Ever since Sloan and his crew seized control of the town six months ago, every resident was forced to pay a protection fee of 100,000 Berries per month — and 50,000 Berries for each child.
For an average family of three, that added up to a staggering 250,000 Berries every month.
Those who dared to resist were killed on the spot, so the people could only seethe in silence.
In the first two months after taking over, they had even executed former Marine soldier Bell‑mere.
Her adopted daughter, a young girl named Nami, had since been forced to join the Sabertooth Shark Pirates.
Just then, another man dressed in the same police uniform came sprinting over, breathless and pale.
"Everyone — this is bad! More pirates have arrived… and there are nearly a thousand of them!"
"A thousand?!"
Genzo and the others stared in disbelief. In the East Blue, a pirate crew of that size was unheard of.
"They've already landed! Run for your lives!" the officer cried.
"Run? Where can we go?"
"Every route in and out is controlled by the Sabertooth Shark Pirates."
"Is there any point? Even if there are a thousand of them, those Fish‑Men are far too strong. I doubt the newcomers will even get close before they're wiped out…"
In the East Blue, a pirate with a bounty of just over ten million Berries was already considered a major threat.
And after two years of living under the Sabertooth Shark Pirates' reign of terror, the villagers had come to see them as invincible.
Even if a Marine Admiral were to appear, they would still believe Sloan was the stronger of the two.
BOOM… BOOM… BOOM…
As everyone argued over whether to flee or stay, the ground beneath their feet began to shake.
The tremors grew stronger and more frequent with each passing second.
The officer who had brought the news turned around, nearly losing his balance, and pointed toward the sky.
"W‑what in the world is that? That massive shape?!"
All eyes followed his finger. There, slowly moving toward them, loomed a four‑legged skeletal creature two hundred meters long and one hundred meters tall.
"What on earth is that?!"
"Is… is it even human?!"
Mannolos caught sight of Genzo and the villagers and grinned widely. "Master has found the village."
As Mannolos drew closer, the figures of Grimm and his men — tiny by comparison — finally came into view.
But the sight of them was just as shocking to the villagers as the giant skeleton.
Planck, Yasuo, and the others were carrying several Fish‑Men in their hands.
Mattheus, with his iron mask, held one with bright blue skin and thick, protruding lips.
His name was Aji. He was well‑known here as one of the highest‑ranking officers in the Fish‑Man crew, usually patrolling the village perimeter.
Many villagers who had tried to escape had been killed by him, so he was feared almost as much as Sloan himself.
Yet now, this Fish‑Man whom everyone saw as unbeatable was being held like a rag doll by these "ordinary" humans.
"Good thing we made these brats lead the way," Mattheus said.
He tossed Aji high into the air, and Mannolos caught him casually, popping him into his jaws like a piece of candy.
He chewed a few times and swallowed, then grumbled: "Too small. Barely enough to taste."
Genzo and the others were terrified out of their wits — not only had they captured the Fish‑Men, but they were eating them!
"Then here, take the rest too!" Planck gestured at the group of Fish‑Men behind him, who were still conscious but badly beaten and bleeding.
The captives were already trembling with fear. They begged and threatened all at once: "No — please don't!"
"Spare us!"
"Captain Arlong will hunt you down for this!"
But no one paid them any mind. One by one, the dozen or so Fish‑Men were thrown into the air and swallowed whole by Mannolos.
Gulp!
Mannolos let out a deep belch, then frowned. "Ugh… their souls taste absolutely foul."
"Taking over towns in the East Blue really is too easy," Grimm said dismissively, glancing at the pirate flags fluttering everywhere.
He could not help but shake his head at how history repeated itself. No sooner had Arlong left than Sloan had taken his place — it was almost as if fate itself had arranged it.
"Eh, well, Captain — this is the weakest of the four seas," one of his crew members explained.
"You remember how Captain Shiki flew into a rage and stormed Marine Headquarters all those years ago? It was precisely because Roger was executed right here in the East Blue!"
"Enough chattering — we haven't got all day," Planck snapped. He pointed at the villagers. "Bring us some supplies. We'll pay fairly."
"Right away!"
Hundreds of voices replied in unison. Grimm yawned and turned back toward the shore.
"I'm going back to rest. Whatever Sloan does, if he causes trouble, just finish him off."
"Then I'll get back to my duties as a ship too," Mannolos rumbled.
---
Half an hour later…
Several crew members returned from searching the houses, carrying casks of fresh water and other essentials.
"This place is poorer than we thought. Aside from water, there's barely any food to be found — not even enough for a proper feast!"
"Maybe they're hiding it because we're pirates?"
"Must be. We said we'd pay, but they look down on us anyway. If that's how it is, we'll just take what we need."
Hearing this, Genzo stepped forward. "This village has barely enough to survive on as it is. People here are just scraping by."
"That's right!" others echoed.
"Every single person pays 100,000 Berries a month in protection fees to the Sabertooth Shark Pirates. They've taken every last bit of food and supplies we had. If we had more, we'd gladly sell it to you."
With Genzo speaking up first, the villagers quickly opened up, speaking one after another. It was true — they were living in desperate poverty.
"Sabertooth Shark Pirates?"
Planck and Yasuo walked over. Planck adjusted his hat and glanced at the flags flying above.
"You mean them?"
"Yes!" Genzo nodded.
"They take all our money and every bit of food, leaving us only enough to keep from starving."
"In just six months, they've stolen at least a billion Berries from us!" another officer growled angrily.
"A billion?!"
"That's an outrageous sum!"
"These small‑time pirates in the East Blue sure know how to bleed people dry."
"It's nothing but stolen wealth from the innocent."
Planck's eyes widened. Even I don't take that much so openly, he thought.
Back in Artemis, they collected taxes in a more orderly fashion — but this was just plain robbery.
"Where are they now?"
Genzo pointed toward the western edge of the village.
Everyone followed his finger and saw a large, imposing castle standing in the distance.
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