Chapter 33: From the Seas of the World
The balance of power across the worldâs seas had begun shifting dramatically in recent years.
The legendary Rocks Piratesânow spoken of only in talesâhad seen their captain, Rocks, perish, and their flag vanish. Yet, his remnants still thrived, gathering new comrades and making names for themselves.
âThe Grand Line, the "Great Pirate Route"
"âBoss, itâs him!! This brat tried to steal our cargoâŚ!!"
"Let go of me!! Damn itâŚ!!"
In a non-affiliated island nation, plagued by endless strife, a lone boy was bound and shoved forward before a certain pirate crew. Towering over the boy stood a giant of a man, over
, wielding a naginata. The pirate, wearing a captainâs hat with a trademark white mustache, glared down at the boy with a stern gaze."âŚWhyâd you target our shipâs cargo?"
"Tch⌠Shut the hell up!! Whaddya think? To survive!!"
"âŚYou got no parents?"
"Theyâve been dead forever! To live, I gotta take from anyoneâscumbags or not!"
"!"
With a furious shout, the boyâs body transformed into a blue flaming bird, breaking free from the ropes as he lunged. But the white-mustached pirate effortlessly subdued him.
"âŚAn Animal Zoan-type, Mythical Species, huh?"
"The hell do I know?! I ate some weird fruit as a kid and ended up like this!! Because of this⌠I was the only one left alive when my family died!! The islanders hated me for it, so I gotta steal just to keep breathinâ!"
"âŚI see."
"If youâre gonna kill me, just do it! I got nowhere left toâ"
"âYour name?"
"âŚ!"
When the white-mustached pirate asked for his name, the boy faltered. The manâs overwhelming presenceâsomething fathomlessâinstilled fear in him. But it wasnât just that. The pirate carried another aura, one strangely vast and deep, like the sea itself: stern yet kind. Whatever the boy saw in it, he answered, reverting to human form.
"âŚMarco."
"Marco, huh. So⌠you said you got nowhere to go."
"Tch⌠Whatâs it to you?!"
The boy bristled at the question. Saying it himself was one thing, but hearing it from someone else stung. Heâd been mocked for it before. He assumed this pirate would do the sameâpity him but offer nothing.
âBut he was wrong.
The pirate released him and extended a hand.
"âThen become my son."
"âŚ!!"
âThat man, the pirate Whitebeard, had been gathering orphans, castaways, and misfit pirates across the seas, slowly assembling his crewâhis family: the Whitebeard Pirates.
âMeanwhile, in the New World
On another islandâŚ
"Mamamama⌠Itâs born. Youâre useless now."
"W-Wait! Donât throw me away, Linlin!!"
"Oi, someone toss him out."
"Yes, Mama."
"LINLIIINâ!!"
The female pirate, having just given birth to her newest child, ordered her subordinates to discard the man whoâd fathered it. Cradling the baby, she grinned viciously.
Noticing the noise outside, she called out to her crew.
"So? Howâs the fight? If itâs not over, Iâll handle it myself."
"Ah, Mama. No worriesâitâs already over."
The reply came from a small-statured cook. He and the others peered toward the harbor, where a battle between pirates had unfolded. The enemy crew numbered several dozenâbut on their side, only one fighter stood.
A child.
Face half-hidden by fur, the kid clutched a bloodied trident, breathing heavily but standing victorious over the enemy captain. His glare was ice-cold.
"A weaknessâŚ? I wonât show you any⌠Iâll drown you in terror and defeatâŚ!!"
"Ugh⌠AahâŚ!"
"!!"
The child fought with a precision far beyond his years, slaughtering the enemies in his motherâs stead and securing victory for their side. Soon, other children emerged from the ship.
"You did it, Katakuri!"
"That was insane!! Big Bro Katakuriâs insane!!"
"Brother Katakuri!"
"...Yeah. Itâs over."
The boyâKatakuriâreturned to the shipâs deck under his own power, his abilities making the feat effortless. Though showered with praise by his younger siblings, he remained cool and composed as he addressed their leaderâhis mother, of course.
"...Mama. I killed them all."
"HA~HAHAHA MAMAMAMA⌠Is that so? Well done! Thatâs my Katakuri for you! Thatâs why youâre my son âĄ"
"...Yeah."
"MAMAMAMA⌠Now then, letâs celebrate Katakuriâs victory and the birth of our new family with a tea party!! Today, weâll devour every sweet thing on this island⌠Canât wait!!!"
