Ochoku's Death

Click!

The painfully bright light shining on Ochoku's face stirred his sluggish consciousness, waking him from his coma.

He opened his eyes, squinting instinctively against the glare. His vision was terribly blurry, or perhaps his brain had yet to wake up.

After a while longer, he finally came to, and the sight before him made his head spin.

This was the tavern, a place he knew well.

He was in the middle of it, his limbs bound to a cross standing on the floor. His whole body was so weak he couldn't move a finger.

Directly in front of him, Rocks sat imposingly at the bar, one hand resting on his long sword, his face expressionless.

On either side of him were:

Newgate, Shiki, Kyo, Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, John, Ganzui, Babel, Keel, and the others. Even Streusen, the Gourmet Knight, was there.

Behind them, Gloriosa was embracing Shakky, her mature, lovely face full of panic.

Maron and Kaya were there too, of course.

Maron sat in another part of the room, covered in bandages and surrounded by a great many underlings, while several doctors examined him from head to toe.

Kaya stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a wall. A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth, a smile devoid of feeling.

This was Shakky's tavern. The night outside was still visible through the windows, but the ceiling lights were perhaps specially made, for the tavern was as bright as day.

Silence. Deathly silence.

Gulp!

The sound of someone swallowing echoed through the excessively quiet room, unusually distinct.

Ochoku was already trembling. Faced with a scene resembling the trial of a criminal, no one could remain calm. The fact that he hadn't wet himself showed he had excellent nerves.

"What happened?" Rocks asked in a low voice.

"I've been framed! All of it is a setup!" Even now, Ochoku was trying to save himself, roaring at the top of his lungs.

"It was Maron! Maron and Kaya wanted to kill me! Whatever they told you, it was all lies!"

"This is a conspiracy! Someone wants to divide us from within! It was the Navy, the World Government!"

"I'm one of the seven who founded this crew! Are you going to believe me or those inexplicable bastards?!"

"Believe me! You have to believe me, I'm really innocent! What's the meaning of this? Let me go! Let me the hell go, you bastards!!"

His voice rang through the tavern, enough to silence the children next door and bring the sows in the pigsty to tears.

At that, everyone looked at Kaya.

Kaya remained as he was, with no intention of explaining himself, standing there as though it had nothing to do with him.

They then looked at Maron. He really had been poisoned and injured, and if he hadn't been treated in time, he might already have crossed the Sanzu River.

Meeting their gazes, Maron sneered, likewise showing no intention of saying a single word.

That was more convincing than anything he could have said.

"I really didn't expect it."

Rocks slowly stood up, the long saber in his hand giving a soft hum.

"To think you were the one who betrayed me, Ochoku."

"You went to Elbaf with me. You know what my dream is..."

"Shakky was your target, wasn't she?!"

Cold sweat ran down Ochoku's forehead and into his eyes, stinging badly, but he didn't even dare blink.

"Where were you planning to take Shakky? Answer me." Rocks sliced off Ochoku's ear with a stroke of his sword.

Ochoku screamed repeatedly, blood covering his face.

The cause of the incident was simple enough.

Someone had heard the commotion and hurried over to investigate, only to find the badly injured Maron, Kaya, and Ochoku, whom Kaya had already subdued.

Word spread from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred. Rocks and the others soon heard about it and gathered in the little tavern.

This night was not going to remain peaceful after all.

Maron had said from the start that Ochoku had suddenly attacked, and that Kaya had arrived afterward and saved him.

That naturally contradicted what Ochoku said.

They didn't analyze whom they should believe, but instead considered whether Ochoku's actions that night made sense.

Maron and Ochoku bore no grudge against each other, and their usual relationship was merely ordinary. Had Ochoku deliberately picked a moment like this to find Maron simply because he was bored and wanted a drink?

If Maron's account was true, what did Ochoku stand to gain by taking such an enormous risk to assassinate him? After doing something like that, Ochoku certainly wouldn't be able to stay in the crew.

After a round of brainstorming, they reached a conclusion-Ochoku's sword dance was aimed at Shakky!

It wouldn't matter if Maron died, but Shakky was another matter!

"You bastard! Speak! What were you planning to do?!" Gloriosa was furious. She came over and slapped Ochoku hard across the face.

The blow made stars dance before Ochoku's eyes. He shook his head, his gaze passing over Gloriosa.

He looked at Shakky, who stood behind everyone else. A complicated expression and a trace of lingering fear showed on her entrancing face.

He thought it was such a shame. He had come so close to completing the deal, so close to making Hachinosu change hands.

"Those bowmen on the island are all Quincy! Kaya created every one of them! What Kaya is really plotting..."

In the final moments of his life, Ochoku tried to leave a trap for Kaya, but before he could finish speaking, his head fell off.

Rocks put away his sword and turned around, no longer looking at the dead man.

"Search the waters around Hachinosu with everything you've got! Expand the search area. I'm certain someone out there was going to meet Ochoku! Once you find them, don't act rashly!"

His face was cold, and his tone carried a murderous edge.

Everyone knew a storm was coming to Hachinosu, and this incident had indirectly exposed another hidden problem.

How much longer could this fragile pirate crew, held together by who knew what, last? Today it was Ochoku, but who would be next...

"No need to go to all that trouble. The ones who made a deal with Ochoku were the Navy." Kaya's voice reached everyone's ears.

Everyone froze, looking at him in surprise.

"You know?" Rocks asked.

"I've already found them. There's a Navy ship anchored in the waters off this island." Kaya spoke unhurriedly, but his words left everyone present secretly alarmed.

Kaya didn't care what anyone else thought. He only knew that he had stopped Ochoku from kidnapping Shakky, so how would the God Valley instance be triggered?

He was very curious to see how things would develop from here.

Judging by the plot, Shakky would fall into the World Government's hands, and that was naturally Ochoku's doing.

Ochoku knew full well what a commotion it would cause if something happened to Shakky... And the facts afterward had indeed borne that out: something had happened to Rocks, the Rocks Pirates had fallen apart, and Hachinosu had become Ochoku's.

Ochoku had occupied Hachinosu for decades, until he was defeated by Koby and Blackbeard in his old age.

That part of the plot no longer existed.

Kaya knew much of this world's plot, but he took even greater pleasure in its unknown developments.

Unfamiliar developments were more interesting.

Inside the tavern, everyone's expressions kept changing.

"Do you have any thoughts?" Rocks looked at Kaya, his expression eerily calm.

"What happens next is your business." Kaya opened the door and walked out of the tavern, his retreating figure vanishing into the night, leaving the others to ponder in silence.