The heart of the island thrummed with unrelenting chaos, a cacophony that assaulted the senses from every angle.
It wasn't just noisy—it was a spectacle of depravity unlike anything they'd witnessed on previous islands.
Men doused their heads in cheap grog, throats rumbling with guttural laughs as their faces slackened into leers. Arms snaked around women's waists amid peals of raucous mirth. The streets were littered with the remnants of meals—spilled and trampled into the muck—and while there were cleaners making half-hearted attempts at order, the place reeked of abandon, a wild sprawl that defied containment.
One might call it a fitting backdrop for pirates.
Luffy strode ahead with a spring in his step, his eyes alight with barely contained excitement, though the air hung heavy with the threat of sudden violence, a tension that could snap at any moment.
Usopp trailed close behind, his face etched with unease, while Nami and Vivi gaped at the surroundings, wide-eyed and stunned.
For all of them, it seemed, this was uncharted territory.
Vivi's eyes darted frantically, taking it all in, her pupils dilating in disbelief.
The scene challenged everything her upbringing had taught her about right and wrong, flipping her moral compass on its head.
"I never imagined a world like this... It's hard to believe it even exists..."
"Definitely. Even I'm not used to this. We absolutely shouldn't split up here."
"I hope Karoo's okay. Leaving him to guard the ship alone in a place this rowdy..."
"He should be fine, right? Kiri said it herself—mess with a docked ship, and you make enemies for life. Unless it's some total idiot, no one's touching the Merry."
"I hope you're right..."
Even as Nami's words offered reassurance, Vivi's expression remained clouded.
It was hardly surprising; the town itself, and the ragged figures populating it, exuded a raw, untamed savagery.
Perhaps it was the lack of any spark of admiration in their eyes, but no one had approached them with propositions or threats so far.
Nami led the way, consulting a hand-scrawled map, and Luffy followed her lead without hesitation, weaving unerringly toward the town's depths, drawing ever closer to their goal.
The path sloped gently upward, like climbing a low mountain, until a massive structure loomed into view.
Nami pointed ahead, her gaze fixed on what had to be their destination: the tavern.
"Looks like that's the tavern."
"Heh heh heh. First things first—meat. Man, what a fun town this is~"
"Fun? This ain't fun at all. It's a total dump, and we could get jumped any second."
"Yeah, it's seriously rough. My ears are ringing already. You holding up okay, Vivi?"
"Y-Yeah. Somehow."
Nami's concern drew a wry smile from Vivi, who looked a touch drained but still managed a flicker of composure.
She'd shown real guts infiltrating Baroque Works, but she'd never been this up close and personal with the pirate life. The shock hit her all the harder for it.
The three others still wore traces of their bewilderment, but Luffy marched on with undimmed enthusiasm.
And so they arrived at the island's grandest tavern.
"We're here! So this is the biggest tavern around!"
"Keep it down! You'll draw every eye in the place!"
Luffy flung the doors wide and plunged inside, the vast interior bursting into view.
Five stories tall above ground, and dug even deeper below, with subterranean levels extending downward. From the first floor, the structure sprawled both up and down in a dizzying spectacle.
The center yawned open in a massive atrium, ringed by railings that offered a vertiginous view all the way to the bottom.
Crowds of people—pirates, no doubt—filled the space, their roars and clinking tankards the heartbeat of the tavern's revelry.
Luffy bolted straight to the railing, peering down the chasm to the depths below and up to the distant ceiling.
It was a sight to set his heart racing.
With the din buzzing in his ears and this novel panorama before him, his grin widened, his mood soaring higher.
"Whoa~! This thing's huge!"
"Th-This is a tavern? What kinda size is this?!"
"Incredible... Pirates are way beyond anything I imagined."
"It's not just pirates—this is on another level. The scale of it..."
The four of them scanned the expanse, voices laced with awe at the sheer enormity of the place.
But their wonder lasted only a fleeting moment.
No sooner had they taken it in than a piercing scream shattered the air.
"Gyaaaaahhh?!"
"What was that?"
"That sounded like a scream. Trouble already?!"
They whipped their heads toward the source, zeroing in on the commotion two levels below.
The cry had been raw, unfiltered agony—impossible to ignore. It pulled at them instinctively, drawing curiosity laced with dread. Luffy aside, the other three tensed, but like their captain, they leaned over the rail to peer down.
In a dim corner, lit by a few sputtering candles nestled in a wall niche, the scream had erupted.
Two men faced off. Pirates both, but worlds apart in bearing.
A wooden table separated them, and the burlier one had a knife driven through the back of his hand, pinning it to the surface. His face twisted in torment, sweat beading on his brow, his tough-guy scowl crumbling toward outright tears.
Blood streamed from his right hand, pooling across the table.
The culprit: a young man with wild red hair spiked like flames.
A pair of goggles rode his forehead; his upper body was bare beneath a heavy coat, a belt across his chest holstered with pistols—and the knife he'd just used had likely come from there.
