"By the way, Jack, were you the only one washed ashore? What about your crew?"
"Oh, my crew? They should be... having a great time on solid ground right now."
"Is that so? What a pity."
"It's not easy getting down from here once you're up. Do you have any plans?"
"Plans? Haven't decided yet."
"Is that so? Well, then..."
As they walked, Jack gradually sensed something was off. The people gathering around at first were mostly young—teenagers, boys and girls—watching him with nothing but curiosity. But as they moved deeper into the town, Jack's Observation Haki picked up a thick, malicious intent seeping from the surrounding buildings.
More importantly, this guy named Jerry had been subtly checking whether Jack was alone. That was suspicious.
Still, Jack wasn't one to be intimidated easily. Acting as if he noticed nothing, he followed along.
"Hmm? What's that place?"
Jack's gaze landed on a distant factory with smoke rising from it. His Observation Haki picked up numerous weak life forces within.
"Ah..."
"Oh, that's just a cloud-processing factory. They make furniture there. Forget about that—come on! We've arrived!"
"The food should be ready. Let's eat first!"
Jerry's face was oddly stiff as he spoke. Jack nodded slightly, playing along.
"This is our town's only restaurant. How do you like the taste?"
"How does it compare to the food in the Blue Sea?"
"And these—our own homemade liquor! Try some!"
Jerry and his group watched expectantly as Jack took the cup and downed the drink in one go.
"Gulp, gulp..."
"Oh, not bad."
"Hahaha! Is that so? Then drink up!"
Throughout the meal, Jerry kept refilling Jack's drink, and by the time confusion started appearing on their faces, Jack finally realized—was the food and alcohol drugged?
Bang!
Jack collapsed onto the floor. Jerry stood up and cursed, "Damn! He's huge! Why did it take so long for the drug to kick in?!"
"Take him to the bosses! A giant like him should be plenty useful!"
These bastards better be doing something legitimate... or I'll be gutting them alive.
Feigning unconsciousness, Jack let the group struggle to carry him away. Through his Observation Haki, he confirmed they were headed straight for the factory emitting smoke earlier.
Jack's curiosity piqued. He remained motionless, waiting to see what they were planning.
Boom!
"Damn it! He's heavy! I'm exhausted!"
"Huff... huff..."
After finally lugging Jack to the factory entrance, they unceremoniously dropped him onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Clang, clang...
Jerry knocked lightly on the factory's massive metal door. Moments later, a few burly men stepped out, glaring at him.
"What the hell do you want, you idiots?!"
"Gentlemen! Please, take a look!"
"Huh?"
The leading man raised an eyebrow at the unconscious Jack. "He's certainly... quite large. This guy"
"Wait a second!"
"This guy is..."
"Jack the Drought of the Beasts Pirates!"
Jack hadn't expected someone here to recognize him. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see that these people were humans.
"You know me?"
"J-Jack! This is all a misunderstanding!"
"I can explain! We're members of the Flying Pirates! Our captain is none other than Golden Lion Shiki!"
Smack! Smack!
Without hesitation, Jack executed the men who had betrayed their fear. As their lifeless bodies slumped to the ground, he muttered to himself, "Golden Lion..."
"A pirate as legendary as Whitebeard and Roger, huh?"
"But he disappeared ages ago..."
Jack frowned. Shiki's name had shaken the seas even before Jack was born. At his peak, he nearly destroyed Roger's crew. Kaido himself had told Jack these stories.
Of course, Shiki eventually lost. He was captured and imprisoned in the impenetrable Impel Down. But even then, he shattered its unbreakable reputation by escaping—albeit at the cost of his legs.
Still, that old relic from a bygone era... Shouldn't he be enjoying retirement by now?
What the hell was he doing up here?
Jack turned his gaze back to the terrified pirates and spoke coldly, "Enough with the nonsense."
"That washed-up relic from the old era is no threat to me."
"If you dare lie to me, you should already know how I deal with my enemies."
The pirates exchanged panicked glances before the one-eyed man among them blurted out,
"W-We're only here to have the Sky Islanders manufacture processed clouds and gather Sky Shells!"
"Once we have enough, they're transported to the Blue Sea and sold off."
Seeing Jack's expression darken, another pirate hurriedly added,
"Golden Lion-sama isn't here! We're just the ones left behind to oversee things! Every few months, someone comes to pick up the goods!"
"Jack-sama! We swear we don't know anything beyond that!"
"We only learned of your presence from newspapers that arrived through other channels!"
"Please, spare us!"
The pleading cries echoed as more pirates armed with various weapons emerged from the factory. However, seeing their so-called 'leaders' kneeling on the ground in terror, they hesitated.
"Hmph..."
"So you know nothing, huh? Golden Lion..."
As Jack stroked his chin, deciding what to do next, the sky suddenly darkened.
BOOM!
Lightning flashed, and Jack instinctively glanced upward.
"What the hell is that?"
"J-Jack! That's... a Sky Shell!"
"Hahaha! Birka! Accept your destruction!"
"This is divine punishment from the Thunder God!"
BOOM!
Thunderous roars erupted as an orb-shaped Sky Shell discharged an overwhelming surge of lightning. Its first target?
The factory where Jack stood.
"Damn it! Who is this?! A Devil Fruit user?!"
"Men! Attack!"
The pirates, too scared to challenge Jack, now charged forward with renewed courage against the unknown enemy.
In mere moments, the scene was chaos—except for Jack, who remained standing beside the bodies of Jerry's group.
"Golden Lion? Thunder God?"
"Interesting."
"This guy calls himself the Thunder God?"
"And he controls lightning..."
"A Logia user, maybe?"
Jack's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.
"Should I kill him and try my luck with his Devil Fruit?"
"Or... recruit him?"
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg