Affiliated Pirates

Until yesterday, the Red Devil Pirates' ship was robbed, causing an uproar throughout the entire nation. This was not only a guarantee of their food harvest for the coming year, but more importantly, it meant retaliation from the Red Devil Pirates. The Red Devil Pirates were no easy bunch. Just yesterday at dusk, a News Bird flew over the land of Isador, dropping newspapers.

The papers bore the distinct two-colored skull flag of the Red Devil Pirates, which read:

"Due to the loss of our supplies within the waters of Isador, if 5 billion Belly is not compensated, the Red Devil Pirates will deploy their full strength to destroy Isador."

This simple sentence sent the entire Isador into a panic.

In a humble dwelling in a remote town of Isador, Ivankov frowned, his lips pressed together, suppressing his roaring anger. Beside him, a farmer sat slumped in a chair, his eyes vacant, his hands hanging limply at his sides. He muttered, "I've doomed everyone. I shouldn't have trusted the Revolutionary Army. It's over, all over. After tomorrow, Isador won't exist anymore..." The farmer's name was Simon Ellen. A week ago, Ivankov had persuaded him to steal the Dancing Powder, and then have the Revolutionary Army help research its composition so they could produce their own Dancing Powder. Simon Ellen was tempted. After all, more than half of their annual income was spent on purchasing Dancing Powder, and that didn't even include other expenses. Humans are greedy. After gaining income from their harvests, they became dissatisfied and desired more profit. However, Dancing Powder was exclusively sold by the Red Devil Pirates, so they had no choice but to grudgingly accept their fate. Now, an opportunity to break free from the Red Devil Pirates lay before Simon Ellen. A national hero! I, Simon Ellen, will surely achieve this.

One wrong step leads to another. Simon Ellen and Ivankov never imagined that the Red Devil Pirates would directly declare war on their nation. Neither of them knew what to do. "I originally thought that as long as the Red Devil Pirates knew the Revolutionary Army did it, they would back down. At worst, they would go after the Revolutionary Army for trouble. I never expected... I never expected he... A national war! We can't possibly win!" Simon Ellen said, then fell into despair.

What followed were the aforementioned events. Simon Ellen and Ivankov had both underestimated the Red Devil Pirates. Were they just supposed to accept their losses when robbed? Would they only pursue the culprits? Don't be ridiculous. The Red Devil Pirates only cared about getting their money. What happened to the lives of the citizens was none of the Red Devil Pirates' business.

In the Royal Palace, a middle-aged man wearing a crown, Alex Hood, sat on the throne. Isador was not a member nation of the World Government, so they didn't even have the chance to ask the Marines for help. The floor was covered in shattered porcelain and decorations, which he had smashed upon hearing the news. 5 billion Belly was an impossible sum to produce. They only needed 1 billion Belly annually to purchase Dancing Powder, and that was for a whole year. Only one path remained: war. Alex clasped his head and gave a bitter laugh. It was over, all over. Isador was finished. "Someone, summon the First Prince," Alex Hood said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, and gave instructions to an officer.

Soon, a robust young man with thick golden hair, just like Alex Hood, walked in. "Father, I already know what happened. Let me lead the army to fight them to the death!" he said, half-drawing the sword in his hand, his eyes fixed intently on Alex Hood.

"Foolish son, don't you know the nation's current situation?" Alex Hood looked at his furious son, Timothy Hood. "Don't you know how many troops Isador has? 1,000, only a thousand!" Alex Hood held up one finger, his voice filled with agitation.

"I..." Timothy Hood was speechless for a long time.

Alex Hood waved his hand. "Do you know why I summoned you?"

Timothy Hood shook his head. Alex Hood pointed to the memorial tablet next to the royal chambers and said, "I don't want our family line to end! You and your mother, take some valuables and leave this country."

Timothy Hood clearly couldn't accept this. He said "No" repeatedly while running out of the palace. Alex had three sons, and he only planned to let the eldest son escape. Because he was the most outstanding crown prince. The other two would die here with their old father.

Two days passed quickly. The waters surrounding Isador were now devoid of any other forces or ships except for the Red Devil Pirates. They had already surrounded the area. The Marines were lurking in the port of the World Government member nation closest to Isador. Everything was ready; all they had to do was wait and see if the Revolutionary Army dared to come.

It was dusk. In the waters of the Kingdom of Isador, the Red Devil Pirates were holding a banquet.

Rono was not on the express ship Red Devil, but on a larger vessel. Rono sat cross-legged, one hand resting on his bent leg, holding a pot of wine. Around him were all the captains under his command. The highest-ranking among them had a bounty of 210 million Belly and was named Lance Molton. He was a swordsman with no Devil Fruit Ability.

It was time for the banquet, but only captains were allowed on this ship. Lance Molton sat next to Rono. He was a spirited man with a buzz cut, a dark complexion, well-defined muscles, a white tank top on his upper body, and loose training pants on his lower body. "Captain, what's the kill count this time?" Every action the Red Devil Pirates took had a kill count, which was usually announced by Rono or Sairona twenty minutes before battle. Violators would be punished by family law. Lance Molton was an old hand and was quite familiar with Rono, which allowed him to approach and inquire for information.

"Leave no one alive," Rono said, taking a sip of wine. The killing intent in his eyes made Lance, a veteran of many battles, swallow hard. Even though it was a small country, it still had hundreds of thousands of people.

"Seriously?" Lance tried to convince himself, "He must be joking, joking, a joke..."

"Do you think I'm joking?" Rono's blood-red eyes turned to look at Lance, his eyebrows raised.

Cold sweat broke out all over Lance. He immediately said he wouldn't dare. Only after Rono looked away did he breathe a sigh of relief. Why has the captain's emotional state been so volatile lately? The last time was when Gelu was born, wasn't it? What could it be this time? But Lance didn't dare to ask further. The wine had sobered him up completely, and he lost any desire to continue drinking. He sat alone in a corner, watching the others laugh and joke, their crude language filling the air.

"I wonder how many people will still be able to laugh later," Lance muttered to himself. The Red Devil Pirates had a fatal flaw. Many of the pirate crews under their banner were incorporated after entering the Grand Line. In the waters near Alabasta, the Red Devil Pirates were completely dominant, and hardly anyone dared to provoke them. This resulted in a severe lack of combat experience among the pirates, and their fighting spirit had been significantly blunted. This time, those who survived would become officially affiliated pirate crews of the Red Devil Pirates.