"âŚâŚâŚâŚ"
âThis female pirate, who had gathered over thirty children and subordinates to form her crew, was known as⌠"Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin. The captain of the Big Mom Pirates, a monstrous sweet-tooth who expanded her empire by bearing children and binding themâand othersâto her through blood and force.
MeanwhileâŚ
"Fleet Admiral Kong!! The Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates are skirmishing in the New WorldâŚ!!"
"Tch⌠So it begins⌠Whoâs handling the situation?!"
"Sir! Vice Admiral Garp! And Vice Admiral Sengoku as well!"
"I see⌠For now, weâll have to rely on them to contain it. Weâre critically shorthandedâŚ!"
"Admiral Zephyr has also offered reinforcements, butâŚ"
"Thatâs a relief⌠Whitebeard hasnât made any major moves yet⌠If we assign another vice admiral to surveillance, we could temporarily concentrate our forces⌠No, but if he decides to act during this windowâ"
The Marine HQ was in chaos as reports of pirate activity flooded in from across the seas. Their attention was fixed on the shifting power balanceâespecially the remnants of the Rocks Pirates, now regarded as the greatest threats:
-
Whitebeard
-
Golden Lion
-
Big Mom
-
Captain John
-
Silver Axe
-
Wang Zhi
Each was a uniquely dangerous pirate, and on top of them, Roger himself loomed large. To counter this, the Marines had filled their vacant Admiral position and were scrambling to bolster their forces.
And thenâanother report arrived.
"Fleet Admiral Kong!! The G-3 outpost on the Grand Line has been attacked by a crew calling themselves the Beast Pirates!!"
"Whaâ⌠What did you say?!"
The mention of "Beast" made even the most battle-hardened Marines grimace.
Yet another of Rocksâ former subordinates had begun wreaking havoc on the worldâs seas. The Marines swallowed their dread in silence, their tension mounting as the eraâs chaos deepened.
The Grand Line â Keith Island
A lively island known for its alcohol and fruits, Keith Island was both a bustling tourist destination and infamous for its poor security. Unsurprisingly, it was also a frequent stop for pirates â and even served as the base of operations for one particular crew.
âHoh... Not a bad island at all.â
âThe townâs crawling with pirates, huh? But itâs got energy. Suits us just fine.â
Pirates arriving on the island would hit up the local taverns and restaurants, stay in hotels, and recover from the brutal voyages across the Grand Line. It took three days for their Log Pose to lock on, meaning at least a two-night stay â often longer.
And yet, without fail, those very pirates would frown in confusion when they spotted the pirate flag flying in every corner of the island.
â...! That Jolly Roger... whose crew is it?â
âNo idea. But if someoneâs put their flag up, then this island must be someoneâs turf.â
Just like flying a flag on a ship marks it as belonging to a certain pirate crew, posting a flag on an island means that island is under that crewâs control â their âterritory.â Pirates understood this instinctively.
But they were still pirates. And being visitors didnât always mean they played nice.
â...Hey, if we take down whoeverâs running this place, maybe we can just snatch the whole island for ourselves.â
âHeh, yeah. Thatâs not a bad idea at all.â
These newcomers were no exception â yet another bunch of pirates looking to seize the island for themselves. Fired up and ambitious, like most who dared sail the Grand Line, they were full of reckless confidence. No way weâd lose to some no-name pirate... That kind of baseless bravado.
âââHey. Iâd back off if I were you, outsiders.â
âHehehe... This islandâs under our control â the Beasts Pirates. Anyone who stirs up trouble dies.â
â! Who the hell are you...!?â
âThe Beasts Pirates...? That name rings a bellâŚâ
Dozens of pirates suddenly stood in their way, identifying themselves â loud and clear â as the Beasts Pirates. The intruding pirates tilted their heads, half-remembering the name, but before they could process much more, the Beasts Pirates gave them a toothy grin and spoke.
âHah! What backwater are you guys from? Never heard of us?â
âYou all look weak as hell. You got bounties? If you do, letâs hear âem â come on, you countryside rookies!â
â...The hell did you just say!?â
âRelax. Once they hear our captainâs bounty, theyâll be shaking in their boots.â
âOh? Letâs hear it then. Should be good.â
âDonât say we didnât warn you! ââItâs 48 million!!â
With smug confidence, they declared the bounty on their captainâs head. For pirates, a bounty was like a badge of honor. The higher the number, the greater the fame â and the more respect the entire crew commanded. Many pirates proudly flaunted their bounties.
