"What should we do, Guerrero?"
The only female warrior wearing a breast wrap gripped her spear nervously as she asked her companion.
"Stay calm for now. It might just be a passing merchant ship that'll leave soon," Guerrero reassured her. There was indeed a shipping route nearby where merchant or cargo vessels occasionally passed.
Yet her eyes remained fixed on the distant ship.
This time, it was approaching too close—its bow pointed directly toward their island.
The odds favored enemies over passersby.
That's precisely why she'd earlier sent a companion back to the tribe to call for reinforcements.
The double-masted sailing ship grew larger in their vision, inching closer to the shore.
Gritting her teeth, Guerrero tightened her grip on the spear and roared across the waves:
"This is no place for your kind! Turn away now, or we'll attack!"
Her threat carried on the sea breeze.
On deck, Dier gave no orders to alter course—the ship continued its advance toward the beach.
Having come this far, turning back wasn't an option. Even if it meant fighting their way ashore.
"Prepare for combat. No chatter when we land—subdue those four immediately," Dier commanded.
Pleasant conversation wasn't part of his plan. Their hostile stance made it clear all outsiders were unwelcome here.
Securing prisoners took priority—before reinforcements arrived and complicated matters.
He raised a finger, emphasizing to the crew:
"Remember: Capture them alive. Even if we're forced to retreat, bring back at least one live prisoner."
A single captive would breach their defenses.
Today, hypnotize one and release them. Tomorrow, two more.
Given enough time, this island would inevitably fall.
He refused to believe they'd encounter another damned Control Fruit user here.
"Arm yourselves now—and remember: Take them alive."
"Aye!!"
Sailors raised their hands in acknowledgment before rushing to the armory.
Surviving maritime trade required strength—otherwise, pirates would've devoured them long ago.
Firearms, blades—they had all the essentials.
With a cannon mounted and a pirate flag raised, they could seamlessly transform into buccaneers.
Some pirate crews originated exactly this way.
Given their primary objective was capture, the crew opted for melee weapons over guns.
As the gangplank lowered flush with the deck, Narcissa led the charge ashore.
Determined to surpass men, she fought with equal ferocity.
"Raaaaah!!!"
With a battle cry, Narcissa raised her cutlass and charged forward.
Guerrero stood fearless, thrusting her two-meter wooden spear directly at the attacker.
The distance between them vanished until the spearpoint neared Narcissa's abdomen.
She pivoted right, evading the strike while seizing the shaft with her left hand. Her right swung the cutlass down with full force.
Crack!
Steel met wood—the spear snapped instantly.
Tossing the broken tip onto the left sandbank, Narcissa took a giant stride forward, raising her blade toward Guerrero's shoulder.
Guerrero's pupils contracted briefly before resolve hardened her features. Releasing the broken shaft, she dove left toward the discarded spearhead, retrieving it from the sand.
Even battle-hardened Narcissa hesitated momentarily—Guerrero's maneuver had exposed her entire back. One swift slash could finish this.
Even if Guerrero retrieved her spearhead, her back injury wouldn't pose much trouble for Narcissa.
However, considering the order to capture them alive, Narcissa didn't go for the kill. Instead, she turned and strode forward, catching up to Guerrero, who had just landed, and raised her left foot to stomp down.
With her left foot now planted firmly, she lifted her right foot and crushed Guerrero's right hand—the one that had just picked up the spearhead.
Gritting her teeth, Guerrero strained with all her might to rise, but her back felt as if weighed down by an immovable mountain.
In less than one exchange, Guerrero was defeated.
Narcissa bent down, snatched away the spearhead, and casually lowered herself to sit atop Guerrero.
Glancing around, she saw the other three female warriors had already been subdued.
"Seriously? They're this weak?"
Dier, watching from the ship's railing, looked utterly baffled. How had they been defeated so quickly?
This nameless island was supposed to be untouched land.
The forest behind them was a resource, and resources always attracted those who sought to plunder them.
Whether Pirates or nearby nations, someone was bound to make a move on this nameless island.
Yet, these primitive people remained its masters.
"Kids, don't even think about going there to play. They'll skewer you full of holes with their ridiculous spears."
Dier had initially assumed the island's inhabitants had driven off the author of that travelogue, who then saved face by calling their spears "ridiculous" in his writings.
But now, seeing them in action, the spears really were ridiculous.
It felt like Hina could win without even using her abilities.
"Still, it's better this way. If all their soldiers are like this, we won't even need Hypnosis—we can just bulldoze through."
He waved his hand and called down to the sailors below:
"Bring them all up!"
One of the female warriors had run off to call for reinforcements, so a larger force would likely arrive soon.
Holding these four as captives would be useful—whether as bargaining chips for negotiations or as hostages in battle.
The sailors responded immediately, escorting the four female warriors toward the gangway.
Suddenly, Dier's vision darkened as a pair of sunglasses appeared on his face.
"Hina thinks you need these."
"Dier thinks he doesn't."
Despite his words, he didn't remove the sunglasses.
Next, they needed to interrogate the island's forces and confirm whether the stone they were guarding was indeed a Poneglyph.
The four female warriors were brought onto the deck and tied to the mast with ropes.
Dier approached Guerrero—she had charged ahead the fastest, likely the leader.
"Name."
"Just kill me."
Dier: "..."
Seriously? He was just asking for a name.
"We mean no harm here. We're just looking for a stone."
"Just kill me."
"The stone will still be yours. We only need to make a copy of its contents before we leave."
"Just kill me."
Staring at the female warrior with tightly shut eyes, Dier was at a loss for words.
He took off his sunglasses and ordered the nearby sailors:
"Pry her eyes open."
If she refused to communicate, they'd have to wait three hours before trying again.
Just as two sailors stepped forward to act, a roar erupted from the forest's edge:
"Stop!"
Dier turned to see about fifty people charging out from the forest's border.
They wielded spears, wore Brown grass skirts, and donned Necklaces made of sharp teeth.
The sailors on the ship couldn't help but widen their eyes as Hina placed the sunglasses back on Dier's face.
Because without exception, all of those people were women.
Most of them were wearing tops, while the rest were not.
"Outsea people, we can talk!"