Chapter 7: Preparation
Wrapped in a heavy cloak that obscured both his figure and face, Axel dragged a massive object through Gray Terminal and returned to Terao's dilapidated shack.
The floor groaned faintly under the weight as he stepped inside.
Terao Kazu was still sitting in the same place as always, surrounded by a few rough looking lackeys. The moment he saw the small, masked figure enter, his lips curled into an amused smile.
"Well, well. Isn't this the guy who was chasing those brats a few days ago?" Terao said, leaning back lazily. "What happened? Did you catch them?"
Axel ignored the taunt.
He walked straight to the table, reached into his cloak, and dropped a leather pouch in front of Terao with a dull thud.
"Same as before," Axel said coldly. "Information, money, and food."
Terao's smile faded a little.
There was something different about the masked child today.
The voice was colder.
Sharper.
More dangerous.
Still, greed won over caution, and he clicked his tongue as he reached for the pouch.
"Tch. Fine, let me see what you brought first." He weighed the pouch in his hand, then glanced up. "What kind of information do you want this time?"
"The locations of your crew's outposts."
The room instantly tensed.
Terao's eyes narrowed.
The men beside him reacted almost as one, hands flying to knives, clubs, and rusted blades. Chairs scraped against the floor. Smiles vanished. The air inside the shack turned hostile in an instant.
Terao's expression darkened, one hand slowly tightening around the knife at his waist.
"And why," he asked, voice no longer friendly, "would you want to know that?"
He looked ready to strike at the slightest wrong answer.
Axel had expected that.
Without hurry, he raised one bandaged hand from beneath the cloak and let them see it clearly.
"Do I really need to explain?" Axel said, his tone low and resentful. "I heard those bastards are planning to move against your captain. If I know where they'll show up, it's better to wait for them there." His voice grew colder. "I haven't forgotten the injuries they gave me."
That explanation made sense.
Or at least, it sounded convincing enough.
Someone nursing a grudge. Someone wanting revenge. Someone willing to use Bluejam's men to get it.
That sort of person was not unusual in Gray Terminal.
Even so, Terao did not immediately relax.
"This alone isn't enough," he said. "That kind of information isn't cheap."
Axel did not answer.
Instead, he reached down, grabbed the black cloth covering the heavy object he had dragged inside, and pulled it away.
A large crocodile carcass was revealed.
The moment they saw it, the eyes of everyone in the shack changed.
Crocodile hide fetched a very good price in places like this. Properly handled leather from a beast that size was enough to make merchants drool, and enough to let a gang of scavengers live comfortably for quite a while.
Even Terao could not hide the flicker of greed in his eyes.
"That..." he muttered.
Axel let the silence stretch for a second, then spoke again.
"The leather too. All of it is yours."
Now even the men behind Terao were staring openly.
Greed spread across their faces like fire through dry grass.
Terao noticed it immediately.
He glanced sideways at his subordinates and saw exactly what he expected to see. Hunger. Greed. Temptation. If he accepted the deal and shared the profit, then these men would become accomplices too. Once everyone had taken a bite, no one would be eager to talk.
That thought settled the matter.
Terao grinned.
"Fine," he said. "Deal."
He leaned forward slightly.
"But I'm curious. Why are you so obsessed with those brats?"
Axel had been waiting for that question.
Without warning, he tilted his head back and laughed.
"Heh... hehehe... ahahaha... hehehehe..."
The sound was wrong.
Completely wrong.
It was not the laughter of a normal child, nor even the laughter of a sane person. It was sharp, twisted, and carried a chilling sort of manic delight that made the hair on the back of the neck stand up.
Terao's men instinctively shifted away from him.
Even Terao's smile stiffened.
What the hell is wrong with this little monster?
Then Axel lowered his head again, and beneath the shadow of the hood, his voice came out with eerie delight.
"I want them... to have a truly unforgettable experience."
The room went still.
That answer was somehow worse than madness.
Terao swallowed.
Forget curiosity. He no longer cared about this masked little freak's motives. All he wanted now was to hand over the information, take the money, and get him out of the shack as fast as possible.
Some people in Gray Terminal were dangerous because they were strong.
Others were dangerous because they were insane.
And in Terao's experience, the second kind was often worse.
Not long after, Axel left the shack with the information in hand.
The air outside felt much fresher.
He did not stay in Gray Terminal any longer than necessary. Once he was far enough from the eyes of Bluejam's men, he made his way back toward Mount Colubo, where Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were waiting for him in the forest.
The moment Axel appeared, Ace stood up.
"Well?"
Axel raised a thumb.
"Got it."
He knelt down and spread the intelligence report over the ground.
The three brothers gathered around at once.
"According to the information I bought," Axel said, pointing at the rough map, "Bluejam has eight active outposts in Gray Terminal. Add the shack where I got this from, and that makes nine in total."
Sabo lowered himself beside the map, eyes already focused.
"Of course," Axel continued, "there's always a chance the information is incomplete. Or false."
"If it's incomplete, that's still acceptable," Sabo said after a few seconds of thought. "Even if we only destroy the ones confirmed here, it would still cut away a big portion of Bluejam's manpower."
Axel nodded.
"I'll verify it myself. My identity still hasn't been exposed. As long as I move carefully, I can confirm which locations are real."
Sabo's gaze sharpened. "That helps. But another problem remains."
He tapped the map.
"There are only four of us. Once we attack the first outpost, they'll react quickly. We won't have much time before the others are alerted."
Ace crossed his arms.
"Then we split up."
"No," Sabo said immediately.
The answer came so fast and so firmly that even Ace frowned.