And 48 million... was a lot. A high bounty. In any of the Four Blues, it would mark someone as a notorious outlaw. Even in the Grand Line, it wasnât a bad number. For your average pirate, it was intimidating.
But the reaction they got â was laughter.
âGYAHAHAHAHA!! Forty-eight million!? Not bad!! Not bad at all!!â
âGlad to see youâve put in some work! Iâll be sure to give the bosses a great report â looks like we just picked up some new recruits!â
â...!!â
Praised and feared back in their home sea, they had never once been laughed at for boasting â48 million.â Shock and humiliation twisted across their faces. It wouldnât be long now â they were clearly on the verge of exploding in fury.
But then came a bucket of ice water â or perhaps gasoline on the fire â in the form of some crucial information.
âGyahaha... You look pissed, so Iâll spell it out for you. The captain of the Beasts Pirates â Kaido of the Beasts â has a bounty of 4 billion, 111 million Berries!!â
âAnd his right-hand and vice-captain â Nue the Monstrous Beast â is worth 3 billion, 801 million!! Youâre not even in the same league!!â
âF-Four billion and three billion eight hundred and oneâŚ!?â
âW-Wait a sec... Kaido of the Beasts and Nue⌠Arenât they... survivors of the Rocks Pirates!?â
That number alone was enough to crush their spirits. And one pirate â apparently more informed than the others â added fuel to the fear. Survivors of that legendary crew, the Rocks Pirates... both with bounties well past 3 billion. Bounty values didnât always perfectly reflect fighting ability â but they absolutely reflected overall danger, including combat strength and threat to the World Government. Everyone knew: the higher the bounty, the more dangerous the pirate.
A bounty above 100 million marked you as a real pirate â a criminal of note. Past 300 million, you were a menace that sent other pirates and even Marines trembling.
As expected, the once-confident intruders shrank back in fear. The Beasts Pirates, meanwhile, sneered and jeered with triumphant, mocking laughter, completely surrounding them, looking down on them like ants.
âWell well, looks like someone knows the names! Now you get it, huh!? This is the level youâre dealing with in the Grand Line!!â
âBut donât worry. As long as youâre just visitors, we wonât touch you. The captain and vice-captain happen to be away right now. Weâve been left in charge of the islandâs defense.â
âStill, if you really want a fight, weâll oblige... Just remember, weâre not the only ones on duty hereââBentler, Bentler, respond if youâre there.â
"...Huh? What the hell are they doing, chanting some weird spell all of a sudden...!?"
At that moment, when a member of the Beasts Pirates said that aloud, the pirates all widened their eyes at what was gathering in the sky.
What they saw was something no one had ever seen before⌠and yet, something everyone knew existed.
Its true nature was unknownâan unidentifiable flying object.
Red, blue, green. Each one gathered, surrounding the pirates. And then, the name of that object spilled from their lips.
"U-UFOs!?"
Yes, they were... UFOs.
More than twenty of them, at a glance, floated above the pirates in a strange, weightless drift.
"Gya-hahaha!! Surprised, huh!? Beholdâthe mysterious fleet of UFOs summoned by our very own Vice-Captain, the 'Phantom Beast' Nue-sama!!"
"Our secret weapon, left behind to defend the island!!"
"These things outmatch ordinary weapons by a mile!! What they do? Thatâs for you to find outâif youâre dumb enough to fight them!!"
"Well!? Wanna go for it!? We might just spare you if you join us!!"
"Kh⌠Is this some kind of Devil Fruit powerâŚ!? But what kind of ability even is this...!?"
"C-Captain!! We've been completely surrounded!!"
The Beasts Pirates held the ground. The UFOs controlled the skies. The threat posed by the latter was completely unknownâand deeply unsettling. It even felt like... they were being watched.
If it were just the pirates, maybe things wouldâve been differentâbut the Beasts Pirates werenât done dragging them into despair.
"Think you can shoot one down!? Iâm telling you nowâordinary attacks wonât take down a UFO!!"
"Thatâs right!! Unless you physically destroy them, those UFOs are invincible! They wonât vanish unless Nue-sama herself passes out!!"
"And Nue-samaâs a monster!! Just knocking her outâs easier said than done!!"
