While Issho and Cricket were making their way back toward the Wicked Wench, the rest of the crew was also spending their time enjoying the island in their own ways.
Aramaki, B, Club, and Laffitte decided to head straight for the part of town where they heard there were lively places to relax, drink, and gamble.
The four left Issho behind without much hesitation, each for their own reasons.
Aramaki and B believed that being near Issho somehow attracted bad luck, while Laffitte simply wanted to have fun without worrying about anything serious.
"Don't you think it's a bit cruel that we just left Issho behind like that?" Club eventually asked as they walked down the main street that led toward the center of town.
His tone carried slight unease, and it was enough to make Aramaki and B slow their steps. The cheerful expressions they had earlier began to fade, replaced by visible guilt.
Both of them knew they had done something that didn't sit well with them.
"Yeah, you're right," Laffitte added casually, twirling his cane as he looked at the others.
"If Jack hears about this, he won't be happy. You know how he gets when it comes to loyalty."
Hearing that made Aramaki's and B's guilt even heavier. They were the oldest among Jack's crew, the ones who had sailed with him the longest.
Aramaki, who had grown up alongside Jack, understood very well how much Jack valued loyalty and respect among his people.
Even the smallest act of betrayal or neglect was something Jack would take seriously.
"Yeah, let's go find Issho before this turns into something we regret. I don't want to get scolded by Jack," Aramaki finally said, scratching the back of his head in frustration.
But just as they turned the corner to retrace their steps, they noticed a large wooden sign swinging above a wide doorway.
The sound of laughter, shouting, and coins clinking filled the air. It was the local gambling house.
Aramaki and B stopped for a moment, their resolve suddenly tested. The thought of earning some quick money and enjoying themselves tugged at their curiosity.
Club and Laffitte exchanged knowing looks, then grinned and each grabbed one of them by the arms.
Without another word, they pulled Aramaki and B back toward the gambling house, ignoring their half-hearted protests as they stepped inside together.
----------------
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the same town, Jack was quietly walking through a street lined with stalls.
Merchants shouted about their wares while performers entertained small crowds. Jack's eyes soon caught sight of a young street performer who was skillfully handling a deck of cards.
The performer's movements were smooth, precise, and filled with confidence. He shuffled, flipped, and threw cards in ways that amazed even the adults watching.
Jack stood among the crowd, arms crossed, observing carefully. He immediately noticed how well the performer controlled his hands — palming the cards perfectly, misdirecting attention with simple movements.
However, what truly caught Jack's interest wasn't just the performance, but a subtle reaction from the performer himself. The man's eyes flickered slightly when he noticed Jack watching him.
It was brief, almost unnoticeable, but Jack could tell that the performer recognized him. Even so, the performer kept smiling, pretending not to notice anything unusual.
After a moment, the performer started adding more flair to his act, using multiple decks at once and tossing the cards high into the air before catching them neatly.
The crowd clapped and cheered, their attention completely fixed on him. Jack simply smiled faintly, enjoying the show without saying anything.
Then, the performer looked straight at Jack and called out, "You there, sir! Would you like to see a special trick?"
The audience turned their attention toward Jack, who nodded slightly and stepped forward, deciding to play along.
The performer grinned and began shuffling the cards again. He tossed several into the air, creating a swirl of motion around him, and then with a flick of his wrist, he threw one straight toward Jack.
The card exploded the instant it made contact, a burst of smoke and pressure filling the street. The crowd screamed and scattered, the vendors abandoned their stalls, and chaos erupted in seconds.
The performer kept throwing cards — dozens of them — each one exploding on impact, filling the air with more smoke.
When the last card hit, he stopped and waited, breathing heavily.
"Sorry," the street performer said as he slowly approached the spot where Jack had been standing. "Nothing personal. It's just business."
But before he could take another step, a bloodied hand shot out of the smoke and grabbed his head, forcing it down hard. The performer froze, eyes wide with shock.
"Well," Jack's calm voice said from the haze, "that was an interesting trick. Let me show you one of mine. I'll make your limbs disappear, one by one."
Before the performer could react, Jack used his free hand to tear off one of his arms. The man screamed in pain, thrashing and kicking, but Jack's grip was too strong.
The blood sprayed across the cobblestones. Jack didn't even flinch.
"Another trick," Jack said flatly, ripping off the second arm just as easily. The performer's voice cracked as he screamed again, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He tried to kick Jack, aiming for his legs, but Jack caught his foot with one hand and twisted hard, ripping it clean off.
The performer's voice turned weak, the sound of his pain fading as blood continued to pour out.
Finally, Jack tore off his remaining leg and dropped the broken, bleeding body to the ground. The man gasped, barely conscious, looking up at Jack with terror.
Jack lifted his boot slowly, then brought it down on the performer's head with a single powerful stomp. The skull shattered under the impact, and the body went still.
Jack looked down at the corpse, his expression blank. "If you had just performed your act, I could've given you a generous tip," he muttered quietly.
He turned and began walking back toward the harbor, his clothes soaked in blood but his steps calm and steady.
As he passed by a nearby stall, something caught his eye. One of the fruits sitting in a basket began to change right before him.
Its surface twisted, strange patterns began to form, and the color shifted unnaturally until the fruit finally took on the distinct shape of a Devil Fruit.
'So that man was a Devil Fruit user,' Jack thought to himself, crouching down to pick it up. 'That explains how he managed to fire off so many explosive cards so quickly.'
He turned the fruit in his hand for a moment, then tucked it under his arm and continued walking without saying another word.
Later, when the townspeople finally returned after the chaos died down, they found what was left of the street performer's body.
His limbs were scattered across the street like discarded trash, and the blood had soaked deep into the ground.
The crowd stood frozen in horror before they silently began packing up whatever they had left behind, rushing back to their homes.