An Unwarranted Disaster

East Blue, Dru Town. This was a small town somewhat off the beaten path. Because it was close to Terminal Gray, the Goa Kingdom hadn't included it in its territory, so the people who chose to live here were all homeless drifters, just scraping by and waiting to die. The person in charge of the Naval Base here was also the sort who let the days slip by without a care. As a result, the town felt rather lifeless...

On the streets, groups of burly-looking men stood around shirtless, chatting in threes and fours. They bragged about their pasts and talked about how impressive they'd been at some brothel the night before.

Just then, two boys walked out of the Naval Base in the center of town. The men's conversation immediately fell silent, and their greedy eyes fixed on the bag carried by the older boy. But the two boys continued talking among themselves, seemingly oblivious. In fact, it was mostly the older boy who did the talking...

"Boss, boss, those two kids look loaded! Judging by the weight of that bag, they must have a few million Beli!"

"Those two? Heh. If you don't value your life, go ahead and try."

"Huh?"

The underling was dumbfounded. A burly man leaned over beside him and whispered, "They're the kids adopted by the Bounty Hunter known as 'Asura,' whose name has spread across the East Blue over the past six months. He took them in specifically to collect his bounties."

"Asura!"

The underling cried out, then realized his mistake. He hurriedly looked around and lowered his voice. "You mean the bounty hunter who wiped out twenty pirate crews in just six months, including the captain of the Tanuki Pirate Crew, who had a bounty of thirteen million Beli?"

"Who else? People have found the ships of pirate crews killed by 'Asura.' They were all covered in chunks of rotten flesh. Because of his brutal methods, the pirates dubbed him 'Asura.' But nobody knows his real name, or even what he looks like. These two kids have always collected his bounties for him."

"Oh, I see. Then why don't we just rob the two kids? We can leave the island after we take their money. It's not like 'Asura' is here."

"Forget it. Who knows how many people have had the same idea as you over the past six months? Not a single one of them ever came back alive. I reckon that bloodthirsty 'Asura' might be following them around, just waiting for someone to rob the kids so he can kill them and satisfy his bloodlust..."

"...Is he a demon?"

"No, he's Asura..."

"Ina, you seem to have quite a fearsome reputation!"

Loxi smiled as he watched the greedy yet wary looks from the people around them.

Bai Ina nodded expressionlessly.

"By the way, Ina, where are we headed next? So many people in the East Blue are afraid to become pirates now. Some pirates have even gone alone to the Grand Line to form their own crews, just to avoid getting bounties."

Bai Ina shook his head.

"You don't know either..." Loxi looked at Bai Ina helplessly, then smiled unconcernedly. "Oh well, we'll take things as they come! Ina, what do you want to eat? Should we buy more meat or more vegetables?"

A conflicted look crossed Bai Ina's face. He hugged his sword and tilted his head...

"Hahaha, then we'll buy plenty of both." Loxi laughed at the sight, then added with a smile, "Don't worry, we have enough money this time. I'll buy more of the oranges you like. We can't get too many, though. The ice room on our ship doesn't keep things fresh very well. The vegetables and meat start to spoil if they're stored too long, and fruit goes bad even faster."

Bai Ina pursed his lips at that.

"Forget about a refrigerator, Ina. Your food expenses alone have forced us to tighten our belts over the past six months. We don't have any spare money to buy one. Besides, if we install a refrigerator on the ship, we'll need to install an engine too, and the whole hull would have to be remodeled. The ten million or so Beli we have on hand just isn't enough!"

Bai Ina furrowed his brow, then nodded resignedly.

"Haha, come on. Let's go buy supplies at the town market." Loxi smiled and led Bai Ina straight toward the market in the center of town.

At the market, Loxi went on a shopping spree, though not quite like anyone else's.

"This meat won't do. It tastes like it's been injected with water, and the quality's poor..."

"Huh, is this shop trying to kill people? The cabbage has such a strong smell of pesticide."

"This pork's good. Judging by the smell, the pig was slaughtered last night!"

"Ah, Ina, don't eat that orange. It may look big and juicy, but I can smell growth chemicals in it. The flesh tastes awful, and eating too much is bad for you. Let's buy some from another shop!"

"..."