"So whatâs it gonna be!? Obeyâor die!! Youâve got two options!!"
"This is a nightmare...!!"
The pirates stared up at the sky in despair. Not a single one of them had imagined they'd be cornered like this.
All they could do now was pray to the heavensâbut prayer wouldnât change a thing. And so, the pirates prepared to make their agonizing decisionâ
"...Hm? Wait, what?"
"...? Hey, what are youâhurry up andâ"
"...Wait. T-The UFOs... w-h-e-r-e d-i-d t-h-e-y g-o?"
"...Huh?"
One of the pirates finally noticed. The UFOs floating in the skyâhad suddenly... v-a-n-i-s-h-e-d.
No one had attacked. And yet they were gone. Everyone, friend and foe alike, stood there stunned, completely frozen.
But it was the Beasts Pirates who figured it out first.
No attack was made, yet the UFOs disappeared. That could only mean one of two thingsâand really, it meant only one.
One impossible option was that Nue herself dismissed the UFOsâbut that was highly unlikely.
Which meant the only remaining explanation was...
...Nue had passed out.
"EEEEHHHHHHHHH!?!?"
The Beasts Pirates all screamed in unison. Whatever had happened, they had no way of knowing.
In this half-conscious state, thereâs timeâtime to process whatâs going on.
Thatâs where I am now. Unconscious, yet trying to piece together what happened from the pain wracking my body and fragments of memory.
Whatâs left in my head⌠is one battle after another.
âIf itâs come to thisâthen we just need to take more than what gets taken from us!!â
âWorororo!! Thatâs right!! Take it all!!â
âOur first voyage was a disaster. After that, Kaido and I reflected on it and decided that to protect our turf, we needed more firepower⌠and more plundering.
But if we just set sail like last time, weâd repeat our mistakes. So this time, we built up our crew first and made sure to leave some of them behind to guard the island.
Even then, we failed. The subordinates we left were too weak to defend the place.
So we thought. A lot. Thought so much we even considered one of us staying behindâme or Kaido. But neither of us liked that idea, and it ended in a fight that blew out a chunk of the city again. In the end, I came up with a fixâone using a combo of powers Iâd been experimenting with for a while.
âThe solution: leave the UFOs behind to protect the island.
The UFOs I create arenât micromanaged by me. I control the broad strokesâmovement, attack, retrievalâby issuing simple commands and assigning targets. If Iâm nearby, I can fine-tune things more. But controlling multiple units individually, at the same time, is still beyond me. At least for now.
So I figured it outâI just had to make them autonomous.
Turn the usual orders into a system. Program basic patterns and behaviors. Have them patrol, strike, collect, based on triggers.
But it wasnât that easy. I kept experimenting. During death matches with Kaido, in the middle of voyages, even in battle with enemiesâI kept grinding my power. My Devil Fruit has potential. Tons of it. With training and refinement, most things that seem possible can become possible. Thatâs why I believeâand keep pushing it to the limit.
Eventually, I managed to program movement patterns. Just the basics, but it was something.
Normally, they hover above the island, staying hidden. Only when they receive a specific signal from one of our crew do they activate. They can be given attack orders too. Itâs simple⌠but good enough for now.
Honestly, half of itâs just for show. But once I level them up more, theyâll be able to move freely, and do terrifying things. Itâs like Iâm a programmerâjust feeding behavior patterns into the UFOs. Itâs almost ready.
And on top of that, thereâs another technique Iâve been developingâinfusing my powers with Haki. Once thatâs complete, thingsâll get really scary. If it works, Iâll live up to my nicknameâIâll become a one-woman disaster. The scale of what I can do will grow exponentially.
So Kaido and I kept hitting the seas, all while training. Took months to gather the crew. Half a year to rebuild the islandâand itâs still ongoing. Meanwhile, we fought, looted, and kept growing stronger. The Beasts Pirates are now 300 strong. We leave about 100 behind on the island, and take the other 200 with us for constant battles and raids. Sure, theyâre all frontline types and the paperworkâs killing me, but heyâweâve finally made it work as pirates.
