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Carlos's next plan is to contact the Moonlight Clan, and the three tasks assigned by Kaido are exactly what he wants.
He took Jack and a thousand Beasts Pirates to Oden Castle in Jiuli and settled in the mansion of the city lord. Carlos knew the identities of the Ugly Third Boy and Jiutianwan—they were retainers of the Kozuki clan, members of the Red Scabbards, and nearly as powerful as Naval Headquarters Vice Admirals. Although it wouldn't be difficult for Carlos to deal with them, his first priority was to find the whereabouts of Kozuki Hiyori, Oden's daughter. With her, it would be a matter of course to gather the retainers of the Kozuki clan.
Carlos knew that Momonosuke, Kinemon, and others had been transported to the future by Kozuki, and they wouldn't reappear for another ten years, making them irrelevant to his current plan. He asked Jack to lead 800 men to spread out and search for Kozuki Hiyori while the remaining 200 maintained order in the city.
At that time, in the square of Onigashima, the thousand pirates witnessed Carlos's terrifying strength with their own eyes. They later learned about a series of amazing deeds about him, which made everyone admire him deeply and naturally follow his orders without question. Jack, in particular, had long since become a fanboy of Carlos.
Carlos didn't idle either. He spent his time silently exercising and becoming familiar with the power of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. After half a month, he could skillfully use Amaterasu's flames and combine them with slashing attacks. This black flame slash was about 50% more powerful than in its normal state. In the state of Susanoo + Armament Haki + Amaterasu's flames, he could level a small mountain with a wave of his hand. However, this powerful state consumed too much physical energy and could only be maintained for a few minutes.
Despite these advancements, Carlos knew his current strength was not enough to kill Kaido, the strongest creature in the world. Kaido's Conqueror's Haki, Devil Fruit development, and Will to Fight were extremely powerful, with almost no shortcomings. Kaido's body had reached an unprecedented state of invulnerability, making him nearly immune to death. Carlos realized he couldn't take Kaido down with his current strength and that any backstabbing attempts would have to be extremely cautious. He concluded that he would leave such a monster to the World Government and focus on planning and backstabbing instead.
During this period, the latest newspaper from the World Economic News Agency reached Wanokuni. Carlos's reward warrant took up a lot of space in the newspaper, with a photo showing a giant eagle soaring in the sky, countless pirate ships flying the flag of the BIGMOM Pirates, and Charlotte Linlin and others looking frightened and angry. When Carlos saw the reward notice, he couldn't help but secretly complain about the World Economic News Agency's methods, wondering how they had managed to take such photos.
However, his complaints were quickly forgotten because his bounty had surpassed king and queen, reaching an astonishing 1.5 billion Baileys! The Beasts Pirates were shaken, and Kaido even held a grand banquet in Carlos's honor. They planned to give him a majestic title, but none of the ideas were to Carlos's liking, so they gave up.
During this period, Blueno delivered treasure worth one billion beli to Carlos's mansion, relying on the power of the Gate Fruit. Although both were members of CP9, this was the first time the two had met due to Carlos's undercover missions. Blueno was confused about the task but didn't ask questions, leaving immediately after delivering the goods.
Evening. City Lord's Mansion, Inner Courtyard
Carlos was training as usual when Jack's careless voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Brother Garros, we brought them back!"
Jack entered with two shackled individuals. The first was a girl who looked about sixteen, with beautiful long emerald hair and a dignified appearance. She seemed uneasy under Carlos's gaze, gently pulling at the corners of her clothes. Next to her was a short fish-man wearing a bamboo hat, casting an angry look at Carlos.
"Brother Garros, these two were tough-talking and wouldn't say anything when asked. Are they really the ones Boss Kaido wants to capture? But this fish man is quite strong."
Carlos nodded slightly. "Thank you for your hard work. Send this fishman to the Rabbit Bowl to work. As for this woman, leave her to me. By the way, take extra people when you go for Jiutianwan from Toushan. I heard that guy is pretty good."
"Don't worry, they're just a group of bandits," Jack replied, happily leading the others away amidst the fishman's angry yelling and scolding.
After sending Jack away, Carlos led the girl into the room and unlocked her shackles.
"Hello, Kozuki Hiyori."
The girl shuddered. Despite being a teenage girl, she felt at a loss when her hidden identity was revealed so bluntly. Her subtle change in expression didn't escape Carlos's keen observation.
He leisurely brewed a pot of tea and handed it to her.
"Ten years have passed since that incident. Don't you want to avenge your father, or are you waiting for that illusory agreement?"
The sound was not loud, but it was like thunder in Hiyori's ears.
"You, who are you?" she asked, trembling.
Carlos took a sip of tea. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Garros. I met Oden on the sea more than ten years ago. We were close friends."
His years of undercover work had perfected his acting skills. Carlos paused and spoke with great sadness:
"What I didn't expect was that something like this would happen later. By the time I got to Wanokuni, it was already too late. I have seen how powerful Kaido is. For this reason, I have practiced hard for so many years just to avenge Oden!"
His voice was impassioned, not seeming fake at all. Hiyori was stunned. After hesitating for a while, she said cautiously:
"Garros? But my father never mentioned this name..."