Hachinosu Island, a few hours ago.
An atmosphere of oppressive panic replaced the usual boisterous smell of alcohol, shrouding the sky above this pirate paradise.
"Search carefully! Don't miss a single corner!"
"Maron... and his subordinates... they're all... dead!"
"How is this possible! Gang Boss Maron is an important great executive of the Rocks Pirates! With his immense strength! Who could have killed him!"
"Who on earth did this?! Did you not hear a single sound?!"
"What did you say?! Not even a warning signal was sent out?!"
Panicked shouts and incredulous roars echoed throughout the harbor area.
Maron, known as the "Gang Boss," was a force not to be underestimated on Hachinosu Island. Its leader, Maron, not only possessed impressive strength but was also the uncrowned king of the Underworld gangs!
However, just last night, his entire core team was discovered to have been silently annihilated within their stronghold. This heinous incident was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly alarming all the big figures on the island.
Yet, compared to the death of a Pirate Crew leader, the next piece of news that followed was what truly shocked the entire Hachinosu Island, and even the entire pirate world—
Shakky had gone missing.
At the same time the Maron Pirate Crew was wiped out, the proprietress of "Shakkys Rip-off Bar," Shakky—that peony blooming in a barren land, the one who brought vitality to all of Hachinosu Island and was regarded by all pirates as a treasure in their hearts that could not be profaned—had gone missing.
The bar was in a mess, showing traces of a brief struggle, but the enemy's actions were extremely swift and professional; the entire process likely took no more than ten minutes.
When the first pirate, filled with Yearning, arrived in line early in the morning and discovered the abnormality, the place was already empty, leaving behind only overturned glasses and a faint, strange scent in the air that did not belong to Shakky.
The crime took place within a few hours, yet it was as clean and swift as a ghost, leaving no directional clues whatsoever.
The news spread across Hachinosu Island like a plague.
"Impossible! Miss Shakky!!"
"Who is it?! Which bastard dared to touch Miss Shakky!!"
"Find them! Tear them to pieces!!"
The pirates were completely crazed; rage and panic intertwined in their eyes.
For these desperadoes who lived on the edge of a blade and whose hearts had long since become rough and numb, Shakky's existence was the only gentle light in the darkness, the final imagination they had for the word "beauty."
Her disappearance touched the most inviolable bottom line in everyone's heart.
In a certain room, Shikaku had several chests filled with Berries and treasure spread out before him; this was the "remuneration" he had received after just completing a certain "transaction."
"Kehehehehe!"
He toyed with the glittering treasures with his fingers, making crisp clinking sounds, and let out a greedy laugh.
"You must be safe and sound! Shakky—!!!" A pirate cried out a heart-wrenching prayer to the sea, his voice filled with despair.
When the news of Shakky's kidnapping rushed out of Hachinosu Island and spread across the New World, and even the entire world, the shock it caused was unprecedented.
Meanwhile, in an unknown stretch of sea, aboard the oro jackson.
Roger angrily tore open the newspaper he had just received and roared, "What is that bastard Rocks doing?!"
"Doesn't he claim to be the Overlord of the Seas?! He can't even protect the people on his own turf?!"
"I'm going to Hachinosu Island! I'm going to drag out the bastard who kidnapped Shakky and beat him until even his mother won't recognize him!!"
The others of the Roger Pirates also angrily chimed in.
Rayleigh tightly gripped a newspaper featuring Shakky; his eyes, which were usually filled with a free-spirited and wise light beneath his glasses, were now bloodshot, and the hand holding the paper trembled slightly.
The report on the newspaper about Shakky's disappearance was vague, which only added to the terrifying speculation.
From this day on, the usual smile on Rayleigh's face completely vanished, replaced by an unbreakable gloom and heaviness.
He often sat alone at the stern of the ship, gazing into the distance, saying not a word.
Because of Shakky's disappearance, the Order on Hachinosu Island and the surrounding waters was once on the verge of collapse; many underground intelligence networks and information exchanges came to a standstill, indirectly affecting black market transactions and capital flows in certain regions, causing the pulse of the world economy in some areas to experience weeks of stagnation and chaos...
"Shakky..." On a street of Hachinosu Island, Gloriosa whispered, her small face covered in undried tear tracks.
As the former Captain of the Kuja Pirates, Shakky had grown up under her care; she and Shakky were not kin, yet they were closer than family.
Thinking that Shakky, whom she regarded as a younger sister, might be imprisoned and suffering unknown torture, Gloriosa felt a pang of heartache and couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Alright, stop crying, Gloriosa." Charlotte Linlin gently patted her back.
"Shakky is fine right now, at least she is not in any life-threatening danger. And I can tell you with certainty that one year from now, she will definitely appear again!"
On the way to Hachinosu Island, she had used her divination ability. In the misty future, clues about Shakky were fragmented, but she had captured a relatively clear time anchor: a convergence one year later.
"Really?! Linlin, is what you said true?!" Gloriosa suddenly looked up, a strong hope bursting forth through her teary eyes, and tightly gripped Charlotte Linlin's fingers.
"When have I ever lied to you?" Charlotte Linlin said with a firm tone, "I said she will appear in a year, so she will definitely appear!"
"Mm! I believe you! Linlin!" Gloriosa nodded vigorously, saying with a choked voice.
Right now, she had a near-blind trust in Charlotte Linlin.
Having received this promise, the heavy stone in her heart finally settled a bit; she quickly wiped away her tears and tried her best to calm her emotions.
Because she knew that what she was about to face was a gathering of the core great executives of the Rocks Pirates, and she absolutely could not show too much weakness in front of outsiders.
Charlotte Linlin led Gloriosa to push open a door located on the skull on the island and stepped into this great hall where the Rocks Pirates held their meetings.
Unlike previous gatherings that were filled with raucous laughter and boasting, the atmosphere inside the great hall at this moment was suffocatingly oppressive.
Many pirates who were usually fierce and malicious were now like children who had lost a beloved possession, their faces covered in tear tracks, beating their chests and stamping their feet, wailing Shakky's name, or angrily cursing the daring kidnapper. Shakky's disappearance seemed to have drained a part of this pirate paradise's soul.
On the main seat at the end of the great hall, Gibeck had his arms crossed over his chest, his tall body radiating a terrifying low pressure, and his face was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water.
Below, Newgate was silently chugging alcohol, Shiki was irritably tapping his fingernails against the armrest of his seat, Shikaku's eyes were flickering as he wondered what he was thinking, and Captain John was looking down in grief... All the great executives present were shrouded in a strange silence or restlessness.
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