Chapter 35: The Raid on Grove 1
Thick smoke and dust billowed from the entrance of the auction house. A massive hole had been blown clean through the heavy, reinforced doors, and the entire structure shuddered from the impact.
BWOOP! BWOOP! BWOOP!
Alarms blared throughout the complex.
Inside the Auction House, Luxurious Lounge.
Disco was fast asleep, drool pooling on his silk pillow. The violent explosion jolted him awake, sending him tumbling out of bed and onto the floor with a painful thud.
"What in the blazes was that?! Guards! Where are the guards?!" he shrieked, scrambling to his feet and snatching his coat from a nearby chair. "Who's making a racket at this hour? Is it some damn slave trying to escape?!"
Late-night explosions, while disruptive, were not unheard of. Desperate individuals, ignorant of the deadly nature of the explosive collars, would sometimes try to break them or find another way out, resulting in a messy end and a rude awakening for Disco.
He stormed out of his room, marching angrily toward the holding cells, determined to see which fool had caused the disturbance.
However, when he reached the corridor leading to the cells, the chaotic scene that greeted him instantly replaced his anger with cold dread.
"Master Disco! It's terrible! Pirates have broken in!"
"There are so many of them! They're tearing the main hall apart!"
"Many of our men are down! What do we do?!"
The guards, clad in armor and armed with spears, swarmed around him like panicked insects.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Disco lashed out, kicking the two guards nearest to him. "You useless fools! You're asking me what to do? What good are you?! How dare pirates attack this place! Don't they know who we are?!" He grabbed one by the collar. "Which crew is it? Did you get a good look?!"
Any pirate crew capable of reaching the Sabaody Archipelago had to possess at least a modicum of intelligence and survival instinct. Who would be reckless enough to attack a human auction house with known ties to the World Government? It made no sense!
"The Dawn Pirates! They're shouting that they're the Dawn Pirates! They're demanding we hand over all our treasure!"
"That's right! The one leading them, the most brutal one, is their captain, Dan Shuke!"
"There's another one, a monster! He took out three of our men with one punch! His name is... Dan Page!"
"And there are two women with dual pistols!"
"..."
The guards all spoke at once, a cacophony of fear.
"Huh? The Dawn Pirates?" Disco's face contorted in confusion. "I've never heard of them! Go! Drive them out! Those slaves are still collared; they can't get far! What are you all standing around for?! If the Celestial Dragons hear of this tomorrow, we're all dead!"
The mention of the Celestial Dragons' wrath was a potent motivator. The guards, their fear of their masters now outweighing their fear of the invaders, rallied and charged toward the main hall.
In the Main Hall.
BOOM!
"Ugh...!"
"I am Dan Page, the brawler of the Dawn Pirates!" T. Peng roared, his fists a blur as he fused his raw strength with Armament Haki. Each blow was accompanied by the sickening crunch of armor and the screams of the guards. To avoid recognition, Ian had forbidden the use of their signature weapons. Peacock had an additional restriction: no Devil Fruit powers. Even with these limitations, T. Peng was a force of nature.
Their assigned weapons for the raid were:
T. Peng (Page): Fists.
Nami (Beta) & Skylark (Jerry): Dual Pistols.
Peacock (Tom): A Mace.
Ian (Shuke): ...A Swordsman?
At that moment, Ian was playing the part of a great swordsman, wreaking havoc. The [Overall Prowess] enhancements had randomly granted him swordsmanship skills on three occasions, enough to let him project flying slashes, but no deeper finesse. In layman's terms, his technique could be described as... whirling demolition.
"I'll cut this!"
"And this!"
CRASH!
BOOM!
He had specially procured a broad, heavy blade for the occasion. Every swing released a ferocious wave of sword energy that tore grotesque gashes through the venue. Seats, furnishings, the stage—everything was being systematically reduced to splinters by Ian. His goal wasn't just to free the prisoners and steal the money; it was to destroy this place utterly.
After creating sufficient chaos, Ian activated his enhanced senses to take stock. The venue housed 75 guards. In just a few minutes, over half were already incapacitated. The rest were either hiding or hesitating to engage. Guards were human, too; they felt fear and wanted to live. They couldn't comprehend where this "Dawn Pirates" crew had come from. There were only five of them, but they fought with the ferocity of five hundred.
"That's enough!" Ian yelled from his perch on the ruined auction stage. "Beta (Nami), find the keys! Page (T. Peng), go with her and get everyone out! Tom (Peacock), Jerry (Skylark), you're with me! We're grabbing the money and looting the place clean!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Understood, Captain!"
"Let's get that treasure, follow the Captain!"
The team moved as one, pushing through the smoke-filled corridors toward the holding cells and the financial office at the rear.
…
"Stay back!"
"You damned pirates! Don't you know this place is frequented by Celestial Dragons?!"
"We operate under the protection of the World Government! Do you have a death wish?!"
"Reinforcements are coming! You should run now!"
"Stop! All of you, stop! Please, don't come any closer!"
BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
End of Chapter