Fireworks Island, true to its name, is renowned for its spectacular fireworks displays, a fiery art form that illuminates the night sky.
Home to numerous Fireworks Artisans, the island is a hub of creativity where artisans work tirelessly, day and night, in their workshops, constantly innovating and refining their craft to create ever more breathtaking displays.
The island's fireworks are renowned for their exceptional quality and breathtaking beauty. During festival season, tourists flock to the island, eager to witness these dazzling displays and create unforgettable experiences.
These events are the peak season for the island's tourism industry. Businesses profit by selling food, drinks, accommodation, and souvenirs to the firework enthusiasts who flock to the island.
The highlight of the year is the annual Grand Fireworks Festival.
During the festival, the island's Fireworks Artisans launch their finest creations one after another, transforming the night sky into a canvas of vibrant light and color, captivating audiences with their dazzling displays.
The tourist brochure boasted of a magnificent fiery spectacle that pushed back the darkness of the night sky—something you absolutely couldn't see anywhere else. It claimed you hadn't truly lived until you witnessed it.
...Well, something like that was written in the tourist brochure.
It seemed like the Fireworks Tourist Association had put it together. Their confidence was understandable, given that fireworks were the island's main industry. This might actually be worth the hype.
I flipped through the brochure I'd grabbed freely on the regular ship, lost in thought.
And then I arrived at Fireworks Island...
"Alright, you scoundrels! This is Fireworks Island—a treasure trove overflowing with gunpowder! Strip it bare! Sell it, use it, whatever!"
"Uwaaaaaahhhh!"
"A-aaaaaahhh!"
"Pirates! Pirates!"
And this was happening the moment we landed...
The tourist brochure had explained everything in detail, but it seemed a pirate ship, likely aiming to plunder the island's gunpowder, had entered the port at the same time as our regular ship.
As soon as they disembarked, the pirates split into two groups. One rushed inland to seize the gunpowder, while the other decided to attack the unlucky prey that happened to be there.
Us, the defenseless tourists.
The regular ship company had hired a bodyguard of sorts, but he didn't seem particularly strong. He was already backing down, and with such overwhelming numbers, he stood no chance of protecting us.
Left with no choice, I decided to fight too.
...And that's how things ended up like this.
"Damn it, this kid's strong...?!"
"Gah... how could I lose to this little girl...?"
Ah, the actual fight wasn't particularly interesting, so I'll skip it.
I didn't want any civilians getting hurt, so I charged ahead of the bodyguards and started causing chaos. Most of the pirates swarmed me, which made it easy—just dodge, punch, dodge, punch, rinse and repeat.
A few tried to ignore me and attack the other passengers, but the bodyguards handled those stragglers.
In the end, no one died and barely anyone got hurt. A great result!
The shipping company and the other passengers were incredibly grateful.
But we only dealt with the pirates who came after us. The other half, the ones who stormed the mainland...
"Ah, excuse me. About the pirates earlier... could I have a word?"
Huh?
I turned around to see who was speaking to me, and there stood...
(...A Marine?)
***
To cut to the chase, there was no need to worry about the damage caused by the pirates who headed toward the mainland.
The Marine unit stationed on the island had rushed to the scene and suppressed them almost as soon as they started causing trouble.
Apparently, pirates attempting such reckless schemes were quite common.
Given the island's involvement with dangerous substances like gunpowder, the Marines regularly patrolled the area, especially during events like this. They had already intensified their surveillance on the mainland, so when the pirates brazenly attacked despite the increased security, they were easily captured.
That's what I was told during the interrogation.
"So, you're a bounty hunter, huh? Visiting the island for a vacation?"
"Yeah, I just finished a job and thought I'd relax for a bit. I saw in the newspaper that the Fireworks Festival was coming up, so I took the regular ship here."
"Right. Talk about bad timing... or maybe it was good timing, depending on how you look at it. Either way, everyone else was lucky that no one got hurt and the whole thing was resolved thanks to you."
Speaking of which... there's something that's been bothering me.
This Marine who's been asking me all these questions, basically interrogating me...
He's got a stocky build, a gruff tone, and short, white hair.
Am I imagining things, or does this guy look familiar?
He looks much younger than I remember... Actually, he might not be much older than me, maybe sixteen or seventeen?
Can you even join the Marines at that age? Well, this is that kind of world, so it's not that surprising. Coby practically joined on the spot just by asking, so maybe they're pretty lax about that kind of thing... or maybe they're just flexible.
Anyway, enough thinking about Marine bureaucracy and age limits. The important thing is... this guy...
"Hey Smoker, aren't you done with that interrogation yet?"
"Sorry, not yet. Just a little longer."
Ah, so it is Smoker.
He's not wearing his signature thick coat from the original work, and he doesn't have his usual two cigars hanging out of his mouth, so I wasn't completely sure. But that build and his scowl... yeah, that's definitely him.
...He's so muscular that the standard Marine uniform doesn't really fit him properly. It doesn't quite suit him.
"Well, good work out there. We get a lot of idiots like that around this time of year. The Marines are doing patrols, but you should still be careful. Anyway, I'm done here."
He tried to be polite, but it came out a little awkward, like he couldn't quite hide his gruffness. Smoker-san stayed true to his gruff self right to the end.
With the interrogation over, he strode off to rejoin the other Marines, after making sure the pirates I'd knocked out were secured and rounded up, of course.
Later, the tour guides from the travel agency rallied. "We apologize for the slight incident," they announced, "but we hope you'll shake it off and enjoy the rest of your tour of the island."
'A pirate attack? A slight incident?' That seemed like a serious understatement. But hey, this was the Grand Line.
The islanders and townspeople didn't seem particularly shaken by the incident. The Fireworks Festival was still scheduled to proceed as planned.
Maybe this kind of thing happens everywhere all the time, and since everything turned out fine in the end, they were just taking it in stride. The citizens and businesses here were tough.
Well, I'd rather not have come all this way just to be told, "It's canceled, let's go home." Not that I have any complaints.
The Fireworks Festival was still a few days away.
Until then, I might as well take it easy and do some sightseeing. With the festival approaching, there were shops and food stalls popping up everywhere. This was supposed to be a relaxing trip in the first place.
And... though I really hoped it wouldn't happen again... if any more pirates or idiots tried something like today, I'd just deal with them again.
I guess we should leave the basic security to the Marines, but I'd hate for them to fail and for the town or its people to get hurt. And if that happened and the festival got canceled... that would be even worse.
Ah, right! Sightseeing is nice, but what if... we could get a tour of a fireworks artisan's workshop?
That's exactly the kind of thing you don't usually get to see. It would be great "food" for inspiration.
Still, places like that are usually off-limits to outsiders. Plus, they're probably swamped with preparations right before the festival. It's a long shot, but... hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
...But who should I ask? Does this island even have a Tourist Association?
For now, I'll ask someone from the ship company that brought us here. They run a regular service, so they must know something about the island.
To be continued...