"Since we didn't hear any signs of fighting earlier, it's probably that one of our routes was accidentally exposed," Mina said, stepping forward with a frown as she analyzed the situation.
After all, unless someone had spilled the information, there was no way anyone could've known that the Chris Pirates were hauling this much gold. Either it was a slip-up from their own ranks, or word had leaked from the gold exchange houses. With such a huge amount of gold flooding into Water 7 all at once, it wasn't exactly unthinkable for rumors to start spreading.
"Hmph. First, we bring the money back. Then we settle the score." Aeridar snorted coldly. He reached out and seemed to grab at thin air, then flung something invisible across the riverbank.
An instant later, a massive explosion shook a narrow alley on the opposite side. It sounded like a cannon blast, the shockwave whipping out like a hurricane, scattering debris and blowing several hidden attackers right out into the open.
"I don't care how the leak happened. If they had the guts to target us, I'll cut them down myself." Screams of pain rang out in the background, but Aeridar's expression remained cold and unmoved.
And with that, Aeridar and his six companions hopped on a Bluu and began making their way back via the canal.
The entire trip was littered with ambushes; gunmen, snipers, assassins with bombs and blades, but none could escape Aeridar's Observation Haki, which blanketed several hundred meters around him. Most of them didn't even get a chance to attack before Aeridar picked them off one by one.
They were small fry. Nobodies. None of them had Devil Fruit powers. The strongest among them was a middle-aged swordsman, about the same level as Zoro when he first joined Luffy in the main story.
He ended up being blasted to pieces by three consecutive Impact Guns from Aeridar.
The guy died horribly; head shattered like a watermelon, blood and brains splattered everywhere. It was the kind of sight that gave children nightmares and made grown men puke their guts out.
On top of a nearby building, dozens of pirates stood, armed with swords and guns, dressed in a mishmash of colors and styles. But they all had one thing in common: raw terror on their faces as they stared into the distance.
"Gulp... Captain Sawa, we've already lost over a hundred men..." a dark-skinned, bald pirate muttered, sweat pouring down as his legs trembled uncontrollably.
"D-Damn it!" the man called Captain Sawa cursed. A long scar ran from his face down his neck. He wore a black tricorne hat, a thick black coat left open at the chest to reveal a massive fish tattoo, and a pair of tall leather boots. A flintlock and dagger were strapped at his waist. His voice was thick with fear and rage. "That guy... he's a damn monster!"
"C-Captain... but he's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! Are we really gonna go up against that?"
"Why the hell not?!" Sawa snarled, eyes bulging, face twisted with a savage, almost crazed expression. "So what if he's a monster? I've got a 90 million bounty myself! We've got 600 men, so what if we lost 100? There's still 500 more! Guns, cannons... one of those has to kill him! Take him out, and the billion-plus Berries and the Warlord seat are ours!"
"Get down there and take him out! I don't care what it costs, KILL THAT BASTARD!!"
"A seat among the Seven Warlords!"
"Over a billion Berries!"
"Yeah! With this many of us, we can definitely take down that monster!"
"CHARGE! ALL TOGETHER NOW!!"
Riled up by their captain's outburst, and blinded by the glittering promises, the pirates let out wild battle cries, brandishing weapons as they surged forward like beasts on the hunt.
Some of the more muscular officers even leapt straight from the fourth-floor rooftop to join the assault.
"Hmph. A bounty of just 90 million?" Aeridar scoffed. He had been listening the entire time through his Observation Haki, and his voice dripped with contempt.
Two voices called out from behind. Aeridar turned to see Arlan and Dimitri approaching from another street. Their two groups had reunited; ten people in total, four officers and six crewmen. Their clothes were stained with blood; it was clear they'd been through their own battle.
"Looks like there are plenty of lunatics who don't care about dying," Aeridar said coldly, eyes flashing with a chilling gleam.
"Damn mutts care more about the money than their lives," Dimitri grumbled, wiping blood from his cheek. "We had just cashed out and were heading out when the bastards jumped us. Nothing but bottom-feeders, but they came at us like flies. We must've killed at least a few dozen. Things felt off, so we regrouped and came looking for you."
"Greed is the original sin," Aeridar said coolly. "If there's a fifty percent profit, someone will risk it. If it's a hundred percent, they'll trample every human law. And at three hundred percent? They'll commit any crime, even if it means hanging from the gallows."
"Blinded by greed, people lose all sense of their own limits. And once they can't see themselves clearly, they walk straight into hell."
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap...
The others burst into applause, eyes gleaming with admiration as they looked at Aeridar. It was almost fervent, borderline worship.
"...Get lost," Aeridar muttered, deadpan.
"Heh heh~ So, Captain, what's the plan now?" Arlan asked with an awkward laugh.
"The plan?" Aeridar raised an eyebrow, glancing at the horde of pirates now less than a hundred meters away. "Dimitri, Backan, Millie, Mina... you four take the crew and bring the money back safely. Arlan, Gorbo... you're with me. Let's clean up this trash."
"Today, I'm taking out the garbage in Water 7. Let them understand, not just anyone can become a Warlord of the Sea."
There were far too many fools in the world who couldn't recognize their own limits. They really believed they could bet it all with some half-baked skills and take out a true heavyweight, dreaming of overnight glory.
Like that one moron from the original story, back at Sabaody Archipelago. Thought he could snipe Admiral Kizaru and make a name for himself. Didn't even know what a Logia-type Devil Fruit was. The fact that guy survived that long was a miracle in itself.
"No problem. We've got the money covered." Dimitri smiled, reaching for the large black case of Berries in Aeridar's hand.
"Don't worry... Captain," Backan added, pounding his chest with a thump-thump. As a Rust-Rust Fruit user, most conventional weapons wouldn't even scratch him.
"Captain, we leave those bastards to you!" Millie and Mina's big, watery eyes sparkled with resolve. They clenched their small white fists, huffing angrily.
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