For the sake of a Devil Fruit, all sorts of shady characters from across the West Blue had gathered in one place.
This should have been a grand feast for pirates and people from the underworld.
However, a few bounty hunters blinded by profit had risked disguising themselves and sneaking in, along with Marine undercover agents who feared neither danger nor death in their pursuit of information.
Aside from them, several special guests had even arrived.
A gentle sea breeze swept by as an unremarkable small pirate ship slowly sailed into the inner harbor of Mad Hatter Town.
By then, the waters near the docks were already packed with ships, leaving no room to spare.
But taking advantage of its small size, the little pirate ship forced its way through the larger vessels, searching for a place to moor amid the crowded fleet.
It was clear from this that the person at the helm possessed extraordinary skill.
On deck, a blond-haired boy with short, wavy hair and a scar over his left eye tossed the anchor into the sea.
Splash—
The anchor struck the water, sending up a huge spray before sinking straight to the bottom.
After dropping the anchor, the boy clapped his hands and praised the person behind him without turning around. "Haku, your helmsmanship is as impressive as ever."
"Have you forgotten again?"
The tall man at the helm did not respond to the praise. Instead, he inexplicably reminded him of something.
"What?"
The boy asked in confusion.
Smack—
The moment he finished speaking, he received a chop to the back of the head.
The one who struck him was a graceful young woman wearing a short one-piece dress and black thigh-high stockings.
Because her chopping motion had been rather forceful, the red hat with diving goggles tied to it slipped from her head and fell onto the deck, revealing a head of orange-yellow hair.
The girl wore a faintly angry expression and did not bother to pick up her hat.
She glared at the bewildered boy and said, "How many times do I have to remind you? Use our aliases, our aliases! Do you even know what an alias is?!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I forgot."
The boy suddenly realized, but merely laughed it off. He then bent down, picked up the hat, and put it back on the girl's head.
The girl puffed out her cheeks, looking utterly exasperated with him.
"Now, Steel Pipe, I want you to confirm this properly one more time. What should you call me? And what should you call Haku?"
"Clara and Spine."
"Good. If you get it wrong again, you'll suffer the consequences!"
The girl using the alias Clara clenched her fists and waved them a few times before heading toward the cabin.
The boy called Steel Pipe gently rubbed the back of his head and muttered, "Even if it's an alias, you didn't have to give me a ridiculous name like Steel Pipe, did you?"
"What are you dawdling around for? Hurry up and get ready. We're going ashore."
Clara's urging came from inside the cabin.
"Coming, coming."
Steel Pipe hurried into the cabin.
A short while later, the two had changed their appearances slightly, each putting on a pair of dark-tinted sunglasses.
Steel Pipe had added a black top hat, while Clara took off the hat she had been wearing and tied up her hair instead.
The most unusual change was the water pipe that had appeared on Steel Pipe's back.
"Ha... Spine, I'll leave the ship to you."
Steel Pipe nearly called Haku by his real name again, but Clara's glare reminded him in time, and he corrected himself.
At the cabin door, Haku, using the alias Spine, nodded and said solemnly, "Leave it to me. As for you two, be careful."
"Relax. We're not doing anything."
Steel Pipe waved at the man before jumping off the ship together with Clara.
The two walked side by side along the pier.
Clara glanced at Steel Pipe and said helplessly in a low voice, "I give up. That was just a pirate ship we stole. Even if you're joking, don't casually call it 'home.'"
"Come on, don't worry about such a small thing. It carried us here, after all, and even provided us with convenient cover identities."
"That's true, but... never mind."
Clara sighed softly before turning serious. "I have to remind you that the purpose of this operation is to gather information. Don't go causing trouble."
Steel Pipe raised a hand and slightly lowered the brim of his hat. "I know. The top priority of this operation is to figure out the general troop deployment around the Labor Factory. If conditions permit, getting a detailed map would be even better."
"Good. As long as you know."
Clara nodded, then began observing the flow of people around them.
"There are already this many people at the docks. It's hard to imagine how many pirates and underworld figures have gathered inside the town."
"Heh. The more bustling it is, the easier it'll be for us to act."
Steel Pipe's gaze skimmed over the surrounding terrain and environment like a dragonfly touching the water, recording the relevant information with every glance.
"Clara."
Suddenly, Steel Pipe's gaze sharpened. He grabbed Clara's hand and quickly pulled her to the side of the road.
Dragged aside so abruptly, Clara was immediately confused.
"Sorry. I'm just a little sensitive to killing intent, though it isn't directed at us..."
Steel Pipe explained while discreetly glancing at a group of menacing pirates approaching from not far behind them.
Prompted by Steel Pipe, Clara noticed the pirates as well. She took a quick look before withdrawing her gaze.
The two slowed their pace in perfect understanding.
Before long, the pirates passed them and headed toward the streets inside the town.
Clara watched their backs and carefully recalled the intelligence related to pirates from the West Blue. After a moment, she said in a low voice:
"They're the Sharp Bull Pirates. They aren't especially famous in the West Blue, but their captain, Kazt, is a Zoan Devil Fruit ability user, so he's fairly strong.
"A few days ago, one of the West Blue's largest merchant guilds, Bolgin, had an armed merchant ship attacked by a group of pirates. They were probably the ones who did it."
Steel Pipe calmly said, "Ordinary pirates couldn't have taken down an armed merchant ship belonging to Bolgin's guild. It was probably a joint operation between several pirate crews."
Clara nodded. "Yes, that's highly likely."
"As long as we don't get into a conflict, it doesn't matter."
Steel Pipe looked away.
With so many people gathered here, there were countless figures more formidable than the Sharp Bull Pirates.
Hearing Steel Pipe's words, Clara looked at him with a strange glint in her eyes.
Noticing Clara's odd gaze, Steel Pipe asked in confusion, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing. I'm just a little surprised that your awareness is so impressive this time. It gives me the strange feeling that you've finally grown up."
"..."
The two walked side by side into the street.
At a glance, the streets were filled with pirates carrying swords and guns. Most traveled in groups of two or three, while lone wanderers were rare.
After walking only a few hundred meters, they could already see several patches of blood on the ground.
The crowds surged around them. In addition to the clamor, there were the sounds of swords clashing, furious fighting, and scattered gunshots coming from farther away.
Following the sound of clashing blades, they saw a pirate cut down one of his fellow pirates with a single slash.
"Hahaha, fool! This is what happens when you mess with me!"
The blood-soaked pirate laughed arrogantly, not forgetting to search the corpses on the ground for money and weapons.
The surrounding onlookers cheered for the victorious pirate, as though they had just watched a bloody dogfight.
"What a mess."
Clara sighed softly as she watched.
Steel Pipe, however, kept his eyes straight ahead, his face expressionless.
In such chaotic times, this was nothing out of the ordinary.