East Blue.
After flying over the sea for an entire day, Kaito spotted a small island in the distance and decided to take a short break there.
Landing slowly, he scanned the area and noted that the vegetation was fairly dense. He thought to himself:
"There should be some animals on this island. I'll go find something to eat first."
Kaito searched the island for a while and eventually hunted down a massive tiger. He then found a clearing, used Fire Style to start a fire, and began preparing a hearty meal.
Looking at the huge chunk of meat in his hand, Kaito couldn't help but complain as he thought about the creatures in the One Piece world:
"Man, the animals in this world all have one thing in common—size. They're huge. The meat's also ridiculously nutritious. No wonder everyone here is built like a tank."
After polishing off his meal, Kaito got up, ready to take a short nap. Suddenly, the boom of a cannon rang out in the distance, catching his attention.
"Hm? Someone's here? Could it be a pirate crew?"
"If it is, I hope they're a strong one. That way, it'll be easier for me to join the Marines."
With that thought, Kaito casually tossed aside the last piece of roasted meat in his hand, activated his repulsion force, and shot off in the direction of the sound.
...
On the other side of the island—
A massive pirate ship had docked on the shore, and a group of pirates were cheerfully hacking apart the carcass of a large beast.
"Haha! So weak! Compared to the Grand Line, the animals here go down with just one ordinary cannon shot!"
"No kidding. The Marines have concentrated most of their forces in the Grand Line. Out here, the Brand Pirates are unstoppable!"
Standing proudly at the bow of the ship was the captain of the Brand Pirates—Brand himself. That's right, the crew was named after him. Clearly, the man was full of himself.
He was a Devil Fruit user, with a Paramecia-type ability—the Door-Door Fruit.
Later on, this fruit would be eaten by CP9's Blueno, which meant this guy didn't have long to live either. In the end, he couldn't escape his fate.
Still, thanks to the power of this fruit, Brand ruled over his hometown like a tyrant, convinced he was invincible. Before long, he formed his own pirate crew and set sail for the Grand Line.
But once he got there, he quickly realized the truth—Devil Fruit users like him weren't exactly rare. During one naval skirmish with other pirates, his crew was nearly wiped out. If it weren't for his fruit's escape utility, he'd have been fish food by now.
He sighed, adjusting his emotions. After all, he had made it back from the Grand Line. Sure, it had been a rough retreat, but at least he had the experience now. Kind of like people on Blue Star who come back from a big city—always a bit smug about it.
He shouted to the grunts below:
"Alright, boys! Haul the beast to the clearing—we're having a feast tonight! Tomorrow, we'll go pay a visit to the nearby kingdom villages in this sea. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see us. Hahahahaha!"
The pirates below grew even more excited and eagerly lifted the beast's carcass, heading toward the center of the island.
Just then, an out-of-place voice rang out:
"So it's just a bunch of pathetic losers. Let's hope your captain's bounty isn't too disappointing."
The pirates immediately flew into a rage, shouting and looking all around, swearing they'd tear the intruder to pieces.
But after searching for a while, they couldn't spot anyone.
"Stop looking, you idiots! He's up in the sky!"
Brand, seasoned from his time in the Grand Line, had already noticed Kaito floating in the air with his arms crossed the moment he heard the voice.
"He can fly… Another Devil Fruit user? Damn it, flying abilities are always such a pain…" Brand scowled as he looked at the airborne Kaito.
"Bounty? You're a bounty hunter?" Brand shouted up at him.
"Bounty hunter?" Kaito shook his head.
"Wrong. I just need your heads as proof to get into the Marines."
"What? You little bastard! Don't think being able to fly makes you invincible! Why don't you come down here and have some fun with Grandpa?!"
One of the lackeys shouted arrogantly.
"So noisy." Kaito raised his hand and pointed at the loudest one.
"You come up here and play instead."
Universal Pull.
Buzz!
The pirate who had been shouting just moments ago suddenly felt his body pulled by an invisible force. Powerless to resist, he was yanked into the air—until he was floating right next to Kaito.
"Now that I'm standing in front of you… what're you gonna do?"
Gulp.
The pirate swallowed hard, trying to speak, but Kaito had already grown impatient.
"Forget it. You're too damn ugly. Go back down."
With that, Kaito canceled his ability.
The pirate dropped from over a hundred meters in the air.
Smack!
A sharp, wet sound rang out.
There was now a fresh splatter of meat paste on the ground.