The next chapter is out. Enjoy and review
Kaien's Dark Rule
Princess Pellinopee of Kaien Kingdom along with the Straw Hat Pirates were currently inside a carriage on their way to the palace where they would receive accommodation as well as discuss the finer details of the mission. That mission being to free Kaien Kingdom from Blackbeard's rule. The crew all agreed to free the kingdom though each of them had different reasons. Nami was in it for the money. Robin went along with whatever decisions were made. Sanji to be a Knight in Shining armor for Pellinopee. Zoro went along with any decisions made though was anxious and excited at the prospect of facing the only remaining member of the four emperors. Franky was a go along with the decision kind of guy like Zoro. Same were Brooke, Chopper and Ussop though the latter two had bouts of depression at the prospect of possibly battling Blackbeard. Regardless of the different reasons, they all had one reason in common, using this possible lead to find Luffy. This goal of reuniting with their wayward captain kept them together more than the prospect of a big reward or the challenge of battling Blackbeard.
"So princess, how long was your kingdom been under Blackbeard's rule?" asked Nami.
"A bit more than a year and a half," replied Pellinopee.
"I'm guessing it must have been hard being under Blackbeard's rule. He never struck me as the kind of person anyone would want to serve under," said Ussop.
"We had no choice. You see this land was originally under Whitebeard's control. However when he died during the war of the best, a group of people tried to take over this kingdom. They were small in number but they succeeded mainly by using hostages. However we were saved by Blackbeard," said Pellinopee.
"Wait you were saved by Blackbeard?" said Brooke in surprise.
"Well saved if you could call it that. While Blackbeard did get rid of the rebels with ease, he was ruthless in doing it. He didn't even care if any of the people got hurt by him. All he cared about was ensuring that no one took over his territory," said Pellinopee with a dark look.
The Straw Hats eyes darkened at that statement. They hated guys who disregarded the lives of others. Despite having met many people like that on their journey, they didn't like them any less. They usually would get involved in all sorts of battles because of their dislike of people like that. That and the fact those who were under their rule were in fact friends of the Straw Hats gave them all the more reason to get involve in stopping guys like that.
"After the defeat of the rebels, he claimed this island as his territory. That was when things got really bad. You see because of Blackbeard's actions during the War of the Best not many people want to get involved with us. Trade has dropped sharply and we don't get too many visitors thus the economy has dropped," said Pellinopee.
"I don't mean to be rude but while what you say is certainly bad, Blackbeard hasn't really done anything against the people. It just sounds like bad effects of him taking over this place," said Franky.
"But that's not the end of it. You see Blackbeard in exchange for his so called protections makes us pay large tributes of money to him along with food and resources. Also he expects us to hand over anything he asks for to him without question. If we fail to meet the demands, he threatens to kill us," said Pellinopee looking down.
The Straw Hats all looked at her in concern. Most noticeably was Nami. Nami had experience with this before. Her own hometown was in a similar situation being forced to pay tributes under penalty of death. While Nami was in an even worse situation than Pellinopee due to her being forced to join the tyrant who murdered her mother and took over her island, Pellinopee was still having it hard as the princess of this kingdom. The feelings that Pellinopee were going through right now, she was intimately familiar with them from her own experiences with Arlong. This made her even more determined to help her. No one should have to go through that, no one.
"Don't worry Pellinopee, we'll help you free your kingdom," said Nami with a thumbs up.
"Don't worry you can count on me, your prince," said Sanji.
Zoro, Robin, Franky, Ussop, Chopper and Brooke and smiles showing their willingness to help.
"Thank you everyone," replied a grateful Pellinopee.
"However I expect a big reward for this," said Nami with an evil smile.
"What was all that about helping her?" said Zorro.
"Oh I'm helping her alright but I expect a big reward for risking my life," replied Nami.
"By the way didn't you ever try asking for help before Pellinopee-chan?" asked Sanji.
"Oh yes, many time. We asked the marines to help us on multiple occasions but they never sent any help," replied Pellinopee.
"That makes sense. Blackbeard is one of the four great emperors of the sea. Liberating this country would be the equivalent of a declaration of war. And after the war with Whitebeard, the world government wouldn't want to start another war with an emperor over just one kingdom," said Robin.
"And pirates wouldn't want to pick a fight with an emperor so you can't rely on pirates. Even really powerful ones. In fact I'd say that we're the first and only people to ever agree to this," said Nami.
