A solitary ship could be seen approaching an island that was pure chaos and life, the complete opposite of the vessel that was arriving.
A single person stood at the rail. That was Harley Diesel, and he didn't look happy at all. He carried worrying news, and he still couldn't get out of his head how Liro had appeared behind him without him noticing a thing. If Rabocse Olbap had given the order, his head would have rolled on the floor right then and there.
He wasn't weak. He was one of the strongest in the Harley Family. But his weak point had always been the same: his ego and the pride of the Harley name.
The Harley Family wasn't just any group in the South Blue. They controlled a huge territory. They only had one main island, but the rest were territories they "defended" in exchange for protection.
For people who lived outside Harley territory and knew nothing, they'd say the Harleys were protectors, that thanks to them pirates didn't attack. That was the public image.
The real reason was that most of those islands had been robbed, robbed, and robbed again by the Harley Family themselves so many times that the only way to live in peace was to pay them so they wouldn't rob you anymore.
You'd think it's better to pay than to be robbed, and you're completely right. Except robbery happened once every few months, while payment was every weekend, and by the end of the month it ended up being the same or worse than if they had robbed you.
By doing this, the family had amassed enormous power and enough money to invest in weapons manufacturing thanks to their main island, which was a gigantic mine of a metal so valuable that even the World Government had once tried to take it by force. But the Harley Family did business instead of fighting. They reached an agreement: 80 % for the Harleys, 20 % for the World Government.
A deal that for others would be terrible, but not for the Government, which has so many places that produce metal that the Harley territory didn't even make up 1 % of their total supply.
The island had once been nothing but tall, dark mountains. Over the years the Harleys had transformed everything into a paradise for themselves, people who loved fighting, drinking in bars, and above all, riding motorcycles.
Those motorcycles were unique in the entire South Blue. They could race along the island's stone roads and even ride on water when the tide wasn't too high or too rough, so the bike wouldn't sink.
That was why they were only useful in the South Blue seas; in any other sea it would be impossible to control them.
Diesel got off the ship and was received by a double line of family members. Everyone wore almost identical outfits: black jackets with small metal spikes, black leather vests with the characteristic Harley Family emblem, a roaring motorcycle.
Diesel didn't even look at them. He walked straight to his personal motorcycle, started it with a deafening roar, and shot off at full speed toward the main house, the rest of the escort following like a black cloud.
It didn't take long to arrive. The main house looked more like a gigantic mechanic's workshop than a residence. It was a motorcycle garage. Some members could be seen repairing their bikes, others drinking, others training. This was everyday life.
Diesel went straight to the main hall, where he found Jack with his characteristic clothing like everyone else, but unlike the others he wasn't wearing a helmet, letting his bald head breathe and letting the sun shine on it, just like on his huge white beard that had years without being cut.
At his feet were two very beautiful women kneeling in front of him, something the others in the room seemed to completely ignore, along with their own women.
Seeing that Jack paid him no attention, Diesel cleared his throat loudly to get his attention. It worked.
"Oh, Diesel! How long have you been there? Grab one of the new girls we got before we sell them," Jack said, leaning back on the couch and sighing with pleasure.
"Jack, this isn't the time. I don't bring good news like we expected, and it's worrying," Diesel replied.
At Diesel's words, Jack, who had his eyes closed, opened them and stared straight at Diesel's serious face. He knew he wasn't lying.
"Tommy, take these women back where they belong. I'll finish having fun later. Work calls," Jack said, standing up, pulling up his pants, and walking to his desk to sit down, now with a completely serious face.
"Like you ordered, I went to Brackmor Island to get answers about Silco," Diesel began.
"Yeah, what happened?" Jack asked.
"At first everything was calm. When we were about twenty-five minutes from the island, we were ambushed by three ships with black flags. There was no way to escape with the ship, so we raised the white flag because we weren't prepared to fight.
When we did that, they approached. They were Silco's people, three very well-equipped ships and a lot of well-trained soldiers. There I spoke with someone called Liro, who seemed to be the most important person."
Diesel told everything: the changes he had seen, the security of the island, how everything seemed to be going better than ever.
Until he reached the important part.
"What do you mean Silco wasn't the one who received you? Does that scum look down on us that much to treat us like this?" Jack slammed the desk, feeling humiliated.
"Boss, calm down, let Diesel finish. You can see he's not done," Tommy said, returning from his errand.
"Continue, Diesel," Jack ordered.
"The one who received me wasn't Silco because Rabocse Olbap was the one who killed him and his subordinates and took the entire business," Diesel said.
"And who the hell is this Rabocse Olbap? We should have taken Red Tide ourselves, not him!" Jack spat.
"Rabocse Olbap… I saw him once when they made the monthly Red Tide delivery. He was just a worker back then, a kid. He came with Jerry. Now he looks about fifteen or sixteen, and everyone respects him a lot," Diesel explained, remembering everything.
"So a rat betrayed him, infected his ranks, and Silco died because of it. Hahahaha! What a stupid death! Dying betrayed! He would have died better if I had blown his head off myself!" Jack laughed, and everyone else laughed with him.
