Decision

"Bastard!!"

The man roared, his body trembling. His mind was a complete mess, and he couldn't think straight. "Baro!!!"

Baro lay motionless on the ground, naked, his body covered in gruesome wounds. Many of them were pointless, though, and didn't look like they'd been inflicted in a fight. For example, there was no way a battle could have left the word "slut" carved into his face.

His arms had been cut off, his legs bent at grotesque angles, his chest ripped open, his innards reduced to pulp, and most of his neck torn apart, leaving his crimson arteries exposed. His genitals had been cut off and were nowhere to be found. It was an obvious act of humiliation.

Rhode had received the news early that morning. When he arrived with the Blood Hand Pirates, forcing his way through the crowd of onlookers, this was what he saw.

"First Mate!!!!"

Louis tried to make his expression look furious. Sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead. He immediately shrugged off the coat draped over his shoulders, crouched down, and covered Baro with it. Then he turned and roared, "Get out of here!! Do you all want to die?"

"Yo!"

One of the watching pirates sneered. "You're just like a little puppy whining because its mother's dead and there's nowhere left to suckle. Ha, that's so excit—"

"Crack!!"

The pirate didn't get a chance to finish. The furious man grabbed him by the throat. "You want to die?!"

Rhode had never been this angry in his life. He could accept his companions dying in battle, but no person could accept a death this degrading.

"That's enough, Rhode. We were in the wrong."

The captain of the pirate who had spoken out of turn put a hand on Rhode's. "I apologize for my subordinate's foolish behavior. I understand your grief, but what matters more now is finding the killer."

"Phew."

Rhode forced down his rage and let go, tossing the trembling pirate to the ground. "Do you have a lead?"

"Get lost!"

The pirate captain kicked away his insolent subordinate, then looked at Rhode. "I don't know if it's related, but I saw Flog heading back this way last night."

"You're sure?"

Rhode grabbed the pirate captain by the collar and demanded.

"You two have had a grudge for a long time. If you weren't both under Admiral Golden Lion, it wouldn't be surprising if you'd fought to the death,"

the pirate captain replied, unconcerned. "I've no reason to set you against each other. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Now that you mention it, I also saw First Mate Baro heading this way last night,"

someone else in the crowd said. "Not long after, Flog followed him."

"..."

Rhode let go. Both his hands were clenched into fists.

"I saw it too. The meeting had ended a long time ago, but Flog returned to his quarters alone."

Another person spoke up.

"Captain!!"

Louis turned to Rhode. "It was him!!"

"Phew."

Rhode tilted his head back and slowly let out a breath. His voice was slow and measured. "Aili, take a few men and see that Baro is properly taken care of. He was always a dignified man. Don't let him—don't let him go without dignity."

"Yes, Captain."

Aili gritted his teeth, his eyes red. He wanted more than anything to stay at the captain's side, but some things had to be done.

"Mario!!"

Rhode put on his gloves. "Take some men. We're moving!!"

"Yeah!!"

Louis drew his sword and stood up.

"Let's go."

The pirate captain who had first brought Rhode the news stepped aside to clear the way. "We'll come along too. We can't let this get out of hand. This is a critical moment for Admiral Golden Lion's strategy."

"Good point."

"I was just looking for an excuse to watch the fun."

"That bastard Flog is really asking for it!"

The pirates followed the Blood Hand Pirates, partly to keep the incident under control and partly because they wanted to watch the spectacle.

They hadn't even reached the Flog Pirates' base when the two sides ran into each other on the road.

"Yo, Captain Rhode. I heard—"

Flog wore a mocking smile, but a hint of panic was still visible on his face. Clearly, he hadn't just heard the news; he'd heard plenty.

"Die, you toad!!"

Rhode had no intention of wasting words. He launched himself forward, fast as a cannonball.

"Hey, Rhode! What's the meaning of this? Are you trying to break Admiral Golden Lion's rules?"

Flog was clearly prepared. His body instantly transformed into a giant frog. He pushed off with both legs, leaping high into the air and landing far away.

"Save the talk about rules for after you're dead!!"

Rhode was exceptionally strong. Even more than twenty years later, in an era when bounties had inflated, a bounty of 150 million would have been enough to make him a Supernova. Even in the New World, he was a renowned powerhouse.

"I know why you're doing this!"

Flog gritted his teeth. He had no intention of backing down, but he could no longer afford to stand his ground. "It wasn't me! I had no reason to kill Baro!"

"Quit your damn blabbering!!"

Rhode leaped at him. "Go explain yourself to Baro in hell!!!"

"Let's go!"

With the two captains already fighting, their crews couldn't lag behind. Louis charged forward with a shout, sword in hand.

"Clang!!"

His sword slammed against another blade. Louis led the charge. "Take them out!!"

"Yeahhh!!"

A desperate army would fight to the last. The Blood Hand Pirates were in high spirits, their fighting strength surging. They pressed Flog's men so hard they could barely fight back. Within minutes, pirates were sprawled across the ground, most of them from Flog's side.

"Boom!"

On the other side, the fight between Flog and Rhode grew more and more intense. Rhode was a master of hand-to-hand combat who excelled at Armament Haki, while Flog was a Zoan user. Both were extremely powerful.

"This can't go on!"

One of the watching pirate captains spoke up. "Admiral Golden Lion will be here soon. Capture Flog! Hold Rhode back! Let the Admiral decide what to do!"

"Fine."

"Let's move!"

The decision was unanimous. Around twenty pirate captains in the crowd rushed forward. Most were powerful fighters with bounties exceeding a hundred million. Even Rhode, furious as he was, couldn't hold out against so many opponents of nearly equal strength. In the blink of an eye, several men had restrained him, while Flog had it even worse—he was immediately pinned to the ground and couldn't move.

"Captain!!"

Louis was also blocked and forced back, unable to get close.

"That's enough, Rhode! Stop!"

A pirate captain held Rhode down and shouted, "We've got Flog. Now we just have to wait for Admiral Golden Lion to decide."

"Let go of me! Bastards! Let me go!!"

Rhode struggled nonstop, but with several powerful opponents holding him back, he could do nothing.

"Hey, this guy—"

The pirate restraining Louis was startled. He'd only glanced over at Rhode for a moment, but Louis had already slipped through their guard and launched himself straight at Flog, sword swinging down.

"Die, bastard!!"

Louis roared. That man had to die.

"But didn't we tell you to stop?"

A sword blocked Louis's blade. The pirate captain could only look at him helplessly.

"Admiral Golden Lion is here! Everyone, stop!!"

Suddenly, someone shouted.

"Rhode! Don't you trust Admiral Golden Lion?"

one of the men holding him down called out.

"..."

After a brief silence, Rhode looked up. "Stop! Mario! Wait for Admiral Golden Lion to decide!"

"...Damn it!"

Louis cursed. He'd been a step too late. He casually plunged his sword into the ground, its edge right beside Flog's neck. Then he walked up to Flog, grabbed him, and held on tight. "You're as good as dead!!!"

"Phew."

Only then did Flog let out a sigh of relief. At last, he'd have a chance to explain himself.

"Jiehahahaha! I look away for a moment, and you've already made this much of a mess?"

The man drifted down from the sky.

"People have limits! Over the course of my long career of updating, I've realized that. The more I try to plot the story, the more I feel constrained—unless I have recommendation tickets!

JoJo! I want recommendation tickets!"

"How many recommendation tickets have you begged for, all for the sake of updating?"

"Can you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten in your life?"