Kalga Kingdom, North Shore Port.
The sky was dark and heavy.
"Cough, cough..."
On the pier, the cold wind whipped up coal ash, choking people and making it hard to open their eyes.
The ground was covered in mud and cinder, but a bright red carpet had been rolled out across it.
It stretched from the front of the pier all the way to a carriage on the shore.
The red carpet looked wrong against the mud and ash.
On both sides of the carpet, hundreds of thin, barely clothed citizens knelt in the freezing muddy water. Their heads were bowed, and they kept their breathing as quiet as possible.
Fully armed kingdom soldiers stood behind them. They held their spears so hard that their knuckles turned white.
No one dared to look up.
The person about to land was not someone they were allowed to face.
Out on the sea.
A massive flagship was slowly docking. On its tallest mast, beside the World Government flag, hung a white flag bearing the bright red Hoof of the Soaring Dragon.
The clean white ship, decorated with gold reliefs, looked completely out of place among the broken fishing boats around it.
Clang.
The giant cabin door slowly lowered and hit the pier with a heavy sound.
A squad of CP0 agents in white suits and strange masks walked down first, checking the area around them.
Behind them came a man wearing a bulky white spacesuit and a large transparent helmet.
World Noble, Celestial Dragon, Saint Jaygarcia Brax.
Through the helmet, his face looked pale, swollen, and greasy. His cheeks sagged, and drool hung from the corner of his mouth. Every breath left a small white mist on the inside of the helmet.
He held a thick gold chain in his hand.
The other end of the chain was attached to a burly slave wearing an explosive collar, forced to crawl on all fours.
Saint Brax stepped onto the red carpet.
Even through the thick suit and air filter, he still raised a hand and fanned the air in front of his helmet.
"It stinks..."
"Why is the air here full of the stench of lower-class people? Is this a non-member kingdom? It really is like a pigpen."
At the very back of the group, a Marine officer in a dark red suit walked down.
He wore a large Justice coat and pulled the brim of his cap down low, hiding most of his face and revealing only a sharp jaw.
Vice Admiral Sakazuki, one of Headquarters' strongest candidates for Admiral.
Snow melted before it touched his coat.
He stood at the cabin door and looked at the crowd kneeling in the mud. Then he looked at the Celestial Dragon still complaining about the air.
His jaw tightened for a moment.
"Your Holiness!"
Right then, King Hark spoke from the mud.
He had been waiting for a long time. Now he crawled forward through the muddy water on his hands and knees.
He was only in his forties, but he looked much older than he was.
His once-black hair was already graying, and heavy bags hung under his eyes. His royal robes were soaked with mud.
He crawled to Saint Brax's feet, lowered his head, and kissed the white boot.
"The Kalga Kingdom... welcomes Saint Brax."
His forehead stayed close to the mud as he spoke.
"Get lost."
Saint Brax did not even look at him. He raised his foot and kicked Hark hard in the shoulder, like kicking a rock out of the way.
Thud!
Hark cried out. He rolled twice in the muddy water, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
But he did not dare to wipe it away.
He immediately crawled back into position, kept kneeling, and forced a smile.
"Even for a temporary hunting ground, this place is too shabby."
Saint Brax looked down at the king of a nation. His double chins shook as he spoke.
"There used to be a grand hunting competition every three years, but you keep making excuses not to hold it lately. It forced me to come to this backwater dump, where even the air smells sour, just to have some fun."
"I hope the prey you prepared will catch my interest."
"If you try to fool me with cripples who can't even run..."
Saint Brax shook the gold chain in his hand. The slave on the ground immediately played along, letting out a rough growl.
"I'll peel your skin off and make a new cushion for my pet."
"I... I wouldn't dare! Absolutely not!"
Hark shivered and hit his forehead against the mud at the edge of the red carpet.
"Everything... everything is ready, Your Holiness."
"Blackstone Town to the west... It is a complete town. There are elders, children, women... Everything is kept exactly as it was."
At this point, Hark's nails dug into the dirt, and his fingertips began to bleed.
"Five hundred and twelve citizens... They are all there. No one has left."
In exchange for a recommendation letter from this member of the Jaygarcia family.
So the Kalga Kingdom could qualify to become a member nation of the World Government.
So Marine warships could enter these waters and drive away the pirates who came to loot and slaughter every month.
So the tens of thousands of remaining citizens could survive.
The king had handed over five hundred and twelve of his own people.
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Saint Brax finally smiled inside his helmet.
"A town kept exactly as it was? With elders and children?"
"Not bad... not bad."
He nodded in satisfaction.
"It only feels good to kill prey that will scream, run, and fight back to protect their young. Just killing strong men who stand there like logs is too boring."
After saying that, he turned his head, looked at Sakazuki standing at the back of the group, and ordered him.
"Hey, Marine. Bring your men and follow me to the town. If those prey run out and bump into me, I'm holding you responsible."
Sakazuki slowly raised his head.
From under the brim of his cap, he looked at the Celestial Dragon's swollen face, then at Hark kneeling in the mud.
Sakazuki ignored the Celestial Dragon and turned to the masked CP0 captain beside him.
"My mission is to escort the flagship safely to its destination. As for the game on the island, that is your job."
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki."
The CP0 captain took one step forward.
