Island Affairs

While Kaya and Rocks were still sailing the seas, a minor incident took place on Hachinosu...

"Submit! Or die!"

The atmosphere in a dimly lit tavern was especially tense. Many people were present, some wearing grave expressions, others looking uncertain.

Most, however, sat around the edges. In the center of the tavern, broken tables, chairs and bottles lay scattered across the floor.

Everyone's attention was on two men.

One was on top of the other... more precisely, one man was straddling the other, forcibly pinning him to the floor.

The man on top was cocky, while the fellow beneath him wore an angry expression. Even the floor had shattered.

"What happened? They were drinking just fine, so why did they suddenly start fighting?"

"It wasn't sudden. I know those two. They had a grudge before, and it just came to a head today."

"This isn't the first time, right?"

"Hey, Basard, you got beaten up not long ago. Are you here for revenge today?"

"Hahaha! Nine, get up and fight, you idiot! What are you doing? Can you stand having Basard sitting on top of you?"

Those bastards!!

The man named Nine clenched his fists. Noticing this, Basard, who was pinning him down, didn't hesitate to punch him several times. Bang, bang!

Nine screamed, his head spinning from the blows.

"Hey! Remember? Not long ago, you stole my money!" Basard stared hard at Nine.

Hearing this, Nine came to his senses and gave him a vicious look. "What's wrong with that? If you're a pirate and you don't kill or rob people, why go to sea? You might as well go home and play house!"

"Well said!" Basard suddenly burst out laughing. "You were stronger than me, so I couldn't do anything. Now I'm stronger than you, so are you willing to die?!"

"When you become a pirate..." Nine began slowly, but his eyes stole a glance at the hand Basard had pressed against his chest.

The sleeve on that arm was rolled up to the shoulder, exposing its powerful muscles.

Of course, that wasn't the point.

The point was that Basard wore a silver chain on his right hand. The slender chain was looped several times around his wrist.

Nine didn't know what it was. An ornament? But why couldn't he fight back?

A few days ago, Basard still couldn't beat him. When they had just met in the tavern, Nine had been ready to toss out a few words and humiliate the fellow whose money he'd stolen, the one who could only slink away afterward.

But to his surprise, after just one exchange, he felt the world spin, and the next second, he was flat on the floor.

"Why have you gotten so much stronger?!" Nine couldn't resist asking.

"A dead man is talking!" Basard gripped Nine's neck with his right hand and placed his left on his wrist. Without any visible exertion, he simply pulled outward.

Clatter!

A ball of deep blue light suddenly lit up the tavern, shining on everyone's faces.

A bow! A large blue bow appeared out of thin air!

Bang!!

Nine's head burst apart like a watermelon! Blood and white matter splattered across the floor.

A blue arrow now stood where his head had been, halfway into the floor and stained red with fresh blood.

The tavern fell silent. Everyone looked at the fierce-faced Basard, and no one spoke again.

At that moment, they had seen it clearly.

Basard had simply summoned a bow and arrow from somewhere and killed Nine. People died everywhere on this island, and the taverns were especially bad.

But the power Basard had used drew attention.

Basard kicked Nine's corpse aside and got to his feet. He vigorously brushed off his clothes, though the bloodstains could no longer be removed.

He had come for revenge. Now that he'd killed his target, there was no need to stay.

"Hey! Brat!"

Basard had just started walking when someone called out to him. He turned his head and looked into the shadows in the corner of the tavern.

In those shadows, he noticed someone watching him. That presence put him instinctively on guard.

"...What?" he asked casually.

"That power of yours seems a little familiar." A low, raspy voice came from the shadows.

"Is that so?" Basard was noncommittal.

"The island hasn't been peaceful lately. A lot more people are dying than before. Is someone trying to do something?"

"What's it got to do with me? I just killed someone."

With that, Basard ignored everyone present, shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out without looking back.

The tavern stayed quiet for a while before growing noisy again.

Instead of just bragging as usual, the pirates now had another topic to discuss, though most of them didn't take the matter to heart.

In the shadows, the man who had just spoken to Basard took out a lighter.

Click!

As the flame sprang to life, his face was illuminated.

He wore an expensive black suit and sat in a large chair with his legs crossed, his polished leather shoes resting on the table.

He put out the lighter, clenched a cigar between his teeth and began puffing out clouds of smoke.

Just then, someone quietly walked up behind him.

"Boss, the intelligence is in. According to our investigation, there have recently been several incidents of pirate crews swallowing up others, as well as revenge killings and robberies on the island."

"Normally, that wouldn't be unusual, but strangely, the people behind most of these incidents all have one thing in common..."

"They all use bows and arrows to fight!"

The man in the suit listened to his subordinate's report in silence, something flickering in his deep-set eyes.

Bows and arrows? Those are no match for guns and cannons. Of those still using them in large numbers, the only ones worth mentioning are from Amazon Lily, aren't they?

As it happened, there was also a woman from the Amazon Lily Kingdom in their Rocks Pirates.

But... Basard is a man!

I've never heard of any famous men who use bows and arrows. Could this be an attempt to frame someone?

"Organize all the intelligence we've gathered and report it to the Godfather," the man said to his subordinate, coming back to his senses.

"Yes!" The subordinate left.

The man sat alone for a while. The more he thought about it, the more he felt undercurrents were stirring, and that someone in the shadows might be planning something.

The island wasn't going to be peaceful anytime soon...

"Come out!!"

Walking down the street, Basard suddenly stopped and shouted over his shoulder.

A few seconds later, several people stepped out.

Seeing them, a trace of annoyance flashed in Basard's eyes. "I already told you, I prefer being alone. I won't join you, Eileen!"

"Perhaps that's true..." The woman leading them spread her hands and smiled. "But we're all Quincy!"

"So what? Is that something to be proud of?" Basard retorted. "Don't forget how we got our powers!"

The woman's expression stiffened. How had they gotten their powers? Did that even need saying? Of course, they'd been beaten down by that being and forced to accept them under threat.

She didn't even dare think of that person's name. The slightest thought made her blood tremble.

"Ahem! The process doesn't matter! The result is that we all have powers!" The woman raised her hand, and a blue Spirit Bow appeared in it.

The several people following her did the same, their faces filled with fervor.

"The Quincy are the strongest race! Our powers surpass Devil Fruits and Haki. We're the same kind, and the other pirates are our enemies!"

"Our numbers are growing rapidly. Before long, no one will be able to ignore our existence!"

"...We could even take over Hachinosu!"

Basard sneered and was about to mock these fools, but a voice suddenly rang out in the distance, interrupting his thoughts.

"Rocks is back!!!"