"That's right. Standing in front of the new boss, I asked why they had stopped the deal. He said he would continue it, but with some changes," Diesel continued.
"Keep going. What did that brat ask for? I'm only interested in his product, not him," Jack said.
"His new conditions were that instead of us buying large quantities like usual, he would give us a certain amount to sell for a sum of money, and when we finished selling it we would have to give him 80 % of all the money, and we would keep 20 %. That was his initial offer," Diesel said, stepping back from the desk that Jack had just sent flying with a punch.
"EIGHTY PERCENT?! Who does that piece of shit think he is?! In my life I've never given more than 30 % to anyone, and I never will! I'd rather die first! I hope this is a joke and that you managed to change it!" Jack roared, his white skin turning red along with his bald head.
Diesel knew that with what came next he would have to run, because he knew exactly how Jack would react.
"Boss… he didn't give me any more options. He said he wouldn't change his price because he knows we were the ones who sold information about them. Because I complained about his 'good treatment', he raised it. He said the final take-it-or-leave-it offer was 90 % for him, 10 % for us, and if you don't call him within a week he'll break all deals with us," Diesel said, hiding behind a wall.
Bang bang bang bang!
Gunshot after gunshot rang out, accompanied by insults and death threats that Jack hurled at Olbap, screaming how he would kill that shitty brat and take everything. All of it lasted about half an hour, during which the once-crowded workshop emptied completely. Only two people remained.
Diesel approached cautiously, holding a metal shield in front of him.
"Boss… there's one last part," he said.
"What else?! You already have me furious! I'd kill you if you weren't my useless brother!" Jack snarled, eyes bloodshot.
"He said that if you don't call within a week, we can't get involved in any way with Red Tide, whether selling information or buying it. He'll find out, and if he does, he will declare total war on us," Diesel finished, gripping the shield with all his strength.
"Now I really will kill you, you piece of shit! You can't even handle a simple mission and you dare call yourself Harley!" Jack roared, pulling every pistol from his pants and emptying them at Diesel.
Somewhere else in the South Blue, at open sea
Two ships could be seen smoking, flames rising high.
If you asked the people passing by what had happened, they would tell you that less than an hour ago the Barrow Pirates were sailing happily toward the Red Line to enter the Grand Line and look for every treasure they could find and live like millionaires.
But before leaving they had spent all their money on something new they had heard rumors about in the black market: Red Tide had returned, stronger than ever, and the buyers said it was better than before.
They couldn't ignore that. So Captain Barrow, with his years of contacts at sea, managed to buy a little of this thing called Red Tide. He hadn't used it yet; they had only told him one phrase that made his skin crawl:
"Don't use it until you're close to death or have nothing left. It's your secret weapon."
And that was exactly the situation they were in now. They had been ambushed by a Marine warship. They tried with all their strength to defeat it, but the Marines were much stronger than they thought, and now they were hanging by their last threads of consciousness.
Grabbing the two red crystal bricks called Red Tide, he broke them in half and gave a piece to each of his three most loyal subordinates, the last ones still alive.
They didn't wait a second. Knowing this was only to be used in moments like this, they immediately chewed the crystal, which broke like hard candy, and swallowed the rest.
Feeling everything go down, they waited. For a few seconds nothing seemed to happen, and the Marines were already closing in for the final blow.
One Marine, taking advantage of their distraction, lunged and aimed his spear at the captain's chest. But to his surprise, steam began to pour from their bodies and their exposed skin turned red.
The spear that was going to pierce the skin and perforate the heart shattered on contact and broke right in front of the soldier.
Captain Barrow, who had seen everything in slow motion thinking it was his end and that he had been tricked, felt a strength he had never experienced before. To unleash it, the very soldier who stood open-mouthed became his first target.
With a powerful blow to the head, he made it explode like a melon, the remaining body falling motionless to the ground.
The other three Barrow pirates felt the same. Seeing their captain's never-before-seen strength, they didn't hesitate to throw themselves at the stunned Marines.
Thus began a completely irreversible massacre. Before, the Marines had seen hope of winning the battle and returning alive to see their families. That vision was completely shattered by four pirates who looked like demons with their red skin and the steam they left behind with every movement.
In other parts of the South Blue, identical situations could be seen: pirate crews on the verge of defeat suddenly came back with never-before-seen strength and ended up defeating those who had been winning.
Another place in south blue
On an island in the South Blue where no trace of life could be seen, only gigantic stones that looked like spears, a figure could be seen atop one of them holding something in his hand.
The figure was enormous, and the most characteristic thing was a tall wizard hat and a Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"So you want me to do that because of the debt I owe you. You know I'd never actually pay it, right?" the figure said under his hat.
"I know, you flying lizard," came the voice of an older person. "But I know you'll like this. You'll get to have fun the way you love. And if you complete it… how about some good women?"
"Ryx ryx ryx… accepted."
That was the last thing heard among those gigantic stone spears.
End of the chapter.