Several hours earlier...
BANG!
A thunderous crash echoed throughout the small restaurant, causing the civilians huddled in the corners to flinch involuntarily. A large, intimidating man with a pockmarked face and cruel eyes slammed his fist on the front counter, glaring at the young proprietress and the little girl hiding behind her.
His voice was low and menacing as he spoke with deliberate slowness. "Don't try to play games with me, lady. I made a simple request today, and if you can't even fulfill a customer's basic order, what kind of restaurant are you running here?"
"Ha ha ha! You tell her, Maq! Keep up the excellent customer service!" A one-eyed man with long, greasy hair called out in a rough voice from where he sat with his crew scattered throughout the restaurant, all of them laughing at the proprietress's obvious distress.
The woman pulled her young daughter closer, shielding the child with her body while responding as calmly as she could manage. "Honored guests, please forgive me, but our establishment simply cannot provide what you've requested. You're asking for enough food and supplies to last a month, plus a substantial amount of money, and we just don't have—"
BANG!
The pockmarked pirate slammed the table again, cutting off her explanation with a furious shout. "How dare you show such disrespect!"
He gestured broadly toward the floor around them. "What's the matter? Still counting on those guards lying around to help you?"
Throughout the restaurant and spilling out the front door, the bodies of local security forces lay groaning in pain, their faces bruised and bloodied from the one-sided beating they'd received.
The proprietress bit her lower lip and shook her head helplessly. She knew this was going to be a dark day for their peaceful town.
The one-eyed man lounging in the center of his crew with a half-smile was a notorious pirate captain with a bounty exceeding 20 million berries. Even though the town had immediately sent word to the nearest Marine base, distant help couldn't solve an immediate crisis. The Marines might not even be available, and certainly wouldn't arrive in time to prevent whatever these criminals had planned.
"You bad guys! Let my mom alone!"
Seeing her mother trapped in an impossible situation, the little girl mustered all her courage and shouted at the pirates. However, the proprietress reacted instantly, covering her daughter's mouth to prevent her from saying anything that might further provoke their captors.
"Oh? Little sister, what were you trying to say?" The one-eyed captain fixed the proprietress with such a fierce glare that she shivered and unconsciously loosened her grip on her daughter.
When the little girl saw her mother's face turn pale with terror, something brave awakened inside her. She took a step forward and puffed out her cheeks defiantly, staring directly at the pirates.
"Stop being mean to my mom, you bullies!" she shouted with all the volume her small lungs could produce. "If my big brother were here..." Her voice grew quieter as she continued, uncertainty creeping in.
After a pause, she shook her head and murmured almost to herself, "But I can't cause trouble for big brother."
Then her voice rose again with renewed determination. "Anyway, you're not allowed to be mean to my mother anymore!"
The pirates occupying the restaurant burst into raucous laughter, their cruel amusement filling the entire space with an ugly sound.
"Did you hear that? Her 'big brother'! Ha ha ha!"
"Well then, why don't you call him right now? Forget about big brothers—we already beat up all the uncles and aunts in this town! Ha ha ha!"
Looking at these arrogant pirates laughing at her expense, the little girl was about to respond angrily when she felt her mother quietly tugging at the corner of her dress.
"Shirley," the proprietress said in a weak voice, then shook her head silently.
Seeing the plea in her mother's eyes, Shirley pouted and slowly lowered her head in defeat.
The proprietress and other local residents knew exactly who the "big brother" Shirley was referring to. Ever since she'd been kidnapped nearly three years ago and miraculously returned to the island safely, she would often hold up newspapers and excitedly share news about her "big brother" with anyone who would listen.
But the adults understood the harsh realities of their world. Their mature minds couldn't allow them to pin their hopes on some distant stranger who had no real connection to their lives—no matter how kind he might have been to one little girl years ago.
After the pirates' laughter finally died down, the one-eyed captain waved dismissively at one of his subordinates. "Go check on the others. Make sure they're collecting everything of value from the houses."
"Understood, Captain." The subordinate immediately turned and walked out of the restaurant.
It was obvious now that this crew had never intended to actually pay for food and supplies from the restaurant. They'd simply chosen to take what they wanted through force—their standard operating procedure developed over years of piracy.
Once their scouts returned with stolen goods and money, they would ruthlessly slaughter every witness in front of them before burning all the buildings in sight, reducing the entire settlement to ash and memory.
Catching his captain's meaningful glance, the pockmarked pirate responded with an acknowledging gesture before turning his attention back to the proprietress and her daughter. A disturbing smile spread across his scarred features as he spoke in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Now then, proprietress, you really shouldn't refuse when someone offers you a drink. If you don't quickly prepare the supplies we need..."
He paused deliberately for effect, then began tapping his fingers on the counter with a crisp, rhythmic sound that seemed to count down to something terrible.
A few seconds later, the pockmarked man stepped forward with a predatory grin and reached toward little Shirley. "Heh heh heh... you wouldn't want your precious daughter to—"
Suddenly, the pirate who had just left the restaurant came flying back through the doorway at tremendous speed, crashing into tables and chairs in front of the one-eyed captain with a sound like thunder.
Before the startled pirates could react to this unexpected development, a calm voice drifted in from outside the door.
"Pirates causing trouble, I suggest you stop this behavior immediately. Otherwise, you'll be meeting your maker much sooner than planned."
As the words finished, a young man with a fishing rod strapped to his back and an expressionless face slowly walked through the restaurant entrance. Behind him followed a group of people who looked ordinary at first glance, but carried themselves with the subtle confidence of those accustomed to violence.
The one-eyed captain's face went from confusion to recognition to outright terror in the span of seconds. He'd seen that particular fishing rod in wanted posters, and the bounty attached to its owner was far beyond anything his crew could handle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~