Jaya Island, Mock Town.
"Hey, is that something up in the sky?"
"Hahaha, must be a bird, right?"
"No, it's not a bird! It's way too fast! That's a person!"
"Hahaha, how could there be a person in the sky? Old Will, I told you to stop spending so much time at Leah's. Sure, that woman's ass is nice, but now you're seeing things!"
A flash of silver light shot down from the sky at terrifying speed, slamming into the ground. A shockwave erupted, sending up a huge cloud of dust.
The pirates, who had just been joking around, froze in confusion, now completely covered in dust. Only their eyes were visible, blinking rapidly.
"Damn it! Who the hell?!"
"You've got a death wish!"
"I'm One-Armed Vic! A great pirate with a 25 million bounty!"
They shook off the dust and glared toward the shadowy figure standing in the swirling haze. The sound of weapons being drawn rang out in unison.
Drawing swords at the slightest provocation—such was the way of pirates.
"Oh? Pirates, huh... Looking to pick a fight? Lucky for you, I'm in a terrible mood."
A low, cold voice echoed out. A tall shadow slowly loomed over the group.
"M-Marine..." Fresh chapters posted on NoveI[F]ire.net
"A Commodore... from headquarters..."
The pirates looked up in shock to find a towering, black-haired Marine, at least three meters tall. Their faces turned pale, and they gulped instinctively.
He stared at them with a blank expression, like he was already looking at corpses.
Despite the Marine's sickly appearance—sunken eyes, an undernourished frame, and the occasional hand clutching his lower back—his sheer presence was suffocating, crushing their fragile confidence.
The dreadlocked pirate with a missing arm forced an awkward smile.
"I-I lost my temper back there. My apologies—"
He didn't get to finish.
A flicker of black light flashed past.
A thin trail of blood seeped from his neck—then his head shot skyward!
Blood sprayed from his severed neck like a fountain, splattering across the horrified, pale faces of his crewmates.
A stunned silence fell.
Gasps of horror erupted from the crowd of onlookers.
They stared in disbelief at the headless body slowly collapsing to its knees. Fear gripped them.
What had just happened?
None of them had seen the Commodore move.
That infamous pirate, "One-Armed Vic," with a bounty of 25 million Belly, had his head taken clean off... just like that?
Only then did the crowd notice the black blade.
Long and slender, its surface etched with purple flame-like patterns, the sword hovered silently at the Marine's side.
Blood gathered along the blade's edge but didn't drip—it was being absorbed.
Not a single trace remained.
"A-a cursed sword..."
Someone with sharp eyes recognized its eerie nature and whispered, trembling.
The remaining pirates suddenly dropped their weapons and fell to their knees with a thud, their faces full of panic and fear.
"Marine-sama, we were wrong!!"
"We swear, from today onward, we'll never be pirates again!"
"We know what we did was wrong—please, spare us..."
The black-haired Marine gave them a cold glance and shook his head.
"No. You don't know you were wrong."
"You only know you're about to die."
A glint of viciousness flashed deep in their eyes. The hands that had never let go of their weapons suddenly tightened. In the next moment, they sprang up, lunging at the Marine.
Black light flickered once again.
Like a phantom of death, it swept through the crowd of pirates at unimaginable speed.
Their movements faltered.
Countless sword marks burst open across their bodies, blood spraying in every direction.
Under the stunned and silent stares of the onlookers, this wicked pirate crew... was completely wiped out.
Enma returned once more, quivering slightly with a delighted hum, as if eagerly awaiting the Marine youth's praise.
Daren lit a cigarette and muttered irritably,
"I'm not in great shape right now, so don't even think about touching me."
He was already running on empty.
If Enma drained him again, he probably wouldn't even have the strength to stand.
"So... this is Mock Town on Jaya, right?"
Daren exhaled a smoke ring, pulled a recording pointer from his coat, checked it, and then asked the person beside him for confirmation.
The surrounding crowd—pirates included—nodded like bobbleheads the moment this harbinger of death posed the question.
Daren smiled in satisfaction.
He had gotten the Log Pose from headquarters.
The Marine HQ had the most comprehensive and detailed sea charts and Log Poses in all the seas.
Though the device was considered classified and normally required formal approval to use, that had never been a problem for Daren.
A famous name, a commodore's rank, and a generous 500,000 Belly tip...
The Intelligence Division staff had practically wept with gratitude as they personally handed him the Log Pose, bowing deeply with heartfelt reverence for Commodore Daren.
"Better grab a bite first. Think I didn't eat enough earlier..."
He hadn't paid the earlier skirmish much mind.
Jaya sat in the first half of the Grand Line, a lawless zone.
It wasn't under the jurisdiction of any World Government member nation, and there were no Marine bases nearby.
As a result, this island had become a haven for pirates—a hub for restocking, trade, and transit.
Islands existed all across every sea.
There had been plenty in the North Blue too, until Daren's purges and bloodbaths had wiped most of them out.
Though some pirates still showed up on those islands now and then, as long as they kept quiet and paid taxes like everyone else, the North Blue Marines turned a blind eye.
After all, pirates could never be completely eradicated.
The earlier action was just a test of his new magnetic sword technique.
Of course, Marines didn't need a reason to kill pirates anyway.
As for why Daren came to Jaya this time... the answer was clear enough:
The City of Gold, Shandora.
And the "Invincible" Devil Fruit—
The Logia-type Goro Goro no Mi.
But before heading to Sky Island, he had to fill his stomach first.
The non-stop trip here using the Jiki Jiki no Mi had drained a lot of his energy.
"I heard the cherry pie here's supposed to be pretty good?"
The thought surfaced in Daren's mind.
He remembered that iconic scene from the original story, and without thinking, looked up at the endless blue sky, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
People's dreams never end.
I can cut your dreams short before they ever begin.