He, Gai!

New World.

Sea of Death.

The weather here was perpetually brutal. Temperatures sometimes soared above a thousand degrees or plunged dozens of degrees below zero. Hurricanes tore through the skies, meteorites rained down, and all kinds of natural disasters struck like a woman throwing a fit. No one knew what would happen next.

In the New World, this sea could be called a lawless no-man's-land. It had no value whatsoever, and was shrouded year-round in smog and miasma. Not a single explorer or pirate who entered had ever made it out alive.

"Mom, is there really treasure here?"

On a barren island stood a burly, heavyset man with two white, upward-curving crescent-shaped mustaches. He held a broad-bladed naginata, scratching his head as he stared at the thick, white smog in front of him and asked foolishly.

Beside the foolish man stood a short, wrinkled old woman, wearing heavy makeup and red lipstick, dark glasses, and leaning on a cane.

"Stupid son, my instincts tell me there's definitely treasure in there."

Miss Bakkin gazed at the smog before her, greed filling her eyes.

"If Mom wants it, I'll go take it."

He wore a solemn expression. If his mother wanted something, he would take it for her.

"That's my beloved son. Mom's so happy."

Her wrinkled old face split into a smile, grotesque in the extreme.

"Really? I'm Mom's most beloved son."

Scratching his head, Weevil looked at Miss Bakkin's smile. Rather than finding it disgusting, he was happy, because his mother loved him dearly.

"Buru-buru!"

Suddenly,

Miss Bakkin pulled a Den Den Mushi from her drooping bosom and answered. Her expression shifted again and again.

Look closely, and you could even see fear in her eyes, as though she'd recalled something terrifying.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Weevil blinked his big eyes