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The sea rippled.
The appearance of the Cipher Pol agents and the call from the Five Elders were both unexpected.
They move fast.
Jin's face was grim.
But in the next second, a smile spread across his face. "Hey, of course I'll do the World Government a favor! We're all one big happy family, aren't we? Hanafuda is a Warlord? Why didn't you say so sooner? We're practically brothers! But... he did cause a lot of damage to my territory. I've suffered a great loss. If I'm going to let him go... you'd better make it worth my while. How about... one Ancient or Mythical Zoan, or a Logia fruit, for my troubles? What do you think?"
The Five Elders were silent.
It was the first time anyone had ever tried to extort them.
"I'll give it to you!" Hanafuda said, his face pale, the pain almost unbearable. For the sake of his life, what was one fruit?
"And... I've been injured," Jin said, feigning a wince. "Another 200 million Berries for medical expenses and emotional distress."
Hanafuda was stunned. But his life was on the line. He grit his teeth. "Fine!"
What a gold mine.
"Quick! Get a doctor! Treat our brother right away—use the best medicine!"
Hanafuda was dumbfounded.
Only one word came to mind.
Shameless...
With the deal struck, the Five Elders hung up.
The Cipher Pol agents tried to take Hanafuda away.
"Wait," Jin said with a smile, stopping them. "Cash on delivery. Besides, what if he runs into an enemy on the way and... dies? That would be a huge loss for me, wouldn't it?"
The Five Elders' intervention had put Jin on his guard.
In the original story, Hanafuda had been killed after his defeat by Ace. It was a strange a affair. Who could have killed him?
Jin didn't care if the guy lived or died, but he didn't want to be used, to get dragged into some mess.
Like, for example, getting on Kaido's bad side.
Jin wasn't afraid of trouble, but he hated being used.
—————————
Pangaea Castle.
"I never thought that king could defeat Hanafuda."
"That fool Wapol... he actually has a brother like that? Was there a mistake in the investigation?"
"In any case, he is now the king of a member nation. He has committed no crime. We have no reason to depose him."
"The next time Imu-sama summons us, we can ask Them to look into his fate. I suggest we nominate him as a candidate for the God's Knights. Like Figarland."
—————————
Hannabal Island.
When Jin returned, unharmed, and Hanafuda was seen with a shattered arm, looking utterly defeated, the islanders cheered, "Long live the king!"
The pirates were terrified.
"A Warlord... was defeated!"
"How?"
"Hey! The facts are right in front of you! Did you really think the king who crushed Gasparde and all the other pirates to win the race was a nobody?"
"Feeling the heat now, aren't you, buddy?"
Wilson and the others were all smiles.
They had won.
But their smiles didn't last long.
"Lock down the island!" Jin's voice boomed from the municipal hall. "Investigate this attack! All involved, regardless of age or gender, will be executed for high treason!"
"And—" he continued, his voice dripping with fury, "—this wasn't just one pirate crew. It was a coordinated attack. And you had no intelligence on it? You can't even control a small island like Hannabal? It's only been three months, and you're already slacking off? Until this matter is thoroughly investigated, all of you are suspended without pay and demoted. I'm only giving you one more chance. If you can't do the job, get out."
Jin tore into them, and Wilson and the others of his makeshift administration all hung their heads in shame.
Their failure to gather intelligence on the assassination attempt was, in Jin's eyes, a sign that Hannabal Island was not under his control. A shadow had fallen over it.
And in the shadows, what grows?
Tumors.
Corruption.
Of course, Hannabal Island had always been a dark place. When Jin had taken it, he had inherited a number of problems. At the time, stability was his main concern, so he hadn't acted.
But now, this assassination attempt had given him the perfect excuse to clean house.
In a word: KILL.
Kill until the pirates were afraid.
Kill until they learned to behave.
Kill until they understood what rules were.
For a lawless land, you need a heavy hand.
With their orders in hand, Wilson and the others, their own anger simmering, began to brutally interrogate the captured pirates.
Many of the gray-market operators on the streets were also swept up in the purge. Every day, heads rolled. The bodies were hung at the docks to dry in the sun, a list of their crimes posted below.
Those who tried to flee found the sea blockaded. No one could escape. A bloody terror, like a dark cloud, hung over the island.
For the first time, the people of the island witnessed their king's wrath.
He was like the sea: calm and gentle one moment, a raging storm the next.
A rule of respect without fear is doomed to fail. And now, a seed of fear had been planted.
—————————
Five days later.
Wilson announced that the investigation was closed.
It had been a conspiracy, an alliance of five pirate crews, with the intention of overthrowing the special administrative region's government.
A total of 586 people were involved. All had been captured, tried, and sentenced to death for treason.
With the announcement, the lockdown was lifted.
To appease the populace, a three-day festival was announced. All expenses would be covered by the municipal hall.
Nearly six hundred pirates... just like that, they were all killed?
Shuraiya was shaken.
After he had become a bounty hunter, he had earned the moniker "The Pirate Executioner" for his ruthless methods.
But... compared to Jin, he was nothing.
He hadn't killed as many pirates in his entire career as Jin had just sentenced to death.
But even after witnessing Jin's strength and ruthlessness, he was still determined to challenge him.
Gasparde was dead. He had lost his reason to live.
To achieve his goal, he had hurt many people.
In that respect, he was no different from Gasparde.
And so, he wanted to die.
Jin knocked him to the ground with a single punch. He saw the lifeless look in his melancholic eyes and knew what he was thinking.
"Hey," Jin said, his voice a low whisper, like a demon, reawakening his will to live. "Your sister is still alive."
Shuraiya was stunned. He couldn't believe it.
How did he know he had a sister?
Unless... he had met her.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! TELL ME! YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!"
Jin kicked the lunging Shuraiya away. "Is that how you treat your savior?"
"Please... tell me!" Shuraiya struggled to his feet.
"You've lost your will to live?" Jin said. "Good. I have a new purpose for you. Have you ever heard of the World Government's Cipher Pol? Go join them. If you can survive in Cipher Pol, I'll let you see your sister again."
"Wait! I have to see her first!"
"No. You're in no position to bargain with me. But... I can tell you her name. She's called—Anaguma."
"Anaguma..."
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