New World, on a nameless island.
This was a primordial island filled with all manner of terrifying beasts and dense forests.
The island's environment was so harsh that even passing pirates did not dare approach it lightly.
But that had been two months ago.
Deep within the dense forest, a massive tusked boar was roasting over a campfire.
Its skin was golden and crispy, and its enticing aroma had drawn every beast in the forest. Yet not a single animal dared extend its claws.
The reason was simple: the terrifying man seated beside the fire.
He was slightly hunched over, bald, with strange markings engraved across his scalp. A prominent burn scar ran from his shoulder to his lower abdomen. A pipe hung from his mouth as he held a newspaper in his hand, reading something with a faintly sorrowful look in his eyes.
He appeared completely defenseless, yet merely sitting there made him feel like some ferocious monster, keeping the beasts from daring to come near.
Just then, movement came from the forest.
As branches and leaves swayed, three utterly bedraggled figures wearing specially made black bracelets emerged from the woods. When they saw the roasted meat, a curvaceous woman among them lunged at it like a starving tiger.
The other two men were covered in black lines, but they did not lag behind either.
They understood that if they were even a moment too slow, the big-eater woman before them would devour all the food.
"Hey, Bonney, you bastard, leave some for me..."
"Quit talking nonsense, Kid... whoever gets it first owns it..."
"Hey, Killer, eat faster..."
That was right. The ones fighting over food here were Eustass Kid and Killer of the Kid Pirates, along with Jewelry Bonney of the Bonney Pirates.
The reason the three of