Haiyuan Calendar, Year 1512.
West Blue.
Alghero Town was a bustling mid-sized port town famous for its handicrafts and flowers. A sizable Marine base was stationed there as well, making the environment relatively safe. Because of its well-known local specialties and peaceful atmosphere, tourists from surrounding islands often came here to visit.
It was June, and even at three in the afternoon the sunlight remained scorching. The stone-paved streets radiated heat as if they had been left inside an oven. Yet the town's most popular bakery—"Simon's Cheese Ring"—was strangely quiet today.
Passersby noticed several burly men standing outside the bakery entrance. Their faces were red from the blazing sun, but none of them dared to move even slightly. They simply stared fixedly at the bakery door.
BOOM!!!
With a violent crash, the bakery door exploded outward as a tall figure smashed through it and landed heavily on the street.
A few startled pedestrians cautiously approached. When they saw who had fallen to the ground, they gasped in shock.
The man lying there was Cartman, the town's notorious thug.
But the usual arrogance on Cartman's face was gone. Blood was leaking from his mouth, nose, eyes, and even his ears. He was clearly gravely injured. Trembling, he shouted toward the bakery doorway:
"Victor! Even you can't break gang rules! Attacking a member of the organization is punishable by impalement!!"
Tap… tap… tap…
A calm series of footsteps echoed out.
A man appeared in the doorway.
Compared to Cartman's towering three-meter frame, the newcomer stood only around 1.8 meters tall. He wore a perfectly tailored black suit, his blond hair slicked neatly back. His age seemed to fall somewhere between youth and adulthood. His handsome face looked as though it had been carved from marble—yet his expression was completely cold.
"You're saying I violated gang rules?"
The young man called Mafia Victor slowly rolled up his sleeves as he walked toward Cartman lying in the street.
"I don't think so, Mr. Cartman. Because you're no longer a member of Coral."
Victor stopped before him and looked down from above. A hint of mockery glimmered in his azure eyes.
"To put it simply… the Boss ordered you expelled from the organization."
Cartman's face twisted in despair. With a roar, he lunged at Victor, trying to fight for a chance to escape.
But before he could even react, Victor's leg flashed like lightning.
A devastating whip kick slammed into Cartman's chest.
Accompanied by a scream and the sound of bones shattering, the thug flew four or five meters through the air before smashing into a roadside flowerbed and collapsing.
Barely able to lift his head, he looked at Victor approaching him.
"P-please… Victor… spare me…"
Before he could finish speaking, a black leather shoe stepped down on his head.
A cold voice came from above.
"I told you three days ago—when you harassed my sister—you were already dead, trash."
Victor didn't wait for another plea.
He kicked Cartman in the throat, crushing it instantly.
After a moment, Victor snapped his fingers.
The burly men who had been standing outside hurried over. Bowing slightly to Victor with fear in their eyes, they quickly carried away Cartman's corpse, which had already stopped twitching.
At that moment, Victor noticed someone peeking from the bakery entrance.
A young girl stood there.
She wore a gothic dress and even indoors held a small parasol above her head. Her long pink hair was tied into a side ponytail, and her wide round eyes gave her a slightly absent-minded look.
Behind her stood a red-haired female shop assistant carrying a bag full of bread. She didn't even notice the destroyed door of her bakery. Instead, her face flushed red as she stared at Victor's handsome face like a starstruck fan meeting a celebrity.
Victor sighed softly.
He took out two 100,000-Belly bills and gently placed them in the shop assistant's hands.
"This is for repairing the door and the flowerbed. I'm sorry for the disturbance, Miss Belle."
Then he gestured toward the pink-haired girl.
"Let's go, Perona."
With that, Victor walked toward the Black Axe Bar in the center of town.
The pink-haired girl giggled as she grabbed a steaming loaf of bread from the assistant.
"Hehehehe… Sister Belle, snap out of it! You're practically drooling! I'm leaving now—I'll come play again later!"
She waved cheerfully before running after Victor.
A middle-aged tourist who had witnessed the entire scene asked a passerby curiously:
"That young man is incredibly skilled. Is he part of a gang too?"
The passerby glanced at him in surprise.
"Old man, you must be new here. On these islands, who doesn't know the name Mr. Victor?"
The tourist chuckled.
"I really did come from a distant island. Could you tell me about him?"
Seeing the friendly attitude, the passerby happily began talking.
"Don't be fooled by Mr. Victor's age. He's one of the strongest fighters in the Coral organization. And even though he looks cold, he's actually very kind. Lots of people in town have received his help."
He pointed toward the pink-haired girl.
"That cute girl is Victor's little sister, Perona. She's lively and cheerful. Everyone in town likes her."
"I see…" the tourist said thoughtfully. "Then who was that big man Victor killed?"
"That guy was Cartman—a real scumbag thug. I heard he was also an officer in Coral. I don't know the details of his conflict with Mr. Victor."
The passerby shrugged.
"But Mr. Victor's strength is incredible. I've never seen him lose a fight. Honestly, I doubt even the new Marine colonel at the base could defeat him."
The middle-aged tourist smiled.
After thanking the passerby, he slowly walked in the direction Victor and Perona had gone.
Interesting…
He had come to inspect his newly assigned jurisdiction during his free time and unexpectedly witnessed such an event.
