CHAPTER 8
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"Astrod Rust, you damn fool! You didn't even escape after all the breakouts! Hahahahahaha!" the fat leader laughed, stepping closer to the cell. "Still hoping to see your dead wife and your missing son? Hah! I destroyed the ship he was supposed to use to escape. That boy is probably at the bottom of the ocean by now!"
Rust's fingers twitched.
His head, which had been hanging lifelessly for years, slowly lifted.
A faint spark — anger — flickered in his hollow eyes.
He stood up, body shaking from torture and starvation, yet the pressure leaking from him wasn't his own. It was something deeper — will, rage, memory.
"I told you…" Rust's voice scraped the air, cracked but sharp, "NOT TO MENTION MY FAMILY!"
The leader stumbled backward, falling on his rear in panic. He scrambled up, turning pale, realizing Rust wasn't supposed to be able to stand — let alone release killing intent.
Before the guards could react—
SHNK!
Ren moved.
The leader's body split in two, falling in opposite directions.
The guards froze — one heartbeat too slow.
Ren blurred past them.
One step.
One breath.
One silent massacre.
Silence returned.
Bodies dropped.
Ren didn't look back.
---
He continued down the passage until he reached the cell he had fed earlier.
The two prisoners inside looked up, their empty eyes slightly clearer now that someone had acknowledged their existence.
Ren sat down in front of them.
"So," he said quietly, "what's your story?"
The first prisoner, lean with a calm face but dead eyes, finally spoke.
"Boy, you should run. With that commotion, the guards will be here any second," Krus said.
"Oh, those guards? Taken care of. And I told the rest the leader said no one is allowed to disturb him." Ren replied casually. "So. Your story."
Krus paused — then exhaled.
"My story is simple. I was a sniper. My captain trusted me with his life. I failed to cover him… and he died because I wasn't strong enough. That's it."
Ren nodded once, then pointed to the heavy-built man beside him.
"You."
The large man raised his head — Umi.
"I was captain of the Crazy Chef Pirates. I ate an ancient zoan — Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Ankylosaurus. We crushed anyone who challenged us. But when we entered the Grand Line… we fought Fire Fist Ace."
His jaw trembled once — controlled.
"All of us attacked with everything we had. He didn't even flinch. I survived because of my defense… but I watched my crew burn. After that… I couldn't set sail again."
---
Ren stood, dusting off his clothes.
"Alright. So the problem is clear. You both lost your will because you hit a wall you couldn't break."
He grinned — sharp and confident.
"I have the solution. So I'm officially inviting you two to join Pride Pirates."
He tossed each of them a key — along with guns and a hammer he took from the vice warden's office.
"I'll be waiting for your answer."
Ren turned and walked deeper into the darkness — toward Rust's cell.
*************
(An hour earlier — on the government vessel)
"Hey, you—come with me. Let me make this simple: sleep with me once, and I'll make you a high-ranking agent before the month is out," the ship's senior officer leered on the ship's deck going to the Impel Down.
Sophia, a blond government agent, kept her gaze on the rolling charts spread on the deck. "I can't do that, sir. I need to monitor the navigational charts — a storm's building. I can't risk the ship deviating."
"Don't give me that excuse, bitch," Mr. Brick snapped. "You want to be with a great man like me, don't you?"
Sophia's jaw tightened. "i am afraid I can't sir, I have a brother to keep."
Brick's expression twisted into a grin. "Playing hard to get, are we? I'll make you cooperate. I know your type — you like being put through things." He laughed, ugly and loud.
"Boys, hold her down. Tie her to the rail until she admits it," the fat commander ordered.
Two officers grabbed Sophia. They bound her to the ship's rail, legs dangerously close to the dark water below.
Suddenly a black wall of wind and rain slammed into the vessel, tossing crates and men as if they were toys. The deck heaved; men braced themselves against ropes and rigging.
Minutes later the storm passed as abruptly as it had arrived. The commander staggered, shouting into the wind. "Where's the chief navigator?"
"You tied her to the rail, sir," one officer replied, coughing from the spray.
"Bring her here. She's finished," the commander ordered, voice low and vicious.
The officer pushed through the scattered deck and returned, panic under his composure. "Sir… she's gone. She's nowhere to be found."
The wind died. Silence fell across the deck as the men stared at one another.