"Yes that's right. I've heard a lot about your exploits such as declaring war on the world government. If you do not fear the world government then I doubt you would fear Blackbeard," said Pellinopee.
"Well I guess it does look like that," said Nami rubbing the back of her head.
"And your brave captain Monkey D Luffy who entered the big war two years ago," said Pellinopee.
The mood of the crew dampened at the mention of their ex captain.
"Oh I'm sorry everyone I didn't mean to bring it up," said Pellinopee apologetically while waving her hands.
"It's alright princess-san," said Robin.
"I read in the papers that he was one of the revolutionaries who invaded Mariejois. The news was shocking to say the least," said Pellinopee.
"You have no idea," said Zoro quietly.
"If it's any condolences to you, we sent a message to the revolutionary army to see if they can help. If they were able to take down the admirals, then they should be able to handle Blackbeard," said Pellinopee.
"Whose we?" asked Zorro.
"Why my father the king and members of the royal council. After trying so many times with the world government we stopped. However when the revolutionary army came into power we figured that if they could attack the Holy City of Mariejois without fear of repercussions, then they would definitely have no problem with battling Blackbeard. The fact that they succeeded in overthrowing the world government actually made it better," replied Pellinopee.
"Hey that's great news. We get help from guys who could take down marine admirals," said Ussop enthusiastically.
"Maybe we wouldn't have to fight Blackbeard after all," said Chopper equally enthusiastically.
"I wouldn't be so sure," said Robin.
"Why's that Robin?" asked Ussop.
"Yeah why's that?" Chopper also asked.
"Well it's just that I don't know the revolutionary army or Dragon-san anymore," said Robin.
Seeing the curious looks she was getting, Robin decided to explain herself.
"As you all know, during the two years that we were separated I was with the revolutionary army. And I actually met Luffy's father," said Robin.
"Wait you met Luffy's father," said Ussop.
"And you never told us," continued Brooke.
"I didn't think it mattered since it wouldn't affect the crew. Besides since I was in the army then I think it would be obvious that I would have met Dragon at some point in time," said Robin.
"So what's Luffy's dad like?" asked Chopper curious as to what the father of his hero was like.
"Maybe some other time Chopper. Right now I think Pellinopee-san would like to know why I'm not too sure Dragon-san wouldn't answer their plea for help and why I don't know them anymore," said Robin looking at Pellinopee's face.
The Straw Hats all saw that Pellinopee was anxious about what Robin was saying since it could decide whether they were freed or not.
"Like I was saying. The revolutionary army from what I saw were about two things. First overthrowing the world government and secondly about freedom. When I was with them, they were focused on liberation and freedom saving and freeing islands, countries and kingdoms from pirates, rebels and other hostile forces. As a result they gained plenty of allies because of this as well as recruited many new members. But they were never aggressive and purposely provoked or initiated attacks as aggressive as the one on Mariejois. They never invaded any country or kingdom, simply liberated them when under tyrannical rule. This is the first time they actually attacked at all, much less one as ambitious and ruthless as the one on Mariejois," said Robin.
"Also during my time in the army I met several of the commanders. And I don't recall any of them being strong enough to defeat a marine admiral with the exception of Luffy's father," said Robin.
"Robin-chan just how strong is Luffy's father?" asked Sanji who was curious as to how strong Dragon was.
"To tell you the truth I never actually saw Dragon fight. But given how strong Luffy is and the fact that his father former vice admiral Garp was on par with the Pirate King himself, I could only assume that Dragon was as strong if not stronger than a marine admiral," said Robin.
"Well I guess that makes sense," said Zoro who too was curious as to how much of a powerhouse the father of Luffy and leader of the revolutionary army was.
"Anyway back to what I was saying. Besides Dragon I don't recall meeting anyone strong enough to take on an admiral. Yet during the invasion there must have been several revolutionaries who were strong enough to handle an admiral. Whoever they are I definitely never met them before," said Robin.
"The army has changed so much and there is so much that I don't know about them. Also Dragon-san never struck me as someone who could be this aggressive or ruthless. The Dragon-san I knew definitely would have answered your call princess however I don't know about this Dragon." finished Robin.