His lips curved in a grin, but it was a feral thing, dripping malice.
He glared at the larger man, his laughter laced with seething rage.
Eustass "Captain" Kid.
That was his name.
"What's wrong? Go on, laugh it up. Come on—laugh."
"Hiiih, hiiiiih?! S-Sorry! I won't laugh anymore! Please, have mercy!"
The searing pain in his hand shattered any composure, plunging him into terror in an instant, subjugating him utterly.
He wailed like a man begging for his life, his voice booming through the tavern. The clamor died down, all eyes turning to them, the hush amplifying every word.
Kid clamped his right hand over the man's jaw, forcing him silent.
Then, in a voice edged with menace, he murmured:
"You deaf or somethin'? I said laugh. Wasn't it funny?"
"Mmph—gah...?!"
"Or what? You get all shaky over a little prick like this, but you had the guts to mock someone else's dream?"
His fury built like a gathering storm, starting as a low simmer and swelling into an inferno. His features twisted, eyes blazing with a clarity that chilled; he grinned still, but it was a mask of terror.
His left hand gripped the knife, holding the man fast, ensuring no escape.
Then, abruptly, Kid raised his right arm.
The air shifted in an instant. Those nearby beheld something uncanny.
Metal objects nearby—knives, swords, guns, even forks and spoons—lifted off surfaces, drifting weightless as if drawn by invisible strings. They coiled around his right arm, adhering to his skin, fusing into a hulking mass that formed a colossal limb of scrap and steel.
No one watching could mistake what came next.
The captive man trembled, tears streaming down his face.
"A guy with no spine at all..."
"H-Help—?!"
"Don't you dare look down on me!!"
The massive arm swung high, fist clenched, then hammered down with brutal force. It caught the man square, splintering the wooden table beneath and cratering the stone floor.
The victim slumped, teetering on unconsciousness.
Undeterred, Kid yanked the knife free, sheathed it at his chest, then seized the man's throat with his left hand, hoisting him up.
Bathed in the crowd's gaze, Kid cut a figure of raw aberration—aggressively unhinged, gleaming like a jagged edge amid the throng of pirates.
He dangled the man by the neck as his metal arm reformed its fist.
The tavern had fallen deathly still, every eye locked on them—whether by design or not, Kid didn't care. He fixed his glare on the fading man and spat:
"Pathetic. Don't pick fights if you can't back 'em up. No guts to throw a punch? Then stay on land like the coward you are."
He dragged the limp form to the atrium's edge and hurled him over the railing.
But mercy ended there.
With a whip-crack motion, he unleashed the giant metal arm like a cannon shot.
"Guys like you piss me off the most. Get lost!"
The man couldn't even scream as the fist connected, propelling him helplessly into the far wall.
The impact crushed stone, impaling him against it in a grotesque tableau. Shards of metal pinned his body, some piercing flesh to anchor him in the shattered masonry.
Most onlookers winced at the sight; a few chuckled darkly, finding sport in the brutality.
Luffy and the others, peering over the rail, fell into the former camp.
Kid lowered his arm with a bored sigh, his mutter carrying up to them:
"Tch. What a boring bastard."
The irritated edge in his voice sent a shiver down Usopp's spine, chills racing through him.
The pirate before them was unmistakably dangerous. Whatever sparked the brawl, the intent to kill had hung in the air like smoke. From up here, they couldn't even tell if the victim still breathed.
Better to bail.
The thought struck Usopp like lightning, and he turned to Luffy without a second's pause.
"Alright, let's head out. This place is a bust, Luffy."
"Why?"
"Why?! You just saw that, right?! What the hell's his deal?! Yeah, he's a pirate, but that guy's straight-up insane! We can't get mixed up with him!"
"You think? I could take him, no problem."
"Whoa, whoa, hold up—don't even think it! We don't need trouble! We're here for that Eternal Pose to Alabasta, that's it! Nothing more!"
"That guy looks strong, huh."
"Don't get all curious now~!! Yeah, let's grab some meat! I'll treat—on my allowance!"
Luffy's face already betrayed his intrigue. He'd clocked the newcomer as a powerhouse, his curiosity ignited by that unnatural display of force.
As Luffy eyed him, someone else turned appraising eyes their way.
Tucked in a recessed nook by the entrance, a cluster of tables hosted a single pirate crew.
A man hunched forward in his seat suddenly addressed Luffy.
"Got your eye on him, huh?"
"Hm?"
"Name's Eustass 'Captain' Kid. Bounty higher than yours. One of the fresh faces making waves lately—raw power and a vicious streak that sets him apart. Though he can't touch the headlines from that certain newspaper scoop."
"Who're you?"
The man sported a hat patterned like a white leopard's pelt, his lean frame shadowed by dark circles under his eyes. Danger clung to him like a second skin. A long katana rested within arm's reach, and his crew—clad in matching jumpsuits—lurked behind. One was inexplicably a polar bear.
