The Stuart Family was another family operating within the dark underworld of the East Blue.
After questioning his master, Will learned that the One-Sword Dojo had once clashed with the Stuart Family during a mission.
That encounter had changed the lives of his Senior Brother and Senior Sister An forever.
At the time, the dojo had received an assassination contract, while the Stuart Family had been hired to steal a chart of the first half of the Grand Line from the target’s residence.
By sheer coincidence, the two groups had encountered each other.
The Stuart Family had only sent two people that time: the eldest son, Stuart Green, and the second son, Stuart Walker.
Master, Roy, and An had driven the Stuart Family’s men away and secured the chart.
They had all assumed that the other side would simply come to negotiate afterward.
As far as they were concerned, the entire confrontation had been nothing more than a misunderstanding.
Once they handed over the chart, everything would be settled.
They were wrong.
The Stuart Family never came to negotiate.
Instead, they launched a direct attack on Roy’s family.
Although Roy and An were both seriously injured in the assault, the greatest tragedy was what happened to Roy’s eight-year-old son, Little Nancy.
Stuart Green—the eldest son of the Stuart Family—killed him.
From that moment onward, the conflict escalated.
The One-Sword Dojo launched an all-out counterattack.
The Stuart Family was no match for them and disappeared completely, never showing themselves again.
Until yesterday.
Master had received information that the Stuart Family had resurfaced.
Now, inside the One-Sword Dojo’s secret chamber, the four of them had gathered together to discuss their plans.
Tomorrow, they would travel to the island where the Stuart Family had been spotted, investigate the situation, and finally settle the score.
Inside the chamber, Roy was no longer wearing his usual carefree smile.
His eyes were filled with bone-deep hatred.
“Master, those bastards really have returned to the East Blue?
That’s great.
I’ll make them wish they were dead.
I want to set sail and find them right now!”
Roy gritted his teeth as he questioned the authenticity of the information.
It was obvious just how deeply he hated the Stuart Family.
“Don’t act recklessly, Roy.
Don’t you know how dangerous it is to sail at night?
Even if we’re seeking revenge, we need to make adequate preparations and carefully discuss our strategy.
Do you want to repeat the tragedy from last time?”
Long Ounce, who rarely lost his temper, angrily reprimanded Roy.
Just as the group was discussing their countermeasures, Will suddenly sensed something strange.
There was a faint smell in the air.
It reminded him of the scent of soil after rainfall.
Then, almost immediately, he began to feel weak.
“Something’s wrong!
There’s poison in the air!
Get outside!”
Will shouted.
He immediately activated Lightning Mode and kicked a huge hole through the wall.
Master and the others hurried outside.
But the moment they reached the courtyard, they discovered that the previously empty yard now contained three people.
At the front stood a burly middle-aged man with a massive sword strapped to his back.
“Stuart Aiden!
Stuart Green!
Stuart Walker!”
His voice came out as a hoarse roar.
“You three bastards actually dared to show yourselves in front of me!
Today, I’ll kill every last one of you!”
The newcomers were none other than members of the Stuart Family.
The family head, Stuart Aiden, and his two sons, Stuart Green and Stuart Walker.
The One-Sword Dojo hadn’t even needed to go looking for them.
They had come directly to the dojo themselves.
They intended to eliminate the people who had hunted them for years.
“Hahahaha!
Niss, you never expected us to come looking for you ourselves, did you?”
Aiden looked extremely excited.
“Oh, by the way, the information about that island was leaked by me as well.
Today, we’re finally going to settle things with all of you.”
“How do you like the new airborne poison I bought from JOKER at a high price?
Feeling weak all over?”
“What a shame you discovered it so early.
Otherwise, by now, you probably wouldn’t even be able to hold your swords.”
Stuart Aiden was visibly exhilarated.
After years of hiding and running from place to place, he could finally eliminate this thorn in his side and return to his homeland without having to live like a fugitive anymore.
