Woof!
Sadaharu, whose paws were already itching for some action, wagged his tail and excitedly barked. He leaped from the bow of the ship.
"Huh?"
The pirates at the bow looked at the furry head that was rapidly getting bigger in their vision and were all taken aback.
What the hell is that?
A dog? A cat?
Well, oversized or not, it actually looked kind of cute. Probably just the pet of that man on the speedboat.
"Oi, oi, oi… are they seriously looking down on us that much?"
The pirate ship kept surging forward at full speed. One bald officer narrowed his eyes, his thumb pushing half a blade free from its sheath.
"You've still got the leisure to play cards, and instead you send your pet to die first…"
"In that case, I'll grant you your wish!"
He sneered as he leaped up. He drew his sword and charged straight for its soft underbelly. "Little doggy, don't blame me for losing your life. Blame your owner!"
Clang!
A dull metallic sound rang out. The bald officer froze, staring in disbelief at the faint white mark left on the animal's belly. His jaw nearly hit the deck.
It didn't cut?
What kind of sick joke was this?!
He was a swordsman who could "cut iron" when he first arrived in the Grand Line!
He was also a great pirate with a bounty of 35 million Berries, ranking in the top three on the ship!
While the bald officer was still in a daze, Sadaharu had already landed steadily at the bow.
With a single swipe of his paw, terrifying force erupted. The bald officer was swatted away like a ragdoll, unable even to scream before he was hurled dozens of meters into the air and crashed into the sea with a thunderous splash.
Blood spread across the surface. It was clear he wasn't surviving that.
"Captain Best!!"
"What the hell?! Just one casual hit, and he took down Captain Best—"
"What the hell is this dog?!"
The rest of the pirates on deck gaped in horror. When they turned to look again at the fluffy, adorable white dog, their eyes were filled with terror.
"Don't panic!"
Fortunately, another captain, who was four meters tall, was exceptionally brave. He quickly calmed down. His eyes were cold as he shouted in a sharp voice:
"That Best guy was just careless. You guys, let's all attack together and kill this big dog!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he fiercely drew his two swords and charged forward, attacking Sadaharu.
"Yes, Captain!"
This tall and burly officer seemed to have a lot of authority. With him leading the way, the other pirates were instantly reinvigorated. They howled and charged forward.
However—
The huge numerical advantage at this moment and Best's solo fight from before seemed to make no difference to this harmless-looking big dog.
Whether it was a slash from a sword or an ax, or a sneaky bullet shot from a corner, none of them could even break its defense and were all bounced off.
On the other hand, Sadaharu could often send a group of pirates flying with broken bones and spitting blood with a casual swipe of its paw. A sweep of its tail would be followed by a series of wails and miserable screams.
Surrounded by hundreds of enemies, it charged back and forth on the deck as if it were in a land with no one in sight.
A complete and utter massacre.
In just a minute or two, more than half of the Demon Hunter Pirates were dead or wounded. The remaining pirates were so terrified that they couldn't even hold their swords. They didn't dare to charge anymore. When Sadaharu took a step forward, they would be so scared that they would retreat several steps back…
It was at this moment.
These pirates, whose lives had been spared for the time being, suddenly remembered that something seemed… a bit off.
Wait, where's the captain?!
These pirates, whose lives had been spared for the time being, suddenly remembered that something seemed… a bit off.
Wait, where's the captain?!
They had been beaten so badly. Both of their captains had been taken down in an instant. The entire pirate crew was in disarray. Why hadn't Big Sis made a move yet?
"Big Sis, we've done our best! We can't hold on any longer!"
Someone shouted, clutching the wound on their arm, teeth gritted. But behind them, it was unusually quiet — no response at all.
"...Big Sis?"
In that instant, the remaining pirates turned their heads in unison—only to freeze in shock.
The spot at the foot of the mast, where Captain Kafia had been standing—
Was now completely empty.
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh?!"
No way.
The pirates' eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. What was going on?!
The captain, who was usually so valiant and bold, had actually abandoned her crew and ran away by herself?
Sure, the dog was terrifying, far beyond expectations… but wasn't her reaction just a little too much?
…
At the stern of the ship, hidden from view on the main deck.
