Over the next several days, Fredo Corleone keeps driving out to the suburban safehouse every single day.
He spars nonstop with the former soldiers under him, and as his [Physique] improves alongside all the combat experience he gains, he starts taking down the veterans faster and faster.
At first, it takes over half an hour.
Then twenty minutes.
Then ten.
…
The men under him basically rotate shifts getting their asses kicked daily.
Thankfully, everyone wears protective gear, or this place would’ve turned into a charity fundraiser for the local hospital.
Besides sparring, Fredo also goes hunting in the mountains with them, while occasionally taking the private contracts Mikey recommends.
They go on two hunting trips and accept several jobs.
The first time Fredo kills someone, even after confirming the target isn’t a good person, even with the boost from [Physique] making his body and mind far stronger than normal people…
He still struggles with it.
After all, before transmigrating, he’s just an ordinary guy who grows up in a peaceful society.
That night, his room fills with cigarette butts.
That night, he experiences the transition from ordinary civilian to gangster.
Even so, he feels like the core inside him is still red.
By the second contract, though, he adapts.
One of the benefits of [Physique] is how quickly he gets used to things.
Time changes people quietly.
Meanwhile, everyone in the Corleone family is busy preparing for Connie’s wedding.
Everyone except Fredo and maybe Michael because he’s still in the army.
And just like that, two weeks pass.
Connie’s wedding day arrives.
The night before the ceremony, Sonny tells Fredo, “Dad says don’t run around tomorrow.
Stay by his side.”
Fredo has no idea why, but he nods anyway.
“Got it, Sonny.”
That day, Fredo has Mikey wait outside while he personally stays beside Don Corleone.
If the Don stays inside, Fredo stays inside.
If the Don walks out, Fredo follows.
That’s when Fredo finally meets another one of the Corleone family’s legendary capos — the tall and skinny Salvatore Tessio.
And sitting alone in a forgotten corner is the family’s number-one monster — Luca Brasi.
The guy looks like he could fold a refrigerator in half with his bare hands.
Fredo immediately thinks:
Yeah… I definitely gotta spar with this guy someday.
As soon as Don Corleone enters the office, Fredo quickly follows him inside.
The Godfather officially begins seeing people.
The first case of the day starts.
The first petitioner is Bonasera, the undertaker.
Inside the room are only Don Corleone, Sonny, Tom Hagen, Fredo, and Amerigo Bonasera himself.
Everyone sits down.
Bonasera begins telling his story.
“I raise my daughter the American way.
I give her freedom, but I teach her not to disgrace the family… Then she starts seeing a boyfriend who isn’t Italian… staying out late all the time…”
“Two months ago, they take her for a drive.
They force whiskey down her throat, then they try to take advantage of her.
She fights back.
“They beat her like an animal.
They break her nose.
Smash her jaw…”
“The two boys go to trial.
They get three years — suspended sentences!
Suspended!
They walk free the same day, and those bastards smile at me.
So I tell my wife… if we want justice, we must go to Don Corleone.”
Fredo listens from the side, mentally summarizing the whole thing in one sentence:
So basically: “My daughter gets beaten up, the courts fucked me over, and now I want revenge.”
Honestly, Italians really know how to tell a story.
Nobody ever gets to the point directly.
Everything takes three scenic detours first like they’re getting paid by the word.
Don Corleone lowers the hand supporting his cheek and calmly asks:
“Why do you go to the police?
Why don’t you come to me first?”
Straight to the point.
What he really means is:
You trust the law before you trust me.
Then when the law fails you, suddenly you remember I exist?
That single sentence hits Bonasera right where it hurts.
Among Italian-American gangsters, there’s an unwritten rule:
You handle problems privately.
You never go to the feds.
But Bonasera clearly doesn’t fully understand Don Corleone.
He quickly tries to negotiate.
“What do you want from me?
Name your price.
But please, you must help me.”
Don Corleone calmly asks:
“Help you how?”
Bonasera glances around the room.
Apparently, openly requesting murder in public still feels a little awkward.
So he stands up and leans close to whisper into the Don’s ear.
“Kill those two bastards for me.”
Don Corleone scratches the corner of his mouth and slowly shakes his head.
“That I cannot do.”
As head of the Five Families, there’s no way he actually can’t do it.
He just doesn’t want to.
Bonasera presses both hands against the table and rudely looks down at Don Corleone.
“What do you want?
I’ll give you anything.”
Don Corleone strokes the cat resting on his lap.
“We know each other many years, yet this is the first time you ever come to me for help.
I cannot remember the last time you invite me to your house for coffee… and my wife is godmother to your only daughter.”
At this point, the Godfather’s expression already darkens.
“To be honest, you never want my friendship.
You are afraid to owe me.”
Seeing the Don’s expression sour, Bonasera immediately tries to explain himself.
“I just don’t want to get mixed up in trouble.”
Don Corleone sighs heavily.
“I understand.
You find paradise in America.
You make a good business.
You live well.
The police and the law protect you, so you do not need a friend like me.”
“But now you come to me and say, ‘Don Corleone, give me justice.'”
Don Corleone slowly lifts his chin, gesturing with one hand while suppressing his irritation.
He pauses for a moment, swallowing down his anger before continuing.
“But you do not ask with respect.
You do not offer friendship.
You don’t even think to call me Godfather.”
“This is how you come into my house?
On the day of my daughter’s wedding?
And you ask me to murder for money?”
Faced with Don Corleone’s cold stare and obvious displeasure, Bonasera lowers his voice and stubbornly says:
“I only ask for justice.”
Don Corleone shakes his head and presses harder.
“That is not justice.
Your daughter is still alive.”
Maybe remembering his daughter’s condition, Bonasera’s eyes redden with tears as hatred twists across his face.
“Then make them suffer like she suffers.
How much do I pay you?”
That question irritates Don Corleone even more.
Money again?
The head of America’s Five Families is supposed to care about your pocket change?
Who the hell does this guy think he’s talking to?
Don Corleone doesn’t answer immediately.
He stops petting the cat, gently places it on the desk, and rises from his chair.
Fredo and Tom stand up immediately too.
The boss stands, and you think your ass can stay in the seat?
No chance.
Don Corleone walks toward the window, suppressing the urge to have this idiot thrown into the Hudson.
In his mind, he keeps repeating:
Relax.
Relax.
He’s Sicilian.
Don’t lose your temper.
Then he slowly turns around, his face stern as stone.
“Bonasera… Bonasera…”
“What have I ever done to make you treat me with such disrespect?”
(TN: TBH, this is classic, the scene i like very much)