The First Half of the Grand Line.
Paradise.
On the deck of the Rhino Pirates' ship—
BOOM!
A massive body crashed through the cabin wall, splintering wood and sending debris flying.
The Rhino Pirates' captain, Jonad, a Zoan-type Rhino Fruit user, spat a mouthful of dark blood.
"Kill him!!"
"We can't beat that monster—RUN!"
"AAAHHH!"
"It's useless! Fight or die!"
"..."
The chaotic shouts gradually faded into silence as Jonad forced himself up, stumbling through the smashed opening.
The sight before him froze his breath.
Bodies littered the deck—shredded limbs, pooling blood, and crimson rain dripping through the cracks.
His brothers—his sworn companions—were dead.
All killed by the man standing in silhouette against the sun.
"You… who the hell are you…?"
Jonad roared, voice cracking with grief and madness.
"What did we ever do to you? Why? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? YOU DEVIL!!"
Driven by rage, Jonad's body swelled and warped, transforming into a massive rhinoceros.
He lowered his horn and charged with suicidal momentum.
Davy watched him coldly.
His long blade dragged behind him, its edge darkening into a pitch-black sheen.
CLANG!
A violent clash rang out—then the wet tear of hide and flesh.
Jonad's forelegs gave out.
His enormous form toppled and skidded across the deck, carving deep trails before crashing to a stop.
Davy turned slowly.
The beast had vanished—only a broken man remained, lying in a spreading pool of blood.
Both arms were gone; his breaths were thin and ragged.
Davy's voice was ice.
"Why? You ask me why?"
He approached step by step.
"You slaughtered villages. Raided towns. Kidnapped women and children to sell as merchandise."
He looked down at Jonad's trembling form.
"And now you want to know why?"
He clenched his fist.
Muscles swelled beneath his skin, veins bulging, his knuckles coated in that unnatural, heavy black glow.
Garou-like Haki? No—this was the weight of intent honed through countless deaths.
"You garbage don't deserve to live."
He exhaled sharply.
Then brought his fist down.
Jonad's skull burst like an overripe melon.
A swirl of green mist rose from the corpse—Jonad's soul—caught instantly by the spectral chains projected from Davy's brow.
The spirit thrashed silently, but Davy didn't spare it a glance.
He absorbed the soul, wiped the fresh blood off himself with the Smooth-Smooth Fruit's effect, and turned toward the cabin.
He'd sensed them from the beginning.
Women. Children.
Hiding. Terrified.
Using his still-budding Observation Haki, he located the cramped, filthy cell beneath the deck.
He killed the guards in passing and slashed open the iron door.
Eighteen captives.
Most were young girls.
Four were children no older than six or seven.
When they heard footsteps, not one screamed.
They merely curled up, wide-eyed and vacant, staring at him like ghosts in human form.
Captives.
Playthings.
Servants.
Merchandise.
"You're safe now," Davy said flatly. "Is there someone in charge here?"
No one answered.
He frowned.
"Answer me."
At last, one girl moved—
healthier-looking than the rest, clothes still intact, with a noble bearing that hadn't fully dimmed.
She stood, trembling, then bowed deeply.
"Sir… I—I am the eldest. The others listen to me."
Her voice quivered but retained structure. "Thank you for saving us."
Refined speech. Controlled posture.
She had been spared the worst of the pirates' cruelty.
Likely a noble.
Davy's expression didn't change much.
"Name."
"I am Clara Liz… of noble birth."
She bowed again. "If you bring us to any World Government kingdom, my family will pay you handsomely."
So that's how she survived.
A noble's daughter, bargaining with her status.
He didn't doubt the reward—her bearing alone proved she wasn't bluffing.
But Davy didn't care.
He didn't come here for money.
He came because leaving innocents to rot was something he refused to do.
Not because of justice—
but because he wasn't the same monster they had suffered under.
"I have no time to chase down your family," he said, brushing aside the matter.
He scanned the group—trembling girls, starving children.
"You have two choices."
His tone brooked no discussion.
"First, stay on this ship and figure out your own way back."
"Second, come with me. I'll drop you on the nearest inhabited island."
"You have one minute to decide."
The captives' dull, lifeless eyes flickered.
He's… sending them home?
Not keeping them?
Not abusing them?
Not selling them?
We… we're really saved?
Whispers rippled through the group, hope slowly rising where despair had lived for far too long.
Davy ignored them.
"One minute is up. Those who want to leave, follow me."
He turned—
"W-wait!"
Clara's voice trembled behind him.
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