This time, Hank didn't try to block head-on. Just as the massive spiked mace swung down, he vanished with Soru, dodging cleanly. The weapon slammed into the stone ground, carving out a small crater.
But Els didn't even have a moment to celebrate his missed strike. His face froze. He turned stiffly, eyes widening in horror to find Hank already behind him, reappeared in an instant. Hank's vicious, serrated dagger was buried deep in Els's back, piercing straight through his heart.
Seeing the absolute terror flicker in Els's dying eyes, Hank just sneered dismissively. "Pathetically weak."
With a wet thud, Els collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Captain Els... killed in one hit?!" The pirates who had followed Els stared in stunned disbelief, their expressions shifting rapidly from shock to fear as they looked at Hank. "But... he was an eighty-million-belly pirate!"
"Heh heh, this kid Hank is getting stronger and stronger," Bege chuckled, pleased. "Good, very good."
"Godfather! That big lug had some decent strength, yeah, but his speed was way too slow!" Sam chimed in, sounding slightly put out. "Even I could've taken him out instantly!"
Sam quickly pressed his case, "Godfather, I should get the next one! I'm definitely stronger than Hank!"
Bege laughed heartily. "That's the spirit! Coming here is precisely for all of you to get some real combat practice. This pirate alliance is nothing more than a pack of New World washouts. If you can't even handle them, then you have no right to follow me into the New World itself."
"Bege, just leave them all to me," Gecko Moria interjected with his signature eerie laugh, "Kishishishishi! I'll finish every last one of them."
"Bullshit! Let me handle them!" Egerd Riki countered, not about to be outdone, his fighting spirit flaring. "I could wipe out this entire pathetic alliance by myself!"
The fighting spirit was contagious; Bege's soldiers buzzed with anticipation, eager for battle.
Even Dorry and Brogy joined the boisterous pronouncements.
"Captain!" Dorry boomed. "It's been far too long since we giants fought proper pirates out on the sea! It's time the world witnessed the might of the Giant Warrior Pirates once again!"
"Bababababa!" Brogy roared with laughter. "Finally, a chance to battle pirates again!"
The sheer, unrestrained confidence – bordering on arrogant threats – emanating from Bege's group terrified the remaining pirates from Els's crew. The more cowardly among them immediately turned tail and began to flee.
"Godfather, what about these ones?" Hank asked, gesturing towards the routing pirates.
"This alliance commits every atrocity imaginable," Bege stated, his voice devoid of warmth. "They're even involved in the disgusting business of human trafficking. Truly heinous scum. There's no need to hold back against trash like this." His gaze turned cold as ice. "Death is the only fitting end for them."
"Let the slaughter commence, then!" Hank grinned savagely. He shot forward, a blur plunging into the scattered group of pirates. With every flash of his daggers, a life was extinguished. Sam and the other core members of Bege's crew surged forward eagerly, not wanting to miss out. Within moments, the remnants of Els's hundred-strong pirate crew were utterly annihilated.
Treading the path now stained crimson with fresh blood, Bege's group continued their advance, soon arriving at the island's dilapidated royal capital. The kingdom itself was a picture of decay and oppression. The streets crawled with rough-looking pirates, far outnumbering any civilians in sight. Soon enough, one such pirate swaggered out of a resident's home, nonchalantly adjusting his trousers with a look of smug satisfaction.
It was clear the island's inhabitants had suffered immensely since the alliance seized control. Anyone who dared resist had been slaughtered. Any woman with even modest looks had almost certainly been violated. Young adults, even children, were rounded up and sold off into the slave trade. The entire nation had been ravaged, reduced to a state of miserable despair.
Bege and his crew headed directly towards the royal palace – the nerve center and headquarters of the pirate alliance. Their combined aura was so overwhelmingly powerful that any pirates they encountered on the streets instinctively shrank away, not daring to provoke them.
However, inside a small, unassuming tavern on one of the main streets, a thin young man dressed as a waiter observed Bege's imposing group pass by. His eyes darted around before he quickly retreated deeper into the establishment. Slipping into the back and down into the wine cellar, he located a specific large wine vat and opened it. Concealed beneath was a hidden passage. He leaped down nimbly, landing in a small, secret room below.
Once inside, the young man straightened up. His previously meek demeanor vanished, replaced by sharp, cold, and focused eyes. He was like a different person entirely.
On a small table in the secret room lay a box. Opening it revealed a Den Den Mushi. He picked it up and quickly dialed a number.
"This is Dove Nest," a calm, steady voice answered on the other end.
