“Why are you sitting here all by yourself?”
A beautiful woman with wavy hair and bright red lips approached Bane with a wine glass in hand before casually sitting beside him.
“Come on. Have a drink with me~ Once you’re drunk, you’ll forget all your troubles.”
“Really?”
Bane looked at her with an amused smile.
“I don’t believe you.”
The woman’s expression stiffened for a fraction of a second before her smile returned.
“If you don’t believe me, I could always prove it to you~”
She leaned a little closer.
“But there are too many people here. Why don’t we continue somewhere more private? My place, perhaps?”
Her loose collar shifted just enough to reveal a tempting glimpse beneath it.
For an ordinary teenage boy, the invitation would have been difficult to refuse.
The woman maintained her seductive smile, but internally, her patience was already running thin.
Damn brat.
If he’d just drunk the wine like everyone else, none of this would have been necessary.
Now she had to waste even more time on him.
Once he was captured, she fully intended to make him suffer before selling him to slave traders.
Unfortunately for her, Bane reacted nothing like she’d expected.
“Do you have a cat that can do backflips?”
“…What?”
The woman blinked.
“No, but I can—”
“Then what about a dog that can do a handstand?”
She stared at him.
“You don’t have one of those either?”
Bane shook his head in disappointment.
“Fine. At least tell me you have a goldfish that blows bubbles.”
The woman’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Bane leaned toward her.
“No cat that does backflips.”
“No dog that does handstands.”
“No goldfish that blows bubbles.”
His expression became increasingly offended.
“Then how do you expect to invite me home with a straight face?”
“Hm?”
Bane pointed at his own eyes.
“Look me in the eyes and answer me.”
The woman’s mind went completely blank.
What the hell was he talking about?
She’d invited him home.
Why did that somehow require ownership of acrobatic pets?
Had she somehow fallen completely out of touch with how young men behaved?
Thud.
While Bane continued interrogating her about nonexistent animals, the banquet was nearing its end.
One pirate after another collapsed onto the ground.
Some slumped over tables.
Others simply fell backward where they sat.
Only those with particularly strong constitutions remained somewhat conscious.
And gradually, a few of them noticed something was wrong.
Every person collapsing was a pirate.
The townspeople, meanwhile, were still perfectly alert.
Worse, their friendly smiles were disappearing.
The way they watched the remaining pirates had changed completely.
“Drink…”
The Captain of the Cancer Pirates drunkenly lifted his cup.
“Why’d everyone stop drinking?”
Apparently, he still hadn’t noticed.
The man beside him—the same “friend” who had spent the evening drinking with him and exchanging dirty jokes—smiled.
“Because…”
He reached behind himself.
“It’s about time.”
Bang!
A baseball bat smashed into the Cancer Pirates’ captain’s head.
Blood sprayed as the already drunken man collapsed unconscious. The source of this chapter is g.com.
That blow was the signal.
The supposedly friendly residents moved at once.
Weapons appeared.
Ropes were brought out.
Pirates who were still conscious were surrounded and overwhelmed before they could properly react.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“You bastards!”
“You’re not townspeople!”
“It’s a trap!”
The Captain of the Burton Pirates finally understood what was happening.
Unfortunately, he realized it far too late.
He turned toward the women who had spent the entire evening clinging affectionately to him.
Their flirtatious expressions were gone.
Each woman now held a syringe.
“What—”
They plunged the needles into him.
One.
Two.
Three.
His already clouded consciousness immediately began to fade.
“Don’t bother struggling.”
The man carrying the baseball bat rested it against his shoulder.
“The drinks you’ve been enjoying all night were drugged.”
He gestured toward the syringes.
“And those are concentrated anesthetics.”
He smiled.
“Enough to put an elephant down for three days.”
The Burton Pirates’ captain staggered.
“Wh… why…?”
His knees gave way.
He collapsed onto the ground, barely managing to keep his eyes open.
The bat-wielding man laughed.
“Why?”
He spread his arms.
“Because we’re bounty hunters!”
The surrounding townspeople dropped the act entirely.
“You idiots are our prey!”
Laughter broke out around him.
Of course there was no town in the Grand Line that simply welcomed pirates out of pure admiration.
Whiskey Peak was packed with bounty hunters disguised as ordinary residents.
Their method was simple.
Welcome newly arrived pirates.
Feed them.
Get them drunk.
Drug them.
Then capture the entire crew without risking a proper fight.
Anyone with a bounty could be turned over for the reward.
Anyone without one could still be sold to slave traders.
The operation was cheap to run and extremely profitable.
“Newcomers from the Four Blues really are the easiest targets.”
A voice suddenly answered from nearby.
“Careful. That sounds awfully prejudiced.”
Everyone turned.
Bane was still sitting there.
The woman who had approached him earlier was now held against him.
“And if you return that idiot Admiral to me,” Bane continued, “I might even consider forgetting you said it.”
“Who said that?!”
The man with the baseball bat spun toward the voice.
Then he saw Bane.
A young man who looked harmless enough.
“Miss Wednesday!”
His expression changed.
“What are you doing? Stop messing around and deal with that kid!”
Miss Wednesday’s face was stiff.
She didn’t move.
She didn’t dare.
A gun was pressed firmly against her back.
She swallowed.
“You’ve already seen how many of us there are.”
Her voice remained controlled.
“The entire island is full of our people.”
“Even if you use me as a hostage, you won’t escape.”
Bane gave her a strange look.
“Escape?”
“Why would I run?”
The man with the baseball bat finally understood what was happening.
His face twisted.
“Pathetic!”
He pointed at Miss Wednesday.
“You’re an officer of Baroque Works, and you let some kid take you hostage?”
He sneered.
“As your partner, I’m embarrassed for you.”
Miss Wednesday’s temper immediately flared.
“Shut your mouth, Mr. 9!”
She glared at him.
“You think I wanted you as my partner?”
“You’re nothing but a ridiculous nobody who keeps pretending he’s royalty!”
“What did you say?!”
The two immediately began arguing.
Bane watched with obvious amusement.
Then Miss Wednesday suddenly pitched forward.
At exactly the same moment—
Mr.
9 hurled his baseball bat.
The weapon spun straight toward Bane’s head.
“Nice act.”
Bane tilted his head.
Whoosh!
The bat passed harmlessly beside him.
Miss Wednesday immediately broke free and rushed away.
Bane watched her go.
“But I don’t like being tricked.”
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
Someone fell.
Miss Wednesday’s face still carried a look of disbelief.
No one had expected Bane to actually fire while surrounded by so many bounty hunters.
Mr.
9’s face twisted with rage.
“Kill him!”
The bounty hunters moved at once.
Weapons were drawn from every direction.
They charged Bane together.
Bane sighed.
“I was still hoping you’d return the person I asked for.”
His hand moved toward his saber.
“But if you won’t…”
The blade slid free.
“Then I’ll just have to kill all of you.”
Bane shifted slightly.
Then disappeared.
The next instant—
Blood sprayed across the banquet grounds.