"It looks like Dragon was keeping secrets from Robin. Given that you were not part of the army I could understand why. Just being Luffy's nakama wouldn't be enough for him to tell you everything," concluded Zoro.
"Anyway it doesn't look like Luffy's father is guaranteed to help Pellinopee's country. That just means that we would have to do it ourselves," said Sanji taking a puff of smoke.
"But Dragon must know about Luffy's grude against Blackbeard. Surely if he wouldn't send over any revolutionaries, then he would still send Luffy, at least for Luffy's benefit since he would want to kill Blackbeard," said Ussop still looking for a reason to believe that he would see Luffy again and avoid a potential war with Blackbeard.
"Let's not forget that this is only one of Blackbeard's territories. Sending him here to kill Blackbeard would be pointless if Blackbeard wasn't here at all," replied Nami.
"But," said Ussop.
"Forget about it long nose-kun. We just have to accept the fact that Luffy might not show up. However there is still the original lead we had on him, the one where the Revolutionary Army is supposedly targeting the emperors. We still have that one," said Robin.
Ussop remained silent having finally accepted that finding Luffy may not be as easy as it first sounded. However Robin was right, there was a lead to Luffy either way and they would take it.
"Either way it doesn't change what we have to do. We'll still have to fight whoever's currently in charge of this island," said Zoro.
The rest of the crew nodded in agreement at that. Whether Luffy was coming or not, they were going to help.
The crew eventually arrived at the main palace where royal guards were standing in two rows. The Straw Hats and Pellinopee exited the carriage and walked towards the main palace. Meanwhile the royal guards were trying to hide their shock at seeing the world famous Straw Hat Pirates.
"Hey isn't that the Straw Hat Pirates?" a royal guard whispered.
"Why are there here?" whispered another royal guard.
"More importantly we haven't had any visitors in a long time much less pirates ones. So why are pirates here now?" whispered a royal guard to one standing next to him.
"And why is princess Pellinopee with them. She doesn't look like a hostage." the royal guard whispered back.
The princess and the Straw Hats ignored the whispering though Robin heard everything despite appearing to ignore them. This was one of the skills she developed while on the run from the world government for twenty years.
The group were walking towards the palace when they were greeted by a man at the entrance.
"Greetings Pellinopee-sama. I see you're back," said the man.
"Greetings to you two Maxie," replied Pellinopee.
Pellinopee turned towards the Straw Hats to introduce them to Maxie.
"Everyone this is Maxie, captain of the royal army," said Pellinopee.
"Hello everyone," greeted Maxie taking a bow.
The Straw Hats responded with greetings of their own. However unlike Maxie's whose greeting was very formal, the Straw Hats greeted him more casually and informally, to the point that some might consider it rude.
"Anyway Maxie could you come with us to see father," asked Pellinopee.
"Certainly Pellinopee-sama," replied Maxie.
The group walked towards where the king usually was. While there the Straw Hats took time to examine the palace. While it was very spacious as expected of a palace, it was nothing they haven't seen before. They were already at the main palace's of Alabasta and Ryuuga kingdom and this one seemed similar to them.
"Pellinopee-sama why did you bring those pirates with you?" asked Maxie.
"I'll tell you when we see father Maxie," replied Pellinopee.
Eventually the group arrived to where the king was currently sitting on his throne. Maxie stepped forward and kneeled foward.
"My king, Pellinopee-sama has returned with a group of pirates with her," said Maxie bowing his head.
"Father," said Pellinopee acknowledging her father.
"Pellinopee," replied the king and Pellinopee's father.
"Everyone this is my father Leno, king of Kaien Kingdom," said Pellinopee introducing the Straw Hats to her father.
The Straw Hats each took a respectful bow to the king which king Leno returned.
"Father, these pirates here have agreed to help us free our island from Blackbeard's rule," said Pellinopee.
Murmurs were heard around the room.
"Free our kingdom from Blackbeard. You know that sounds ludicrous," replied Leno.
"I know but they are the Straw Hat Pirates. They have done some incredible things so I believe that they can help us," replied Pellinopee.
"I understand where you're coming from but Blackbeard is an emperor of the sea. And even though he is the only surviving one, he is still one none the less. I highly doubt that the Straw Hats as powerful and famous as they are could possibly free our island," said Leno.
"They can father, I spoke to them and I can honestly say that they will definitely do it," insisted Pellinopee.
