"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."

"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."

"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"

Chapter 02: An Island Enslaved, Return of Don Krieg

"Sabaody Archipelago?" Conis tilted her head as she glanced towards Gin. "What a curious name. Why were all of the big trees numbered?"

"The mangroves?" Gin, who had been facing away from Conis after their initial departure, had since turned and was rowing as he sat facing her. "There are seventy nine of 'em, they're numbered to represent which district they each fall under. You dropped into Grove 45 where I was busy gettin' some supplies before headin' back out. Unlucky for you, the world nobles happened to be nearby." His voice trailed off slightly as he shook his head. "Good thing I didn't hit 'em. We'd be dead."

Conis' big eyes widened in shock as she put a hand to her mouth. "Dead? Why!?"

"The world nobles are the descendants of nineteen of the twenty kings who established the World Government. They've milked that reputation for a long time, and it's turned 'em all into pretty horrible people. If you lay a hand on one of 'em, an admiral from the Marines shows up with a warship." Gin paused as he looked at Conis, trying to judge how she handled the information. She still looked a little uncomfortable from the prospect of being dead, but she didn't seem to be responding to anything he just said. It took Gin a moment before he realized why, shaking his head and grinning. "Sorry, you wouldn't know about any of that, would you? They're bad people, and hittin' them will get you in trouble."

"O-Oh." Conis clenched her fists as they rested on her lap, feeling nervous over the past encounter with the two strangely dressed people who were apparently known as world nobles. After a moment, she eased up and smiled to Gin. "Well, at least they're behind us now! Will they follow us? Where are we going now?"

Gin paused, his eyes dropping to the bottom of the boat. "Now, we try to stay safe from another dangerous guy. If he finds us, he'll kill us too."

Conis hugged herself tightly at Gin's words, biting her lip for a moment before working up the will to respond. "Who... is the other dangerous man?"

"A man I would once lay my life down for, but now he'd try to take it away without a second thought." Gin glanced off at the sea, as if looking towards something. "My old captain. Don Krieg."

"Bwahahaha! Is that so?" The sinister laugh echoed throughout the small chamber as Don Krieg lowered the sheet from his gaze, averting his eyes towards the trembling man before him. He was a small, frail man who was obviously terrified beyond belief to be standing in front of Don Krieg. He stammered, attempting to answer, but nothing came. His response did not appear to sit well with Krieg as he glared back for what felt like an eternity before slamming the sheet down on a table beside his massive stone chair. He rose to his feet, towering over the frail man. "YOU CANNOT EVEN ANSWER ME? HM!?"

The man began to shake uncontrollably as he dropped to his knees, almost crying out in fear at the imposing volume of Krieg's voice. Still unable to respond, Krieg stomped over to the man before shooting his arm out and grabbing hold of the man's face. Gripping his skull tightly, Krieg lifted the man clear off the floor and glared into the terrified eyes that peered out from between his fingers. "You useless old fool! Do you have any idea what I do to those who fail me? Or what I will do to this miserable little piece of shit island that you call a home?"

Krieg did not wait for the man to respond before violently throwing him against the wall. The man collapsed on the floor in pain as Krieg continued to berate him. "Damn old man! Can't even do your job properly? I will see to it that you are made an example of."

"N-No, please!" The old man reached towards Krieg out of desperation. "Anything but that! I... I'll do better, I promise!"

Krieg regarded the man in silence for a moment as he pleaded, arm outstretched, before he suddenly lifted his foot and brought it upon the man's hand, forcing it to the ground where Krieg pressed it tightly to the floor, twisting his heel as he sneered at the man. "I don't believe in promises, old man! You do as I say, not as you promise!" Krieg paused and looked towards the door. "Pearl! Valdivina!"

Entering the room were two of Krieg's subordinates, Pearl and Valdivina. Pearl, a wiley looking man covered from head to toe in pearl-encrusted metallic plates and body armor. Pearl had been a member of Krieg's crew for as long as either could remember. Valdivina, on the other hand, was a new addition. She was a tall and lithe young woman, her beautiful face containing its fair share of freckles and long red hair hanging down to her waist, resting against her tiger-pattern bodycon dress which complimented her black heels. Krieg motioned towards Pearl. "Pearl, remove this man from my presence. He needs to inspire the rest of his people by being made an example of."

Pearl grinned sleazily as he leaned over to scoop the man up, his black curls bobbing underneath his pearl helmet. "Come with me, gramps. We gotta remind everyone who they work for, hm?"

As Pearl departed the room with the man in tow, Krieg picked up the sheet that the man had given him, skimming over it for a moment before glancing towards Valdivina. "This report states that the workers are behind schedule... my schedule... BY THREE DAYS!?"

Krieg slammed the sheet down again, causing Valdivina to jump ever so slightly before smiling to her superior. "Captain Krieg, are you not making an example of that old man? He was the village elder, yes? I am certain that his punishment will remind the rest of the workers that they must adhere to the schedule. However, it does not help... may I initiate another youth purge?"

"Youth purge? Just as on the last island?" Krieg smirked as he walked towards the solitary window in the room, glancing out to look over the vast number of shackled inhabitants of the island who were tirelessly chopping lumber and smithing. "Perhaps we will do so anyway. For fun."

Conis' eyes widened in shock. "H-He enslaves entire islands!?"

"Weak islands that cannot protect themselves, but yes." Gin slowed his rowing as he glanced towards the island that they were approaching. "Don Krieg makes everyone on the island work for him, shackling them and forcing them all to build ships so that he can increase the size of his fleet. He failed to conquer the Grand Line before, but this time he doesn't intend on failing... not with his new crew, or the Devil Fruit he ate."

"Devil Fruit?" Conis' mind flashed back to Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. He had eaten such a thing and was capable of stretching. It was later found out that Enel, who had lorded over Skypiea with an iron fist, had also eaten a Devil Fruit and thus was able to turn into lightning. Her curiosity got the better of her as she quickly asked the question that was on her mind. "What does his Devil Fruit allow him to do, Gin?"

Gin's eyes stayed on the water, his expression hardening. "Don Krieg's fruit gave him the power to defeat anyone. Even other Devil Fruit users. He once fought a man who could turn into wind. He could blow any of us away, make hurricanes and tornadoes, but Don Krieg... he reached into the man's tornado and grabbed him. The windstorms stopped, and the man couldn't fight back because Don Krieg had sucked the strength from him."

"And... then?" Conis leaned forward slightly, genuinely curious.

Gin raised his eyes to meet hers, his voice stone cold. "Don Krieg killed him."

TO BE CONTINUED