East Blue - Conomi islands.

At Gosa village's beach, three Fishmen stood at the village's shore, guarding the area.

Suddenly, one of them spotted what seemed to be a Big black Ship coming from afar.

" Oy, Look!" The Fishman, with yellow skin, pointed at the shadow from afar, saying, " Is that a ship?!"

" Huh ?!" The other Fishman, a fat one with blue skin, exclaimed before narrowing his eyes to take a good look at the distance shadow.

" Shit! It's not a ship," The third Fishman, with bigger eyes and better eyesight between the three, exclaimed before adding in shock, " It's a fucking Battleship!"

" What ?!" The other two fishmen yelled in shock.

" Is it the Navy ?! Did they finally decide to seriously come after us ?!" The fat Fishman remarked in panic.

" No, it's not the Navy! This ship has a pirate flag on its masts!" The Fishman with bigger eyes stated.

" What?!" The Fishman with yellow skin exclaimed before asking, " What do we do?!"

" We should wait and see what's gonna happen next. It's best if we could gather as much information we can about them before we return to the park to inform Arlong about this," The Fishman with the bigger eyes stated.

" Yeah, you are right," The Yellow-skin Fishman nodded, adding, " We should be careful. Not everyone can have a battleship, so they are clearly some big shots!"

" Alright, let's hide and see why they came here for!" The Fishman with big eyes said, earning a vigor nod from the panicking Fat Fishman.

 

The three fishmen found a place to hide and waited until the ship came closer to the shore, observing from a safe distance. They didn't attack right away, or rather they didn't dare to, because the upcoming ship wasn't a normal one but a battleship similar to those seen on the Grand Line, which was why they were cautious in dealing with it.

 

Just as the distance between the black battleship and the shore became less than 20 meters, like a ghost, a male human being wearing everything black appeared in front of the three fishmen, scaring the shit out of them.

And before they could even scream or react, the man cut off the heads of two of them, leaving the fat one standing there alone in shock.

" Yo! Fishman! Are you part of Arlong's pirates ?! " Austin asked the still-shocked fat-blue-skinned Fishman.

" How..dare..you kill...My brothers...Arlong will not let you off!" the Fishman shouted while trembling.

Even though he acted tough, he was actually scared of this human who appeared out of nowhere and easily killed two of his race.

" Well, I guess I got the confirmation I needed," Austin remarked casually before beheading the last Fishman.

Since it was his first time seeing Fishmen, Austin examined the three corpses with interest for a while before storing them in his Inventory afterward.

He then turned around, looking at the approaching 'Black Star'. He couldn't help but feel proud and smile at the magnificent appearance of his ship.

It took Austin's group a day to arrive at Conomi Islands directly from Baratie restaurant, and after contemplation, they chose Gosa village as their landing place.

 

Soon 'Black Star' docked at the village's shore, and the crew disembarked, heading toward Austin.

" You should have left me to take care of them, my lord," Brain said.

" Yeah, there is no need for you to take action personally for such small fries next time, my lord," Zero added.

" Well, I'm the fast one here," Austin responded and added, " I didn't want them to run away and inform the others, so it was better to take them down quickly!"

" My lord, is it safer to leave 'Black Star' docked here ?!" Sebas asked.

" We will be exploring this island. So, it's safer if I store our ship instead of leaving it here, " Austin replied and stored 'Black Star' in his Inventory.

" Now, let's go!" Austin said and left toward the village, followed by his crew.

 

.....

After the group arrived at the vicinity of Gosa village, they were surprised by the sight of the village.

The town was utterly decimated, with all the buildings either destroyed or flipped over. But that was only on the outside because a truly gruesome sight awaited them inside the village.

The streets and buildings were colored in blood, dark red blood, indicating that what occurred here happened at least a day ago. Dozens of human corpses and limbs were scattered along the roads of what was before a beautiful and peaceful village.

" What a disaster!" Sebas narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist at the terrible sight.

" Could this be Arlong Pirates doing? " Zero frowned.

" This is their territory. Who else is gonna be if it wasn't them? " Brain answered, and Sebas nodded in support at his remark.

The group strolled down the town, looking at the awful state of the village.

 

Austin, who knew what transpired here, couldn't help but feel his blood turn cold. He may appear calm on the surface thanks to His 'Control Emotions' Trait, but his mind is in a chaotic state because he was truly shaken by the village's tragic state.

' This didn't appear in the anime at all!' - Austin exclaimed and shook his head, thinking. - ' Yeah, this is not some fictional story Austin. This is reality NOW! The reality that I'm stuck in!'

Until now, to Austin, his reincarnation in One Piece world was more or less like a fun holiday. He took it for granted and wasn't really taking things seriously. He took this bizarre experience as a fun adventure, especially after living his previous life as a soldier. I mean, it's fun to suddenly find yourself in the anime you like, right ?!