Will discovered that once he activated Lightning Mode, the effects of the airborne poison disappeared.
He no longer felt the slightest discomfort.
Without hesitation, he drew both swords.
Then he charged forward.
He intended to use his superior speed to kill one of the enemies immediately.
Stuart Aiden looked at the unfamiliar young man wielding two swords.
At first, he didn’t pay much attention to him.
But when that young man suddenly erupted with blue lightning and charged toward him, Aiden’s expression changed.
The man’s speed was simply too fast.
Even he could barely react.
Will had already reached him.
He was about to kill the burly middle-aged man wielding the massive sword when, suddenly—
A pink, soft, sticky mass shot toward him at an even greater speed.
Bang!
The pink substance slammed directly into Will and sent him flying.
He was hurled all the way into the forest behind the mountain.
Just as Will was knocked away, a thin old man stepped out from behind Stuart Aiden.
“You didn’t tell me there were four targets,” the old man said calmly.
“And the extra one is surprisingly strong.”
“I’ll pay you another five million Beli,” Stuart Aiden replied.
“Deal with that one.
Killing him would be best, but at the very least, don’t let him return anytime soon.”
Aiden was rather annoyed by the temporary bounty hunter he had hired.
For now, he could only offer a higher price to keep the man under control.
Meanwhile, the six people in the courtyard had each found an opponent.
The battle began.
Bloodshed erupted across the courtyard.
In the forest behind the mountain, Will lay dazed after being thrown through the trees.
It took him quite some time before his vision finally stopped spinning.
His first thought was to return and help his master.
Then he heard a sound slicing through the air above him.
The thin old man was flying toward him.
Will didn’t bother exchanging another word.
He activated Lightning Mode and rushed forward.
His sword slashed across the old man’s waist.
Strangely, the old man didn’t dodge.
The blade cleanly cut him in half.
His two halves fell to the ground.
Splat.
Yet Will didn’t relax simply because he had severed his opponent in two.
He had cut people in half countless times before.
He knew immediately when something was wrong.
The sensation had been wrong.
After hitting the ground, the old man’s body transformed into a huge mass of pink, sticky substance.
The pink mass slowly reshaped itself into a human figure.
Will immediately became vigilant.
Was this some kind of unknown Logia?
Or perhaps a special Paramecia?
His opponent’s body could apparently transform into a mass of pink, sticky material.
Unlike the villains in the manga who would waste time introducing their powers and boasting about how invincible they were, the old man didn’t bother explaining anything.
He simply swung both hands.
Two masses of pink, sticky substance shot toward Will.
Will didn’t deliberately dodge.
He had already been hit by the substance once, and it hadn’t actually harmed his body.
Besides, the mass that had struck him earlier had disappeared while flying through the air.
He dodged one of the incoming masses.
The other he blocked with his sword.
The pink substance stuck to the blade.
The large mass immediately made the sword considerably heavier.
Will moved closer and examined it.
There was a faintly sweet scent coming from the substance.
It was also extremely elastic.
It reminded him of…
chewing gum.
Because of the lightning surrounding his sword, the sticky substance only remained attached for a short while before sliding off and falling to the ground.
The old man’s expression became noticeably uglier when he saw this.
“Gum-Gum Fruit?”
Will tilted his head slightly.
“What a strange ability.
Its defensive and survival capabilities should be pretty strong.
But aside from the move you just used, I wonder what other offensive abilities you have?”
He asked casually, as though making small talk.
In reality, he was fishing for information.
He wanted to confirm whether his opponent really possessed a Gum-Gum Fruit ability.
“You’ll find out.”
The thin old man’s expression didn’t change despite having his ability identified.
“You’ll find out when you’re about to die.”
He was being extremely cautious.
Will’s lightning seemed to have a natural advantage against the restraining properties of his sticky substance, so he didn’t dare underestimate his opponent.
Will stopped wasting words.
He gripped both swords firmly.
Then he charged forward.