Drunken Pirates

"Hello? Hello? Marine 25th Branch, respond immediately if you receive this! Respond immediately if you receive this!" A Marine major shouted into a Den Den Mushi, his face full of anxiety and panic.

Unfortunately, he did not know that everyone at the Marine 25th Branch had already gone on "vacation." After receiving no response, he could only turn around and report, "Reporting to Rear Admiral Arita, there is no response from the Marines at the 25th Branch."

Faint bloodstains could still be seen on the cigar-smoking middle-aged man, as though he had just gone through a perilous battle. After hearing the report, he said furiously, "Those bastards who neglect their duties! Forget it, I'll settle accounts with them after this is over. Don't give up hope, everyone. There should be plenty of defensive weapons at the Marine branch base. As long as we get there in time, we should be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive with those defenses."

"Yes!" Seeing his superior say this, the major's desire to survive ignited anew, and he hurried off to relay the orders.

Once he had left, Arita sighed, his expression grave. "Damn it. Wasn't this pirate crew only given a 50 million Beli bounty because their crimes were especially heinous? Their strength has clearly been severely underestimated. When did the situation in the North Blue worsen to this extent? It seems necessary to contact headquarters and conduct a thorough purge."

But he immediately gave a bitter laugh. "No matter what, we have to survive this ordeal first. Otherwise, saying anything more is useless."

Inside the royal palace of the Gilia Kingdom, the atmosphere was somewhat cheerful.

"Cheers, to our wonderful tomorrow!" the king shouted jubilantly. He was truly delighted. He had not expected Lord Roy, the legendary great pirate, to be so easy to talk to.

"Cheers, to Lord Roy's mercy!" Someone more quick-witted, worried that others might report him behind his back, was the first to flatter Roy and set the tone for the banquet.

"Yes, yes, yes! Cheers to Lord Roy's generosity and mercy!" The king instantly understood. After secretly cursing that bootlicker, he gladly accepted the title for himself.

"Y-Your Majesty! This is terrible! Something terrible has happened!"

King Gilia's hand trembled, and the wine spilled directly onto him. Damn it, he was practically allergic to those words. The last time he heard them, he had not been well for days—unable to eat or sleep, constantly worrying that his head might be separated from his neck at any moment.

He had finally managed to sit down for a peaceful meal, and now this again? Still, he did not dare ignore it. He quickly asked, "What is it? Don't tell me some bastard has offended Lord Roy. Damn it, I'll have him sent to the gallows!"

"N-No. Several Marine warships are speeding toward our kingdom. The highest-ranking officer aboard is Rear Admiral Arita, who guards the nearby fortress."

"Ah? What is going on? Could it be that the Marines learned about what happened here and have come to hold us accountable?" the king asked in alarm.

"Your Majesty need not panic. Our Gilia Kingdom is, after all, an affiliated nation of the World Government. Even if the Marines are dissatisfied with what we have done, they cannot simply take it out on us. Therefore, the question we should consider is this: if Rear Admiral Arita comes into conflict with Lord Roy, what stance should we take?" Duke Hess said confidently.

"Mm, mm, that makes sense. But let me ask—rear admirals should be quite formidable within the Marines, right? I wonder who is stronger, him or Lord Roy?" The king asked calmly on the surface, though his mind was already scheming.

Duke Hess stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before saying, "Flag officers are considered high-ranking within the Marines, so their strength naturally cannot be underestimated. But Lord Roy is also extraordinarily powerful. If they were to fight, it would truly be hard to say."

The Navy Minister took over, saying, "Rear admirals are certainly strong, but it also depends on their authority and where they are stationed. For example, officers at Marine Headquarters are generally a tier stronger than branch officers, and officers on the Grand Line are not comparable to those in the Four Seas. I have heard that at the G-5 Branch in the latter half of the Grand Line, even its rear admiral can rival great pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million Beli. Yet in the East Blue, the weakest of the Four Seas, there have been rear admirals unable to defeat pirates with bounties of merely twenty or thirty million Beli."

"So, a rear admiral's strength is actually very difficult to judge. As for Rear Admiral Arita, I have heard of him as well. Though he is a branch rear admiral, he once trained at Marine Headquarters for a time. His strength should be considered formidable even among rear admirals."

King Gilia listened with growing excitement, his expression eager and restless. Just as he was about to speak, another palace attendant came rushing in in a panic.

"Y-Your Majesty! This is terrible! Something terrible has happened!"

The king's hand trembled, and another wet patch appeared around his crotch. Warm tears welled up in his eyes. Though he was furious, he still had to maintain a smile. Forcing himself to preserve his royal dignity, he asked, "What is it this time?"

"Several Marine warships are speeding toward our kingdom. The highest-ranking officer aboard is Rear Admiral Arita, who guards the nearby fortress."

"Someone already reported this before you did. If you merely came to repeat it, then congratulations—you have successfully enraged me," the king said, forcibly suppressing his fury.

"No, that's not it! Rear Admiral Arita sent us a distress signal, hoping we could provide support. That was why we discovered that Rear Admiral Arita is actually being pursued by a pirate crew—and that crew is the Drunken Pirates, who conquered the Ciss Kingdom some time ago!"

"Huh? Your Majesty? Your Majesty, where did you go?" The reporting attendant turned pale with fright when he realized that the king had suddenly vanished, thinking the vicious pirates had already invaded the kingdom.

Naturally, the nobles and ministers at the front of the banquet saw that the king had fainted from fright and slid limply from his chair. Yet they were not much better off than he was. One after another, they stood there helplessly, muttering that disaster had struck.

"Protect the king! Protect the king!" The king struggled to his feet from the floor, all his messy thoughts gone. If they were ordinary pirates, he would still dare open the gates and welcome them as he had Lord Roy. But these Drunken Pirates had the vicious record of conquering a kingdom. If they rushed in here, he, the king, would probably be the first one they killed.

"Wait, that's not right. Our country does not produce fine wine. What would the Drunken Pirates want in our Gilia Kingdom?" Like a drowning man clutching at his last straw, the king asked hopefully, praying for an answer that would put his mind at ease.

"Uh, it seems that because the Drunken Pirates conquered the Ciss Kingdom some time ago, the incident had an extremely terrible impact. Rear Admiral Arita took the initiative to arrest them, but he was defeated by the Drunken Pirates. Moreover, the Drunken Pirates seem to have become enraged and are preparing to wipe out the Marines entirely. With no other options left, Rear Admiral Arita sought help from our Gilia Kingdom, the closest place to him."

"It's over. It's fucking over."