They passed through the peaceful scenery and soon arrived at the town.
From a distance, there were no obvious signs of conflict, but many of the residents bore injuries. There were no women or children visible—only working-age men were out and about.
Once they got close enough to the town, the pirates finally noticed them. They approached with weapons in hand.
"Hey, hey, what're you punks doing here? We're using this place as one of the Golden Lion Pirates' bases. You're not the kind of small-time pirates who should be picking fights with us."
"A base, you say. How long have you been using it?"
"Are you in any position to ask questions? We're here on Boss Shiki's orders, tracking down the Dragon-Slaying Witch... tracking... down..."
His voice trailed off as he stared intently at Kanata's face.
The recently updated wanted poster must have left a strong impression—there was no mistaking her.
"Y-You! The Dragon-Slaying Witch?! What are you doing here?! What happened to the guys at the harbor?!"
"What happened? Well... Kuro, give them back."
"Sure thing. Liberation."
Darkness generated from Kuro's body rose into the air and began spitting out everything it had swallowed.
The pirates who'd been consumed earlier were no exception—they were released from the darkness and discarded carelessly, covered in blood.
"You guys!"
"The... the darkness... it dragged us in..."
As if they'd witnessed something utterly horrifying, every pirate who'd been swallowed trembled violently.
The others watching involuntarily held their breath at the disturbing scene, glaring hard at Kuro, who'd used his ability without hesitation.
"A Devil Fruit user...! With a total bounty over two billion, of course you'd have multiple ability users!"
"What do we do? Boss Shiki told us to report immediately if we found them."
"Obviously we contact him right away! Those guys... they're not pirates we can handle...!"
Though there were only about thirty of them, each one was abnormally powerful.
They knew of other pirate crews like this—small in number but terrifyingly strong.
"They're like the Roger Pirates... nothing but monsters... No wonder Boss Shiki wants them under his command...!"
Even if they weren't quite at that overwhelming level, they could feel firsthand that they were more than strong enough for Shiki to desire.
At the same time, they understood why he'd said to "contact me" rather than ordering them to capture the crew themselves.
Kanata and her crew paid no attention to the pirates' reactions. Noticing the frightened residents watching them, she made one declaration:
"Don't touch the residents. Our targets are only the pirates."
"Understood."
"I'm not barbaric enough to do otherwise."
"Good. Let's subdue them quickly."
Everyone drew their weapons and moved as one.
Even pirates based in the New World varied greatly in strength. Those merely under someone's umbrella couldn't possibly stop Kanata's crew—and it didn't take long before all the pirates were subdued.
☆
"Now then."
Having wiped them out and tied them up in the town square, Kanata took a breath.
There were various things to ask, but where to start? As she pondered this, one of the bound pirates roared:
"You bastards—defeating us means you've made an enemy of the Golden Lion! Hah, hah... You can only be this reckless because you don't know how terrifying that man is!"
"...How pathetic. When you lose, you go crying to your boss?"
The question was: how would the Golden Lion react to their crying?
If he got angry and said, "How dare you hurt my subordinates," he'd be soft on his underlings.
If he abandoned them saying, "I don't need people who pick fights and lose," he'd be cold-blooded.
Kanata, who'd never met the Golden Lion, could only speculate. But judging from the rumors she occasionally heard, it was probably the latter.
Either way, having his subordinate pirates defeated would be a matter of saving face—he'd probably make a move at least once.
"More importantly, why did the Golden Lion come to this side in the first place?"
"...Because Boss Shiki said he wanted to capture you and make you his subordinate."
Once they'd exchanged sake cups as parent and child, there was no refusing.
For that reason alone, he'd brought many subordinates to the first half of the Grand Line—Paradise. Though they had doubts, a parent's orders were absolute.
The affiliated pirates were each visiting various islands in Paradise, gathering information.
"I see. I've been targeted by quite a troublesome person."
"The Golden Lion's a major pirate, right? And he wants Kanata as a subordinate that badly?"
"We don't know the reason either. He only started moving recently, but he'd been gathering information even before that."
Though she'd shocked the world, Kanata was still just a young woman in the first half of the Grand Line. She had no idea why the Golden Lion would come all the way from the New World for her. Considering when he started moving, it would be difficult to gauge her strength.
However, if he'd been interested since her very first bounty, there might be some way to figure it out.
"Was he that pleased about the Celestial Dragon's murder? But even so..."
"We're told to contact Boss Shiki if we find you. If you're curious, ask him directly."
"...You're right. Confronting him directly wouldn't be bad."
"Hey, are you serious?! It's way too early to face off against the Golden Lion directly!"
"Kuhaha, it matters not. They're targeting us anyway. I don't like running away forever either."
In stark contrast to the bewildered Jorge, Junxi wore a ferocious smile.
Using a Den Den Mushi the Golden Lion pirates had been carrying, they made direct contact with the Golden Lion.
Leaving the preparations to Scotch, Kanata entered the building they'd been using as a base with Jorge and the others.
Befitting a base, it had supplies as well as several sea charts laid out, listing the names of islands being used as bases by different pirate crews.
Similarly, Eternal Poses—presumably for traveling between bases—were arranged there as well.
To throw the Golden Lion off their trail, conquering the bases one by one was one option.
"Taking the initiative would be advantageous if we're becoming enemies... What do you think?"
"He'll probably chase us seriously... If we could somehow pit him against the Navy, we might be able to weaken his forces."
