"You damn Navy, still daring to fire cannons at me? Hahaha, now you know who's stronger!"
A bald, burly man wearing a captain's hat laughed hideously, then looked up at the execution platform with eyes full of reverence:
"Even a Navy Vice Admiral couldn't beat you. Hey! Boss Shano, take us in! From now on, we'll follow you!"
That shout instantly ignited the pirates' frenzy, and even more voices echoed in agreement—
"That's right! With you leading, who else in the East Blue can stop us? Everything will belong to us!"
"Use your brain! Forget just the East Blue. With Boss Shano, we should be going after the entire Grand Line!"
"What are we waiting for, brothers?! With Boss Shano backing us, the Navy in this town is nothing! Let's loot this damn town first!"
"Loot Loguetown! Kill any Navy who dares to stop us! Offer all the treasure to Captain Shano! Kill!!!"
At the edge of the square, a number of pirates immediately laughed wildly, excitedly smashing down the broken doors of the remaining shops. The screams of women and the cries of children came from within.
How could this be happening?
The people of Loguetown instantly fell into panic.
That person named Shano... wasn't he the one known throughout the East Blue for his acts of justice and punishing evil?
How did he become a vicious pirate too?!
—BOOM!
The chaos had barely erupted for a few seconds when two crescent-shaped, ghostly blue shockwaves swept down from the execution platform. Instantly, dozens of pirates were sent flying like bowling pins, screaming in pain.
A few unlucky ones who were directly hit by the sharp air blades were cut clean in half on the spot, blood spraying everywhere.
The shock effect of this strike was no doubt powerful.
Those pirates who had already broken into the houses were suddenly drenched in cold sweat, not daring to move further. They cautiously retreated back to the square, confused, looking up at the execution platform above.
"Boss Shano..."
The pirate captain who had first spoken gave a sheepish laugh, "We were trying to give this whole town to you as a gift for joining up. W-What do you mean by this...?"
"I think you've misunderstood something."
Shano withdrew his right leg and looked coldly down at the pirates below:
"Before you go lumping me in with you lot, you seem to have forgotten just why I became famous in the East Blue in the first place."
"If I recall correctly, up till now, I've only killed... one—no, two Navy officers. But the number of pirates who've died by my hand? That's a thousand times that."
What did that mean...?
The pirates looked at each other. Suddenly, the excitement and frenzy from before vanished, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them. They were instantly chilled to the bone...
...
Aboard the warship.
Smoker lay weakly against the wall, dazedly staring at the distant rain.
He hadn't fully regained consciousness, and his mind was still muddled.
He could only remember that after fighting the Vice Admiral Ghost Spider, he was knocked out after only a few exchanges. Later, he vaguely opened his eyes and saw—on the distant high execution platform—two new figures had appeared.
One of them was pinned to the ground. After struggling for a while, he stopped moving.
That figure…
Looked like Ghost Spider?
Ghost Spider… died?
How could that be… Smoker gave a self-mocking shake of his head. Had he come to hate the man so much that he now wished he was dead?
But who in Loguetown could possibly defeat him? Must've been a hallucination.
Smoker grabbed the railing with difficulty and had just stood up when he heard a shrill scream from nearby:
"Go! Are you all deaf, huh?! I said get me out of here, didn't you hear?!"
That voice… sounded familiar… He looked in the direction of the sound, and sure enough, it was the pig-like, fat Altai, furiously beating the head of a Lieutenant Colonel with his golden scepter.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Now is not the time."
That tall, skinny Lieutenant Colonel, head covered in blood, dared not move. "We still have many personnel on the island, they're retreating toward us. The enemy doesn't seem to be pursuing. We have to wait for the others—especially the Major Generals in command—to board the ship. Otherwise, I'll be held responsible by Headquarters..."
"Wait my ass!"
Altai's face suddenly twisted viciously. "And that's your excuse? A bunch of lowly commoners? What's worth waiting for?!"
"Don't forget—your top priority is to escort me safely back to my country! If we stay here, I'll end up buried with that useless Ghost Spider!!!"
Bang bang!
He pulled out a gold-plated pistol from who-knows-where and started shooting wildly. Several Navy soldiers clutched their chests and collapsed instantly.
"See that?! Set sail immediately!"
Altai then pointed the gun at the Lieutenant Colonel, roaring furiously, "Wait even one more second, and I'll kill one more! Starting with you! Let's see if you still dare—"
Thunk!
A dull thud. Altai's eyes rolled back, and he suddenly collapsed forward.
The bloodied, stunned Lieutenant Colonel stared wide-eyed at the figure who had appeared behind Altai: "C-Captain Smoker… you… what…?"
"That damn yelling was annoying as hell… you fat pig…"
Smoker mumbled to himself, hands still cuffed in sea prism stone, raised high above his head. "How did I ever put up with this kind of scum before…"
Thunk!
He smashed both fists down again onto Altai's head, over and over.
Seeing that half of Altai's skull had caved in, and still not satisfied, Smoker grabbed the golden scepter from the ground and stabbed it downward with all his might—
Splurch!
A massive spray of blood burst out, splattering both men's faces. Smoker finally threw the scepter aside, breathing heavily, a rare look of satisfaction on his face.
"You…"
The skinny Lieutenant Colonel, trembling, touched the warm blood on his face, unable to suppress his fear any longer, and suddenly screamed:
What the hell are you screaming for?
Smoker frowned in annoyance and growled: "Hey, tell me—what's going on in Loguetown right now?"
From the conversation he'd overheard earlier, it sounded like the Navy had suffered a devastating defeat and was fleeing? Could it be that what he saw earlier wasn't just a hallucination...?
"What's going on?!!"
The skinny Lieutenant Colonel staggered back several steps in terror and pointed at Smoker. "Y-You bastard! You actually dare ask what's going on?! You've brought a disaster down on us all, don't you know?! You're going to get all of us killed!!"
Not answering, huh?
Smoker sighed and didn't bother with him anymore.
He grabbed the railing, limped along the dock in the opposite direction of the panicked retreating Navy, heading toward the square.
What exactly happened… on that execution platform?