And just when things were starting to click⌠probably right around then, Kaido and Iâ
âââŚWell? Whatâs the situation?â
âShe appears to be unconscious⌠Though frankly, never expected this kind of girl to be the real threatâŚâ
âDonât underestimate her⌠These two are remnants of Rocks, after all. Their subordinates were nothing special, but these two⌠they took down 2,000 out of 3,000 Marines, fought four Vice Admirals for over a full day without falling, and only collapsed after taking dozens of tranquilizer rounds⌠Theyâre monsters. Donât let your guard down until the executionâs doneâŚ!â
âY-Yes, sir⌠But still, itâs eerie. To be this badly injured and still aliveâŚâ
âSheâs a Zoan-type user. Toughness comes with the territory⌠but even so, this level of endurance might meanââ
âŚOhhh right. We lost, didnât we? Ahhâso frustrating. It was fun, but man, passing out from a volley of tranquilizers? Embarrassing. Gotta do better. Next time Iâll boost my stamina and resistance. âOkay. Reflection complete.
ââKaido~? You awake~?â
âWhaâ!? Youâre conscious!?â
ââŚAahhh⌠Nue? NnnghâŚ? Whatâs with these chainsâŚ?â
â!! The big guyâs up tooâŚ!!â
âLooks like we got captured. So, letâs eat something and then make a run for it. Mmh, though I guess a little torture could be fun too.â
âUgh⌠Damn it⌠Lost again⌠So damn irritating⌠Being weak sucksâŚâ
âWh-What are you doing!? Donât move!!â
The manâwas he a Marine? A prison guard? Doesnât matterâhe raised his gun and fired, trying to stop us. Hmm, bold move. I like it. The sting of pain jolts my sensesâitâs kind of nice, actually.
But Kaido and I have already recovered our strength. Of course we have. If we hadnât, we wouldnât be awake. Waking up means weâre healedâsimple as that.
âGhhâŚ! OoooohâŚ!! You bastard⌠You shot meâŚ!? Iâll kill youâŚ!!!â
âMmmh⥠Ahh, that hits the spotâŚ! Getting shot right after waking up really does pack a punch⌠Alright then.â
âHiiee!!? The chainsâŚ!!â
âThis is bad!! Call reinforcements! If we donâtâghh!!?â
Kaido tears through his chains with brute strength and punches the guy out cold. So I break mine too, grab the other guy, and slam him into the wall. He rolled his eyes back. Probably not dead⌠eh, doesnât matter right now. First things firstâwe break this place and get out.
âCome on, Kaido. Letâs go. We need to find weapons. And check on the crew and the ship.â
âYeah⌠Iâll tear everything downâŚ!!!â
And just like that, Kaido and I walk out of the cell. Escaping prison doesnât really stir anything in me. I mean⌠itâs not like this is the first time.
âOne hour later.
âThey were so weak⌠Canât believe I lost to themâŚâ
âMaybe you let your guard down because you were running on empty. You should really work on your stamina, yâknow?â
Kaido and I were sitting at the back end of some island, eating food weâd stolen, with the burning town behind us. We could go days without eating and be fine, sureâbut still, food is food. Hungerâs a thing. And this roast meat is delicious. Weâre all gathered around a fire, having dinner together. Good thing some of our crew survivedâjust a dozen or so, but still.
âUghhh, weâve gotta start gathering crew againâŚâ
âThey killed off my men like it was nothing⌠Damn Navy⌠Iâll remember this. Still, you guysâcanât you put in a little more effort?â
âP-Please donât be unreasonableâŚ!â
âH-Heâs right! Ow⌠Anyone who can move around after getting this beat up isnât normalâŚâ
âYouâre soft. Back when I was a rookie, I nearly died every day and still did all the grunt work.â
âYou dumped all that on me. You just drank all dayâI was the one doing grunt work while half-dead.â
âH-Haha⌠Is that soâŚ? (Sheâs a monsterâŚ)â
âAmazing⌠(Sheâs a total beastâŚ)â
âHmm~? But youâre not just scared of me, right? You think Iâm cute too, donât you?â
â!! O-Of course, Lady Nue!!â
âY-Youâre the most beautiful girl in the world, Lady Nue!!â
âEeee~~⥠âMost beautiful in the worldââthatâs so embarrassing~⥠No no, thatâs too much~⥠I mean, I am cute, sure, so maybe technically the cutest in the world~âĄâ
ââŚAre you drunk?â
âIâM SOBER!!!â
I snapped back at Kaidoâs dumb question. Geez⌠Kaido still refuses to admit Iâm cute. Well, it is Kaido, so I guess thatâs just how he isâbut itâs still a little annoying. The crew? I skimmed their thoughts with Observation Hakiâtheyâre scared. Understandably so. Iâll have to train that out of them eventually. The perfect balance is five parts cute, five parts terrifying. Thatâs the golden ratio of how I want to be seen. Though honestly, Iâm a complete mystery even to myself. Thatâs the whole point. I am the unknown.
