Vatis felt like his pirate life was nothing but bad luck. Originally, he had wanted to get revenge for his captain, so he began a grueling regimen of training.
But he soon realized that no matter how much he trained, he could never catch up to his rival. Then, by chance, he found a pirate's treasure map and successfully located the treasure. The gold and silver were secondary; what was most important was the Devil Fruit inside the treasure chest. Vatis was no stranger to Devil Fruits, as his former captain was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. When he saw this Devil Fruit, he knew it was his only chance for revenge.
So he ate it. It tasted horrible—the worst thing he had ever eaten in his life. But it didn't disappoint him. The Devil Fruit's power was incredible. It was a very rare and precious Ancient Zoan type, capable of greatly enhancing a martial artist's abilities. This gave him hope.
Before long, he discovered that his rival had assembled a massive fleet and had directly conquered a powerful kingdom in the New World. This made him acutely aware of the vast gap between them, but he didn't get discouraged. Instead, he continued to hide and train even harder.
Then, by another stroke of luck, he was completing a mission in the underworld when he single-handedly destroyed a small town and killed a famous bounty hunter. This caught the attention of a mysterious organization, which invited him to join and promised to help him get his revenge. If not for the identity of the envoy who came to recruit him, Vatis would not have joined. The envoy was a former member of the Clifford Kingdom's royal family.
To be fair, the organization was large, with members from the ranks of pirates, Marines, and even the World Government, but it was also very loose. As long as you didn't leak information about the organization, they generally wouldn't interfere with your affairs. As a member, you just had to complete a few specific missions each year to enjoy the various services the organization offered, such as money, intelligence, or rare potions from the black market.
However, the incident where the Vigor-Vigor Fruit was stolen from Gran Tesoro caused a stir among the world's major powers. At the same time, the Chris Investigation Bureau managed to get a lead. To clear up some of the threats, the organization had once sent a powerful swordsman to assassinate Oliver, the Head of Combat of the Chris Pirates, but he failed.
After that, the Chris Investigation Bureau's people continued their pursuit, and Vatis himself was exposed. He was now being hunted by one of their teams. Even with the organization's cover, Vatis was chased all the way to the South Blue, but he was still found. He had planned to ambush his pursuers, but he hadn't expected their strength to be far beyond his imagination, or rather, that their pursuit team had been significantly enhanced.
The close-range 12-pound cannons had only seriously wounded two people, and the rest of the team had killed half of the Flying Shot Pirates in less than a minute. The ambush was a total failure. Even with his full power, he had been held off by the two leaders of the team, and after the black-armored man, referred to as 'S1,' joined the fight, he couldn't hold out any longer.
In the hills behind Blue Rock Island, a bloodied Vatis fled frantically through the jungle. Gritting his teeth, he looked down at the long gash on his chest and muttered coldly, "Damn that black-armored bastard... and all of them. I won't let you get away with this."
In the town, now a near-complete ruin, Sriya sat on a fallen tree trunk. His metal right leg, conspicuous as it was, was propped on the ground. He held a small, delicate Den Den Mushi and was speaking to someone.
"This is Sriya!"
"Did you capture him?" a magnetic voice came from the snail.
"My apologies, Arlan-dono. We wiped out the Flying Shot Pirates, but we let Vatis get away."
"Is that so... An Ancient Zoan user is not so easy to deal with, it seems."
"However, we did get some useful information from one of the captured pirate officers."
"Oh? Tell me."
"Vatis joined the mysterious organization we've been investigating three years ago, but its specific name and emblem are unknown."
"No name or emblem? How odd. Anything else?"
"The organization is huge. Its influence extends to pirates, the underworld, and even the Marines and the World Government. Also, there's a secret stronghold of this organization in Alabasta."
"In the desert, a good place to hide people. This is more exaggerated than I thought. It seems the information from Morgans was completely accurate."
"We plan to head to Alabasta now. We might be able to find a breakthrough there."
"I'll leave it to you. You can contact Baroque Works and ask for their people and a cover story."
"Baroque Works... Understood. We'll handle it."
Click.
Sriya hung up the Den Den Mushi and looked around. The town was a scene of wreckage, covered in cracks and craters.
"Did you finish your report?" Edmond walked over, his left arm held in a sling.
"Get ready to move out. We'll be able to contact the people from Baroque Works when we get there," Sriya said flatly.
"No problem," Edmond nodded.
....
The New World, Alvis Island.
"Hey there, big guy! How are you doing?"
In a clearing on the back hill, Aeridar greeted a giant black beast over 300 feet long. The beast let out a low growl, excitedly flapping its wings and stirring up a powerful gust of wind.
"Captain, this guy eats better than I do every day. You tell me if he's doing well or not," Oto complained from the side.
Ever since the black beast named Calamodus arrived, Oto had to tend to it daily, making him feel like its nanny. But he couldn't neglect it; the beast was a crucial asset to the Chris Pirates, a guardian of Alvis Island, and the most important test subject at the research base. Aeridar and Dalt's constant reminders meant Oto had to be extra careful in his care.
Calamodus glanced at Oto, snorted in displeasure, and then rubbed its muzzle against Aeridar.
"Hahaha! It's a blessing to have a good appetite," Aeridar said with a laugh, patting Calamodus's wet nose. "Oto, I appreciate you taking care of him."
"Ah, Captain, it's my duty," Oto said, his expression serious. He knew how important Calamodus was, so his complaints were all in good fun.