[Quest: Disaster at the Outset]
[Status: Completed]
[Reward: 10 Attribute Points]
[Reward: Trust Value +30]
Another ten Attribute Points.
Bane couldn’t help feeling satisfied.
He immediately invested eight points into Physique, raising it to 30.
As expected, another System notification appeared.
[Current Physique has reached 30.]
[From this point onward, 3 Attribute Points are required to increase Physique by 1.]
Just as he’d expected.
Bane had already prepared himself for another increase in cost, so he stopped investing in Physique and placed the remaining two points into Spirit instead.
[Spirit: 16]
Then he looked at Krieg’s Trust Value.
Bane fell silent.
So 100 wasn’t actually the maximum.
Trust Value could continue rising beyond it.
That wasn’t the important part, though.
The important part was that [Bane of Existence] had now fully activated.
[When Trust Value reaches 100, the Bane effect is triggered.]
[Your Big Brother will continue to trust you while simultaneously developing a strong desire to eliminate you.]
In other words, Krieg was probably already thinking about how to kill him.
Even without the System’s influence, Bane suspected Krieg might have eventually considered it anyway.
Convenient.
Bane wasn’t exactly opposed to killing Krieg either.
And the System had never said he couldn’t.
As if sensing something, Bane raised his head.
Krieg was looking at him from across the deck with a forced smile.
Bane immediately returned one just as fake.
Neither said a word.
Both were clearly waiting for the right opportunity.
Until then, Bane intended to make full use of Krieg.
He threw himself back into Haki training whenever he had a spare moment.
With Krieg’s Trust Value so high, Bane was now receiving the maximum tenfold training-speed bonus Krieg could provide.
That wasn’t the System’s limit.
It was Krieg’s.
As a Big Brother, Krieg simply wasn’t strong enough to grant anything beyond a tenfold boost, no matter how high his Trust Value climbed.
Still, ten times normal training speed was more than enough for now.
If possible, Bane hoped Krieg wouldn’t rush into getting himself killed too soon.
There was still plenty of value left to squeeze out of him.
Bane adjusted his disguise.
Which eye had the eyepatch covered before?
Left?
Right?
Whatever.
It didn’t matter.
He simply put it on.
…
“We’ve finally arrived!”
After several more days at sea, what remained of the Krieg Pirates finally reached another island.
The island had a distinctive appearance, with tall rocky formations resembling giant cacti rising across it.
Cactus Island.
Perhaps Krieg had finally learned something from his encounter with Mihawk, because this time he behaved far more cautiously.
He led his men ashore without making a spectacle of their arrival.
It didn’t help.
The locals noticed them almost immediately. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Within moments, enthusiastic townspeople came rushing over with fruit, food, and wine.
One man looked Krieg up and down with obvious admiration.
“You certainly look like an important pirate!”
Another quickly stepped forward.
“You must be exhausted from the voyage. Have something to eat and drink!”
“Don’t worry, we’re all locals here!”
“That’s right!”
A smiling resident spread his arms proudly.
“This is Whiskey Peak. We’re famous for welcoming travelers!”
Then he leaned closer, lowering his voice as though sharing some wonderful secret.
“And the people we admire most are pirates!”
The Krieg Pirates stared at them.
“Pirates?”
“Of course!”
“Lots of crews from the Four Blues stop here after entering the Grand Line. Most stay for a while before continuing their journey.”
The pirates exchanged bewildered looks.
They were used to suspicion.
Fear.
Hostility.
Sometimes outright hatred.
Even when people didn’t attack them on sight, they usually weren’t welcomed with open arms.
This?
This was completely new.
The townspeople kept offering them food, wine, compliments, and smiles.
It didn’t take long for many of Krieg’s men to relax completely.
A few flattering words were apparently all it took.
Before long, they were enthusiastically talking about themselves.
Where they’d come from.
What crew they belonged to.
How this was their first trip into the Grand Line.
The moment the townspeople learned they were from the East Blue, their interest sharpened.
The smiles remained.
If anything, the hospitality became even warmer.
They eagerly invited Krieg and his men to a banquet that evening.
At first, Krieg remained cautious.
But repeated praise gradually wore down his suspicion.
Then he heard that several other recently arrived pirate crews would also be attending.
That caught his attention.
A banquet full of new pirate crews meant information.
And opportunities.
If those crews turned out to be weak enough, Krieg could simply absorb them into his own forces.
His fleet desperately needed rebuilding.
So he accepted.
The Krieg Pirates were led away to rest before the evening celebration.
The moment they disappeared from view, several townspeople dropped their cheerful expressions.
“East Blue. Krieg Pirates.”
One of them unfolded a document.
“Captain: ‘Admiral’ Krieg. Bounty listed here as sixteen million Berries.”
Another frowned.
“Anything else?”
“I found an updated record. Same man, same crew, same timing.”
He tapped the page.
“But the bounty isn’t sixteen million anymore.”
“How much?”
The others exchanged looks.
“So he did something recently.”
“Can we find out what?”
“It’ll take time.”
One of them glanced toward the direction the pirates had gone.
“Better to wait for tonight. Let the women keep them talking.”
Another nodded.
“Twenty-two million isn’t too serious, but there’s no reason to take chances.”
His expression hardened.
“Make sure their drinks are heavily drugged tonight.”
“Not one of them leaves.”
A quiet laugh followed.
“Relax. These idiots aren’t going anywhere.”
He gestured around them.
“All of Whiskey Peak is ours.”
…
Night came quickly.
The banquet began.
Barrels of alcohol were rolled into the square.
Tables were covered with meat, fruit, and local dishes.
A massive bonfire was lit at the center.
Music soon filled the night.
Women danced and sang around the flames while laughter spread through the crowd.
Whiskey Peak had transformed into one enormous celebration.
And naturally, the visiting pirate crews were treated as the guests of honor.
Besides the Krieg Pirates, two other crews had arrived.
The Burton Pirates from the South Blue.
And the Cancer Pirates from the North Blue.
All three groups received the same overwhelming hospitality.
Cups were constantly refilled.
Food kept appearing.
Strangers clapped one another on the shoulders, exchanged drunken whispers, then burst into loud laughter.
The captains received even more attention.
Each had four or five attractive women sitting close beside him.
Some acted bold.
Others shy.
All of them showered the pirate captains with compliments, admiring looks, and affectionate kisses.
Krieg had regained his confidence completely.
He sat with a woman on each arm while others remained nearby to pour his wine or serve whatever food caught his eye.
He barely had to lift a finger.
This was exactly the kind of treatment he believed he deserved.
Coming to the Grand Line had clearly been the right decision.
Where else would he find an entire town that practically worshiped pirates?
Krieg became so swept up in the attention and flattery that he completely forgot why he’d wanted to attend the banquet in the first place.
Across the celebration, Bane was the only one who didn’t seem to fit in.
He ate nothing.
He drank nothing.
He simply sat quietly and watched everything around him.
When they’d first arrived on Cactus Island, the scenery hadn’t meant much to him.
But once the residents introduced Whiskey Peak as a town that welcomed pirates and eagerly invited them to a banquet…
Something had begun to feel familiar.
Now, watching the celebration unfold around him, the pieces finally came together.
The situation jogged his memory.