ââLord Kaido! Lady Nue! Weâve just returned!!â
âOh, welcome back~â
âYeah. You did bring back something worth the trouble, right?â
While we were talking, a handful of our crew came back from the town. Iâd sent them to loot supplies and gather intel. âŚAh. If I passed out, that means my UFO disappeared. Just remembered. Maybe I shouldâve used it for gathering supplies too⌠oh well. Iâll just reward them instead.
âWanna eat?â
âAh, yes, thank you. Um⌠just out of curiosity, what kind of meat is thisâŚ?â
âHm? Just regular meat. You can tell by looking, right?â
â...I-I think Iâll passâŚâ
Aww, heâs backing off. Thatâs too bad. I donât know what heâs imagining, but itâs actually really good beef. Tch, his loss. Is the stuff I offer really that suspicious? Well, I guess that kind of reaction is fun too.
âHey. Quit stalling and report already.â
âR-Right!! Uh, so⌠regarding info on some notorious pirates from the nearby islandsâŚâ
âOoh, possible recruitment targets? I like the sound of that. Iâm listening too~â
I returned to Kaidoâs side and listened to the report. It was intel gathered from the city. I mean, honestly, Iâm surprised they could gather anything with all that chaos. Most people would be running for their lives. Guess it takes a snake to track a snake. Maybe they started collecting info while we were locked up. I munched on my beef as I listened in.
âLetâs see⌠first up, a 29 million bountyââSpikejawâ Vian. Apparently a pirate with an abnormally sharp jaw whoââ
âIs this a joke?â
âN-No! Thatâs what the info says!â
âSo he kills people with his jaw? Weirdly entertaining, actually.â
âNo interest. Next.â
âRight⌠ah! This oneâs promising! A 48 million bountyââSlug Doctorâ Numeron. Looks ordinary, but heâs the most wanted in the area. Known for being extremely cruel. And his nickname has a really gruesome origin storyââ
âYeah, I can guess without hearing itâŚâ
âEnough of this crap!! Donât you have anything decent!?â
âS-Sorry!! But those are the only ones above 29 million. The rest are either weaker or, well⌠just rumorsâŚâ
âRumors, huh?â
âIf youâve got something, out with it.â
Kaido and I leaned in at the mention of vague rumors. The guy looked hesitant, but Kaidoâs glare convinced him to talk. Nervously, he swallowed hard and began,
âThere are two rumors. First⌠a pirate rumored to be, uh⌠t-torture-lovingâŚâ
â! A torture freak?â
ââOh, so they meant Nue.â
âWhy would that be me!? âŚThough, being part of a shady rumor does sound kinda nice⌠mysterious⌠undefined identityâŚâ
âNo pirate enjoys torture except you.â
âI-I do not enjoy it!! Itâs just⌠a little fun sometimes, thatâs all!!â
âUh⌠anyway, moving onâŚâ
âSo it wasnât about Nue?â
âWhy would I ask if it was me? So, whyâs the rumor unconfirmed?â
Curious, I asked, just a little hopeful. The crewman checked his notes and said,
âWell⌠apparently, the person is⌠always on fireâŚâ
â! Ohh! That sounds awesome!â
âSounds like a Devil Fruit user. What part of that seems unbelievable, you idiot?â
âA-Ah⌠good point. That does make senseâŚâ
Watching him only realize that now made me grimace. Waitâwe trusted this guy with scouting intel? Even with Devil Fruit powers as a possibility? And Kaido and I are right here as living proof! Ugh⌠mess up again and heâs getting punished.
