Make Our Family Great Again – Chapter 98

Before long, Viola’s subordinates brought in the remnants of the Vipers.

“Sister, we have brought them.”

The members of the organization called Viola “Sister.”

Thinking back to a minor slip-up caused by Viola’s subordinates when I visited here while still being the Underboss made me chuckle.

At that time, my title was Underboss, and Viola’s was Boss.

Since then, I couldn’t tell whether Viola had been given a warning or if they themselves found it strange.

“….”

“Godfather? Is there something wrong?”

“Ah, no.”

At Viola’s question, I once again focused on the scene before me.

Right in front of me were the remnants of the Vipers, who had come into Viola’s territory. But it seemed that not all snake humans were the same; the ones before me were a bit different compared to what I’d seen so far.

They looked nothing like the one that had stuck to the elephant’s belly in Russo’s mansion.

If I recalled correctly, there had been one with a snake tail for a lower body as well.

Yet the ones in front of me had two perfectly normal legs for a lower body.

And they had the round eyes and hunched posture typical of snakes.

Given the current situation, it might be an inappropriate expression, but they looked more cute than threatening.

As Viola gestured, they elegantly bowed their heads towards me.

“Godfather.”

“You there. What’s your name?”

“I’m Angela.”

I pointed out one of the snake people—she introduced herself as Angela.

“Are there no other Vipers besides Angela among you?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Yeah, that seemed about right.

Even if they were snake people, Vipers were bound to stand out. They were creations shaped by the Five Families.

Vipers belong to one of the younger organizations under the Five Families.

The Vipers were established, of course, before my father conquered the Five Families. Back when he was at the height of his powers as the leader of the Wolves.

In a way, the history of a single organization could be shorter than that of a single individual.

I had no idea what the Bosses of the Five Families were thinking, though.

They had executed the idea of regularly exposing their bodies to extreme toxins by choosing a suitable race and creating these walking poison piles.

The most proactive in this process were three of the Five Families.

Cassio, Marmala, Marinelli.

The ones who opposed it were Russo and Dragovich.

Ironically, the Russo Family was suffering from the Vipers, which they had no part in creating. Meanwhile, the other three families that led the formation of the Vipers were not afflicted.

I had no clue why they chose snake people.

It might be because a multitude of snake people began immigrating to this country from the Southern continent at that time.

Speaking of the Southern continent… if I were to pick the place that resembles it the most from where I lived, it would be South Asia, with India.

Even today, there are many immigrants from various races, but those that entered this flow late found it hard to survive.

The Five Families likely considered the snake people, who were in a weak position in many ways, suitable for their ugly plans.

“Viola, just to be safe….”

I couldn’t let down my guard in the presence of Vipers.

I asked someone to bring something that could cover my face in case of an emergency.

The most effective would be a gas mask, but I didn’t think I could find one around here right away.

“Yes, Godfather.”

Before long, Viola returned with an air filter that could cover just my mouth and nose and a mask that could cover my entire face.

“What’s this? This mask belongs to the Carmen Family.”

“Still, it can cover your whole face, so I brought it.”

I wondered if Veronica also had this mask.

Speaking of which, the guy who tried to do something strange to Elena and ended up dead had worn this mask.

“Go with the air filter. Get rid of the mask.”

“Yes.”

Viola answered that and had already put on the mask she often wore.

Anyone would think she was overreacting, but both Viola and I were well aware of the dangers posed by the Vipers. The members of the Russo Family would likely behave like us if faced with the presence of Vipers.

“Alright, let’s get back to it.”

“….”

Wearing the air filter, I approached Angela.

Unlike other snake beings, Angela had a very dark skin tone.

This was probably due to her entire body being soaked in poison.

The Vipers build up tolerance to poison by being continuously exposed to extreme toxins for a long time.

In fact, I didn’t know the precise details beyond this point.

In the world I lived in, they were beings I could only find in martial arts novels, but this world was different with magic and other races.

The saliva and blood of a Viper possess potent toxicity.

Just touching their body could be deadly.

I was curious how they managed their everyday lives, but it seemed they managed somehow, despite many difficulties.

“For the first question: Angela, including you, how many Vipers are left now?”

“There are six of us. Including myself.”

“Six?”

“More than I thought.”

“….”

Angela couldn’t hide her expression upon hearing Viola’s words.

