Meanwhile, in Orange Town, Cocoyasi Village.
The air reeked of blood, and the entire town was deathly silent.
Gern's figure coalesced in a faint glow at the entrance to the town.
The sight before him confirmed his worst suspicions.
No thriving, functioning village or town should ever have looked like this.
The streets were deserted, every door and window tightly shut, as though this were a realm of the dead.
More horrifying still, bodies lay sprawled outside many homes, their flesh not yet cold!
Men and women, young and old, lay in pools of blood. The yellow earth beneath them had long since turned dark red, and bullet holes and blade wounds were plainly visible.
It was the Arlong Pirates.
They were forcibly collecting so-called "protection money," intending to use it to build their twisted "Fish-Man paradise" on this land.
And the fee was charged per head!
Villagers who could not pay met only one fate-death!
As Gern stood rooted to the spot, his gaze turning cold at the carnage before him-
"Hey! Outsider!"
Some Orange Town villagers, trembling as they watched the streets from behind windows or from hidden corners, noticed the unfamiliar outsider.
A few braver villagers cautiously approached, fear and urgency written across their faces. Keeping their voices low, they pleaded, "Outsider! Go! Get out of here!"
"Those Fish-Men... those monsters are collecting money. Anyone who can't pay gets killed!"
"You stand out too much here as an outsider. They'll spot you and kill you! Run!"
They could barely protect themselves, yet they still worried about a stranger's safety.
Gern listened to their warnings in silence. Without a word, he untied the small, unremarkable bundle he always carried.
Under the villagers' puzzled, anxious gazes, he swept his arm upward.
Whoosh! A great cloak of pristine white, made