Unforeseen Calamity

East Blue, Dru Town. This was a rather remote town. Because it was near the Terminal Gray, the Goa Kingdom had not incorporated it into its territory, so those who chose to live here were mostly homeless drifters waiting to die. Furthermore, the person in charge of the local Naval Base was the type to slack off and neglect his duties. This resulted in the town appearing somewhat lifeless...

On the streets of the town, men with bare chests and fierce appearances stood in groups of three or five, chatting idly, bragging about their pasts, and talking about how impressive they had been at some brothel the night before.

Just then, two youths walked out of the Naval Base in the center of the town, causing their conversation to pause abruptly. Their eyes greedily fixed on the bag carried by the older of the two boys. Yet, the two youths continued their own conversation as if they hadn't noticed anything at all, though it was mostly the older youth doing the talking...

"Boss, Boss, those two brats look like a big score. Judging by the weight of that bag in their hands, there has to be at least a few million Beli in there!"

"Them? Heh, if you don't want to live anymore, feel free to try."

"Huh?"

The underling was momentarily dumbfounded. At this point, a large man leaned in and whispered, "They are the brats adopted by 'Asura,' the Bounty Hunter who has become famous throughout the East Blue in the last six months, specifically to collect his bounties."

"Asura!"

The underling let out a startled cry before realizing his mistake. He hurriedly looked around and asked in a low voice, "You mean that bounty hunter who killed and scattered 20 pirate crews in half a year, including the captain of the Tanuki Pirate Crew, who had a bounty of 13 million Beli?"

"Who else would it be? Someone once found the ships of the pirate crews killed by 'Asura,' and they were all filled with shredded chunks of meat. It is precisely because of such cruel methods that pirates call him 'Asura.' But no one knows his real name, and not even his appearance is known; these two brats have always been the ones to collect the bounties for him."

"Oh, is that so? Then can't we just rob these two brats? At worst, we just leave the island after grabbing the loot. 'Asura' isn't here anyway."

"Don't even think about it. I don't know how many people have had the same idea over the past six months, but not a single one has come back alive. I suspect that bloodthirsty 'Asura' might be following them at all times, just waiting for someone to try and rob the two brats so he can kill them and satisfy his own bloodlust..."

"...Is he a devil?"

"No, he is Asura..."

"Ina, it seems you have a very terrifying reputation!"

Loxi looked at the greedy and wary gazes of the crowd around them and laughed.

Bai Ina nodded, his expression blank.

"By the way, Ina, where are we heading next? Many people in the East Blue are afraid to be pirates now; some even run off to the Grand Line to form pirate crews just to avoid being hunted."

Bai Ina shook his head.

"You don't know either, huh..." Loxi looked at Bai Ina helplessly, then smiled nonchalantly: "Forget it, let's just take it one step at a time! Ina, what do you want to eat? Should we buy more meat, or more vegetables?"

A look of struggle appeared on Bai Ina's face as he hugged his sword and tilted his head...

"Hahaha, then we'll buy plenty of both meat and vegetables." Loxi smiled at the sight, then added: "Don't worry, we have enough money this time. I'll buy more of those oranges you like, but we can't buy too many. After all, the insulation in our ship's icebox isn't that great; vegetables and meat spoil if kept too long, and fruit spoils even faster."

Bai Ina pursed his lips upon hearing this.

"Don't even think about a refrigerator, Ina. Your food expenses alone have had us tightening our belts for the past six months. We don't have the extra money to buy one. Besides, installing a refrigerator on a ship would require an engine, and the entire hull would need a major overhaul. The 10 million Beli or so we have right now is nowhere near enough!"

Bai Ina frowned at this, then nodded helplessly.

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

Once at the market, Loxi went on a shopping spree, but it wasn't an ordinary one.

"This meat is no good; it tastes like it's been injected with water, the quality is poor..."

"Ugh, this shop is trying to kill people. There's such a strong smell of pesticides on these cabbages."

"This pork is good. Judging by the smell, it was slaughtered just last night!"

"Ah, Ina, don't eat that orange. Don't let its size and juiciness fool you. It has the smell of chemical catalysts inside. The flesh tastes terrible, and it's not good for your health if you eat too much. Let's buy from another shop!"

"..."

Bai Ina pursed his lips as he watched the orange being snatched away; that was a free sample...

