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However, Luno barely ran two steps.
Shave (Soru)!
A figure flashed and appeared in front of him. Victor kicked Luno hard in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground. As for the few who had managed to endure the Conqueror's Haki baptism, they were also quickly subdued by the combined efforts of the Shadow Dragon Guard Reservists!
Carina looked at the captured Luno, a cold smile on her face.
"Send a message to the Five Families! Ask them why their people would launch a night raid on the Royal Palace!"
"If they cannot provide me with a satisfactory answer, then the Five Families will no longer have any reason to exist!"
Luno's heart instantly plummeted. This was a declaration of all-out war!
The Five Families, unaware of Carina's true power, would certainly be enraged and charge in!
At that point, who knew how many lives would be lost! Thinking of the horrific scene, Luno's body couldn't stop trembling. It was now that he finally understood the meaning of Bege's words that night.
It was they who had been the truly arrogant ones!
Unfortunately, it was too late for repentance.
Luno and the others were all taken away. The two thousand thugs would either be assigned to military service or forced into labor, tackling strenuous and dangerous jobs.
With this, Carina became instantly famous. She was revered as a goddess by the Imperial Guards who had witnessed the entire process. The Ether Kingdom's morale surged, and unity was finally achieved.
Having cleaned up the aftermath, Carina was about to retire for the evening when a beautiful figure stepped out of the shadows. Victor instinctively shielded Carina, but the moment he recognized the person, he lowered his head respectfully.
"Supervisor Kalifa!"
The tall, blonde Kalifa approached, looking at Carina with approval.
"Well done! To initially grasp Conqueror's Haki and unite the entire kingdom in such a short time."
"The Soul King-sama's decision to send you here was truly perceptive!"
Carina had met Kalifa in Water Seven and knew she was a high-ranking official. She spoke earnestly, "Everything is for the Soul King-sama! Supervisor Kalifa, have you come with new orders from the Soul King-sama?"
Seeing Carina's fanatical expression, Kalifa smiled.
"No new orders, actually! The Soul King-sama was concerned you might lose control of your Conqueror's Haki and the situation might spiral out of hand, so he sent me to be your safety net!"
Hearing this, Carina instantly blushed. Ah! The Soul King-sama is too gentle!
He even worries about my safety!
I must conquer the entire West Blue and offer it as a gift to the Soul King-sama!
Kalifa adjusted her glasses.
"Additionally, given the limited current strength of your Ether Kingdom, I will lead a portion of the Shadow Dragon Guard to assist you." Kalifa waved her right hand, and twelve Shadow Dragon Guard members emerged from behind.
These were not the Reservists like Victor's team, but Kalifa's own direct, genuine elites—the Thorn Squad!
All of them had mastered the Six Powers and two forms of Haki! With their strength, they could easily have dealt with those two thousand men.
"That's wonderful!" Carina's eyes lit up. She asked curiously, "Supervisor Kalifa, where do you plan to start?"
Kalifa smiled coldly, her tone dominant and full of killing intent.
"Haven't we already established evidence that the Five Families invaded the Ether Kingdom?"
"Then we will counterattack, one family at a time!"
The Five Families might be the strongest powers in the West Blue, but the West Blue was vast. Kalifa had no intention of slowly fighting them for every single island.
How long would it be before she could return to Water Seven to report to the Soul King-sama then?
To catch the bandits, first catch the king! She would solve the problem once and for all!
"The strongest of the Five Families is the Gambino Family, correct? We'll start by collecting some interest from them!"
Kalifa's face held a faint smile, but the killing intent radiating from her sent shivers down everyone's spines!
A few days later, on New York Island. Karl was on the phone, his face gloomy. On the other end were the heads of the other Five Families.
"I trust you've all received the letter of accountability from the Ether Kingdom? What are your thoughts?"
No sooner had Karl finished speaking than a furious voice erupted like firecrackers. Bonanno Barnes, the Godfather of the Bonanno Family, raged, "This is a provocation against our Five Families! We must make the Ether Kingdom pay with blood!"
"Otherwise, what authority do the Five Families have left in the West Blue?"
Leone said, "I agree with Barnes! We must retaliate! But the question is, how do we hit back?"
"If we openly declare war on the Ether Kingdom, we break the rules!"
"If the West Blue descends into chaos, it could attract the World Government! They have been watching the West Blue for a long time, eager to acquire more member nations!"
For the World Government, the more member nations they had, the more Heavenly Tribute (Tenryuukin) they could collect. Because of the Five Families, the West Blue was more stable than other regions, making it difficult for the World Government to manipulate the smaller nations.
But given the slightest opportunity, the World Government would descend like a scavenging hyena, tearing the place apart!
"We don't necessarily need to declare war ourselves." At that moment, a rather refined-looking man spoke. Columbo Mike, the Godfather of the Colombo Family.
He scanned the others and said slowly, "We can combine our efforts to find a country near the Ether Kingdom."
"Have them provoke a conflict with the Ether Kingdom, then declare war! Our men can then fight under that country's flag!"
"A war between two countries won't cause widespread chaos, at least."
This was indeed a feasible plan!
The group quickly reached a consensus and found a suitable small nation. It was only two days' sail from the Ether Kingdom, and the Five Families controlled over seventy percent of its economy. They didn't even need much coercion; the King agreed to their demands. All that was left was to dispatch the men.
Having settled this, Karl exhaled deeply, leaning back in his chair, feeling somewhat exhausted.
"Mary, bring me a cup of coffee!" Karl called out to his maid.
But after a long silence, there was no reply. Karl's heart skipped a beat, and he looked down, reaching for the famous sword hidden in his desk drawer.
SWISH!
A whip tightly coiled around his neck, pulling him directly from his chair. Kalifa's figure gradually materialized from transparency, causing Karl's eyes to widen in shock.
"P-please spare me! I have money! I can give you lots of money! And jewels!"
Kalifa's beautiful face showed a hint of coldness.
"You obstructed the Soul King-sama's plan. You deserve death!"
"Besides, once you are dead, your wealth is mine anyway!"
CRACK!
Karl's neck snapped, and his body slumped heavily onto the floor. Outside the study door, the twelve members of the Thorn Squad slowly walked in. Behind them lay the corpse-strewn Gambino estate.
Ten days later, a piece of news swept through the West Blue like a hurricane. The Five Families, who had dominated the West Blue for over a century, were utterly massacred! And a small kingdom named Ether began its rapid rise!
With the wealth of the Five Families, coupled with the support of the Shadow Dragon Guard and the Capone Family, the Ether Kingdom absorbed all the surrounding nations within a few months. Its territory expanded fivefold! Its national power was indisputably the strongest in the West Blue!
The World Government quickly reacted, initiating a massive intervention in the West Blue and establishing multiple new Marine branches. But the Ether Kingdom's momentum was unstoppable.
Complete domination of the West Blue was now only a matter of time!