Kafia, usually known for her dashing and valiant demeanor, was now sprawled flat against the planks, crawling inch by inch like a maggot as she crept backward with extreme caution.
From time to time, she peeked through the cracks in the ship's structure toward the speedboat in the distance—where a man and three women were still playing cards and chatting casually…
Thankfully, they hadn't noticed her yet.
She swallowed hard, then kept crawling, hands and knees moving as cold sweat trickled down her temples from the sheer tension.
It couldn't be wrong.
No, it definitely couldn't be wrong!
It was that man.
At first, when she saw the figure from far away, his back was turned and his oversized sunglasses hid most of his face, so she hadn't paid him much attention.
But once they drew closer, and that handsome profile turned slightly as he smiled and spoke to the people beside him—her pupils had instantly shrunk in recognition.
—That man.
The one who once served as a Rear Admiral in the West Blue.
The one who, in the span of a single year, effortlessly slaughtered and crushed countless infamous pirate crews, leaving behind a legend in the West Blue as terrifying as the Grim Reaper himself.
As a pirate born in the West Blue, Kafia could never forget that year: the darkness when familiar pirate crews vanished without a trace, none daring to show their faces.
Nor could she forget the scene when that Marine officer—Nao—was finally promoted to Headquarters Vice Admiral and left the West Blue. The pirate crews had wept tears of joy and celebrated with thunderous cheers…
Even she, back then, had broken precedent, bringing out her treasured wine and throwing a two-day, two-night banquet with her men.
And now…
Of all the rotten luck, she had sailed straight into this man's path, even charging at him in a fury, trying to ram him into the sea…
If time could go back…
Kafia swore she would rush to her past self a few minutes earlier and slap that brain-dead, waterlogged idiot of a woman across the face—twice.
She crawled a bit further. Finally, her heel brushed against the railing at the stern. The speedboat in the distance was still calm, while on her own deck her men's screams of agony still rang out one after another.
"Phew…"
Carefully, she turned her body. Her slender figure squeezed under the gap of the railing.
Finally—escape was within reach.
The glittering waves of the sea were right before her. Relief flooded her chest as the suffocating grip of terror clutching her heart finally began to loosen.
She cast one last glance back at the deck. The screams were already growing faint.
I'm sorry, guys.
Kafia thought silently. If there's a next life, I hope you can still be my comrades, my subordinates. But right now…
She simply didn't have the slightest shred of courage to face that terrifying man.
Taking a deep breath, she prepared to jump—
—but suddenly, her vision blurred. A massive wall of white blocked her path.
She looked up and saw a furry dog face with comma-shaped eyebrows. It was lying on the railing, tilting its head and staring at her intently.
"When did you—?!"
A chill instantly shot from her spine to the top of her head. Kafia was horrified. With her strength, she hadn't even noticed when this dog had come from the deck to the stern.
That movement… was it Soru from the Six Powers?
How the hell could a dog know Marine techniques like that?!
A wave of absurdity welled up in Kafia's chest, but no one would ever give her the answer.
Because right at that moment, the fluffy, pinkish-white paw before her eyes turned pitch-black as if drenched in ink. Under her horrified gaze, it whistled through the air, enlarging rapidly…
…
Thud!
A dull crash.
Nao released the right hand he had slammed onto the table, fanning out all of his cards with a hearty laugh.
"Didn't see that coming, did you? Just happened to line up perfectly for me—airplane!"
"Seventeen cards, and he managed to throw them all out in one go…"
Across the table, Bellemere groaned and slapped her forehead.
"Ugh, I should've just bombed earlier. Now look at me—I didn't get a single card out, and this guy wins."
"Wouldn't have mattered if you bombed…"
Beside her, Gion sighed, setting down her hand full of good cards. Lifting her teacup, she glanced behind Nao with curiosity.
"We've already played four or five rounds. Why's Sadaharu still taking so long?"
"Cooped up at HQ for too long. Rare chance to stretch his legs, so he's probably just having fun."
Nao gathered the deck, ready to shuffle again. But then he paused, turned his head with a smile, and said,
"Actually, his efficiency's not bad. Look—he's already finished up."
The three women all looked up and saw Sadaharu, who was holding a woman's body with a hole in her chest, sprinting back to the deck from the stern.