“Viola.”

“I’m sorry. But it’s surprising that they’ve survived to this extent against the pursuit of the Spider and the Wolves.”

“True, if we consider it that way, it’s indeed surprising there are still six left.”

The Five Families determined they couldn’t handle the monsters they had created.

Thanks to that, their most powerful tools collapsed under the command of other tools that were obedient to their owners.

“Now, the second question. Why did you betray the Vipers and come over to us?”

Why us of all people? To be honest, I was curious. Or perhaps, if you thought it through, it could be considered obvious.

The Russo Family had likely not fared well against the Vipers due to past grievances.

Conversely, our Wolves had taken a stand against the Five Families, despite being in a similar position, and had made them submit.

“It’s funny that the one in charge of the area we’ve crossed over to is Viola, known as the ‘Little Spider.'”

“I felt like there was no future ahead, so I escaped.”

Angela said this and began to mention the current head of the Vipers: his foolishness.

Despite being just one of the Five Families, they had all their hopes resting on the organization… yet they could not seem to understand compromise.

“Recently, the Caporegimes of the Russo Family beyond the northern city betrayed Darius Russo and aligned with the Vipers?”

“Yes, while they might have had an advantage against the Russo Family, it was clear they wouldn’t be able to handle the Felini Family.”

*

That being said.

I wasn’t underestimating the Vipers. But wars are fought with numbers and money.

The Vipers were far from surpassing our Family, let alone overwhelming the Russo Family.

Moreover, Angela revealed stories that Viola and I weren’t aware of—the fate of the Caporegimes that had defected to the Vipers from the Russo Family.

“They all died. I absorbed suitable ones from my subordinates.”

“….”

This was what it meant to have no ability to compromise.

“Is it that you can’t give up on avenging the Five Families?”

“Yes, and also, I’m considering the Felini Family, which is cooperating with the Marinelli Family, as an enemy as well.”

“Really?”

I exchanged glances with Viola at Angela’s words. While Viola seemed clueless, I had been ambushed by snake people at a party for the Russo Family the previous day.

Ah, though technically speaking, it seemed they targeted the Russo Family rather than me.

But according to Angela, that might not have been the case.

To summarize, the current head of the Vipers was infuriated by vengeance, unable to view the situation objectively, while facing a powerful enemy.

Taking many factors into account, she judged that the Vipers had no future left, resulting in her defection.

“Viola, wait a moment.”

“Yes.”

I called Viola over and instructed her to have Angela and the remnants of the Vipers take charge of the western part of the former Palmas Family territory.

“…Understood.”

“The eastern part will be overseen by Michael as planned, and we’ll assign the west to Angela.”

“Godfather, do you fully trust them?”

“No. In fact, it’s easier to deal with them as they’re on the outside.”

Viola was concerned that Angela and the remnants of the Vipers might betray us or that their current actions could be a concealed surrender.

“You’re that worried about it?”

“Yes, but… honestly, if you and the Godmother hadn’t accepted me back, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of being in this situation.”

Indeed. Just like Viola was given another chance, Angela and the remnants of the Vipers were given one as well.

“And I think you should know this.”

“What is it?”

“Considering that the strength of the Alini Family and the Dwarf Gang has been drafted to assist the Russo Family, you should keep that in mind.”

“…That’s true.”

That made sense. Indeed, even with the Northeastern forces drafted, accepting the Viper remnants indiscriminately could be dangerous.

Viola’s point was valid.

“Got it. Don’t worry about that part.”

I promised Viola that I’d temporarily deploy some Wolves under Giovanni and Sarina to assist.

“Understood. That should be sufficient.”

“And I’ll contact our Consigliere and Carini too.”

Viola didn’t show any reaction that suggested the decision was excessive.

I even thought about deploying the Gollymen, but it seemed like they had another battlefield to attend to.

Afterward, Viola and I continued to question Angela and the remnants of the Vipers. Suddenly, the phone in Viola’s office began to ring loudly.

“Godfather.”

“Huh?”

“It seems something has come up.”

It appeared a dispute had broken out between Kambara’s brother, Samia Zakaya, and Luca Marinelli, Felicita’s brother, over the division of Greenbug.

I wasn’t sure what exactly the dispute was, but it was news that Elena and Felicita had headed to the site to mediate.

The two moving together was quite noteworthy….