"This is an order. Protecting the Celestial Dragons is the highest duty of the Marines. Are you trying to disobey orders?"
"Hmph."
Sakazuki scoffed. He took a cigar from his pocket, and a small flame popped up from his fingertip to light it.
He took a deep drag and blew out a thick cloud of smoke.
"In this middle-of-nowhere place, there isn't even a decent Haki user. If CP0 cannot handle a hunting game, then you have failed your own duty."
After saying that, he ignored Saint Brax's face turning pale with rage. He turned and walked toward the coastline outside the port.
"I'm going to clear out the Sea Kings in the surrounding waters."
"Bastard! What was that look for? Stop right there!"
Saint Brax shouted from behind.
His fat body shook with anger. He stomped and screamed inside his helmet, spraying spit all over the transparent visor.
"How dare a Marine ignore me?! You serve the World Government! You serve us! I'm going to tell the Five Elders! I'll have Kong throw you into Impel Down!"
"Come back! Come back here!"
But no matter how much he shouted, the dark red figure in the Justice coat did not stop. He quickly disappeared into the blowing snow.
Sakazuki had to tolerate the existence of the Celestial Dragons to maintain order.
That did not mean he was willing to watch this slaughter with his own eyes.
At that moment, Sakazuki made up his mind.
Next time, even if it meant disobeying orders, he would never take a mission like this again.
On the dirt road leading to Blackstone Town.
A massive, luxuriously decorated carriage struggled forward in the mud. The wheels crushed rocks on the road, making a creaking sound.
Inside the carriage.
Saint Brax had taken off the heavy helmet. Holding a glass of red wine, he discussed the upcoming "rules" with the CP0 captain.
He was still angry about that "disobedient dog" from earlier, but when he thought about the game about to start, he began to smile again.
"It's rare for me to come out, so I must enjoy myself this time. Hey, are the scoring rules all set?"
The CP0 captain took out a small notebook and began to report.
"They have been drafted according to your request, Your Holiness."
"Ordinary adult men, because they have more stamina, are set at 2 points."
"Young women, because their screams can improve the atmosphere, are set at 2 points."
"If you hit them in the head from behind while they are running away, that is an extra 1 point."
Saint Brax swirled his wine glass, clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, and interrupted him.
"Why are men only 2 points? That kind of prey can run the most, and they are the most fun to chase. Giving them such a low score leaves me with no motivation to kill them."
"It was my mistake."
The CP0 captain immediately crossed out a line with his pen and wrote again.
"Adult men, with plenty of stamina and stronger ability to resist and run, are changed to 3 points."
"That's more like it."
Saint Brax stretched out his fingers, covered in gem rings, and gestured in the air.
"A mother holding a child... counts as 5 points. That's a harder target."
"If one shot can pierce through both mother and child, that's 10 points! Two lives with one bullet. That picture is art."
"As for those old things who can't run..."
Saint Brax twisted his mouth in disgust.
"Zero points. They are just trash that wastes bullets. If we see them, have the guards deal with them so they don't dirty my gun."
"Yes, recorded."
The CP0 captain recorded the rules without changing his posture, as if he were writing down numbers instead of human lives.
...
Blackstone Town.
This small town on the western border of the Kalga Kingdom was silent in a strange way.
At the town's exit, several rows of simple wooden barricades were stacked roughly. A bright red warning line completely cut the place off from the outside world.
Outside the warning line stood dozens of kingdom soldiers, armed with loaded guns.
Most of them were young, some still looking like boys. The hands holding their guns shook badly. Some bit their lips so hard that they started to bleed.
"Captain..."
A young soldier looked at the familiar streets inside the town. His words broke apart.
"My aunt lives in there... and Mary from next door... They even brought me roasted sweet potatoes yesterday..."
"Are we really going to... really going to just watch them die?"
"Shut up!"
The old captain clamped a hand over his mouth and pressed him hard into the muddy trench.
This tough man, who had never shed a tear through countless pirate raids, was already crying. He forced the words through clenched teeth.
"Don't look! Don't think! And don't make a sound!"
"This is for the country... so more people can live..."
"If we let them escape, the deal is off! When the pirates return next month, more than five hundred people will die... even more towns will be destroyed!"
"Only by becoming a member nation of the World Government can we be protected. To survive... we must accept this!"
Inside the warning line.
The townspeople knew nothing about the hell that was coming.
They had only received a notice asking everyone to stay in town and not run around.
Because pirates were common, things like this had happened before, so no one thought much of it.
At the entrance of the tavern, a few older men who could not go out to fish were squatting by the wall. They smoked cheap tobacco and complained that they still had not figured out how to pay for today's drinks.
On the street, a mother in an apron stood at her door, shouting for her playful child to come home for dinner.
"Tommy! Stop playing! Come back! The soup is getting cold!"
In an open space not far away, the boy named Tommy was holding a freshly folded paper airplane, running happily in the wind.
"Fly! Fly! Fly out of the mountains! Fly over the sea!"
Riding the wind, the paper airplane drifted unsteadily over the warning line and landed by the young soldier's feet.
The soldier looked at the paper airplane.
It was folded from an old newspaper, and a crooked smiley face was drawn on it.
In that moment, he could not hold it back anymore.
The soldier shut his eyes. He buried his head deep into the dirt beside him.
His shoulders shook, but he made no sound.
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