In a house in the Music Capital.
A happy family had once lived there. The husband was hardworking, the wife was kind and capable, and their son had been bright and cheerful from an early age.
But a band of pirates had torn apart everything their neighbors envied. The once-happy family of three lay mutilated in a pool of blood, their bodies piled together.
The stench of blood filled the room.
The five pirates inside did not care. Years at sea had accustomed them to a life lived on the edge of a blade.
"Boss, why does that person want this thing? It's rare, sure, but it can't be worth much."
The boss was a man of about thirty with short hair. He did not look particularly strong, but there was something dangerous about him.
He held a bloodstained dagger and was licking the blood from its blade.
His tongue was unlike a human's. It was forked at the tip, like a snake's or a lizard's.
"I don't know. We lost a lot of brothers this time. Out of more than a hundred, only the five of us survived. Those two Sea Kings were terrifying.
"But we completed the mission, so the losses were worth it. What matters is that you four are alive."
The other four smiled at their boss's words.
They had met in the South Blue and made their way together to the New World. Only they knew how much they had been through.
As they celebrated completing their mission, a pale blue ripple suddenly swept through the room. All five sprang up, their faces alert.
"What was that? It gave me the creeps."
A tall pirate scanned their surroundings but spotted nothing.
"That feeling... It was some kind of energy, and there was Observation Haki mixed