"This is Dove, reporting," the young man replied rapidly. "I have visual confirmation of the Fire Tank Pirates on Kullen Island. Captain Capone Bege, Gecko Moria, and Egerd Riki are present."
"Acknowledged, Dove," the voice responded immediately. "Inform the flock to maintain surveillance. Priority is to determine the Fire Tank Pirates' objective here."
"Understood." The young man hung up the Den Den Mushi. He took a breath, and his sharp features relaxed back into the subservient mask of the timid tavern waiter before he climbed back out of the secret passage.
He was a Marine intelligence agent, successfully infiltrated onto Kullen Island with the mission to gather information on the burgeoning pirate alliance. The Marines already had their eyes on this dangerous group, and a plan was in motion to dismantle the entire network – the alliance itself and all their associated underground dealings – in one decisive operation. Bege's sudden arrival was an unforeseen complication.
Meanwhile, Bege and his crew reached the royal palace. It wasn't remotely luxurious, its only notable feature being its sheer size. They marched straight through the main gates without hesitation. Pirates attempting to block their path were cut down effortlessly as the Fire Tank Pirates pressed onward, an unstoppable force.
More and more pirates swarmed towards them from deeper within the palace grounds, surrounding the intruders. The air soon filled with the roar of gunfire and the boom of cannons, shaking the entire palace structure.
Bege's soldiers eagerly engaged the enemy. But the real destruction began when Dorry and Brogy joined the fray. Having apparently looted massive iron pillars from somewhere nearby, the two giants swung them like colossal clubs. Each sweep carved through the pirate ranks like scythes through wheat, sending bodies flying and reducing men to bloody paste upon impact.
Impervious to mere bullets and cannonballs, Dorry and Brogy crushed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pirates in a matter of moments with devastating efficiency. Bege's own formidable soldiers were largely relegated to mopping up the stragglers who somehow survived the giants' onslaught.
"All you cowardly pirates hiding in the palace, get the hell out here!" Dorry's thunderous voice boomed, echoing through the vast halls and courtyards, startling everyone within earshot.
The sounds of battle had, of course, already alerted the alliance's core members. Responding to Dorry's challenge, several hundred pirates surged out from the main palace building. Leading them were a dozen or so individuals whose powerful auras marked them as seasoned, dangerous fighters – the elite of the alliance.
At the very front stood a man with a dark complexion, predatory eyes reminiscent of a panther, short, messy dreadlocks, and a set of stained, ugly black teeth revealed when he spoke. Bege narrowed his eyes; he recognized this man. It was the captain of the Ghost Leopard Pirates, known as "Ghost Leopard" Hoki – bounty: 350 million belli. A user of the standard Zoan-type Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Black Panther.
Bege's gaze flickered to Hoki's sides, taking in the other two main leaders. One was a powerfully built old man with stark white hair and three long, jagged scars slashing across his face. This was the captain of the Bone Crusher Pirates, feared as "Bone Crusher Demon" Stark – bounty: 300 million belli. A dangerous martial artist renowned for his mastery of Armament Haki.
The third leader stood out due to his sheer height, easily reaching three meters tall. He was a middle-aged man, lean but packed with dense, solid muscle. This was the captain of the War God Pirates, "War Demon" Bagoro – bounty: 280 million belli. User of the Paramecia-type Hot-Blood Fruit, whose power reportedly allowed his blood to literally boil, driving him into an uncontrollable battle frenzy, earning him his demonic moniker.
Behind these three formidable captains stood eight or nine other pirates, each radiating a palpable aura of strength. These were either high-ranking officers from the three main crews or the captains of other significant crews that had joined the alliance. Every single one of them boasted a bounty exceeding 100 million belli, with several even reaching the 200 million mark.
This pirate alliance, assembled from crews strong enough to have once survived in the New World, represented a force that couldn't be underestimated even by Grand Line standards. Here, in the relatively peaceful waters of the West Blue, they were practically unchallenged.
And today, Bege intended to utterly destroy them, sending a clear message of his own crew's power to the Shipping King Umit, the Marines, and every other pirate faction paying attention.
Bege swept his gaze over the assembled captains, their hardened faces staring back at him. Then, he burst into wild, unrestrained laughter, dripping with pure, unadulterated arrogance. The sound echoed across the blood-stained courtyard.
"Well, well! Look what the sea dragged in," Bege finally drawled, his laughter subsiding into a predatory grin. "The New World washouts, all gathered in one place. How convenient." His eyes glinted mercilessly. "Today, Kullen Island becomes your graveyard!"
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