Still, personally, this rumor actually sounds promising. Almost too perfect. Excited, I urged him on,
âSo? What kind of person are they? Any other details?â
âUm⌠apparently, he only just became a pirate, so thereâs no bounty on him yet. But he escaped from a government experimental facility, stole an entire prison ship, slaughtered the crew onboard, and then tortured the prisoners to death before killing them too. Thatâs how he made his debut as a pirate. Heâs violent and dangerous, and they say itâs only a matter of time before he gets a bountyâŚâ
âNow thatâs interesting. Best one so far.â
âThink youâd recruit him if we ran into him?â
âYeah. Sounds like he could be a hell of an asset. âWhat else?â
âAh, yes. The other oneâs even stranger⌠Thereâs talk of a pirate who caused a pandemic on an island and put on brutal shows using some kind of unusual weaponâŚâ
âA pandemic, huh?â
âAnd he puts on shows?! That sounds so fun!!â
âThe credibility on this oneâs shaky too⌠but supposedly, he uses poison or creates diseases, and holds execution shows in front of huge crowds⌠total lunaticâŚâ
Another solid report. This oneâs probably a hit too. I turned to Kaido with a big smile, and sure enough, he had that wicked grin of his,
âWorororo⌠Sounds fun. He might be useful too.â
âSo, shall we go recruit both of them?â
âYeah. You got their locations?â
âW-Well, roughly. But they are pirates, so thereâs no guarantee theyâll still be there when we arriveâŚâ
âDoesnât matter. âAlright boys!! Weâre heading out!!â
âOff to find some brand-new crewmates~âŞâ
âYes, maâam!!â
âAnd so, we set sail once again. In search of powerful new allies to join our crew.
The place was a prison lined with iron bars.
"Guh... Aaah...!"
"Kill... me...!!"
"This... treatment... It's too much...!"
"âŚâŚâŚâŚ"
"GUWAAAAAAAAAAH!!?"
Chained within were people of all agesâmen and women alikeâall bloodied, writhing in agony.
They were being tortured. Not criminals. Innocent civilians. Yet here they were, bound in chains, subjected to endless torment.
There was only one way out: receiving the warden's "mercy"âbeing burned alive by flames.
"...Tch. Boring. Already broken, huh?"
"Ah... Ah..."
"D-Damn you, Majorrrr...!!? Hah... Hah... You monster... How dare you do this to my men...!!"
"...You're next."
"Gh...!!?"
"Letâs see how long that bravado lasts..."
The man who had just been burned to death was one of the chained marines. Seeing his comrade reduced to ashes, another marine cried out in rageâonly to shrink back the moment the wardenâs gaze fell upon him.
That man was terrifying.
He should have been youngâyet his true age was unknown. Clad entirely in black, his face hidden behind a gas mask-like covering, a sword at his hip. But that wasnât the truly horrifying part.
From his back sprouted black wingsâand flames. The fire seemed to erupt from his very body, and moments ago, those same flames had surged forth, engulfing and incinerating the marine he had seized.
Everyone here had lost to him. Captured, subjected to endless torture. The only escape was death. Even the veteran marine officer, realizing this, felt his will to fight draining away.
Whether aware of this or not, the man approached. He picked up a nearby torture device and turned it on the marine.
"GuhâGAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
"...Hmph."
After a suitable amount of torment, the man scoffed and walked away without a word.
This torture had no purpose. No information to extract. It was merely his way of passing the time.
He was a master of torture. Madness wasnât necessaryâonly cold precision. The ability to inflict relentless suffering, both physical and mental, methodically and without hesitation. The knowledge and skill to do so flawlessly.
Yet, paradoxically, only a madman could perfect such an art. At the very least, this man was no ordinary being. His expertise in torture was... personal. Something he had learned through experience.
"âC-Captain..."
"âWhat?"
A subordinate approached, voice trembling. Even his own crew feared him. One misstep, and they might find themselves in chains next. But under the sharp gaze barely visible behind that mask, silence wasnât an option. The subordinate delivered his report swiftly.
"Well... sir... Thereâs a suspicious man and woman on the islandâs shore..."
"...Suspicious?"
"Y-Yes... A giant man and a young girl... They were carrying... this."
"! ...Oh?"
The manâs tone shifted ever so slightly as he examined the two bounty posters handed to him. The change was subtleâbut unmistakably, he was intrigued.
"...Washed ashore, then?"
"Ah, yes. They were unconscious... Weâve restrained them and brought them aboard, but... What should we do?"
"Bring them here."
"! Y-Yes, sir!"
With that order, the subordinate hurried away.
Alone once more in the prison, the man studied the two posters again.
ââKaido of the Beastsâ... and âNue the Phantom Beastâ... Interesting. Iâll test them myself."
The worldâs strongestâthe legendary Rocks Pirates.
Their remnants were gathering new allies, expanding their influence...
And the beginning of that era drew ever closer.
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