Karo Island.
Though it was already deep into the night, the island was still bustling with activity—completely unlike what one might expect from a remote little island.
Hundreds of pirates roamed the island, scattered in clusters of threes and fives or gathered in groups of dozens.
Each of them clutched a bottle of alcohol as if it were just water, tilting their heads back to pour it straight down their throats.
At the heart of the island, in the largest central encampment, Don Krieg guzzled another bottle dry before grabbing a massive roasted leg of some unknown giant creature and tearing into it with savage hunger—grease dripping from his chin.
"Boss Krieg," said Gin—the newly rising 'Demon Man' of the East Blue and the First Division Captain of the Krieg Pirates, soon to become the Chief Combat Commander of Krieg's Grand Fleet two years later—"Dory hasn't shown up for almost a month. He's probably hiding out on some small island, waiting to emerge after he's gained the power of a Devil Fruit."
"Ha! That loser Dory?" Krieg scoffed.
"He has no idea what real power is!"
"Think a Devil Fruit makes you strong?"
"No! The strongest weapon, paired with the strongest body—that's what true power looks like!"
"Even if that guy gets a Devil Fruit, there's no way he could stand against me!"
Clad in golden armor, Krieg radiated an absurd confidence.
Gin opened his mouth as if to say something, but eventually chose silence.
He understood. This was Krieg's concept of ultimate power.
After all, they were from the East Blue—far from the monstrous powers of the Grand Line. Krieg's perception was… limited, but not without reason.
Still…
The so-called "power" Krieg boasted of was little more than brute strength—his combat level hovering around 50 Doriki at best.
As for his "ultimate equipment"…
To real powerhouses, they were nothing more than toys—utterly meaningless.
His golden armor, which he was so proud of? It wouldn't even stand up to the current Navy standard-issue Rhodes 1518 combat suit, let alone elite-level tech.
And his weapons? Just a single musket.
The root of it all?
He was broke.
And that—was precisely why Krieg had set up base here.
By sheer luck, he'd stumbled upon a long-buried treasure on the island. As they dug deeper, more and more gold, jewels, and valuables had surfaced.
"Gin, how much treasure have we uncovered so far?"
"All together, we estimate around 3 billion Berries. But it's not all buried in one place, so there might still be more hidden across the island."
"Excellent!" Krieg beamed. "With this fortune, I can recruit a massive crew and build a fleet of dozens of warships. And I'll finally be able to upgrade everything—my gear, my firepower, myself!"
He was ecstatic.
Within two years, he imagined commanding thousands of men and a grand fleet.
Then—
He would finally set eyes on the fabled Grand Line.
"Boss, everything else is fine, but we should stay low for now. Word is that Marine Headquarters has dispatched a Vice Admiral to the East Blue—supposedly to investigate the incident with the 16th Branch."
"Hmph! Just a Vice Admiral? What's there to be afraid of!?"
"Still… we should be cautious. I've heard that some of the monsters on the Grand Line can destroy an entire island with a single blow."
"Gin, that's just a rumor! There's no way that's real. One strike to wipe out an island? Ridiculous!"
Such stories had circulated in the East Blue for a long time.
But Krieg always scoffed at them.
In his mind, no human could possess that kind of destructive power.
It had to be nonsense.
Unbothered, he picked up another bottle and began chugging.
Beside him, Gin remained silent.
Deep in thought.
No one noticed—three hundred meters above them—a small mechanical object hovered in the air.
---
Inside the command bridge of the Danaan, a large main screen displayed a crystal-clear image of Krieg downing his drink. The resolution was so sharp that even the sweat on his body could be seen in detail.
Remarkable, considering Danaan was stationed several hundred meters away from Karo Island—almost three kilometers from its central encampment.
"How is this even possible? Hina is shocked!" exclaimed Tina, wide-eyed.
Even Luo Lan, the captain, was surprised. After all, the system had given him a disarmed version of the Tana—all weapons removed.
But then he found the answer from the system.
Yes, while all armed drones had been stripped, the small, unarmed surveillance drones were still included—twenty of them in total.
The catch?
Once a drone was lost, it couldn't be replaced.
Their tech was beyond what the 157th Branch could reproduce.
If not for the fact that Krieg wouldn't be able to shoot them down anyway, Luo Lan wouldn't have risked one flying over enemy territory.
"Hina is very satisfied. When we get back, I'll have my adjutant bring people over for training!"
Luo Lan said nothing, pretending not to hear her smug remarks.
Ignoring Hina's smug glare, he picked up the communicator on the armrest of his captain's chair.
"Ian, are you ready?"
"Ready and waiting. We can move on your command."
"Good. Secure the coastline and neutralize all three pirate ships in five minutes."
"Understood!"
Luo Lan put down the comm and tapped several buttons on the control panel.
The main screen changed again—switching to the feed from another drone, this time focused on Danaan herself.
The drone captured her rear hatch opening and dozens of navy soldiers leaping into the sea.
Each team of ten carried a large rubber dinghy—eight in total.
Over a hundred marines rapidly paddled toward the island's coast.
---
It was already 3:00 a.m.
Most of the pirates had passed out from drinking—there wasn't even a single guard on patrol.
The three pirate ships docked at the island's makeshift harbor were equally defenseless.
Just then, a staggering pirate emerged on the deck of one ship, making his way to the side rail before vomiting violently overboard.
After a good while, he finally finished emptying his stomach and looked up, head clearer from the purge.
He squinted into the distance, then rubbed his eyes and looked again.
Eight rubber boats were cutting through the water toward Karo Island—each one filled with fully-armed marines.
Just as he was about to shout and raise the alarm—
BANG!
A gunshot rang out.
And everything went still.
---
A/N: You can visit my Ko-Fi for early updates. I update there much early than here.
https://. ko-fi.com/sami27