Back underground in the swamp, Pecho and the Croablins were celebrating their conquest. Unbeknownst to everyone else, he had snuck on to the stage invisible and grabbed the Titan's Core while everyone else was distracted.
"Ha! Ha! Looks like Hagatha could wait a little longer!" Captain Krunch jeers while twirling the Titan's Cote in his hands.
Pecho smiled, feeling the most proud he's ever been in his life and knowing that he won't get fed to his Captain's monstrous pet, Hagatha, but his brief happiness ended when an explosion came from the wall. The cheers and jeers stops as the Croablins turned around to look at each other in confusion, wondering who was coming down to their swamp.
"Who goes there?!" One of them shouted.
"Phew, took me a while to get here." The mysterious figure says, as he enters the room.
Captain Krunch looks at the small figure in shock. He has come to expect many strange things to wander into his swamp, but even he was puzzled by this encounter. The guy's face looked cat-like with sharp, pointed ears and bright, golden eyes. His whole body from head to toe is covered in bright, rust red fur and he wore a shiny gold chain around his neck.
"Who the hell are you and how did you get here?!" Captain Krunch demanded. The mysterious figure surveys the room.
"Guess this is where you freaks ran off to. I was surprised earlier when you guys raided the auction house, but lucky for me, I saw a green guy skipping around, all happy, so I followed him and he led me over here." He replies.
Captain Krunch furiously looks at Pecho.
"I-I'm sorry…I thought…no one was following me!" Pecho stampers, but Captain Krunch just shakes his head.
"Just when I started to change my mind about you, this happens, but I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same"
"W—wa—wait, hold on a sec!"
"No, Pecho!! I don't want an explanation. I have had enough of you cries! We are tired of you!"
Pecho's face goes pale once again, his body shaking with fear.
"We took you in when no one else wanted you! And, now, I could see why! Clearly your not cut out to be here, and I feel like it's been long overdue, but it is high time for you to get the hell out of my swamp because it's pretty clear that all you'll ever be is a lousy, nincompoop loser!!"
"Hold on, I—I could still fix this! Just give me chance!" Pecho cries, tears falling down his face.
The Croablins took out their weapons, but Captain Krunch waves them off.
"Don't bother, I'm pretty sure Pecho could find a way to die all on his own!"
Pecho tries calling out to him, but Captain Krunch ignores him and turns his attention back too the mysterious figure.
"You…I know the reason why you're here. You're after this, aren't you?!" He asks while holding up the Titan's Core in his hand.
"That's right."
Chuckling, Captain Krunch asks
"Fool, do you know who you are dealing wi—"
"Uh….., Captain Krunch?"
"What is it, Doc King?!"
"Yo—you need to see this."
Doc King hands a piece of paper over to him. Captain Krunch takes a look at it and what he saw made his eyes grow in disbelief.
"42 MILLION?!?" He shouts, dropping the paper on the ground. The other Croablins gathered around and took a look at the bounty poster on the floor and their jaws dropped to the floor.
"No n- …. NO WAY, THAT'S HUGE!!"
"YEAH, IT'S EVEN HIGHER THAN YOURS, CAPTAIN!! YOUR BOUNTY IS ONLY 17 MILLION BONES!!"
Impossible! Captain Krunch thought. There is no way one guy should be worth this much!
"They say he is a ruthless pirate who is obsessed with treasure and he is willing to do anything to get his hands on it. He is the leader of the Steampunk Pirates, the lone pirate known as Gold Chase Bane!"
The Croablins look at Bane in fear and in shock, their bodies completely motionless. Bane, however, just grins back at them.
"Well, looks like that is all that needs to be said. Now hand it over or… else." Bane aggressively demands. The Croablins flinch in response. However, Captain Krunch, still shocked, glares at Bane, his mind still processing.
"No—not so fast. I am Captain Krunch, the leader of the Krunch Pirates, and I'm still the strongest pirate around!!."
"The strongest?"
"Yeah, that's right. It doesn't matter how high your bounty is, you'll still be crushed!! And now that you are here, you have forfeited your life!" Captain Krunch shouts. He lunges at Bane with a spear, but Bane blocks his attack with his forearm and sends him flying to the wall with a simple punch.
"No, Captain Krunch!!" His subordinates wailed. Pecho looks at Bane in complete shock, his mind unable to grasp what just happened.
Who is this guy, he thought.
Pecho rushes to his captain's side to check if he was okay, but Captain Krunch angrily glares at him, and with a vicious slash, he sends Pecho crashing through the bedrock. Pecho's eyes widens in shock, blood gushing everywhere out of him, and he falls to ground unconsciously.