The sky grew dark.
Only a single lamp remained lit on the port of Jaya Island, serving as a guide for any ships rushing here.
In reality, this was a highly irresponsible act.
Yet Jaya itself cared very little about responsibility.
Because there was no government here, it was a chaotic island that had become a lawless zone many years ago. Much like Hachinosu, it possessed the traits of a pirate paradise.
The moniker of pirate paradise held by places like Hachinosu was not unique; many locations across the ocean shared a striking similarity to it, except that because the Rocks Pirates had previously occupied and dominated that place as their base, it had gained a widespread reputation.
Jaya was extremely chaotic, with conflicts and bloodshed erupting every day. Quite a few pirates who lingered in the first half of the Grand Line would come here to vie for power.
It was said that every year, numerous pirates with bounties exceeding ten million buried their bones on Jaya, perishing in the internal strifes of pirate factions.
Perhaps this was one of the reasons the World Government allowed such an island to exist?
The Oro Jackson also slowly sailed into this silent port amidst the hazy darkness.
"This ghost town is still as run-down as ever." Roger looked at a corpse hanging from a lamp post, pierced right through from the bottom up on the port pier, and clicked his tongue.
Clearly, this was not the first time the Roger Pirates had come to Jaya.
"Spencer, go into town and gather some intelligence, see when the Knock Up Stream will erupt this time," Roger instructed.
Since they had been to Jaya before, Roger and the others knew very well that despite the port pier being completely devoid of a living soul and looking thoroughly dilapidated, heading deeper into the island would reveal a small town named Mock Town.
That place certainly did not quiet down at night, for pirates all loved drinking through the night.
"Aren't you going together?" Vikengam asked with curiosity.
"It reeks to high heaven in there. I just took a bath, and I don't want to go looking for trouble," Roger said with an expression of utter disgust.
Rayleigh nodded and said, "Because the island is full of pirates and scoundrels, you can imagine the level of service. There's no need to go too deep. Sleeping in an inn on the island is worse than staying on the ship."
"Well said." Gaban nodded in complete agreement.
It seemed they all despised this ghost place, but Vikengam was still very interested in Mock Town, so he spoke up: "Spencer, I'll go with you."
"Alright." Spencer gave a reply and was the first to jump straight down from the deck.
Following closely behind, Vikengam also jumped down into the port.
Before long, the figures of the two disappeared from the port, heading deeper into the island.
Passing through a patch of chaotic woods, the distant lights began to gradually reflect in the eyes of Spencer and Vikengam.
A small town that looked subpar, appearing thoroughly outdated and chaotic, lay just a few hundred meters away. Compared to the stillness of the port, this little town was indeed lively; before they even got close, they had already heard gunshots several times over.
"The stench of losers, truly repulsive. Hang around and brawl here for too long, and maybe you'll rot just like them?" Spencer lit a cigarette and softly muttered, as if trying to banish the "rotten stench" in the air.
"Losers, you say?" Vikengam clicked his tongue.
"That's right, losers. Most of the pirates gathered here either didn't have the courage to head into the New World, or were driven out by those guys in the New World. They've lost their courage, banding together here, boasting about their former glory, drowning themselves in alcohol, and slowly rotting away," Spencer complained.
Just as Spencer had said, not all pirates had the courage to break into the New World, nor could all pirates remain in the New World.
The eliminated losers would instinctively band together on certain islands and gradually rot away. Jaya was one of them.
Soon, Vikengam and Spencer entered this town brimming with chaos. One could say the streets were filled with drunken sots everywhere, and from time to time, scoundrels would come into conflict, draw blades and guns, and slaughter each other, leaving behind a few corpses in no time at all.
No one would come to collect the bodies either; they probably had to wait until dawn for anyone to care about such matters?
"Let's find a tavern first and ask the locals..." Spencer hadn't even finished speaking when he stopped, saying with some displeasure, "This is why we hate this damn place..."
Watching several figures brandishing sharp blades and firelocks emerge from the dim streets, Vikengam also said with amusement, "Who says they've lost their courage? Look, aren't they quite courageous? They even dare to shake us down."
Among the figures emerging from the shadows of the street, the leader was a bald, scarred brawny man. He sneered as he looked at Vikengam and Spencer and said, "Unfamiliar new faces, huh? Did you just arrive on the island? Then you probably don't know the rules of this Mock Town either! If you want to stay here, you have to pay protection money to us, the Kaba Pirates!"
"Snap..."
A crisp sound rang out, leaving the brawny man with no time to react to what had happened.
Following that, a sharp pain came from his arm. Only then did he clearly see what had transpired.
That silver-haired man had somehow suddenly appeared right beside him and snapped his arm?!
"The Kaba Pirates, is it this Kaba?" Vikengam let go of his hand and asked.
"Ahhhhh!" The brawny man wailed in agony while shouting to his lacklings around him, "Kill these two bastards for me, chop them into minced meat!!!"
Their bunch had clearly all drank a good deal. As the saying goes, alcohol gives courage to cowards, and the pirate lacklings were not frightened either. One by one, they shrieked and charged murderously toward Vikengam and Spencer.
Spencer said very calmly, "I'm an intelligence officer, not responsible for combat..."
"I'm a scholar, am I supposed to be responsible for combat then?" Vikengam retorted, but a cruel smile hung on the corner of his lips as he said, "Forget it. Ever since leaving Alabasta and drifting on the sea for over a month, my hands have been itching for a while. Let me hack all of these..."
"Oh, got the chopping itch, huh? I get it. That guy Gaban's hands itch sometimes, and when his chopping itch acts up, he'll chop entire mountains flat. You axe-users are all perverts..." Spencer said with biting sarcasm.
The moment his voice fell, a spray of blood swept across the dim lighting of the street.
He did not use his ability, merely chopping away simply with a hand axe.
Perhaps, just as Gaban had said, Vikengam was a "half-man". He usually behaved quite normally, but occasionally he possessed a somewhat perverted streak.
Vikengam flicked the chain axe in his hand, the crisp sound of colliding chains intertwining with the dull thud of sharp axes cutting into flesh. Blood and shredded meat danced in the air.
The sound of the axe roared, and blood splattered. In less than a minute, Vikengam savagely hacked the bald brawny man's lacklings into pieces of corpses, which, judging by the degree of fragmentation, would not be very easy to piece back together.
Next, Spencer walked up to the only survivor left behind by Vikengam—namely, the brawny man whose arm had been twisted off—casually took the cigarette biting his mouth, and spoke: "I'm not very good at interrogation, so I hope you can immediately give me a satisfactory answer..."
The moment his voice fell, Spencer shoved the still-burning butt of his cigarette fiercely right into the brawny man's left eye.
"Ahhh!"
The painful wail and the scent of burning protein permeated the air simultaneously.
"Now, tell me, when will the unique Knock Up Stream of Jaya Island appear?"
Sure enough, the Roger Pirates were all villains.
Before you continue