The boy's combat techniques were clearly not those of an amateur.
And that whip kick…
It carried a faint trace of Rankyaku, one of the Six Marine Techniques.
Hopefully it was just a coincidence.
Colonel Crone, the newly appointed commander of the Marine 91st Branch stationed in Alghero, silently memorized the name Mafia Victor.
Victor and Perona arrived outside the Black Axe Bar.
After thinking for a moment, Victor turned toward her.
"Perona, go home first."
Perona looked worried.
"Big brother Victor, are you sure everything's okay? Why don't I stay? I've trained my Ghost-Ghost Fruit powers pretty well!"
Victor gently ruffled her pink hair and smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. It's just a routine award ceremony. Go home and be a good girl."
After watching her leave, Victor's eyes turned cold.
He pushed open the bar door.
Inside, the bar was completely empty.
Victor walked straight behind the counter and pushed open a hidden door.
The space suddenly opened up.
This hidden room inside the Black Axe Bar was specially reserved for the executives of the Coral organization.
A luxurious round table stood in the center.
The tabletop was empty except for a small square box placed precisely in the middle.
Several people stood behind the table—officers of Coral.
Another man sat boldly on the sofa behind them.
He was tall and imposing, a cigar hanging from his mouth. His short purple hair stood upright like steel needles.
Seeing Victor enter, he didn't stand up. Instead, he smiled strangely.
"My most outstanding subordinate… my dear Victor. You finally arrived."
"That commotion just now was quite something. So? That job was easy for you, wasn't it?"
Victor replied calmly.
"You flatter me, Boss. Cartman refused to hand over his duties, so I simply dealt with him according to protocol."
"That idiot dared embezzle gang funds. Serves him right that he's dead!"
The man laughed before continuing.
"More importantly, the battle in Katsuri Town was incredible. All the brothers are convinced of your strength. Add your achievements at Bellfall Village and Echoing Wharf, and as the Boss, I grant your request."
He pushed the small box toward Victor.
"Open it. This is a treasure from the sea worth 100 million Berries."
Ignoring the smirks from the surrounding officers, Victor slowly opened the box.
Inside lay a small blue melon-shaped fruit covered with jagged spiral patterns.
Several executives sneered.
Because Boss Pippin had already told them what the fruit was.
Normally, only a few experts could identify a Devil Fruit by its appearance.
But this one was an exception.
Because it was widely known as a worthless Devil Fruit.
The Chain-Chain Fruit.
As the name implied, whoever ate it would become a zipper human, able to create zippers on any object they touched.
Six years ago, a Marine captain had eaten this fruit.
Instead of gaining combat power, he received a completely useless ability. Worse, he lost the ability to swim.
Within a month, he died in battle against pirates and became a laughingstock across the seas.
Years later, the fruit reappeared and eventually fell into the hands of Pippin, leader of Coral.
At the time, Pippin had already eaten the Ox-Ox Fruit, Buffalo Model, so he planned to sell the fruit.
But after three months, not even 30 million Berries were offered—let alone 100 million.
The story of the unlucky Marine captain had become so famous that anyone who recognized the fruit refused to waste money on it.
Eventually Pippin threw the fruit into his vault and forgot about it.
Now back to Victor.
Two years ago, Victor joined Coral with his sister Perona.
With unmatched strength, he completed many near-impossible missions.
His most shocking achievement occurred a month earlier in Katsuri Town, where he single-handedly defeated six top officers of the rival Suleiman Family.
The defeat crippled nearly eighty percent of that gang's top fighters.
Forced into submission, the Suleiman Family conceded territory, bringing enormous profit to Coral.
According to gang rules, Victor's contributions were worth 100 million Berries.
But Victor had never cared about rewards.
This time, however, he made a request.
He wanted a Devil Fruit.
Boss Pippin had always been wary of Victor.
Victor was too strong.
Too capable.
Too ambitious.
Pippin feared Victor might eventually seize his leadership.
But refusing the reward would break gang rules.
Just as Pippin struggled with the decision, one of his subordinates suggested something.
"Boss… don't you still have that useless Devil Fruit? Give it to Victor. That way he can't complain—and it might even weaken him instead of making him stronger."
Pippin immediately loved the idea.
After all, Victor himself had asked for a Devil Fruit.
Giving him the Chain-Chain Fruit was perfectly reasonable.
Thus Pippin arranged this award ceremony.
He also made two preparations.
First, he brought all the top executives to maintain pressure.
Second, he gave Victor a special "gift" — the chance to personally execute Cartman.
Cartman had embezzled gang money anyway.
And since Cartman had previously harassed Perona, Victor surely wanted revenge.
Letting Victor kill him would calm his anger.
After all, Victor was still Pippin's strongest subordinate.
Keeping him satisfied was necessary.
Inside the secret room of the Black Axe Bar, under everyone's gaze, Victor picked up the fruit without hesitation and took a bite.
The taste was as disgusting as the rumors said.
But Victor's expression didn't change at all.
Because everything…
was proceeding exactly according to his plan.
He had spent two years preparing.
And one of his goals was the Devil Fruit now in his hands.
The Chain-Chain Fruit.
A special Paramecia-type Devil Fruit even rarer than Logia fruits.