Looking at the islands being used as bases, they probably hadn't touched any World Government member nations. Perhaps they thought it was still too early to clash with the Navy or World Government.
Raiding the islands being used as bases would also be worthwhile for seizing supplies.
If talking with the Golden Lion made him give up the chase, they wouldn't need to do such things. But that was unlikely.
As Jorge and Kanata both sighed, Scotch came to call them, saying the Den Den Mushi was ready.
Returning to the square, they learned the call had already been placed and was connecting to the Golden Lion.
Soon, a clear voice came through.
『...It's me.』
"So you're the Golden Lion."
『Yeah... And you're the Witch. Seems you roughed up my guys pretty good. Takes guts to contact me directly.』
"I heard you've been chasing me. I was wondering why you'd be targeting me when I have no idea what reason you'd have."
『What? You mean your mother never told you anything?』
"I'm an orphan. I've never even seen my parents' faces."
『What? ...Hmm. But your face is the spitting image of your mother's. Can't be anyone else.』
Mother again—Kanata secretly sighed.
Just like with Kureha, Kanata's mother apparently had quite a wide network. And it seemed she'd made enemies in many places.
"...So what does that mother have to do with me? Don't tell me you're claiming to be my father?"
『As if—Octavia's one of the few truly skilled people I recognize. If you're her daughter, I'd have high expectations for your future, wouldn't I?』
"So essentially you're trying to scout me early. Pretty hasty considering I haven't even reached the New World yet."
『Jihahahaha! Octavia's made enemies everywhere! I just thought it'd be interesting to secure you before someone kills you!』
For example, the Golden Lion named one person:
『Charlotte Linlin. Right now, she's waiting for you at the Sabaody Archipelago. She's positioned herself at a place you absolutely must pass through to reach Fish-Man Island—seems like she's serious.』
"The Sabaody Archipelago?"
"It's an archipelago near the Red Line. To get to Fish-Man Island, you need to have your ship coated there."
『That's right. Seems you've got someone knowledgeable with you.』
To Kanata, who didn't know about coating, Tiger explained: "They wrap the ship in bubbles. It's what lets the ship travel underwater."
"Do we absolutely have to go through there?"
"The only other route besides Fish-Man Island is through the Holy Land Mariejois. It costs money, and you'd have to abandon the ship. More importantly, you'd never get permission."
Having traveled to many places as a Fish-Man Island native, Tiger was knowledgeable about such matters.
The Sabaody Archipelago was a place where Fish-Men and merfolk were often captured and enslaved, so it wasn't somewhere they could approach easily. But with Tiger's strength, acquiring a ship there had probably been possible.
Setting aside the Fish-Man himself, for Kanata's crew to reach Fish-Man Island, they absolutely needed to coat the ship.
More fundamentally, they had the objective of delivering Tiger to Fish-Man Island—there was no choice but to head there.
"So our routes are limited..."
『But for me, there's another route.』
Shiki was a Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit user.
Using his ability to levitate anything he touched, he could travel between the New World and Paradise by passing over Mariejois through the sky, bypassing Fish-Man Island entirely.
If they joined his crew right now, Shiki said, he'd transport them safely to the New World.
"I have no intention of joining your crew. Whatever your reason, if there's an enemy, I'll crush them."
『Jihahahaha!! That strong will of yours is just like your mother's. You got the strength to back up that big talk?』
"Who knows? If Big Mom is stronger than Zephyr or Sengoku, that's another story. Otherwise, I'll manage somehow."
『—Oh? Now those are fighting words.』
Even through the Den Den Mushi, they could tell Shiki was smiling.
The man compared to a lion revealed his ferocious true nature.
『You're that woman's daughter. Yeah, I had a pretty good guess you'd be strong. But if you won't become my subordinate—I'd better kill you instead.』
"It doesn't matter who comes. I'll crush anyone who stands in my way."
It had always been that way.
Whether Celestial Dragons or Navy admirals, she'd fought anyone who opposed her. Even if a great pirate was next, Kanata wouldn't back down.
『Good spirit. Wash your neck and wait—I'll come kill you soon enough.』
Click. The call ended.
Jorge once again pressed his hand to his forehead, fighting off a headache. Scotch turned away as if to say, "I'm done with this."
In contrast, Junxi wore a belligerent smile, while Kuro grinned with his usual thoughtless expression.
"Well, that's how it is. After the Navy admiral, the Golden Lion and Big Mom are now our enemies."
"You... No, never mind. I knew what kind of person you were."
"First, we'll deal with these guys. Then we'll prepare to set sail. We'll discuss the details once we're back on the ship with everyone present."
There was no reason to keep the pirates alive anymore. Having stolen all their supplies and funds, they'd take their lives too. Especially since they were enemy subordinates.
"We'll go around crushing the Golden Lion's bases one by one. Having them gather their numbers would be the biggest problem."
☆
Later, after returning to the ship, Kanata was approached by Dragon. The two were now alone in Kanata's quarters.
It was an important discussion, so they'd arranged for privacy to avoid being overheard.
"...So what did you need?"
"It's about our next destination. Are you sure about heading to an island that's currently one of the Golden Lion's bases?"
"Yes. We got an Eternal Pose, after all. First, we'll head to Banaro Island, which is closest from here."
After saying that much, Dragon hesitated slightly before opening his mouth as if he'd made up his mind.
"There's someone I want you to meet."
"...Someone you want me to meet? Who?"
"Navy Vice Admiral Garp—and the Celestial Dragon that Garp is escorting."
***
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