Leno looked like he was contemplating what his daughter was saying. Closing his eyes he said.
"Very well, I will accept their aid," said Leno.
"Thank you father," thanked Pellinopee with her hands together.
Leno then turned his attention to the Straw Hats.
"Welcome Straw Hats to my palace. I am king Leno of Kaien Kingdom as my daughter as already told you," said Leno.
"I wish to thank you choosing to help us," said Leno.
"You don't have to thank us yet, we haven't done anything yet Ossan," said Zoro.
"That's true but still, just the fact that you're all willing to help fills me with joy. We haven't been able to get any help at all in trying to free this kingdom," said Leno.
"We know, Pellinopee already told us all about how you tried many times to get help from the world government in the past. And also from the revolutionary army after they took over the world government," replied Nami.
"This island is under the control of one of the four emperors of the sea. The world government already was weakened after the War of the Best and it wouldn't have had the strength to take on an emperor. So we pretty much never got help from them despite many requests for aid," said Leno.
"And because this island is under the control of an emperor, it does not get too many guests especially pirate ones. However pirates and visitors passing through stop by simply to resupply. They do not stay very long," said Leno.
"Pirates passing through fear that they may incur Blackbeard's wrath if they do anything. That's probably why they don't stay long," deduced Robin.
"Exactly that's why no one has ever bothered trying to free us. So that's why it took me by surprise when Pellinopee said that you would help free us," said Leno.
"Before you pirates agree to help us, there is something that you should know," said Leno before turning to Maxie.
"There is a slave concentration camp here," said Maxie.
"A slave concentration camp," said Ussop in shock.
"Here," finished Chopper.
"That's right and all the slaves are pirates," said Maxie.
"Pirates, why are the slaves pirates?" asked Franky.
"We don't know but the people in charge of this island who we believe are connected to Blackbeard captures pirates and make them slaves," replied Maxie.
"We don't know much about them however what we do know is that they capture pirates that arrive to this island and take them somewhere further inland towards a slave camp where they are forced to do hard labor," continued Maxie.
"If that's the case then why weren't we captured by these guys," asked Nami.
"That was both coincidence and the fact that you were with Pellinopee-sama when you arrived here. None of them were in town upon your arrival and Pellinopee did take extra precautions to ensure that you all weren't found," said Maxie.
"If I may ask what exactly did you do Pellinopee-san?" asked Brooke.
"Nothing much, just having the carriage take certain routes to avoid those guys. Also the fact that you were inside the carriage by itself would have meant that they probably wouldn't have spotted you all," replied Pellinopee.
Brooke accepted that answer and decided to leave it at that.
"Anyway when pirates come to this town, they are usually captured and taken to the slave concentration camp. However if a pirate leaves quick enough then they usually escape," said Pellinopee.
"You mean that if they arrive and leave quick enough, then they avoid being caught or even running into those guys altogether. Isn't that right Pellinopee-chan?" said Sanji.
"Yes that's right," confirmed Pellinopee.
"I'm curious how exactly do you know that these guys were sent here by Blackbeard? They could be anyone else" asked Zoro.
"We don't actually," replied Lucian.
The Straw Hats all looked at the king with confused looks on their faces.
"We just assumed that since this was Blackbeard's territory then those guys must be his underlings. After all no one would really do something like this without Blackbeard's permission without wanting to incur his wrath," said Leno offered his explanation.
"Well I guess that makes sense," said Franky.
"So haven't you ever tried to fight back?" asked Zoro.
"We have a few times but we were always defeated by them," replied Maxie.
"Are they really that strong?" asked Chopper with fright in his voice.
"They are, we have never defeated them. Not once I'm afraid," replied Maxie.
"I guess that is to be expected. Pirates who come here have some degree of strength since this is the New World. And if the ones in charge of this island can overpower them, then they must be quite powerful," said Robin.
"And I doubt one of the four emperors of the sea would have weaklings as his subordinates," said Sanji taking a smoke.
"Guys I'm starting to get a case of we-have-to-get-off-this-island disease," said Ussop who was looking nervous.
"I'm starting to get that too," said Chopper looking equally nervous.
"Che you guys are pathetic. After those two years I would think that you too would have gotten rid of that," said Zoro folding his arms.
"You too calm down. It's as we said before. This may be one of Blackbeard's territories but Blackbeard himself isn't here," said Sanji.
