"It's you!"
Capone Bege abruptly turned around. Through the thick cigar smoke, he stared at the man who had appeared silently on the watchtower railing.
A man he had met once before.
"[The Magician] Basil Hawkins!"
The long-haired man sat lightly on the railing as if gravity had no effect on him. His expression remained gloomy and emotionless as he looked at Capone Bege.
"Long time no see, Capone Bege."
Basil Hawkins.
Another pirate rookie once classified among the Supernovas.
"Hmph, brat, sneaking up on people like that. Were you trying to launch a surprise attack?"
Capone Bege sneered coldly.
"My apologies. I had no intention of eavesdropping on your conversation."
Hawkins slowly raised his head, revealing the six vertical markings tattooed across his forehead. He calmly revealed a tarot card decorated with a purple straw doll pattern.
"I merely followed the results of my divination. This location was judged to be auspicious, so I came here."
"Divination? What a load of nonsense."
Capone Bege dismissed it with obvious disdain.
After taking a drag from his cigar, he exhaled smoke and stepped on the face of an unconscious Marine beside him, polishing his leather shoe against the man's cheek.
"What are you doing on this island?"
Hawkins looked directly at him.
"Let's stop testing each other, Capone Bege. I assume you were also brought here from the New World after receiving that invitation."
"..."
Capone Bege lowered his head slightly, allowing the brim of his black fedora to hide his eyes.
At that very moment, another version of himself had already appeared inside the fortress within his Castle Castle Fruit ability, discussing Hawkins' intentions with the crew members serving as his strategists.
Capone Bege never trusted pirates.
Years spent surviving in both the underworld and the Grand Line taught him one thing.
Behind nearly every smile hid betrayal.
After a brief silence, Capone Bege finally looked up again.
"Hmph. You're surprisingly straightforward. So you accepted the invitation too."
Hawkins glanced at the card in his hand.
"I already said it earlier. The probability of refusing was zero percent."
"I had no reason to choose death."
"Besides, I also calculated the probability of gain from coming here."
Another tarot card flipped between Hawkins' fingers before stopping in front of Capone Bege.
[Six of Wands]
The image on the card showed a victorious knight riding a horse while carrying a decorated wand, welcomed home in triumph.
"..."
Capone Bege stared blankly at the card.
He had absolutely no idea what he was looking at.
"Enough with the fortune-teller act. Speak normally."
He frowned impatiently.
Hawkins ignored his attitude completely.
"In simple terms, this divination represents success."
"There is a high probability that I will gain greater opportunities by participating in this event."
The tarot card vanished between his fingers.
"My divination tells me one thing."
"This gamble is worth taking."
"Tch."
Capone Bege scoffed while blowing out smoke.
"You really trust your life to a bunch of cards. Ridiculous."
"This is both my decision and fate's arrangement."
Hawkins stepped down from the railing effortlessly before turning toward the streets below.
"Someone is coming."
Whoosh!
The moment his words fell, a figure rushed past below at incredible speed.
"You filthy pirates! Just wait until the Marines arrive! A Marine Admiral is coming soon! You're all dead!"
A panicked woman was being carried away on the figure's back while screaming nonstop.
"Apapapapapa~~~"
Before the pursuers even appeared, an obnoxious laugh echoed through the streets first.
"You can't escape, Celestial Dragon woman! That CP0 agent already had his insides wrecked by my sound attacks. He won't get far!"
A group of strangely dressed pirates quickly rushed into view.
"Apapapapapa~~~"
The moment Capone Bege and Hawkins saw the leader, they recognized him immediately.
"Oh, it's him."
"He's here too."
Leading the pirate crew was a man wearing headphones and glasses, dressed in bright red clothing with a long braid hanging behind him. His unusually long arms made him stand out even more.
Captain of the On Air Pirates.
Another member of the Supernovas.
[Roar of the Sea] Scratchmen Apoo.
"Huff... huff... that CP0 bastard runs way too fast..."
One of Apoo's subordinates bent over while gasping for breath.
"Mr. Apoo, let's stop chasing them already! We should leave this place! That Celestial Dragon said a Marine Admiral is coming!"
Apoo curled his lips mockingly before rhythmically beatboxing.
"Boom-cha-ta ♪ Ta-boom-ta ♬"
"So what if a Marine Admiral is coming?"
"In this era, the Marines don't control everything anymore!"
"Apapapapapa~~~"
"And besides, what are you scared of?"
"Did you forget how we got here?"
"We've got an insanely powerful backer behind us!"
Apoo casually turned around.
Then suddenly, his Observation Haki screamed a warning.
His body stiffened instantly as he looked toward the watchtower.
"Eh?"
When he recognized the two figures above, his face immediately lit up with a huge grin.
"Apapapapapa~~~ So it's you guys!"
He waved enthusiastically.
"Want to join me in hunting down a Celestial Dragon? This kind of opportunity doesn't come often!"
Silence.
Both Capone Bege and Hawkins stared at him expressionlessly.
Declined.
"Hmph."
Capone Bege snorted with visible annoyance.
"Another loud idiot showed up."
Hawkins calmly added:
"Fate has gathered us here."
"Fate?"
A teasing voice suddenly sounded from directly behind them.
"Are you talking about me?"