"Hahaha, Rode, we really struck it rich this time. Following Lord Patches was definitely the right choice. The sea is such a mess right now—after this haul, the Black Eagle Pirates should be able to live it up for years."
The dark harbor.
Before a bonfire.
Two pirates laughed merrily as they roasted meat.
"Yeah. After that lord was defeated, I was still worried about throwing in with Lord Patches. But now, it looks like Lord Patches might be the real hero."
"By the way, did you hear?
Lord Patches discovered a weapons factory in this kingdom.
They have so many weapons, yet they never took them out to use. That king of theirs is such an idiot."
Drinking deeply and stuffing themselves with meat, the two pirates soon became slightly drunk.
Listening to the screams of women and the arrogant laughter of pirates in the town under the cover of night.
As they drank more and more, barely restrained excitement flashed in both their eyes.
If those higher-ups had not ordered the two of them to stand guard at the harbor.
These two pirates would have joined the revelry long ago.
The night breeze swept over the ruined kingdom.
The pirates' savage grins and the civilians' pleading wails turned what had once been a relatively prosperous nation into hell.
Traveling faster than ordinary sound, Roy swiftly crossed the sea below.
The flight granted by the Cloud-Cloud Fruit and the speed provided by sound waves allowed Roy to compress a journey that should have taken a week into half a day.
"Should be this direction, right?"
Roy muttered to himself as he looked at the pointer in his hand that indicated the way.
Because the Grand Line's geographical environment was complicated, even with the Echo Map, Roy could easily lose his way while flying through the darkness.
After confirming the final direction.
Roy used his ability again and continued flying swiftly toward his destination.
The Krol Kingdom was a typical island nation.
It was not very large, but because it was rich in iron ore, it had become a member state of the World Government.
And precisely because of its abundant iron ore, Roy and Spandam had chosen this place as the site for their factory.
Flying through the sky was always fast.
After crossing several sea routes, Roy arrived at the edge of the Machino Sea Area.
Looking at this sea area, which he had visited before and was fairly familiar with.
After setting his sights on the southwestern corner of the sea area, Roy continued using his ability and flew swiftly toward the Krol Kingdom.
The night was unusually dark because of the clouds.
But that did nothing to hinder the pirates' joyous banquet.
Sitting on the throne that had once belonged to the king, with the terrified queen in his arms.
Patches was enjoying the height of glory.
Conquering a country and plundering an entire kingdom—those were achievements only legendary Great Pirates had ever accomplished.
Yet Patches had not only achieved this ahead of time, but as his reputation grew louder and louder.
In this sea area, which had become chaotic after losing its master.
Large numbers of pirates were now rushing toward the region where the Krol Kingdom was located because of Patches' fame.
Thinking of the pirate heroes who had pledged themselves to him in recent days.
Patches' ambition began to swell almost beyond restraint.
Patches had originally planned to flee immediately after looting this kingdom.
But because the nation was so prosperous, after completely taking it over, Patches lingered for several more days, unwilling to leave its splendor behind.
And during those short few days.
News of his conquest of an entire kingdom spread across the sea.
After hearing of his fame, more and more pirates came to pledge themselves to him.
Gradually, the cunning pirate was blinded by the rapidly expanding strength of his subordinates.
As the forces under his command grew greater and greater, something else directly changed Patches' way of thinking: he had actually discovered a secret weapons factory within this kingdom.
Although the guards of this weapons factory of unknown origin were formidable, they were no match for Patches, whose bounty stood at 130 million Berries.
In the end, without any surprises, all the guards of the weapons factory were wiped out.
And Patches successfully took control of the weapons factory.
When Patches discovered that the weapons here could arm every one of his crew to the teeth.
His ambition, already swollen to its limit, drove him to remain in the kingdom, using his reputation to draw in pirates from throughout the sea area and using the weapons factory to produce arms and expand his strength.
Because deep in his heart, he harbored such a delusion.
Once he successfully gathered most of the pirate forces in this sea area, he might not be without a chance to take the Shichibukai position left vacant by his former boss.
On this vast sea, everyone wanted to rise above the rest.
And for all pirates, the Yonko and the Shichibukai were the ultimate heights they wanted to climb at any cost.
Patches, who stood over two meters tall, held the naked queen in his arms as she served him wine.
Fine wine, beautiful women, a conquered kingdom, and subordinates as fierce as tigers and leopards.
Patches' ambition continued to swell. He now felt more certain than ever that the Shichibukai seat left vacant by his former boss was his for the taking.
Patches' left hand kneaded the beauty in his arms. Just as he was about to rise and raise his cup in celebration.
"Hmm, is it raining?"
A trace of coldness dripped onto Patches' hooked nose.
He raised his head and looked at the pitch-black sky.
Swish, swish, swish!
Fine rain, thin as cow hair, began falling straight down from the sky.
"Damn it, it really is raining. What a buzzkill!"
The rain from the sky grew heavier and heavier, forcing the pirates who had been reveling in the plaza to move elsewhere.
The raindrops extinguished the bonfires in the plaza.
As the fine curtain of rain turned into a torrential downpour.
The pirates moved their outdoor revelry indoors.
They did not notice that there was something wrong with this downpour.
Rain mixed with hail began pounding the ground with force.
At first, everyone thought it was merely an ordinary rainfall.
When the hail came, everyone thought it was merely an ordinary hailstorm.
Until hailstones the size of watermelons fell from the sky like cannonballs and smashed into the ground.
By the time some pirates realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
Before you continue