Marine G-51 Branch, Port.
The Nismael Kingdom's royal merchant ship, the 'Eikjourn', was still quietly docked.
The grand banquet inside the branch had already begun, with the marines and the merchant ship's managers enjoying fine food and wine.
And at this moment, on the deck of the merchant ship.
"I'm so jealous... I heard the Steward prepared a 100,000 Belly gift for every marine this time."
A guard from the Nismael Kingdom was sighing. "Especially that Captain Aster... I heard the treasure the kingdom gave him privately is worth this much."
He held up his hand to show a number, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"You don't get it, do you?"
The old guard next to him chuckled knowingly. "That Captain Aster is no simple man. Previously, when Steward Mantar was transporting a ship of slaves, there was an accident at Master Port, and several slaves escaped and went to the Marine branch for help."
"Among the slaves was a woman, a special piece of cargo from the 'Bloom Tribe'—that's high-class stuff!"
As he said this, the guard next to him looked astonished.
The Bloom Tribe—a special race on the seas.
On the surface, they look like ordinary humans, but their bodies emit a floral fragrance, their proximity makes plants grow, and their sweat is one of the world's best nectars.
A female of the Bloom Tribe fetches a price no less than a female mermaid, with a starting bid of 50,000,000 Belly at the Sabaody Archipelago.
You can imagine, if cargo like that escaped, Steward Mantar would have been in deep trouble.
But...
"It was Captain Aster who sent those slaves back to the Steward and destroyed all the related help requests."
The old guard chuckled. "Now you get it, right? The Marines are our important 'protective umbrella', so of course the Steward has to give them enough benefits!"
Hearing this, the younger guard became even more envious.
However, the old guard quickly changed the subject. "You don't have to be too envious. Our haul this time was considerable. Steward Mantar will give us some rewards."
And hearing him mention this, the young guard was no longer sleepy.
"Isn't that the truth? Who would have thought there'd be such a great beauty in a fishing village on a small island, who ended up being favored and bought by a Celestial Dragon."
As he said this, he swallowed hard.
The old guard also nodded. "Yeah, that World Noble offered a Devil Fruit and two hundred million Belly in exchange. Counting the other slaves this time, we've earned a total of five hundred million Belly... Huh!?"
He was halfway through his sentence when his expression changed drastically.
Because at that moment, the two guards found their legs, necks, bodies, and hands were all firmly held.
And before they could struggle.
Two daggers pierced through their bodies from behind.
"Six, no, seven... intruders?"
The old guard quickly assessed the number of intruders in his mind before collapsing heavily.
Then, the seven intruders quickly dragged the fallen guards into a corner and stripped off their clothes.
After doing this, all seven intruders began to breathe heavily.
And if one looked closely, they would discover a startling fact.
The seven intruders who had snuck onto the ship all had the exact same appearance—it was none other than the young pirate named 'Alan'.
Needless to say.
This was naturally Alan himself, along with his six remaining Slice Clones.
"Keli..."
At this moment, Alan's low voice sounded as if he was about to break his teeth. From the two guards' conversation, he had naturally figured out Keli's fate.
"No... I can't be hasty. Grandpa and the others are still in the hold... I have to save them first..."
But he quickly suppressed his anger for the time being. Then, two of his clones changed into the two guards' clothes.
"In fifteen minutes, it'll be the changing of the guard. The hold will be opened. I can take the opportunity to sneak in and rescue Grandpa and the others."
He went over all the details of his plan in his mind.
That's right.
From the moment he wrote that threatening letter, claiming to be a pirate and forcing this merchant ship to stop at Master Port, he had been observing everyone's every move on this ship from afar, waiting for his plan to begin.
"At that time, there will only be four guards left in the hold for a short period... I'll take out two with a surprise attack first. As for the remaining two, I'll have to risk my life!"
Thinking of this, Alan couldn't help but recall the strange Marine captain his 'sacrificial' clone had encountered earlier.
For some reason, that person seemed to know his plan, and every word he said hit right at its core.
"But according to the information synced from my clone, he doesn't seem to have returned to port... Was he just bluffing me?"
Thinking of this, Alan shook his head vigorously.
Things having come to this, he no longer had the luxury of overthinking.
He was well aware of his own strength.
Although the fruit he ate as a child gave him a special ability.
