As Dawn and his crew raised their glasses in celebration on Lapugas, Troy Island, roughly a hundred kilometers away, was being shrouded in an ominous shadow.
Troy, an island famed for producing exceptionally talented musicians, had consequently become a tragic place frequently visited by Slave Ships. Today, it welcomed an even more brutal group of uninvited guests.
Pirate ships flying vicious skull-and-crossbones flags converged from different routes like sharks drawn by the scent of blood, densely filling the waters beyond Troy's harbor.
Over a hundred ships of various sizes nearly blocked off the sea, their masts standing like a forest and radiating a chilling air of slaughter.
As many as five thousand pirates, from throughout the first half of the Grand Line and the West Blue, had gathered here after being handsomely hired by New World's underworld kings, who felt deeply threatened by Dawn's aggressive expansion.
The influx of these outlaws plunged Music Island, whose public safety had already been precarious due to slave-catching operations, into complete chaos and terror.
Within just a few hours, vicious incidents erupted across the island. Gunshots, explosions, and cries of anguish rose one after another.
Some pirates returned to their old trade, burning, killing, looting, and plundering without restraint. Others temporarily took up work as human traffickers, frantically capturing musicians in the hope of selling these commodities to nobles and wealthy merchants with particular tastes for a hefty profit.
In the human black market, slaves with useful skills were always more sought after and fetched higher prices. Musicians and painters, professions representing art and refinement, were especially favored by certain nobles who fancied themselves high society. They believed such slaves enhanced their noble status and taste.
"I won't talk about anything as unrealistic as unified command and coordinated operations. Whether you fight separately or