"Water..." Clown Buggy crawled on the ground, struggling under the dense steam. He had lost track of time and couldn't even tell if it was day or night.
Buggy's head was spinning, and he could feel his breathing and pulse racing far beyond normal. He was sweating profusely, leading to a state of exhaustion, yet strangely, his skin felt cold and clammy in the high-temperature environment.
Having once adventured with the Pirate King Roger, Buggy had encountered and witnessed many peculiar geographical locations and weather conditions. He possessed some medical knowledge, and his experience told him that he was already showing signs of dehydration. If he remained in the steam any longer, he would surely perish.
But Buggy had lost the strength to flee. Just as he was despairing and awaiting death, he was surprised to see the steam around him dissipating at a visible rate.
For the first time, Buggy realized how refreshing the air could be and how comfortable nature's climate felt.
However, before Buggy could fully appreciate his narrow escape, he noticed that as the fog-like steam cleared, armed personnel appeared at both ends of the street.
Edmond raised his eyebrows as he observed the street filled with people.
Amidst the continuous groans, a frail clerk beside him wiped his cold sweat and reported, "Sir, according to the entry records, there are currently twenty-seven pirate crews on the island, totaling about three thousand pirates."
Edmond nodded and waved his hand, prompting a group to start searching for the registered pirates among the crowd as if checking cargo.
Buggy relaxed slightly upon realizing that they were only looking for registered pirates since the Buggy Pirates had initially registered as a circus when they arrived on the island.
But he quickly noticed that some of the personnel were holding a thick stack of East Blue pirate bounty posters, comparing them to the faces of the passersby.
...
Hours later, thousands of pirates stood densely packed in a square in White Pine Town. These were the pirates captured by Edmond and other officers after William dispersed the steam. In their dehydrated state, they were eager to admit their identities for a sip of water, and with mutual identification, most pirates on the island were gathered here.
William's armed personnel guarded the pirates at the square's edge with swords and guns.
But as unruly pirates, they naturally wouldn't stay put. Despite their weakness, they were dissatisfied with being treated like prisoners. Although their weapons had been confiscated, they still began to stir, feeling emboldened by their numbers.
Initially, they only raised their voices, but soon some started moving toward the square's edge, attempting to leave.
Slash!
In one corner of the square, a dazzling blade flashed. The pirates who had run up to the White Pine Town guards froze, and their heads flew skyward, blood gushing from their necks. Nearby pirates, who had been secretly observing and preparing to follow suit, were startled and stepped back.
With a seemingly harmless baby face, complete with a smile that revealed small sharp teeth and dimples, Aramis stepped forward. He scanned the surrounding pirates with a grin, causing them to lower their heads in fear.
Aramis flicked his blood-stained sword and moved toward other areas of disturbance. Any troublemakers were mercilessly cut down, and his ruthless methods quickly quelled the chaos in the square.
While Aramis dealt with the unrest, in a room beside the square, the captains of all twenty-seven pirate crews on the island stood obediently like schoolchildren. These notorious criminals, who usually terrified ordinary people, now looked weak, with pale lips and lowered heads, their expressions both anxious and confused.
The room was silent, and in front of the twenty-some pirate captains stood Sherlock, dressed in a suit, sipping coffee by the window and calmly watching the commotion in the square below. He spoke softly, "Your men don't seem very well-behaved."
One pirate captain raised his head defiantly but quickly lowered it again upon seeing Edmond standing silently with a sword in the corner of the room.
"Mr. Sherlock, we've always been law-abiding and adhered to commercial principles in town. We're also clients of your bank, so why have we been suddenly brought here?" a pirate captain protested.
"Law-abiding, adhering to commercial principles?" Sherlock turned, raising an eyebrow. "You?"
"At least in White Pine Town," the pirate captain replied confidently.
Sherlock remained silent for a moment before suddenly sighing deeply, drawing the attention of the pirate captains.
"Honestly, I didn't want to make such a fuss and bring you all here in this manner," Sherlock said, sounding sincere. "Most of you know me and know I'm usually all about peaceful business. But this time is different."
"Last night, there was a bank robbery in the town center. Although the robbers didn't steal anything, unfortunately, the governor was present," Sherlock shook his head. "The governor is very angry, so I'm angry too, and his people are angry as well, which is why things have turned out this way."
"The governor is here?" the pirate captains whispered among themselves.
"Is the vault safe?" one captain asked worriedly, evidently having stored a lot of money at the Flash Gold Bank.
"The vault is fine," Sherlock reassured them. "Those foolish thieves could never stand against the governor."
"Have the culprits been caught?" the pirate captain asked eagerly.
"They've been caught. A group of foolish Fish-Men fresh from the Grand Line, unaware of the situation, dared to rob our Flash Gold Bank, only to be dealt with single-handedly by the governor," Sherlock replied.
The pirate captain hesitated, "And the steam earlier...?"
"It was the governor's doing," Sherlock noted the simultaneous flicker of fear on the captains' faces. "But the governor discovered that these Fish-Men have accomplices. As I said, the governor is very angry, so he's sealing off the town to catch their accomplices too."
The pirate captains exchanged glances. After a while, one timidly asked, "So we were caught by mistake?"
Sherlock smiled.
Another pirate captain protested, "Then why are we all being held here like criminals, and why are our companions being slaughtered?"
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