Chapter 4: The Beast Awakens
Before the trembling lackey could answer, Charlotte already knew the truth.
His instincts, or maybe something deeper, whispered the answer straight into his mind. There was no need for words.
So instead, Charlotte turned toward the others—three still-hesitating gangsters—and killed them on the spot.
One, two, three.
Thuds, gasps, blood.
"Aaghh!"
Blood sprayed across the face of the last survivor. He collapsed to his knees, pale and shaking.
"P-please! Don't kill me! I'll do anything!"
The man's forehead hit the dirt as he kowtowed, begging for his life with each breath.
Charlotte's gaze was cold.
"Get up. Take me to your boss's manor."
The man flinched—then blinked, almost disbelieving.
"Yes! Y-yes, of course!"
As long as he was useful, he still had value. That meant he might live.
Shaking from head to toe, the thug climbed to his feet and led Charlotte westward through the sleeping streets of town, toward the Wild Wolf Gang's headquarters.
The manor wasn't extravagant, but it was large—especially by the standards of this rundown port town. Bess's turf. The Wild Wolf Gang's den.
Charlotte didn't knock. He just walked through the front gates like he owned the place.
A pair of guards at the entrance stepped forward.
"Hey, you—"
"Wait," another said, grabbing his partner's arm. "Look behind him."
Trailing behind Charlotte was a single survivor, face drenched in blood, eyes wild with fear.
The guards fell silent.
They understood without needing to ask: Bess was dead.
Everyone in the gang knew what their boss had planned tonight. If he hadn't come back and one of his boys had, this could only mean one thing.
Charlotte didn't speak. He moved through the manor like a phantom until they reached the study, where a steel safe sat against the far wall.
"Is this it?" Charlotte asked, pointing to it.
"Y-yes!" the thug stammered. "That's the one!"
"Is it locked?"
"The key... the key was with Bess. We don't have access."
Charlotte sighed and approached the safe. He touched the cold steel, closed his eyes—and then opened them again.
"Cut it open."
"Huh?"
"Get me tools and break it open."
"Y-yes, boss!"
The man dashed off, eager to obey.
Charlotte watched him go, then called out, "What's your name?"
The man froze mid-step. "I-Ivan! Ivan, sir!"
"Good. You'll run this gang for me from now on. I'm not interested in managing the Wild Wolf Gang myself—but you'll make sure everything it owns serves me. Can you handle that?"
Ivan stared at him wide-eyed for a second—then nodded so fast it was a blur.
"Yes, boss! I'll manage the gang! I'll make sure everything supports you!"
Charlotte nodded. "Good. Get the safe open, then come find me."
He waved Ivan off and sank into the overstuffed sofa behind the desk.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he relaxed.
Damn, I'm tired...
He closed his eyes.
And slept.
The next morning.
Sunlight filtered through the high windows of the manor. Charlotte stirred awake to the sound of footsteps.
A line of maids in clean uniforms approached, carrying water basins and towels. They didn't say a word, simply bowed and waited for Charlotte to wash up.
He blinked at them groggily.
Servants, huh?
After they finished and left the room, he flopped back down on the sofa with a groan.
"This is how corruption starts…"
He gazed up at the ceiling. "Soft couches. Pretty maids. It's all a trap."
But then he sat up, clenched his fist, and grinned.
"No. I'm not going soft. I'll become strong—unbreakable."
Charlotte stepped out into the courtyard of the manor, where a dozen Wild Wolf Gang thugs now stood in clean suits, heads bowed at sharp angles.
"Boss!" they shouted in unison.
Charlotte gave them a casual wave and walked past them. He didn't care about managing people. That's why Ivan existed.
Ivan jogged over to him, flushed with success.
"Boss! The entire Wild Wolf Gang now serves you. No one's resisting. They've all submitted."
"Good. They're yours to handle," Charlotte said. "If I need something, I'll call you."
"Yes, boss!"
Charlotte wasn't worried about betrayal. Ivan might try something someday—but what could he possibly do? Charlotte could crush him with a glance.
And besides… Charlotte had awakened something far more terrifying last night.
Observation Haki.
He hadn't even realized it at first. But when the bullet had come, his body had sensed the danger—predicted it. He had tilted his head without even thinking.
That wasn't just instinct. That was foresight.
And then, when he touched others—he could hear them. Thoughts. Emotions.
Mind reading.
"So this is Observation Haki, huh? Mine's insane."
Charlotte figured it must've been the result of his strange condition—two souls fused into one body. His perception had been off the charts ever since he left the mountain.
"And this body… it's not normal, either."
For an entire year, he'd trained alone in the wilderness. Any injury he suffered healed overnight with a full meal and some sleep.
That kind of recovery wasn't natural.
"I can't waste this."
Charlotte began training immediately.
His custom iron equipment wasn't finished yet, so he started with bodyweight drills and improvised weights.
A week passed in a blur.
Every day, he returned to the mountain.
Every night, he pushed himself further.
He didn't touch swordsmanship yet. First, he had to master his body.
Weighted runs, one-armed lifts, squats, jumps. From lifting a ton to two, to three—his training escalated faster than any normal human could survive.
People started to talk.
A hunter spotted Charlotte sprinting through the woods with a boulder the size of a wagon strapped to his back.
Another swore he saw him squatting with a stone twenty times his size.
Stories spread like wildfire.
"Did you hear about that kid Charlotte?"
"They say he's the son of a god!"
"No, he's Hercules reborn!"
"My cousin swears he saw him leap a river while lifting a boulder! A boulder!"
Traders passing through town began to hear the tales. At first, they dismissed them as bar gossip—but the rumors kept spreading.
Charlotte's name became a local legend.
Back at the manor…
"Haaaaaah!"
Charlotte collapsed into a chair, sweat dripping down his body.
"FOOD! BRING IT—NOW!"
Servants rushed in with trays stacked high with roast meat, soup, and fresh bread.
Charlotte didn't wait. He tore into the feast like a starving beast, swallowing meat whole—bones and all.
Plates clattered to the floor, stripped bare.
It was a monstrous appetite to match his monstrous training.
And yet…
This was only the beginning.
Charlotte had plans.
And the world had no idea what was coming.