One Piece: Please Call Me Godfather!

Reinhardt and Jackson also interacted with Bartolomeo while returning to the naval base with Colonel Francklin here.

On the way back, silent and speechless, Francklin suddenly spoke up, "That kid has more tricks up his sleeve than I expected, using the extermination of external enemies and the elimination of traitors to establish dominance, directly making the entire family his own."

"His powerful personal strength, combined with the family he's now woven into a rope, truly is a troublesome bastard!"

Colonel of Loguetown sighed, "Why does someone like him have to show up in the Grand Line?"

The lieutenant spoke, "Colonel, should we report to the headquarters?"

"Report, my ass!"

Francklin angrily responded, "If the headquarters knew, would they think I couldn't even handle a local snake in the East Blue? How could I then peacefully retire?"

"Keep a close watch on them, that kid is definitely not the obedient type, they will definitely make a move!"

"Once they show their true colors, I'll let them know just how hard the Navy's Iron Fist really is!"

Reinhardt did not immediately have Bartolomeo take action, after all, the kid was severely wounded by him and still needed time to recover.

At the same time, Jackson's friendly competition required some time as well.

Reinhardt wasn't in a hurry, he knew that in the end, what was his would always be his, no one could take it from him.

Lately, he had been busy with the family connections.

The patriarch represented authority, but was far from the real power.

There were also heavy responsibilities.

Although it wasn't necessary for him to do everything himself, he still needed to understand the general situation of the family's business.

Reinhardt had been working on this for the past few days.

This state continued until Bartolomeo joyfully ran up to him, shouting, "Patriarch, my body has fully recovered! Can I start the mission now?"

"Very good."

Reinhardt nodded with satisfaction, "Then I'll leave it to you, Barto. After you complete this mission, I'll teach you something interesting."

"Interesting thing?"

Bartolomeo was stunned, "What is it?"

"We'll talk about it then. You go ahead and get busy."

Reinhardt threw out the bait and continued processing the documents.

Without Reinhardt speaking, Bartolomeo had no choice but to leave, only able to close the door behind him.

Reinhardt glanced up as the door closed, then smiled. He knew from the smirk on his lips when Bartolomeo left that tonight would certainly be an interesting one.

The night, after all, had descended.

In the past few days, the underground world of Loguetown had been trembling uneasily.

Black Claw had just destroyed over a dozen small forces, bringing massive changes.

This created a situation where the Ulysses family had grown so powerful that any underground force in Loguetown was left terrified.

Everyone knew that although the Navy had recently hindered the expansion of the Ulysses family, the Navy could not remain on high alert forever. They would eventually start taking action, and by then, these small forces would be obliterated.

Therefore, within just a few short days, many small forces had already chosen to leave Loguetown.

But at the same time, many still couldn't bear to abandon their assets, trembling with fear, staying behind in Loguetown.

Ronald was one of them.

He was the leader of the Ronald family, controlling a square and thirty roads in Loguetown. Not long ago, his family had been considered a relatively large force outside of Black Claw and the Ulysses family.

He couldn't bring himself to abandon decades of hard work, so he firmly stayed in Loguetown.

What if the Navy decided to move against the Ulysses family?

He held onto this thought.

But tonight, before the Navy made their move against the Ulysses family, someone made the first move against him.

"Boom!!"

A loud crash, followed by the walls and doors being blasted apart. The clear barrier shattered through the wall, knocking down the wall and anyone behind it.

"Damn it!! Can't even stop this?!"

Ronald despaired as he looked at the large hole in the wall.

Tonight, at the meeting, the terrifying attacker arrived.

The sound of footsteps on the sand outside the hole in the wall was heard, accompanied by a shadow entering. A reckless laugh followed, "Hahaha! Isn't it better to just honestly surrender to the Patriarch?"

Ronald, holding a curved saber in one hand and a flintlock pistol in the other, gritted his teeth and said, "Bartolomeo! How could someone like you surrender to Ulysses!"

"Hahaha, who told you that the Patriarch is far beyond your imagination!"

Bartolomeo smirked and laughed, "Moreover, if you haven't seen his strength with your own eyes, you'll never understand."

That kind of power, that kind of grandeur!

It was simply impossible not to feel a sense of admiration!

"Hmph, you Ulysses people are barely able to protect yourselves, and now you're spouting nonsense to me!"

Ronald sneered, "The Navy patrols every night. If they calculate the time, they'll soon be here. Once they discover your movements, you'll just have to wait for the Navy to take action!"

"Ha, the Navy?"

Bartolomeo scratched his ear, "Who cares about them, let them come!"

"Breakthrough the barrier!"

Not far from Ronald's group, a Navy patrol team was speeding toward them. As they were about to turn onto another street, the leading Navy captain spoke, "There hasn't been any incidents here, let's change the patrol direction tonight."

The subordinates had no objections.

So, the patrol team changed direction and moved down another path.

"So?"

Bartolomeo stomped on Ronald's face, completely ignoring the man's painful cries beneath his foot, "You're relying on the Navy? Call them here and let me see."

"Ugh—"

Ronald was starting to lose consciousness.

Questions kept swirling in his mind. What exactly is going on here?

Every night, where does the Navy patrol team go?

Bartolomeo withdrew his foot, crossing his arms. As the barrier lowered onto Ronald, he continuously pressed down, forcing Ronald's body into the crate with a constant creaking sound.

"One last question—surrender, or death?"

"Throw, throw, surrender!"

In an instant, Ronald was crushed and broken, finally shouting out in desperation.

"Very good!"

Bartolomeo immediately withdrew the barrier, nodding and smiling, "Don't worry, the Patriarch has offered you very generous terms. Your subordinates will still follow your orders, and your territory will remain yours, but you must accept the family's commands."

"Really, really?"

Ronald was somewhat incredulous—could these really be the terms of surrender?

He hadn't been weakened, and Ulysses hadn't even sent anyone to control him. These terms seemed too favorable.

"Of course."

Seeing his expression, Bartolomeo knew exactly what he was thinking.

As expected, just like what the Patriarch had said.

Foolishness is still foolishness.

Once he truly experiences the Patriarch's power, he will understand what he should do.

"Then, it's settled, I agree."

Ronald awkwardly sat up. If these were the conditions, surrender didn't seem too bad. He could still operate under Ulysses' banner.

"Very good." Bartolomeo nodded with satisfaction. "Remember, tomorrow, tell all the underground forces you know about what happened tonight, including what they'll get if they surrender and what they'll face if they don't."

"...I understand."

After hearing Bartolomeo's words, Ronald knew that Loguetown could no longer avoid its fate.

The Navy might stop Ulysses from large-scale actions, but could they stop other forces from actively surrendering?

"Alright, time to keep moving!"

Bartolomeo was full of energy.

One Ronald wasn't enough, but if there were more forces willing to surrender, the effect would be much greater.