Nami caught on with a sharp intake of breath. The man who'd spoken matched a wanted poster she'd seen.
He had to be one of the pirates surging in notoriety of late.
Trafalgar Law, if she remembered right.
The moniker "Surgeon of Death" fit his trail of infamous deeds. In terms of infamy, he rivaled the freshly introduced Eustass "Captain" Kid—or even Straw Hat Luffy.
Law seemed intrigued by Luffy, ignoring their questions to fire one back.
"Straw Hat... How many lives you got on your tally?"
"Hiiih! Wh-What's with this creep... so unsettling...!"
"That's Trafalgar Law, the 'Surgeon of Death.' Why's he even on this island?"
Usopp and Nami muttered under their breath, but Law paid them no mind. Vivi froze under the weight of his presence, and he spared her not a glance, his grin sharpening as he locked eyes with Luffy.
Luffy met the stare, lips pressed into a firm line.
The air thickened with unease.
A heavy silence descended, the three onlookers holding their breath. Law's crew, by contrast, lounged at ease.
Then, a bellow cleaved the tension, shaking the room.
It came from Kid. Luffy's head snapped toward him, the others—and even Law—following suit, gazes dropping three levels to the man below.
Kid stood with arms flung wide, face tilted to the ceiling.
He was shouting for all in the vast tavern to hear.
"Listen up, all you bastards in here! I'm gonna be the Pirate King someday!"
The words hit Luffy like a gut punch, his brow furrowing.
Usopp sensed the shift instantly, paling.
"Any of you got beef with that? Step up—I'll end every last one of ya right here! Wanna end up like that chump? Or are you all spineless gutless wonders?!"
He prowled the crowd with predatory eyes, his taunt a blatant bid for more blood. His glare burned with manic intensity, far from sated, and the metal around him began to quiver faintly.
Luffy stared down, his easy grin hardening into resolve.
Usopp, sensing disaster, moved to rein him in—just as Law glanced at Kid and murmured:
"Heh, vicious as the rumors say. Getting antsy already."
"H-Hey, Luffy, you get it, right? Just ignore the lunatic—ignore, ignore. You don't gotta say a word; we all know you're the one becoming Pirate King—"
He was trying to talk him down, but Luffy showed no sign of listening.
Usopp, Nami, and Vivi all gasped in unison.
Luffy vaulted onto the railing in a fluid leap, balancing effortlessly as he loomed over Kid.
"Hey, you!"
"Hmph. Finally, someone with a spine."
He stood tall, hands on hips, defiant.
His shout drew every eye in the tavern, but Luffy remained oblivious, his focus solely on Kid. In his stead, Usopp and Nami spiraled deeper into panic, while Vivi's face mirrored utter bewilderment at the whirlwind turn.
The spark? One intolerable line.
Luffy's eyes flashed, and he declared it plain:
"You? No way that's happening."
"Hah?"
"O-Oi, Luffy! I said wait—?!"
"I'm the one who's gonna be Pirate King."
His tone dripped with utter exasperation, as if stating the obvious.
The fool he'd just crushed had sneered at grand dreams before, and Kid had endured mockery more than once. But this—this was the first man who didn't laugh.
He looked at Kid like he was a fool chasing the impossible.
Kid's face darkened in a heartbeat, rage flooding his features.
As Usopp and Nami shrieked and lunged to haul Luffy down, their cries echoed through the stunned silence. The declaration rang out clear to everyone present—a bold, unyielding vow.
It was no surprise some recognized the face from the papers; a few already murmured in recognition.
Up one level, a pirate crew had gathered near the rail, their captain eyeing Luffy.
Broad-shouldered in black hat and garb, a X-shaped scar on his chin.
Amid the tavern's rising buzz over the headline-grabbing rookie, this pirate watched with eerie calm, content to observe the unfolding drama.
"Captain, that's the one from—"
"Yeah. The pirate who exposed the Marines' corruption."
Pirate X Drake regarded Luffy with a tangled expression—wary, intrigued—holding back, letting fate play out.
Two levels higher still—three from the entrance—stood a group in sharp suits.
A diminutive middle-aged man dined with precise etiquette as a subordinate reported.
"Boss Father, it's the Straw Hat. From that big spread in the papers."
"Buncha loudmouths. Eh, whatever—let's see what they've got."
With a weary flick of his napkin, the small man rose.
Capone "Gang" Bege, captain of the Fire Tank Pirates, opted for spectatorship as well. He sauntered to the atrium's edge, taking in the two figures below.
Dozens of pirates now watched, rapt.
The focus: Luffy and Kid, coiled like springs, on the verge of eruption.
A sword-sharp tension crackled between them, palpable to all. Given the fresh carnage, no one doubted violence loomed.
They locked eyes for an age, words unspoken.
At last, the silence broke—Kid's lips twisting into a predatory smirk.
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Greyhounds
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