Sabaody Grove 55 was an area where shipyards and coating workshops mingled.
Unlike the Commercial District, the air here smelled of resin and rust, and bundles of timber and unfinished hulls lay piled on the docks.
Bubbles from the coating workshops shimmered with an oil-slick rainbow sheen in the sunlight as bare-chested workers labored beneath the ships.
Inside a tavern right beside a coating workshop, dozens of pirates were eating and drinking to their hearts' content.
They had booked the whole place, and the tavern owner sat behind the counter, long accustomed to this.
In the Sabaody Archipelago, pirates were actually one of the main groups of paying customers.
But this "routine" was shattered by an unwelcome visitor.
With a bang, the tavern door was kicked off its hinges, its broken pieces crashing inside.
"Who's there? Got a death wish?!"
The pirates grabbed their weapons and stood, only to stare in bewilderment at the tall figure entering.
"...What a letdown. He really isn't here."
Shiryu walked through the doorway in a black double-breasted military uniform, blocking out some of the sunlight.
"Sh-Shiryu of the Rain!"
Panic swept through the pirates. They froze in place, none daring to move.
"I heard the Drake Pirates were here. Was I wrong?"
Shiryu strolled forward, his military boots creaking against the wooden floor. The pirates kept backing away, cold sweat breaking out over them.
Some tried to escape through the back door, only to find a group of pirates wearing skull armbands blocking their retreat with raised guns.
"Wait... we only just joined..."
Shiryu stood in the center of the tavern, Raiu already drawn. He had no intention of listening to their explanations.
A dark red glow shrouded the blade as it swung, every slash sending a line of blood spraying.
Tables and chairs