Joker Gang

"Looks like we've got fog tonight."

"Isn't fog better for us?"

District 44, Sabaody Archipelago.

Besides the harbor at the Marine Base, this was the only place on the island where small and medium-sized ships could dock.

Laide's Gang had paid a steep price to take control of it.

Now it was time to reap the rewards.

A longsword set with a Big Ruby hung at his waist. Supposedly, someone had found it in a Noble Manor amid the chaos two months ago. But after that, several people who owned the sword had died. Now it belonged to Laide.

He didn't believe in that kind of bad luck.

He stuck out his tongue and licked the blade. "Be patient. Our prey will come to us eventually."

"Isn't that why our Joker Gang took this territory? To get our hands on prey?"

Their faces were hidden behind Joker Masks with goofy grins.

Clown Buggy and Major Arrow were celebrities on this island.

What a coincidence.

"What about the Marines? They used to keep an eye on this place."

"Fuck the Marines!" Laide snapped.

"The Celestial Dragons are dead, and the Marines haven't done a damn thing!"

"Right! They can't even catch Your Excellency Buggy!"

"Keep your voices down. Prey's coming!"

Laide's eyes lit up.

A Penguin-shaped Boat emerged from the thin fog beside a broad mangrove tree.

It rode high in the water, clearly a small vessel.

"It's a little penguin!"

"Not much meat on that one."

"Doesn't matter. We're eating it! If we don't, our brothers died for nothing!"

"Get the bastards!"

Several conspicuous scars ran across Laide's Clown Mask. Beneath it, his eyes gleamed with malice.

They didn't have a clear goal like the Arrow Followers.

They'd just fought over a few scraps during the chaos Clown Buggy had caused, and that was how they'd gotten the name Joker Gang.

Now they wanted to rob and fight for more.

All they cared about was the satisfaction of having their bellies filled and the thrill of committing crimes.

"Charge!"

Laide bellowed. From behind the embankment where they were hiding, he hurled a spear tied to a thick hemp rope at the Penguin Ship.

Its tip was a hooked shape. Once it landed on the deck of the Grand News, the hook would catch on the gunwale when they pulled the rope back.

"Joker Gang, kill!"

Laide led the charge. Balancing on the two-finger-wide hemp rope in his Clown Mask, he looked like an acrobat.

Some of the other gang members plunged into the water and swam toward the ship's hull.

One of the main reasons they'd taken over this harbor was that they knew this kind of robbery inside out.

Their war cries pierced the still night, but the Penguin Ship gave no response.

Laide climbed onto the foredeck without a hitch.

Only one person was there, holding a Kerosene Lamp.

"Hey, you!"

Laide had planned to sneak up and stab him, but the sight of his companions climbing aboard gave him confidence.

"This place belongs to the Joker Gang. Have you decided what your opening bid will be?"

The man holding the lamp was slender, wearing a burgundy shirt beneath a purple vest.

He propped his head on one hand, seemingly lost in thought.

"Damn it!"

When the man didn't respond, Laide immediately felt that he was being looked down on.

He swung his sword without hesitation.

The Ruby Longsword slashed from his right shoulder to his left abdomen.

"If you can't decide, then die!"

Laide sheathed his sword and turned around.

He tried to make his gaze look as vicious as possible.

Killing and cruelty were the two most important things he had to control this little gang.

His men, all wearing matching Clown Masks, climbed onto the deck. When they looked at him, they froze.

"Take a good look. This is what happens to anyone who doesn't follow the Joker Gang's rules."

Laide thought they were stunned by his brutality, and his spirits lifted.

At last, one of his men—still clinging to some unnecessary sense of decency—raised a hand and pointed behind him.

Frowning, Laide turned around.

Behind him, the man holding the Kerosene Lamp had been cut in half.

The lower half stood motionless.

The upper half slowly turned around.

In the dim yellow light, the dark red paint on the man's lips and face shone clearly.

The Joker raised the corner of his mouth and gave a slight bow.

"Good morning, my fellow performers."

The Joker's greeting was warm, as if he were truly just saying hello.

Thud.

Laide's legs gave out beneath him. His heart pounded as if it were about to burst from his chest.

The face on the Bounty Order overlapped with the one before him.

That greeting brought back memories of the Live Broadcast.

"Enemy... of the World."

They were Ye Gong Hao Long, all right.

They called themselves the Joker Gang, but when they actually came face-to-face with the madman known as the Enemy of the World, all they felt was fear of his madness.

The Enemy of the World had returned. He was back on this island!

"Why so serious?"

Buggy chuckled and tugged Laide's rigid face into a strained smile.

"But to be fair, you cut me once, so I'll cut you once too."

He picked up the sword from Laide's hand. Laide's trembling fingers couldn't muster the strength to resist.

Buggy sized up the angle.

Then, with a quick thrust, he stabbed him.

A few drops of hot blood splattered across his face.

"Mm, I'm a stickler for fairness. If I say one cut, it'll be one cut."

Buggy made a sheathing gesture, just as Laide had done.

He glanced at the sword's blade, too.

Its color was dark red, without any of the cold gleam of iron. A few drops of blood slid swiftly down its length.

"Hmm. What should I do next?"

He flicked the blade in silence, his eyes sweeping over the Clown Masks with utter coldness.

The icy gaze left them too terrified to move.

Even though there wasn't a trace of menace in his expression.

Fear was fear. It had taken root in their hearts.

"The Joker Gang? That's a name I haven't heard in a while."

"If you want to live, let's play a game."

Buggy remembered an amusing idea, and his lips curled into a grin.

"The first person to leave this ship and the last person to leave this ship will die."

One of the men in a Clown Mask touched the Den Den Mushi hidden against his chest.

Then he grabbed the companion beside him and shoved him overboard.

Red Port.

One of the few areas the Marines guarded with a heavy force.

Brownie sat comfortably with his legs crossed, sprawled in his broad armchair.

Mm. Life without the Joker was always so much more relaxing.

He held the documents gathered by the Marine intelligence department.

"Revenge for God Valley? What kind of place is that?"

"I've never heard of it."

The sun had only just risen over the harbor. The Bubble Cable Car, which transported passengers to and from the docks, was already carrying its first passengers.

"Hey, why do you look so pale?"

A Marine guard pointed out a middle-aged man whose face was especially frightened and pale.

He carried a small suitcase and looked like a merchant of at least modest means.

The hurried passengers streamed past him.

The middle-aged man was the only one left standing, hesitating in the shadow before the sunlight.

He waited until the sunlight slowly caught up and fell across his face.

His expression showed relief and resignation.

Bang—

The long-rotted corpse exploded.

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