Bai Ina looked at the orange that had been snatched away and pursed his lips. It had been free to sample...

After shopping, Bai Ina and Loxi each carried several large bags back to the ship, then set sail again.

Back on the ship, Loxi used the sea chart to adjust their course, while Bai Ina continued training.

Bai Ina swung a stone weight made from a massive boulder that weighed nearly a ton. But after just a few swings, he stopped and looked dissatisfied at the weight in his hands.

Loxi came out of the cabin after adjusting the course and saw what was happening. He remarked in surprise, "Looks like it's time to replace this stone weight too."

Bai Ina nodded and said in a flat, emotionless voice, "Find a way to make me another one, Loxi."

Loxi smiled and nodded. He didn't mind Bai Ina's tone at all. After six months together, he had thoroughly figured out his companion's personality. Bai Ina was always merciless toward his enemies, even downright bloodthirsty. But in everyday life, he was simply a little withdrawn and didn't like expressing his feelings.

At first, Bai Ina's personality had given Loxi plenty of trouble. After all, trying to read his thoughts from that perpetually frosty little face was quite the challenge... But the longer they spent together, the more Loxi felt that Bai Ina was the easiest person in the world to get along with—as long as they weren't enemies, of course...

"By the way, Ina, our next stop is the waters near Syrup Village. I heard that Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirate Crew, whose crew had a combined bounty of sixteen million, was spotted nearby. His epithet is 'Klahadore.'"

"The Black Cat Pirate Crew..." Bai Ina murmured. Even though nearly five years had passed, his superhuman memory let him immediately recall the character from the original story.

Loxi was taken aback. "What? You know him? Should we pick a different target?"

Bai Ina shook his head. "No need!" As soon as he spoke, he resumed swinging the stone weight. But the next moment, he stopped and warily scanned their surroundings.

"What's wrong?"

Loxi was startled.

"Something's approaching!" Bai Ina answered without turning around. Then his expression changed abruptly. "No, it's underneath the ship!"

'Rumble—'

Almost the instant Bai Ina finished speaking, the ship shuddered. A moment later came the sound of the keel breaking apart beneath them. It was only a small pirate crew's ship, built with no particularly sturdy timber, so a single collision was enough to smash it to pieces.

Bai Ina's expression changed at once.

"Damn it, Ina, water must be coming in through the bottom of the hull. The ship's sinking!" Loxi's expression changed drastically too.

Bai Ina nodded, his face growing gloomier. If he weren't a Devil Fruit user, he would have jumped into the sea and hacked whatever had damaged the ship into pieces.

'Bang—'

Just then, another collision struck. The ship, already sinking because its keel had broken, split in two from the impact.

Loxi was thrown through the air by the collision and hit the wall of the cabin, where he passed out.

"Loxi—" Bai Ina panicked at the sight and hurried over to check on him. He breathed a sigh of relief. Loxi had only been knocked unconscious by the impact; no vital areas were injured. Once he was sure Loxi was all right, Bai Ina took a rope from the storage room and secured him to his own body. Then, with a dark expression, he watched the ship continue to sink.

The culprits behind all this came into view: two Sea King Beasts fighting each other. They seemed not to have noticed the tiny ship at all, biting and tearing at each other as they moved farther away. That was hardly surprising. For creatures of their size, bumping into a ship so small while fighting must have felt like a mere itch...

Bai Ina and Loxi had simply suffered an unwarranted disaster, caught in the crossfire of the beasts' battle.

If Bai Ina had a small boat now, he would definitely chase after them and hack them both to pieces. Unfortunately, he could barely save himself at this point.

Neither Loxi nor Bai Ina could swim worth a damn. Sinking in the middle of the ocean was practically the worst possible outcome, and their spare boat was below deck. That area had already been flooded, so there was no way to get down there.

"Damn it—"

Bai Ina cursed as he watched the ship about to be swallowed by the sea. He tightened his hold on Loxi's back, then used his long sword to chop the cabin door off its hinges. With the extra rope, he secured their upper bodies to the door.

The moment he finished, the seawater surged over them. As soon as it touched him, Bai Ina felt a wave of weakness spread through his entire body. He let the waves carry them away. With both of them tied by their upper bodies to the door and their lower bodies submerged, they couldn't control their direction at all.

They could only drift with the waves...