Loguetown.
Inside a bar under the control of the Barto Club.
Bartolomeo lounged in the center seat with two women hanging off his arms, raising his glass high as his underlings showered him with praise.
"As expected of Boss! The Rothschild Family's head wasn't even a match for you!"
"That's right! Boss is a Devil Fruit user—just flick your finger and they drop dead!"
"With the Rothschilds wiped out, we're the biggest underworld syndicate now! Over a hundred and fifty towns in the region won't dare defy us!"
"Hah! And those lowlifes who tried to rebel—should've seen them squeal in the firestorm! Hahahaha!"
"Come on, drink! If anyone dares lay a hand on our brothers, just kill 'em! Doesn't matter who it is. If you lose, just call me."
"With you behind us, Boss, we can work with confidence!"
"Heh—hahahaha! Drink to your heart's content!"
While the gang was laughing, drinking, and enjoying the company of women, the bar doors burst open. A panicked underling stumbled in.
"N-Not good! Bad news—!"
A few hot-tempered punks instantly slammed their glasses down, grabbed the messenger by the collar, and lifted him off the floor.
"Bastard! Can't you see Boss is drinking?"
"Ruining the mood—are you tired of living?"
One of them even slapped him across the face.
"Enough."
Bartolomeo stopped them with a lazy wave, looking toward the trembling underling kneeling on the floor.
"Well? Out with it. What's so 'bad' that even I, Bartolomeo, would care?"
"A-Arman… Arman is dead. And… and his whole crew. All killed."
"What?!"
"Who?!"
The bar erupted instantly.
The thugs jumped around like enraged baboons, shouting and overturning tables.
The underling shivered violently but had no choice except to recite exactly what he was told to report.
"A-A pirate… they said it had to be pirates…"
"Pirates?! Actually daring to offend our Barto Club?!"
"Catch them alive! Make them beg for death!"
"Boss, say the word! I'll call the boys and block the port—we'll arrest every last pirate!"
The messenger hesitated.
There was no proof it was pirates—only the assumption after finding the corpses.
But with the bosses this riled up, he wasn't about to correct them and get another slap.
Smack!
Bartolomeo shattered his wine cup.
The room went silent.
He looked around at his men—then grinned, feral and cruel.
"Heh—hahahaha! Fine. Do as you want.
Someone dares hurt my men? I don't care who it is—if they want war, then let's have a war."
"WAR!!"
"WAR!!"
The thugs roared and charged out of the bar like wild dogs.
Under their reckless retaliation, Loguetown was instantly thrown into chaos.
…
At the docks, Mark was trying to flee with his wife and daughter when a gang of snarling Barto thugs blocked their way and kicked them back.
"Dad… what do we do? They've shut down the port."
His daughter Dina, a beautiful girl with a striking figure, clung to his arm, her brows tightly drawn, fear clouding her eyes.
Mark forced himself to calm down.
"Don't worry. Arman doesn't have that kind of authority. Looks like the gang and some pirates got into a clash. They're too busy to check every civilian. We just… wait for a chance to run."
Dina understood perfectly that he was only comforting her.
Her heart sank like a stone.
They sold everything they owned yet were still nowhere near two million.
If Arman found them again…
Would she end up like the grocery shop owner's daughter?
Used, broken, sold off, then thrown away?
Her breath hitched.
The world suddenly felt unbearably small.
"Stay here," Mark said, voice raw. "I'll go see what's happening."
He rushed off.
When he finally came back, Dina saw his dazed expression and felt her stomach twist.
"Dad? What happened?"
He didn't answer.
She shook him.
"Dad!"
He slapped himself hard—
then, to Dina's horror, broke into a trembling grin.
"Dina… we're saved. Arman—Arman is dead! Someone killed him!"
"What?!"
Both Dina and her quiet mother gasped.
"It was pirates! The gang sealed the port to get revenge!"
"Pirates…"
Dina's eyes brightened faintly.
A memory surfaced—
a cheerful boy in a straw hat,
a strange curly-browed man,
and a green-haired swordsman with three swords at his hip…
They had barged through the execution plaza earlier that day, the straw hat boy even shouting about becoming Pirate King.
A ridiculous dream—
But…
Could pirates be good people too?
Just as she drifted into thought—
A quiet scoff echoed through the empty street.
"Who told you pirates did it?"
They turned.
Davy stood there.
He recognized them, of course.
He'd overheard Arman brag about the Barto Club while eating in their noodle shop.
That was what led him to kill Arman and the first crew of thugs.
He hadn't expected his actions to ignite open war between the Barto Club and the pirates in Loguetown.
But he welcomed the chaos.
More chaos meant more opportunities.
And he intended to use this chaos to slaughter both sides cleanly.
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