Chapter 67: A Visit to the Bartow Family
by xennovel“I wonder what surprises this seed will bring me?”
“Let’s go pay the Bartow family a visit.”
Karl came to Loguetown with one goal in mind—to meet the Bartow family.
After all, the Bartow family is one of the mafias ruling Loguetown. They survived all the way until the beginning of the original story.
Though they eventually declined, I still remember how in the original Bartolomeo would run into trouble and seek out an old woman named Granny—presumably his grandmother. She served as a barely passable backup for the family, but to be fair, the Bartow family managed to survive right up until the opening of the original plot.
Karl had no idea how long his plan would take, so he figured he’d try to grow his power with the family’s help if possible.
“Who goes there?”
“Kid, you’re not allowed in here!”
“Brat, get lost! Don’t hang around.”
Karl had just arrived at the entrance to the Bartow family’s estate when two tall men in suits—each a head shorter than him—moved to block his way.
They spotted White Tiger and looked a little nervous, but didn’t panic right away.
Seeing Karl trying to walk into the courtyard, they hurried to stop him.
“Is this the Bartow family residence?”
Karl glanced at the two gatekeepers. Finding men that tall in East Blue wasn’t easy.
“What’s your deal, kid? You looking for trouble?”
The man in black on the left crossed his arms and sneered at Karl.
Now that he’d confirmed this was the Bartow family, Karl lost interest in talking to people like them.
“Then I’m in the right place.”
“Get out of here, get out! You don’t belong here.”
The guy on the right sighed impatiently, hurried down the steps and tried to shove Karl away.
“Vmmm!”
“Ugh!”
Just as the man reached the bottom step, his eyes rolled back, body stiffening before he toppled right toward Karl.
“Thud!”
“Hey! What did you do to him?”
“Kid, you’re in trouble now! Even the Navy doesn’t dare mess with the Bartow family.”
“You got a death wish? I can help with that!”
The burly man on the left jumped down the steps, fists swinging as he charged Karl in a rage.
“Whap!”
“Stop making trouble. Take a nap instead.”
The big man stared, shocked that Karl had so easily caught his punch.
“Boom!”
Karl gripped his attacker’s fist with his left hand then kicked him hard—sending the guy crashing straight through the front gate.
“Bullseye! Awesome!”
With a grin flashing pearly white teeth, Karl gave himself a thumbs-up outside the gate, then strolled inside.
“Who’s there? Someone’s making trouble!”
“Quick, get over here! Someone’s causing trouble!”
“Stomp stomp stomp!”
Karl stepped through the gate. Behind him, White Tiger lay stretched across the entrance, blocking the door with his massive body.
The courtyard was already filled with mafia members.
“Who are you, sir? What brings you here?”
A man from the Bartow family stepped out of the crowd to survey Karl.
His expression was tense. Was this man sent by a rival gang—or did the family mess up somewhere else?
Maybe the family had stirred up someone they shouldn’t have.
The Bartow family’s rule was to keep a low profile. Protection rackets were their main business since the gangs who caused trouble had all been wiped out.
Actually, the mafia in East Blue was never as powerful as in West Blue. Ever since Garp became a Vice Admiral and saw how the Celestial Dragons behaved, he’d use trips home as an excuse to skip work—so both pirates and mafias in East Blue were always far fewer than in the other three seas.
“You’re the leader of the Bartow family?”
“That’s me. What do you want?”
Once Karl heard him admit it, he swept his gaze over the hall full of people.
“What I’m about to say isn’t for everyone’s ears.”
“Mind if I clear the room first?”
“What do you mean?”
Before the Bartow man could finish, he felt Karl’s presence change; in his eyes Karl’s figure seemed to grow taller and taller, sparking an uncontrollable urge to submit.
“Thud!”
“Thud!”
Even as he fought back, he saw his men collapse one after another.
“What kind of power is this? What did you do to them?”
The Bartow man’s face went pale. He thought this stranger had killed his men with a Devil Fruit power.
“Relax, I’m just clearing the room. They’re still alive.”
“But whether they stay that way… who’s to say.”
Karl smiled gently. It looked friendly—but to the Bartow man, it was deadly dangerous.
In the Bartow man’s eyes, Karl’s grin spelled fatal danger.
“Now it’s time to hear my terms.”
Just as before, Karl conjured a golden throne with the Golden Light Spell, sat down and looked down at the Bartow man.
…
“Do it exactly as I said.”
“If you fail, you really don’t want to know the consequences.”
At the Bartow family’s gate, Karl waved a hand, signaling White Tiger to follow as they left.
The Bartow man glanced at the clay pellets in his right hand, quickly stowed them away, then rushed to wake his fallen men.
Once everyone was awake, he headed inside, face grim. He’d have to change tactics going forward.
“Let’s hope none of you does anything stupid.”
“Don’t make me come back here.”
Not far away, Karl looked back at the Bartow estate.
“Well, guess I’ll go and soak up Loguetown’s local color.”
“May as well, since I’m here, right?”
Worried White Tiger might cause panic, he left him in the forest behind Loguetown.
Karl spent the next two days enjoying what East Blue’s Loguetown had to offer.
“Brrruu brruu!”
Just as Karl was flirting with a divorced beauty in the amusement park, his Transponder Snail suddenly rang.
“Sorry about that, beautiful.”
His face stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered.
“Haha, go ahead, mister. Take your call.”
The alluring woman smiled, snapping open her fan as she sashayed into the park.
Karl grinned after her, though a moment later his thoughts ran wild. Did something actually…? No, no way—not possible.
“Listen, if this isn’t important and you’re bothering me, you’re dead.”
As he watched the woman disappear, Karl’s gaze sharpened.
“My apologies for interrupting, Mr. Karl.”
Johann opened with a polite greeting.
He sat in the Wiktor Pirates’ base on the Jixing Archipelago, holding Wiktor’s bloody head in his hand, nerves showing as he spoke to Karl.
“I’m Johann. I’ve already taken Wiktor’s head.”
“I’m not sure how to prove it, though.”
Hearing Johann’s anxious tone, Karl paused. He hadn’t expected him to act so quickly—it was a surprise.
“Hmm, what island are you on right now?”
On hearing this, Karl’s first instinct was to use a special trick to check his surroundings.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t acquired that kind of skill yet. For now, he’d have to go in person. He was getting desperate for an ability that would let him monitor others remotely.
“I’m on the Jixing Archipelago, just east of Loguetown.”
“Due east, directly from Loguetown!”
“Wait there. I’ll be there soon.”
After Johann gave the location, Karl hung up his Transponder Snail.
He glanced once more in the direction where the beautiful woman disappeared—already long gone.
Karl wore a mischievous grin. If only he could’ve…
“Mommy, why does that man have such a weird smile?”
A little girl piped up, pointing at Karl’s mischievous face.
“Don’t look, honey. Don’t look.”
The mother knew those looks all too well. She quickly covered her daughter’s eyes and hurried away.
Karl snapped out of it, spotted the departing mother and daughter, then scratched his head awkwardly, changed direction and whistled nonchalantly as he headed toward White Tiger.