"Again I want to ask you all if you're willing to help us. You would risk being captured and made slaves if you fail. And even if you succeed, chances are Blackbeard himself would target you," said Leno.
He paused so that the information could sink in. He was happy that they were willing to help but it was pointless if they were going to be defeated and made slaves. If that's the case it would be better if they simply left.
"A chance at a billion belli. Like hell I'd ever pass that up," said Nami confidently.
"I am interested in a good fight," said Zoro equally confident.
"A lady's request should never be turned down," said Sanji.
"Well if that's the case then you need not fear for the great Ussop-sama is here," said Ussop.
"You could count on me everyone," said Chopper.
Robin didn't say anything but she smiled and laughed at the crew's enthusiasm at helping showing that she too would help.
"Yosh super count on me," said Franky striking a pose.
"Like they say, all for one and one for all," said Brooke reciting the famous saying of the three musketeers.
"Everyone thank you all," said Pellinopee gratefully.
On another part of Kaien Kingdom there was a large number of pirates all in chains. All of them were engaged in some form of labor. Specifically they were involved in the forced construction of some kind of base. Along with the pirates there were several individuals holding guns and keeping an eye on the pirate slaves. Upon inspection of the slavers, it was identified that they wore the attire of the revolutionary army. The slavers were revolutionaries and the slave concentration was actually a revolutionary base under construction by the pirate slaves.
A certain pirate slave was near the brink of exhaustion finally collapsed. The prolonged forced labor finally took its toll on the poor pirate slave and he could take no more. Seeing that one of the slaves was not working one of the revolutionaries approached him.
"Hey you, get back to work," said the revolutionary.
The pirate in question merely grunted too weak and exhausted to say anything.
"Get up scum and work," shouted the revolutionary aggressively.
To add insult to injury the revolutionary began kicking the downed and exhausted slave in an attempt to get him back to his feet. The rest of the pirates stopped what they were doing and watched the scene unfold.
"Well what are you all looking at, get back to work all of you," shouted the revolutionary.
To let the pirate slaves know how serious they were, the rest of the revolutionaries pointed their guns to the pirate slaves. They were ready to gun them all down should they attempt anything that was even close to being considered rebellious. Pirates were rebellious by nature and the revolutionaries understood this. However they would not accept any form of rebellion from the pirates. The pirates were slaves whose purpose was to serve the revolutionary army.
While the standoff was going on, one of the pirates was seemingly cut down by an invisible force. His blood splattered across the ground and onto the slaves right around him. The pirate slaves went from rebellious to shock. Then another pirate slaves was cut down by the same force. Then another and another and soon the cut up corpses of several of the slaves were on the ground.
"Do you have to kill them. I mean we could have handled it. There's no point in killing the slaves when they could be working for us on finishing the base on this island," said the revolutionary in a respectful voice.
"Hahahahaha, well that's true but we can't have any form of rebellion can we," replied the person.
The person was soon revealed to having blonde hair, sun glasses and a pink flamboyant costume. The Shichbukai Donquixote Doflamingo was the revolutionary commander in charge of this slave concentration camp.
Bet none of you saw that one coming. Doflamingo is actually a revolutionary commander. Okay some of you did see that one coming from the author note I left on chapter 22. I did say that this fic diverges completely after One Piece chapter 653 and Doflamingo appeared way after that. Remember I did ask that you all forget about what has happened after chapter 653 to enjoy this fic. Now you see why. You'll have to forget about Doflamingo's association with Caesar Clown and Trafalgar Law and Vice Admiral Vergo and all that stuff to properly enjoy his fic.
The Revolutionary Army would be the collective main antagonists in this fic. Likewise the Knights of D are the main antagonist group with Dragon being the main antagonist person. However the Knights wouldn't be the only villains in this fic. They are the main ones but not the only ones. There would be a few other powerful revolutionaries who would also be antagonists in this fic most being revolutionary commanders that were not killed by the purging. Doflamingo is one of them.
Doflamingo never seemed like a pirate type of person. I mean most pirates we have seen want something. Crocodile wanted Alabasta, Moriah wanted an undead army, Arlong wanted to rule East Blue etc. However Doflamingo for the life of me I just can't think what that guy possibly wants. Furthermore most pirates show some kind of emotion. Arlong, Crocodile and Hody for example all showed frustration at Luffy's prowess. But Doflamingo seems completely fearless even happy when Whitebeard tilted Marineford. It would make sense why he is fearless. I mean a guy who knows Dragon and his extrodinary power very well wouldn't be fazed by anything not even Whitebeard, hence his fearlessness. Also since Dragon is pure evil, it would make sense that Doflamingo is a sadistic as well.