Yeah! That's what he thought, at least until now. Until he witnessed this unforsaken tragic sight. What he witnessed here wasn't an ordinary way of killing. No, it's a bloody massacre with clear intentions of toying with the victims. Just from torn limbs and the corpses hanging and scattered everywhere, Austin could clearly conclude that whoever did this had his sick fun and pleasure in the process.

Austin felt like someone has poured some cold water on him, waking him up from his fantasy and giving him a wake-up call! The world has sent him a warning, a clear and direct message informing him that where he is now is not that colorful place he saw in the anime, but the real brutal and chaotic one, where corruption and violence are everywhere!

That's why he was silent along the way, pondering about his previous and upcoming choices and decisions.

 

.....

The group continued wandering in the town silently until Austin abruptly stopped. He felt a presence nearby with his 'Observation Haki', so he changed his direction, speeding up toward the location.

Soon he arrived at the location and found a kid looking at a destroyed house with a sword in his hand while crying loudly.

Austin knew this kid but forgot his name since, back then, he was just a minor character in the story. He is a small boy with brown hair and round eyes, wearing a green beanie and an orange jacket.

Only when Austin and his group got closer did the boy notice them!

As soon as he noticed them, he tensed up and pointed his sword at them, acting tough as if ready to attack them. But the tears all over his face and his shaken legs betrayed his tough act, clearly portraying his current feeling and state of mind.

Austin noticed this and sighed. He raised his hands, indicating he meant no harm and said gently to the boy. " Relax, Kid! We mean no harm! We have just arrived at this island and saw this town's state, so we want to ask about what happened here."

 

Seeing this stranger raising his hands in a clear, friendly, and peaceful manner made the boy relax a little, but nonetheless, he still kept his vigilance.

" It's ... Arlong ... Pirates! " The boy gritted his teeth as he responded before crying again, adding, " They killed my father!"

" Why?" Zero asked to which the boy replied,

"The village was unable to completely pay the monthly tribute to Arlong," the boy added with difficulty as he remembered what occurred, " Everyone was slaughtered because just one villager defied them! They stole everything, destroyed our town, and killed many people!"

" What monthly tribute ?" Brain questioned.

" It's a sum everyone needs to pay for Arlong to stay a life which's 100 000 berries for adults and 50 000 for children," The boy answered while wiping his tears.

" I see, and how did they manage to flip over all the buildings?" Zero asked, curious about how they did it.

"It's ...Momoo!" The boy replied fearfully.

"Momoo ?!" Sebas repeated in a puzzled tone.

"It's a huge sea monster owned by Arlong Pirates," The boy answered.

" By the way, what were you doing with that sword, kid ?" Austin asked

" I'm gonna go to Arlong park and kill Arlong, " The boy instantly answered with determination in his eyes.

" Don't act rashly, kid, don't do something stupid like attacking Arlong Pirates. You are no match for them, and you will just waste your life in vain," Austin said before putting his hand on the boy's head and adding gently, " Stay safe and be patient. No matter how long the night is, the sun will eventually rise again ... So don't lose hope!"

 

Austin then clenched his fists and left, followed by his subordinates, leaving the crying boy, who kept looking at their departing backs.

 

.....

Meanwhile, at Arlong park, Arlong was meeting with Captain Nezumi, the commander of the 16th Navy branch in the East Blue.

" This is your monthly share. " Arlong presents a pile of cash to the Navy officer.

" Thanks," Nezumi smirked and took the money.

" By the way, since you brought your men with you," Arlong grinned, adding, " I have a favor to ask "

" What is it ?!" Captain Nezumi frowned and asked warily.

" Don't be nervous, Shahahahaha!" Arlong laughed before adding with a creepy smile," I will propose to you something very good, and you can even take a share of the spoils you find next."

" Hoh?! Something with money involved?!" Nezumi was surprised before laughing, saying, " Chi chi chi chi! Alright, I'm all ears!"

 

10 minutes later, Arlong and Nezumi ended their meeting, both grinning in satisfaction at the outcome of their negotiations.

After Nezumi left to do his 'task', Arlong sat on his chair, looking at the sea's view while remembering what had transpired days ago.

 

Some days ago, Nami returned as usual, but surprisingly she didn't stay long this time and wanted to leave the next day. When Arlong asked her about the reason for the rush, she revealed that she was close to gathering the 100 million Berries and only needed one more trip to collect the amount required to buy her village's freedom. Nami then urged Arlong to keep his promise, and the latter assured her that he would die before breaking any of his money-related promises.

 

Back at present, Arlong, who was sitting on his chair, shook his head and grinned evilly.

" Nami! I can't let you go. You are too important to lose." Arlong spread his arms widely and declared grandly, "Your skills are essential for the creation of my empire! The Arlong Empire! Shahahahaha!"

 

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