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More than a month later, the number of men under Aaron's command had already expanded rapidly to two hundred.
Among these two hundred, some were members of the original patrol squad he had summoned, others were guards from the Shining Gold Chamber of Commerce, but the majority were newly recruited from the slums.
Most of the people living in the slums of Vilia Port were outsiders. Many among them were skilled fighters — swordsmen, marksmen, and warriors — who had just arrived and were unfamiliar with the area. For them, finding a way to rise above the masses often required the right opportunity.
Aaron, as the newly appointed sub-leader of the Akio Gang in the slums, was at the perfect stage to expand his forces. On top of that, he was already a young and relatively well-known fighter — and, more importantly, a disciple of the currently high-profile Reggie.
So when he publicly announced that he was recruiting men with generous pay, the response was overwhelming.
Of course, Aaron was delighted to attract so many recruits, but he wasn't running a charity, nor did he intend to take in too many people.
Two hundred — that was the number Aaron determined was sufficient to maintain stability in his current territory.
Within these two hundred slots, he naturally gave priority to those who had fought alongside him to seize the territory. All members of the original patrol squad were accepted, as well as some guards from the Shining Gold Chamber of Commerce, making up fifty men. The remaining one hundred and fifty slots were open to new recruits.
"Only the strong deserve to be chosen" — that was Aaron's sole criterion for recruitment.
Other than that, there were no conditions. Even if someone had once been a slave, a bandit, or a pirate, as long as they were strong enough, Aaron would accept them without hesitation.
After a series of real combat trials, one hundred and fifty men emerged victorious and became Aaron's subordinates.
Aaron divided the two hundred men into five squads of forty. One squad would remain behind to guard their base, while the other four would patrol and collect protection money in the four sectors of his territory.
As for the selection of the five squad captains, Aaron once again followed the principle of "might makes right," allowing them to fight it out and determine the five strongest among them.
In the end, Victor — who wielded basic-level marksmanship — and Lombaton — a basic-level axe user — were chosen. The remaining three squad captains were Kabu, Bafina, and Gabdon.
Kabu was a dark-skinned swordsman. Despite being only 1.4 meters tall and born with a crippled leg, his unique swordsmanship was extremely sharp and agile, at a basic level of mastery.
Perhaps due to a lifetime of scorn and ridicule, Kabu was reclusive and antisocial — ruthless and merciless. He rarely spoke, and Aaron noticed many pirate-like habits in his behavior.
Bafina was a voluptuous sharpshooter from Alabasta with rare pink hair and basic-level marksmanship skills. She bore a striking resemblance to Nami.
She was originally a bounty hunter who had come merely to test her skills against Aaron — the young gunslinger who had defeated "Double-Gun" Harrett. However, after Aaron easily bested her, she changed her mind and chose to follow him, hoping to learn marksmanship under his guidance.
Gabdon was a two-meter-tall young man with a muscular build, a shaved head, and a distinctive black tattoo on his face. His weapon of choice was a naginata.
He hailed from the Flower Country in the West Blue and possessed excellent martial arts skills. Mysteriously, he had even mastered Hasshōken, the Eight-Impact Fist — a martial art passed down through generations of the Happo Navy.
Among the five squad captains, Gabdon was unquestionably the strongest. He was the only one under Aaron who could fight him evenly for half an hour without Aaron using Observation Haki.
Now, the signal flare that Aaron saw in the sky was coming from the eastern sector — the one under Gabdon's supervision.
The signal flare was a survival tool Aaron had prepared for his men. It was only to be used when facing an enemy far beyond their power — and only the five squad captains had them.
If Gabdon had resorted to using the flare, it could only mean he had encountered an enemy he couldn't match.
Aaron knew better than anyone how strong Gabdon was — he had been using him as a sparring partner and training dummy daily. Gabdon's strength was at least on par with that of a gang sub-leader like Clark. In the slums, that level of power was enough to dominate freely. For someone like him to need help now meant that the enemy was anything but ordinary — likely a pirate with a very high bounty.
The moment Aaron saw the signal flare, he knew something serious had happened. He immediately gathered his men and rushed toward the source, extending his Observation Haki to search the area.
Gabdon was too valuable to lose — not only as Aaron's sparring partner and source of Hasshōken techniques but also as a key force in maintaining order within his territory.
"Kuja Body Forging Art — Speed Boost!"
At once, Aaron used the Kuja Body Forging Art to strengthen his legs, further increasing his movement speed.
Soon, guided by his Observation Haki, he located Gabdon — who was locked in an intense battle against a bearded middle-aged pirate. The pirate's swordsmanship was formidable, his katana pressing Gabdon back and keeping the naginata wielder firmly on the defensive.
The pirate was clearly a "swift blade" type — his sword strikes were terrifyingly fast. Even with Observation Haki, Aaron could only barely perceive the blur of his sword's trajectory.
If Gabdon hadn't been relentlessly defending himself and guarding his vital points, he would have been cut down by now.
As for the forty Akio Gang members under Gabdon, most of them were already lying on the ground with deadly sword wounds. Only a few were still fighting against the pirate crew.
"Maran… No wonder Gabdon is losing ground and was forced to signal for help."
Once Aaron got a clear look at the bearded pirate's face, he immediately understood why Gabdon was being pushed into such a desperate situation.
The intelligence collected by Shuma's spy network about infamous pirates who had recently appeared on the Grand Line quickly surfaced in Aaron's mind.
Maran — captain of the Swift Pirates, (Speed-Speed Fruit) user, with a bounty of 50,000,000 berries.
On the Grand Line, a pirate's bounty usually reflected their strength. Maran, as the captain of the Swift Pirates, possessed the powers of the Speed-Speed Fruit and impressive swordsmanship — a combination worthy of his fifty million berry bounty.
Moreover, Maran was known for his brutality. It was said that when a child accidentally bumped into him in one village, he massacred nearly the entire population — only a handful who hid in a secret cellar survived.
Just a month ago, he committed a horrific atrocity in a coastal town in the Kingdom of Frank next to Drum Kingdom, even killing a Marine Headquarters lieutenant who was pursuing him.
As a result, his bounty skyrocketed from 20 million to 50 million berries.
"The Speed-Speed Fruit, huh… Perfect. I can use this to test my current strength — and verify my theory about Devil Fruit reincarnation."
Aaron wasn't intimidated by the fact that Maran was a Great Pirate with more than double Douglas' bounty and a Devil Fruit power. Instead, excitement coursed through him — it had been a long time since he'd encountered prey as worthy as Maran.
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