Blackbeard strikes me as the kind of person who would demand tributes of food, resources and money from places that are a part of his territory. Hence why things are bad with Kaien Kingdom.
Also people don't really want to come to a country under someone like Blackbeard. He showed how ruthless he was during the war of the best. So no one would come to his territory out of fear of him. And those who do come don't really spend too long. Pirates for example would just come, restock and leave. Traders likewise would only do trade. Nothing more nothing less. So naturally things are going to be bad.
Kaien naturally tried going to the world government for help but the world government wouldn't want to start a war with an emperor. Especially since they were still feeling the effects of the one with Whitebeard.
Kaien sent word to the revolutionary army for aid since if they can take down the entire world government include its powerful admiral class fighters, then they shouldn't have any fear of battling Blackbeard. Of course they are unaware that Blackbeard himself is actually a revolutionary.
During Robin's time with the revolutionary army, Dragon took extra precautions so that Robin would not see the army's true nature. As this fic has shown of him so far, he is a master tactician and manipulator such that he could even fool someone like Robin. He made sure that she was only aware of the light side of the army. The side that liberates countries and kingdoms from pirates, rebels and hostile enemies. He made sure that during the time she was with them, that she saw him and the army as idealistic freedom fighters and crusaders. He made sure to keep the darker parts of the army secret from her such as the fact that Blackbeard is a revolutionary or that Doflamingo is one. Also he kept the Knights and some of his strongest fighters secret from her. He also made sure that she didn't find out about any of his more ruthless and aggressive parts of his revolution to keep himself and his army in a good light for Robin. He did this so that when Robin returned to the crew, she would spread a good word about him and the army to Luffy so that he might consider an alliance with him. But since Luffy joined of his own free will, all that Dragon did was no longer necessary.
We finally know what happened to the pirate slaves from Mariejois. Most of the slaves were freed however the pirates slaves were not. I did say in chapter 21 that what happened to them would be revealed later. They were captured by the revolutionary army and made into slaves. The slaves could be used as forced labor to help construct revolutionary bases and even force some of them to be soldiers. Also pirates who come to the island are captured as well. However some pirates who are quick enough can escape before being captured.
The cruelty of Dragon just went up. Let's go over so far what he has done. First rape Luffy's mother, then plot to hand Ace over to the world government, plan to have Ace and Whitebeard killed, instigate a big war that killed both pirates and marines alike, arrange for Shanks to die, have several of his own men including Ivankov killed, a ruthless invasion of Mariejois. Now we find out that he is involved in slavery.
Why does the revolutionary army only take pirates as slaves and not everyone? Remember most people hate pirates. So even if people hate slavery, they wouldn't really have anything against the slavery of pirates. So the people would have no problem with the revolutionary army taking bloodthirsty pirates as slaves. But if the revolutionary army starts taking civilians as slaves, that would encourage rebellion against them. So slavery of pirates allows them to gain forced labor while preventing uprising. Also the revolutionary army are the new rulers of the world. So they rule the civilians. In other words, civilians are not their enemies so no reason to harm them. Pirates however would definitely be their enemies regardless of anything. So naturally they need to get rid of them. However unlike the world government who locks them in prison, then revolutionary army takes them as slaves. Besides as the new rulers of the world they have to protect the people of the world from pirates. So naturally the best way to do that is to capture them and make them slaves. The revolutionary army is "protecting" the people from pirates by capturing them and making them slaves.
The pirate slaves of Kaien Kingdom come from two places. The majority of them come from Mariejois. However some are captured when they arrived at Kaien itself.
Slavery is going to be a major theme of this fic as many of the Mariejois pirates would be slaves to the revolutionary army.
Most people don't know what the revolutionaries look like. So naturally the people of Kaien Kingdom don't know that the slavers are revolutionaries since they don't know what revolutionaries look like. Since this is Blackbeard's territory, they just assumed that they slavers were Blackbeard's underlings. And they assumed that all of Blackbeard's men all wear cloaks.