back anymore and decided to move?" Ante's expression darkened as he guessed internally.
In the West Blue, aside from the Navy, the only ones who would dare challenge the Gambino family were the other two mafia families with comparable standing.
Bang!
At that moment, the hall's door was slammed open. A mafia member rushed in, pale as paper, shouting in terror, "Boss, something terrible happened! Just now, Docks 1 through 4 all lost contact with us!"
"What?!" Ante and all the cadres went deathly pale.
Docks 1 through 4 lost contact all at the same time?
How was that possible?
Across the entire West Blue, even those other two mafia families, even the Navy, could never pull off something like this.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]