Chapter 8: A Good Night for a Hunt!
Marine G-51 Branch. The Port.
The Nice-Mayer Kingdom's royal merchant ship, The Eikjörn, was still docked quietly.
The grand banquet inside the Marine branch had begun. The Marines and the ship's stewards were enjoying fine food and wine.
And at this moment, on the ship's deck...
"Man, I'm jealous... I heard the Steward gave every single Marine a 100,000 Berry bonus," one of the kingdom's guards sighed. "Especially that Captain Astor... I heard the kingdom privately gave him treasure worth..."
He held up a hand to indicate a large number, sighing with envy.
"You just don't get it," another, older guard next to him chuckled. "That Captain Astor is a real piece of work. A while back, a shipment of Steward Mantal's slaves had an 'accident' here in Master Port. A few of them escaped and ran to the Marine branch for help."
"One of them was a woman, 'special cargo' from the 'Flower Tribe'... That's high-grade merchandise!"
At this, the younger guard looked shocked.
The Flower Tribe—a special race on the high seas.
On the surface, they looked human, but their bodies emitted a floral scent. Plants would grow just by them being near, and their sweat was said to be one of the world's finest nectars.
A female of the Flower Tribe... her price was no less than a mermaid's. The starting bid at Sabaody was 50,000,000 Berries.
You can imagine, if cargo like that escaped, Steward Mantal would be in deep trouble.
But...
"It was Captain Astor who personally sent all those slaves back to the Steward. He even destroyed all the official rescue-plea documents."
The old guard chuckled. "Now you get it, right? The Marines are our 'protection umbrella.' Of course the Steward has to give them plenty of benefits!"
Hearing this, the young guard was even more envious.
But the old guard quickly changed the subject. "No need to be so jealous. We made a killing this trip, too. The Steward will give us a good bonus."
At the mention of this, the young guard perked up.
"I know, right? Who would have thought that little fishing village would have such a great beauty? And that a Celestial Dragon would end up seeing and buying her."
He gulped as he said it.
The old guard nodded. "Yeah. That World Noble traded one Devil Fruit and 200,000,000 Berries for her. Add in the other slaves, and we've earned 500,000,000 Berries this trip... Hmm!?"
He stopped mid-sentence, his expression changing drastically.
At that moment, both guards realized that their legs, necks, bodies, and hands were being tightly held.
Before they could even struggle...
Two short blades pierced through their backs, exiting their chests.
"Six, no... seven... intruders?"
That was the old guard's last thought as he fell heavily to the deck.
The seven intruders quickly dragged the two guards into the shadows and stripped them of their clothes.
After doing this, all seven of them were breathing heavily.
If one looked closely, they would discover a shocking fact.
All seven of the intruders who had snuck onto the ship looked exactly alike. It was, of course, the young pirate named 'Alan.'
It was Alan himself, and his six remaining Slice-Clones.
"Koli... she..."
Alan's voice was a low growl, as if he were about to shatter his own teeth.
From the guards' conversation, he had heard Koli's fate.
"No... stay calm. Grandpa and the others are still in the hold... I have to save them first..."
He forcefully suppressed his rage. Two of his clones put on the guard uniforms.
"Fifteen minutes until the guard change. The hold will open. I can mix in and rescue Grandpa and the others."
His mind raced, going over every detail of his plan.
From the moment he'd sent that threat letter, forcing the ship to stop at Master Port, he had been watching everyone on this ship, waiting for this moment.
"At that time, there will only be four guards in the hold for a short time... I'll ambush two, and use my other clones as a sacrifice to take down the last two!"
As he thought this, Alan couldn't help but remember that strange Marine Captain he'd met—the one who'd seen right through his plan.
"According to the info from my clone, his ship hasn't returned... Was he just bluffing?"
Alan shook his head, clearing the thought. He had no more time for doubts.
He knew his own strength.
Although the fruit he ate as a child gave him a special ability, he was still just an ordinary village boy. The only reason he hadn't been captured as a slave with the others was pure luck; he just happened to be away from the village.
Even with all his clones, he couldn't beat three royal guards in a straight fight.
He had only one chance.
"Focus! Focus!"
Just as he thought this...
Wheeeeet!
A sharp whistle shattered the silence, coming from behind him.
Alan spun around, his face frozen in disbelief.
The two guards he had "killed" were struggling to sit up.
"First time killing someone, kid?"
The old guard was still bleeding, but he was grinning viciously.
"You were nervous. With a short knife, you have to hit the head, the heart, or a vital organ... You missed all of them, you idiot!"
As he spoke, dozens of guards, alerted by the whistle, stormed out from the ship's hold.
"Intruders!"
"Why now? There's no treasure left."
"Who cares! Grab them! Wait... are they septuplets?"
The moment they saw Alan and the two wounded guards, they understood the situation.
Alan's face was sheet-white.
He had only one chance.
And now, it was gone.
The next moment, he heard the old guard shout, "Don't kill him! That's not septuplets. He's an ability user! He's precious cargo! Take him alive!"
Hearing this, Alan's pale face flushed with a crimson rage.
He gripped his short knife.
"You scum... I..."
He would not become a slave. He would rather die!
He and his six clones charged at the guards.
It was meaningless.
Just two minutes later, Alan and all his clones were lying on the deck, covered in blood.
"Which one's the main body?"
"Who cares, grab 'em all."
"We're gonna be rich! Ability user slaves are popular!"
Laughing, several guards walked over, reaching down to grab Alan.
"Damn it... Damn it..."
Alan tried to resist, but he was pinned to the deck, unable to move.
But at that exact moment...
BOOM!
He suddenly heard a terrifying sound of rushing air.
Then, he felt the hands holding him vanish, replaced by... warm liquid splashing onto his body.
He struggled to look up.
The guards who had been standing over him were gone.
In their place was a massive, splintered hole in the deck.
Through the hole, he could see the blood and mangled corpses of the guards below. That was the source of the warm liquid.
"Who!?"
"What's that hole!?"
"What's going on!?"
"Look! In the sky!"
Alan heard the guards' panicked shouts.
He instinctively raised his head.
And then, he saw an image that he was fated to never forget.
In the black sky, the full moon hung high.
And framed perfectly in its center, a figure stood in the air.
He wore a rooster mask and was slowly, almost casually, pulling back his fist.
"Who is that? The intruder's accomplice?"
"He can fly? Is he an ability user, too?"
"Quick! Shoot him down!"
The guards raised their weapons, a chaotic mess.
But at this moment, some of them realized something was wrong.
The old guard, who was still alive, noticed it. The figure was standing in the air... but his feet were lightly tapping on it.
"That's..."
As a man who had seen much, he'd heard of this technique. That, combined with the punch that had just annihilated the deck...
"No! No!" the old guard screamed, trying to take command.
"Retreat! Get Steward Mantal and Captain Astor! This guy is a monster!"
But it was too late.
Swish!
With a sound like tearing air, the figure in the sky vanished.
"How nice."
The next second, a low voice spoke directly into the old guard's ear.
"For my very first outing, I run into trash like you. This means I can... hunt to my heart's content!"
The old guard felt his vision tumble.
He saw his own body, standing there, headless.
He realized it wasn't him flying. It was just his head.
In his last, brief moment of consciousness...
He saw the rooster-masked figure, now like a phantom, flow into the crowd of guards.
Screams and the sound of slaughter filled the night.
In the dark sky, the full moon shone.
Its light, falling on the deck, seemed to be stained red.