"Bluejam has people as strong as Porchemy under him," Sabo said. "We don't know which outposts have tougher fighters stationed there. If one of us ends up alone against someone at that level, it's too dangerous."
Ace clicked his tongue but did not argue right away.
Sabo leaned closer over the map, thinking.
"We can't hit all of them. Not in one go. So we abandon some from the start, choose the best route, and attack the rest in sequence." His finger moved across the markings. "Fast strikes. No lingering. No pointless fights. We hit one, break through before they can regroup, then keep moving toward the forest."
Axel glanced at him.
As expected of the future chief of staff of the Revolutionary Army.
Even as a child, Sabo's tactical instincts were already frighteningly good.
Axel looked at the map again and added, "Then we should abandon the two outposts near the bay first."
Ace looked up. "Why?"
"Because Bluejam is likely nearby," Axel said. "And those two locations are close enough to each other that once something starts there, the response will be immediate."
Then he pointed to another area.
"Instead, we set fire to the garbage piled between those bay outposts. That draws their attention, confuses them, and keeps their eyes turned in the wrong direction. While they're dealing with the fire, we launch surprise attacks on the inland route."
Sabo's eyes lit up.
"That would buy us time."
He studied the path Axel indicated, then nodded slowly.
"Yes. That works."
Ace leaned in and stared at the route, then gave a short grin.
"Good enough for me."
Luffy did not really understand the details, but he saw that everyone else liked the idea, so naturally he slapped his knee and declared, "Yeah! Let's do that!"
That settled it.
The next step was preparation.
They split up.
Ace and Luffy went to secure something to start the fire with.
Axel went to confirm the outposts personally.
Sabo stayed behind to refine the attack route and timing.
By the time they regrouped, the light in the forest had already begun to dim.
Ace and Luffy returned carrying containers of gasoline they had somehow managed to get their hands on. Unfortunately, both of them also came back with fresh bruises.
Sabo's face darkened the moment he saw them.
"You fought again, didn't you?"
Ace shrugged. "We got what we needed."
"That isn't the point!"
Sabo rubbed his forehead.
This was exactly the problem with Ace. Once trouble appeared, he never backed down. And with Luffy at his side, things only became even more chaotic.
Gray Terminal was Bluejam's territory.
And they were already on his blacklist.
Getting into fights there before the real operation even started was reckless enough to qualify as suicidal.
But Sabo knew from long experience that scolding Ace only worked up to a point.
Ace folded his arms, looking completely unrepentant.
"Nothing went wrong."
Sabo sighed.
Of course he says that.
Just then, Axel's voice came from between the trees.
"Yo."
A small cloaked figure emerged from the forest and walked over.
Sabo immediately turned toward him. "Well? Were the outposts real?"
"They were," Axel said. "All of them."
He crouched beside the map and pointed to two marks near the edge.
"And the two by the bay each have stronger men stationed there. Bluejam himself is somewhere nearby."
That confirmed it.
Sabo's expression grew serious.
"Then the plan stays the same," he said.
He pointed across the map as he spoke, organizing their assault route.
"We ignite the garbage pile between the two bay outposts first. That pulls their attention toward the fire. Then we hit this one here, break through, then cut across here and here..." His finger traced a jagged path over the map. "Like a lightning bolt. Fast, hard, and constantly changing direction."
He paused at the sixth mark.
"We destroy six outposts in one sweep, then retreat straight into the forest."
His finger tapped the farthest one.
"This outermost outpost gets abandoned. Too far. We'll lose too much time trying to reach it."
Ace nodded. "No problem."
Axel had no objections either. "It's efficient."
Luffy raised a fist. "Then let's do it now!"
Sabo immediately shut that down.
"No. Tomorrow."
Ace looked at him. "Why tomorrow?"
Sabo pointed at both Ace and Luffy.
"Because you two look like you wrestled wild boars on the way back."
Ace frowned. "These scratches won't affect the fight."
"No," Sabo said flatly. "You're resting."
He turned toward Axel as if expecting support.
Axel did not disappoint him.
He looked at Luffy and asked in a perfectly calm tone, "Luffy, are you hungry?"
Luffy's head snapped around so fast it was almost alarming.
"Huh? Food?!"
"Let's go back and eat," Axel said.
Luffy instantly brightened. "Okay!"
Ace's mouth twitched.
He looked at Axel, then at the wildly enthusiastic Luffy, then at Sabo, who now looked just a little too satisfied.
"Tch."
There were three votes against one.
Even Ace could do basic math when the situation was hopeless.
With a click of his tongue, he picked up the gasoline and turned toward the path back to Dadan's house.
Once he started walking, the others naturally followed.
After a few steps, Sabo slowed a little and glanced sideways at Axel.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "Sometimes Ace just doesn't listen to me."
Axel looked ahead at Ace's back.
"That's because he's Ace."
Sabo let out a small laugh at that.
Then Axel's expression softened just a little.
"Besides," he said, "this plan was my idea. If anyone gets hurt because I rushed it, that would be on me too."
Sabo did not answer immediately.
The evening wind moved through the trees.
Ahead of them, Luffy was already talking loudly about food. Ace kept pretending not to care. And yet, despite the danger waiting for them tomorrow, the sight of those three somehow made the path feel less heavy.
Axel knew what kind of man Ace would one day become.
Knew how fiercely he lived.
Knew how stubbornly he refused to bend.
That same strength was what made him brilliant.
And what would one day make him tragic.
But that was a future far away.
For now, Ace was still just a boy walking through the forest with his brothers.
And tomorrow, the four of them were going to set Gray Terminal on fire.