He was, after all, just an ordinary boy from a fishing village—the only reason he wasn't captured as a slave like the others was pure luck; he just happened to be away from the village at the time.
Even if he and all his Slice Clones attacked together, they might not be able to defeat three of the kingdom's guards in a head-on fight.
Therefore, he only had one chance.
"I must focus! Focus!"
Just as he was thinking this.
"Tweet!"
A sharp whistle broke the silence of the merchant ship, coming from behind him.
Alan looked behind him in disbelief.
At that moment, the two guards he had stabbed were struggling to sit up.
"Kid... first time killing someone, huh?"
The old guard was still bleeding, but he was smiling grimly.
"You were nervous. With such a short dagger, you had to hit our heads, hearts, or vital organs... but you missed them all! Idiot!"
As he spoke, dozens of guards, having heard the whistle, began to rush out from the ship's hold.
"It's an intruder!"
"Why invade now? There's no treasure on our ship."
"Doesn't matter, just capture them first!"
"Wait, these intruders... are they septuplets?"
As soon as they saw Alan and the two injured guards, they immediately understood the situation.
At this moment, Alan's face was deathly pale.
As mentioned before—he only had one chance.
But it was clear that chance was now gone.
The next moment, he heard the old guard say, "Don't kill him, they're not septuplets—this guy must be a Devil Fruit user... He's valuable cargo! Capture him alive!"
Hearing this, Alan's pale face suddenly flushed red.
He suddenly gripped the dagger in his hand tightly.
"You scum... I..."
He would not become a slave—not even in death!
And so, he and his six clones charged at the guards with their daggers.
But it was clearly meaningless.
Just two minutes later, Alan and his clones were lying on the deck, covered in blood.
"Which one is the main body?"
"Who cares, just grab them all."
"We're going to be rich, Devil Fruit user slaves are very popular!"
As they spoke, several guards walked forward with sinister smiles, reaching out to grab Alan.
"Damn it... Damn it..."
Alan, lying on the ground, wanted to resist, but he was immediately pinned down, unable to move.
But just at that moment...
"Boom!"
He suddenly heard the sound of something tearing through the air.
Then, he clearly felt the force holding him down vanish instantly, replaced by some warm liquid splashing onto his body.
This allowed him to struggle and look in front of him.
In their place was a huge hole in the deck.
Through the hole, he could see the blood and corpses of the guards below—the source of the warm liquid on his body.
"Who!?"
"What's with this hole?"
"What happened?"
"Look! In the sky!"
Then, he heard the guards' wary voices.
He subconsciously raised his head.
And then, he saw a sight that he was destined to never forget for the rest of his life.
In the pitch-black sky, the full moon hung high.
Moonlight scattered on the waves, creating a silvery-white sheen.
And at the same time, a figure stood in the center of the moon in the sky.
He wore a rooster mask on his face and was slowly retracting his fist.
"Who is that guy? An accomplice of the intruder?"
"He can fly? Is he a Devil Fruit user too?"
"Quick! Shoot him down with your guns!"
The guards raised their weapons, discussing amongst themselves.
But at that moment, some of them had already noticed something was wrong.
For example, the old guard who had been stabbed by Alan now noticed that—while the figure was indeed standing in the air, a closer look revealed his feet were making slight stepping motions.
"That's..."
As a knowledgeable veteran, the old guard had heard of this technique, and combined with the punch that had just shattered the deck...
"Wrong! This is wrong!"
The old guard immediately tried to give a command.
"Retreat quickly, inform Steward Mantar and Captain Aster, this guy is a monster..."
But it was clearly too late.
"Swoosh!"
With a speed almost invisible to the naked eye and a fierce tearing sound in the air, the old guard saw the figure in the sky vanish in an instant.
"Excellent."
The next moment, a low voice sounded in his ear.
"To encounter scum like you on my first mission... allows me to have a good... satisfying hunt!"
As the low voice sounded, the old guard felt his vision fly high into the air.
Then, he saw his own body.
He realized it wasn't him flying, but just his head.
And in that brief moment of remaining consciousness.
The old guard saw the figure in the rooster mask charge into the crowd like a phantom, without a moment's hesitation.
And so, screams and cries of battle echoed in the dark night.
In the pitch-black night sky, the full moon hung high.
Moonlight spilled onto the deck, as if stained with the color of blood.