Ten thousand meters beneath the waves, on Fish-Man Island, the smash-a–Celestial Dragon business was booming. Gold poured in by the day, and with the windfall came change. Smiles bloomed on every face. Their devotion to Lord Liu Yun had edged into something close to worship.
"Good thing Lord Liu Yun protects Fish-Man Island. Otherwise who knows what would have become of us," a catfish fish-man said, spear in hand, to a squid fish-man beside him, voice full of relief.
"Hah, you even need to say it? Remember what this place used to look like? And now? Night and day," the squid fish-man said, practically glowing. Thanks to a few connections he had been assigned to "oversee" the island's hottest business. In practice, no one dared make trouble here. Liu Yun's sigil and the three posted rules loomed large. Anyone who came to cause a scene was gambling with their life.
"Hey, look. A bunch of ships coming in. Wonder which Grand Pirates they are. Heh, looks like our next big payday," the catfish fish-man grinned, rows of needle teeth on display. No one around him so much as flinched.
Most patrons were pirates of murky origin or merchants with scores to settle. All of them had tasted Celestial Dragon cruelty. That was why they happily paid top coin to thrash a fallen World Noble and vent the bile in their chests.
"Wait. That Jolly Roger looks familiar," the squid fish-man blurted, color draining from his face. "That's Big Mom's flag."
A hiss tore through the guards. "Big Mom? Why would her ships come here?"
They had hosted big-name pirates before, but none who cast a shadow like Charlotte Linlin. Nervous gulps echoed along the line. No one wanted the Big Mom Pirates looking for trouble on Fish-Man Island.
The ships, gaudy and lavish, docked with practiced ease. A group strode straight toward the arena.
At their head minced a young man dressed like a circus act, face painted, heels clacking, taking dainty little steps. His smile oozed arrogance.
"Yoh hoh hoh. So this is the famous place on Fish-Man Island where you get to beat up Celestial Dragons?" Charlotte Ninz drawled, lips curling.
Around them, pirates paused mid-swing and melted back, clearing a wide space. No one wanted to test that surname.
"Isn't that Big Mom's son, Charlotte Ninz?" a veteran pirate whispered. The name rippled outward on a tide of sharp intakes of breath.
Headsman Ninz was notorious in the New World. Not because his strength was unmatched, but because his methods were. None who crossed blades with him lived. He always took the head. The nickname stuck.
"Oh? You lot have some eyes on you," Ninz chuckled, sweeping the crowd with a languid gaze.
His personal bounty wasn't impressive. Plenty of pirates swaggering around Fish-Man Island had nine digits on their posters and could carve him up in a straight fight. But background mattered. And Ninz bore the Charlotte name.
Everyone knew what that meant. Charlotte Linlin, Big Mom, was one of the terrors of the New World. For sweets alone she would sack a nation. Monstrous did not begin to cover it.
"Hey, vermin. Are those real Celestial Dragons, or did you drag in a few lookalikes to cheat your customers?" Ninz turned, voice dripping disdain.
The catfish fish-man kept his tone steady despite the pounding in his chest. "Of course they're real. Lord Liu Yun, our island's guardian, captured them himself. Everyone here knows it."
The moment he invoked Lord Liu Yun, his courage steadied. Big Mom was terrifying, yes, but they were not helpless. Liu Yun was a man who had leveled Mary Geoise with a casual hand. If these people wanted to make trouble on Fish-Man Island, they were slighting him. When he returned, they would pay.
"Oh, is that so?" Ninz snorted. "Lord Liu Yun, my foot. Think he's invincible now? He's not fit to carry Mama's shoes."
The pirates from Big Mom's fleet roared with laughter. They had seen the newspapers. They simply didn't believe them. In this era, who took a headline at face value? For all they knew, Liu Yun had slipped the press a fat sack of berries to puff him up. It had been done before.
"Fat pig, are you really a Celestial Dragon?" Ninz sauntered up to a noble whose face was so swollen and bloody it was barely human. Contempt dripped from every word.
"You filthy commoner," the man spat. "You dare stand before a Saint without kneeling? When the Five Elders destroy that cur Liu Yun, I will see every last one of you chained as slaves."
"Yoh hoh hoh, I'm terrified," Ninz crooned. "That entitled tone tells me you're the genuine article. I've taken plenty of heads in my time, but never one of you World Nobles. I wonder if they feel any different."
The Celestial Dragon blanched. The Fish-Man Island guards, too, began to sweat. Lord Liu Yun had permitted the nobles to be beaten, yes, but he had never said they could be killed.
Ninz's answer was to ease his saber from its sheath with a slow, savoring motion. He ran his tongue across his lips, eyes gleaming with manic delight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to add this story to your Library, drop a review, and leave a Power Stone if you enjoyed it!
"Want to stay ahead of the game? Advanced chapters are up on my Patron. If you're enjoying the ride, swing by and check them out."
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"