Along the way, he glanced left and right and stomped on a few pirates who were lying on the ground pretending to be dead. The sound of their bones cracking was crisp and clear.
This habit of casually finishing off enemies is a trait that the dog shares with its owner...
The three women exchanged strange looks with Nao.
He, on the other hand, remained utterly unfazed. Chuckling, he waved a hand. At once, Sadaharu dropped the corpse, leapt into the sea to wash the blood off his fur, then hopped back aboard the speedboat, dripping wet. Like a child seeking praise, he nudged Nao's palm with his head, tongue lolling happily.
"Not bad, Sadaharu."
Nao ruffled the dog's head with a smile.
"Now, I'll be counting on you to watch the boat. When we get back tonight, I'll bring you your favorite roast meat."
"Aren't you going to deal with that ship?" Gion glanced at the distant deck, littered with corpses.
It was, after all, a famous tourist spot. Leaving that kind of eyesore in the harbor did somewhat ruin the view.
"No need. There's a Marine branch base a hundred nautical miles to the north."
Nao stretched and stood, speaking casually.
"Once they get word, they'll handle it. We're just here on vacation—let them take care of the trouble. Come on, let's go."
"That pirate was at least a rising star with a fifty or sixty million berry bounty, though."
Bellemere smirked slyly.
"And you didn't even reveal your identity. Aren't you afraid someone else will steal the credit?"
"That'd be a surefire way to dig their own graves. If they want to risk being fired, let them."
"Tsk, tsk. Such arrogance, Vice Admiral."
The group laughed as they left, while Sadaharu clumsily set the anchor with his two paws. After finally securing the boat, he flopped down comfortably on the deck, basking in the sun and drifting into a nap.
Meanwhile, the stretch of harbor waters—just cleared—was slowly filling again, as the ships that had fled earlier cautiously returned to dock.
The onlookers glanced between the blood-soaked pirate ship and the big, fluffy white dog lazing in the sunlight. Their jaws dropped. None of them could react for a long while.
—What had they just witnessed?
The Demon Hunter Pirates, worth a combined bounty of over 200 million berries and already notorious across the Grand Line, had just been annihilated by… a giant pet dog?
If even the dog was that monstrous…
Then who on earth were those people who had just gone ashore?
Just as the atmosphere in the port was eerily silent, no one noticed that a small, worn-out wooden boat was floating and swaying into the dock from a distance.
There were only two people on the boat.
One was a skinny, gray-haired old man who was in charge of rowing.
The other was a kind-looking swordsman wearing a purple robe.
The two had one thing in common: their eyes were slightly closed, and they were clearly both blind.
"Have we arrived, Mr. Issho?"
The skinny, gray-haired old man was rowing hard and asked with a puzzled expression:
"I think I can hear music drifting from the Town of the Spring Queen… but why is the harbor so quiet? Not a sound at all…"
In a bustling city's harbor, shouldn't there be ships constantly coming and going, with voices lively and unending?
"Yes, this is indeed Town of the Spring Queen. Row a little southeast, Uncle Ange, and we'll be able to dock."
The middle-aged blind swordsman replied gently. But then, as if suddenly sensing something, he tilted his head and silently "looked" toward the distant, deserted pirate ship.
"Evil always meets its end…"
Shaking his head, he said in a low voice:
"It seems I've arrived too late. Uncle Ange, the Demon Hunter Pirates who plundered your village… they're already dead here."
"Eh???"
The gray-haired blind old man turned his head in shock. In his moment of surprise, he didn't pay attention and let the small wooden boat crash into another ship.
He himself also lost his footing and stumbled forward. He was about to fall into the sea when he suddenly felt his body being grabbed by something fluffy. Then, he was safely placed on the deck.
"Th-thank you, thank you…"
The old man was filled with gratitude. He hadn't even taken a few steps forward when he felt like he had run into a soft wall.
He was startled and took two steps back. He spread his arms and tried to feel it. He felt that it was cylindrical, more like a fluffy pillar…
"Is it a fluffy elephant?"
The blind old man raised his head and mumbled blankly. The gentle and mellow voice of the blind swordsman came from behind him:
"No, Mr. Ange. That's a big dog."