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West Blue, in an undisclosed sea.
The water was stained red.
The battle was over.
Jin hadn't even lifted a finger. Law, Robin, and the others had easily dispatched the current Fire Tank Pirates.
Even four years from now, when Capone Bege was counted among the eleven Supernovas, his individual combat strength was never as overwhelming as the others.
He was the "Godfather"—a strategist, a commander.
His crew operated less like a pirate band and more like a disciplined army.
They all wore uniforms.
They were armed with a variety of firearms—machine guns, rocket launchers, and so on—and were divided into different combat units.
And his Devil Fruit wasn't the kind that boosted individual strength.
It was a mobile war fortress. He wasn't enough on his own; he needed soldiers to fight his battles.
This approach worked well enough in the West Blue and the first half of the Grand Line.
But in the New World, it wasn't enough.
It was like a sports team that relies on teamwork. They can have a great regular season, but in the playoffs, when they go up against a team with a superstar... they usually lose.
A superstar can single-handedly break through a team's defenses.
And eventually, the team shatters.
It was the same with Bege's crew. That's why, two years after the Summit War, he fell behind in the race to become the Pirate King.
And now, his luck had run out.
He had run into Jin, who outclassed him in every way.
Strength, influence...
His castle was a joke.
Jin didn't kill him.
At the next port, he handed him over to Crocodile.
As for the rest of his crew...
They were all used to fuel the boiler.
Of course, Jin had no intention of letting Bege live. Once Crocodile was done with him, he'd be melted down as well.
The man was unpredictable, just like Blackbeard.
When he was weak, he could endure any humiliation.
But the moment he became strong, he would turn on you.
Two years after the Summit War, Bege had joined Big Mom's crew... and had eventually betrayed her.
If he was left alive, the grudge from today's defeat would fester. He would come back for revenge.
He was a loose cannon.
Bege and Crocodile might have seemed similar on the surface, but they were cut from a different cloth.
Crocodile still had a dream. He might have claimed not to trust anyone, but he was capable of change. He had saved Mr. 1 and the others. He was an old-school pirate.
Bege, on the other hand, had come up from the criminal underworld. The only things he cared about were profit and ambition. He was rotten to the core, a man who would do anything to get what he wanted.
In any case, Jin trusted Crocodile. He didn't trust Bege.
It was a personal preference.
And a gut feeling.
To be on the safe side, Jin left a wisp of the Hell's Red Serpent's green flame inside Bege—the same power he used to control Vito.
So why not just control Bege with the green flame, like he did with Judge?
The control wasn't absolute. It was affected by distance and the target's willpower. The farther away you were, the stronger their will, the weaker the control.
For example, the Seven Stars Sword had been able to control Saga, but it couldn't control a seasoned warrior.
That's why Jin rarely let Judge leave the carrier.
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In the tavern.
Daz Bonez watched as Capone Bege, now in Seastone cuffs, was led away. Crocodile and Jin chatted.
"Your next stop is the Kano Country, isn't it?" Crocodile asked.
"Yes."
"The Kano Country dominates the eastern coast of the West Blue," Crocodile said. "It's a vast, mysterious, and powerful nation, with a formidable military. Even in the New World, it would be considered a superpower. Some even say it's the second most powerful nation in the world, after Elbaf. It's home to many powerful fighters. Foreign ships are thoroughly inspected upon entry, and they show no mercy to those who resist."
"That's why it's so independent, even among the member nations. The Marines have a hard time even entering their waters. It's a major player in the politics of the West Blue."
"Aside from their official army, the Kano Country also has several powerful pirate forces. One of them is the Happo Navy. You'll need to be careful of them. They call their leader the 'Don.' The current Don is Chinjao. His bounty is over 500 million Berries. He once went head-to-head with Garp, his drill-like head against Garp's iron fist. But even Chinjao isn't the strongest in those waters."
"Is that so?" Jin said, surprised. "Well, I'll have to see for myself. My status should get me in the door."
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After a night of storms, the morning was bright and clear. The sea was calm.
Governor Madison stood at the prow of his ship. He wore a cloak and a tricorn hat, a sword hanging at his waist, and he gazed out at the sea.
It was a vast expanse of blue, like a sapphire mirror.
His flagship was followed by ten other pirate ships, a formidable fleet.
The Kraken's Tongue Pirates.
Madison was from the Ilisia Kingdom. He had originally worked on a merchant ship. About ten years ago, he had fled to escape his gambling debts, disappearing without a trace.
Years later, when the name Madison was heard again, he was a member of the infamous pirate group, the Kraken's Tongue.
Through his own strength, cunning, and experience, he had killed the former leader and had taken his place as the new governor.
The Kraken's Tongue were a ruthless band of pirates, but their bounties were surprisingly low. The World Government paid them little attention.
Behind the scenes, the Kraken's Tongue had a contract with one of the powerful nations of the West Blue.
Yes, just like the Vulture Pirates in Kilauea, they were "official pirates," state-sponsored and protected.
But there were strings attached.
If they wanted to run wild, they had to obey the orders of their patrons.
Like now.
The territorial dispute between the Kano Country and the Pasosa Kingdom had been going on for centuries. After the start of the Great Pirate Era, the Ilisia Kingdom and other nations on the western coast of the West Blue had formed an alliance with the Pasosa Kingdom, sending armed merchant fleets to trade with them.
To further their territorial ambitions, the Pasosa Kingdom had set its sights on an island in the waters south of the Kano Country: Shasta Island.
The Pasosa Kingdom coveted the island for its secrecy and strategic location. They intended to occupy it.
And the vanguard of their attack was the Kraken's Tongue Pirates, led by Governor Madison.
The entire fleet was three thousand strong.
This was the true power of the Kraken's Tongue.
It was composed of a number of smaller pirate crews. To avoid attracting the attention of the World Government and the Marines, they usually operated independently, scattered across different seas.
But recently, they had been summoned for a naval battle.
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