A faint smell of blood began to spread.
Very faint.
Kairi didn't notice it at all.
Mio's nose twitched slightly, and sensing Kairi's gaze, he shrugged and smiled. "Don't worry, my friend has a very good nose. He'll definitely be here soon."
"Hmph, I'll trust you this time," Kairi snorted, clearly growing impatient. He slumped into the shade and kicked his subordinate's backside. "I'm dying in this heat! Why aren't you fanning me?"
The subordinate grimaced but obediently found a large leaf and began fanning.
Watching this, Mio felt a twinge of envy. "It's nice having people serve you," he muttered to himself. "Well, I don't have underlings, but I do have Warwick." And with that, Mio silently added another title to his loyal companion: Kurokawa Mio's Exclusive Servant.
Minutes passed.
The sun burned brighter, hotter.
Suddenly, birds burst from the jungle in a panic, fleeing into the sky. Kairi furrowed his brow, glancing toward the trees. "What's going on?" he muttered, but saw nothing strange.
He stood and stomped toward Mio, grabbing the boy by the collar and lifting him into the air. His tone turned fierce and dangerous. "You playing me, brat?! You don't have a friend, do you?! Then why hasn't he come out yet?!"
"I'm really not messing with you," Mio said, shrugging as best he could while dangling in the air. "Look, if you don't believe me..."
He pointed to the forest.
Kairi followed the direction and froze, eyes widening.
A figure emerged from the trees. Tall. Muscular. Terrifying.
Gasps echoed from the pirates as they caught sight of it — a towering werewolf.
He had sharp claws and was dragging a massive, freshly-killed wild boar. A gaping hole marked the boar's belly, clearly torn open by something razor-sharp. Blood pooled at the werewolf's feet.
"A Devil Fruit user?!" Kairi's voice trembled, his face pale with fear. He had heard stories of them — beings with terrifying powers — but had never actually seen one until now.
But even more terrifying than the sight of the werewolf was the blood-red light glowing in its eyes... fixed directly on Kairi's hand — the one gripping Mio.
"You want to hurt the master..."
"Warwick will tear you apart."
Warwick's voice was low and guttural, not the wild roar of a beast, but the controlled rage of a killer. As he let the boar drop to the ground, a scarlet light flickered in his eyes.
Then, he vanished.
Puff.
Blood sprayed across Mio's face.
The hand that had grabbed his collar fell to the ground with a wet thump.
Kairi howled in pain, stumbling backward and collapsing, clutching his bleeding stump and staring in horror at the werewolf now standing between him and Mio.
"Kill him! Kill that monster!!" Kairi screamed, scrambling back while yelling at his men.
But none of the pirates moved.
They stood frozen in place, some even stepping back instinctively. One man gulped loudly, trying to muster courage, but fear gripped them all.
"Damn cowards!" Kairi barked. "There's a bunch of us, and we've got weapons! Whoever kills that thing gets a million Baileys and becomes my vice-captain!"
At the mention of a reward, several pirates' eyes lit up with greed and false bravado.
Warwick, however, didn't even glance at them. He stood protectively in front of Mio, seething with fury. "They want to hurt the master... and the master said Warwick can kill them."
He was angry — no, furious — but he still obeyed orders. The Berserker gene's chaos didn't override his loyalty.
Mio hesitated briefly. This world was brutal, and while the idea of killing still disturbed him, it was inevitable. He clenched his fist.
"Go," he said softly.
"Warwick will tear them apart!"
With his master's command, Warwick let out a guttural roar and charged at the pirates. His fangs gleamed, claws shimmered, and his body became a blur.
Puff.
In the blink of an eye, Warwick was beside a pirate, claws sweeping through flesh with ease, tearing the man apart in a spray of blood and gore.
"Kill him! Kill him!!" Kairi yelled, fear now plain in his voice.
Some pirates tried to fight back, slashing wildly with swords or shooting their pistols. Bullets rang out.
But Warwick was too fast.
He flickered across the beach like a ghost, his form appearing beside one pirate, then behind another. Each time, a body dropped. Blood soaked the sand.
Sixteen pirates had landed.
Now only one remained.
Kairi.
"You monster! Die!!" he roared in desperation, raising his massive blade with both hands and bringing it down with all his might.
Clang!
Sparks exploded.
Warwick caught the blade with his claws — and didn't even flinch.
"Die."
With a final, savage roar, Warwick thrust his other claw forward, stabbing through Kairi's abdomen. Blood spurted out as Warwick pulled his claw free, now soaked in crimson.
"Urgh—!!"
From a distance, Mio watched everything.
Then he turned pale, doubled over, and vomited onto the sand.
His face was white as a sheet.
"I... need a minute," he mumbled. "Just need to get used to it..."
This was his first time witnessing death up close, especially something so violent. It wasn't easy to accept.
But he knew this was just the beginning.
In this world, he'd see it again — many times.
He slowly looked back, forcing himself to watch.
He had to.
He had no choice.