Just like that, after a thorough sweep, Bai Ina and Loxi returned to the ship, each carrying several large bags, and set sail once again.

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

A stone block weighing nearly a ton, formed from a massive boulder, was being swung in Bai Ina's hands. However, he stopped after a few swings, looking at the stone block with dissatisfaction.

Loxi, who had just finished adjusting the course and stepped out of the cabin, saw this scene and remarked in amazement: "Looks like it's time to replace this stone block, too."

Bai Ina nodded, his voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation: "Find a way to make me another one, Loxi."

Loxi nodded with a smile, not minding Bai Ina's tone at all. Half a year of living together had allowed him to fully grasp his partner's personality. Although he was always cold and ruthless toward enemies—even extremely bloodthirsty—in his daily life, he was simply someone who was a bit withdrawn and disliked expressing his emotions.

Initially, Bai Ina's personality had caused Loxi a great deal of trouble. After all, trying to read the thoughts behind that face, which was always as cold as ice, was a huge challenge... But as time went on, Loxi felt that Bai Ina was perhaps the easiest person in the world to get along with, provided they weren't enemies...

"By the way, Ina, our next stop is the waters near Syrup Village. I heard that Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirate Crew, known as 'Klahadore' with a total bounty of 16 million Beli, has been spotted in that area."

"The Black Cat Pirate Crew, huh..." Bai Ina muttered to himself. Even though nearly five years had passed, with his superhuman memory, he instantly recalled this character who had appeared in the original story.

Loxi was stunned: "What? You know him? Should we pick a different target?"

Bai Ina shook his head: "No need!" As he spoke, he continued to swing the stone block in his hands, but the next moment, his movements stopped, and he scanned his surroundings with a vigilant expression.

"What's wrong?"

Loxi was taken aback.

"Something is approaching!" Bai Ina replied without turning his head, his expression suddenly changing: "No, it's under the ship!"

Boom--

Almost the moment Bai Ina finished speaking, a vibration came from beneath the ship, followed by the sound of the keel shattering. After all, this was just a ship belonging to a small pirate crew; it wasn't built with sturdy timber, so it shattered after just one collision.

Bai Ina's expression changed instantly.

"Not good, Ina, it must be a Sea King Beast beneath the hull; the ship is sinking." Loxi's face also shifted drastically at this moment.

Bai Ina nodded, his expression growing even gloomier. If not for the fact that he was a Devil Fruit user, he would have jumped off the ship and hacked whatever was destroying it into pieces.

"Bang—"

Just then, another impact came. The ship, already sinking due to its fractured keel, snapped in two from this collision.

Loxi was sent flying by the impact, slamming into a bulkhead and falling unconscious.

"Loxi—" Seeing this, Bai Ina grew anxious. He rushed over to check on Loxi, then let out a sigh of relief; he was merely unconscious from the impact and had suffered no critical injuries. After confirming he was out of immediate danger, Bai Ina retrieved a rope from the nearby storage, secured Loxi to his own body, and glared with a dark face at the rapidly sinking ship.

The culprits behind all this finally came into Bai Ina's view: two Sea King Beasts locked in combat. The two beasts seemed completely oblivious to the tiny ship, continuing to bite and claw at each other as they moved into the distance. It was no wonder; given their massive size, bumping into such a small vessel during their fight probably felt no different than a light scratch...

Bai Ina and his companion had simply suffered a disaster of no fault of their own, caught in the wake of the beasts' battle.

If Bai Ina had a small boat right now, he would absolutely choose to pursue them and slaughter both beasts. Unfortunately, he could barely look after himself.

One had to know that neither Loxi nor he could swim; for them, a shipwreck in the middle of the ocean was the most terrifying outcome imaginable. The spare boat was kept below deck, but that area had already been flooded by seawater, making it impossible to reach.

"Damn it—"

Watching the hull about to be submerged, Bai Ina cursed fiercely. After tightening his grip on the unconscious Loxi on his back, he used his longsword to hack off a cabin door panel and used the extra rope to lash their upper bodies to it.

As soon as he finished, the seawater surged over them. The moment he made contact, Bai Ina felt a sense of powerlessness wash over his entire body. Letting the waves carry them away, he and Loxi drifted with their upper bodies strapped to the plank while their lower bodies remained submerged, leaving them completely unable to steer.

They could only drift along with the waves...