CHAPTER 18:

Firestarter

Blue Town, before the attack…

"Wooh!" Ann cheered in excitement. She was holding on tightly to Balloon's back as the bird flipped in the air. They were flying along the coast west of Blue Town, enjoying the wind against their skin. The two of them had just finished implanting another deposit of azurite in the woods behind the town and was only waiting for someone to stumble upon it. It had been almost a year since she and Balloon started doing this to help the town produce more Blue charcoal.

The material to make this product, azurite, has slowly begun to deplete its reserves in the last few years, leading to the decline in production of the town's signature product. Thanks to the two of them, the production has picked up and even increased the profit that the town usually makes.

Ann and Balloon have been best friends since they were little, they have practically grown up together. Because the townspeople have always seen them being together since they were babies, they had always associated her with the bird and vice versa.

It had been 14 years ago when Ann's family found an unusual egg in the sparrow nest that was on their roof. It was one snowy morning when they were woken up by the mother sparrow's loud cries. The gentle bird suddenly making distressed noises was very unusual, so Ann's mother went outside to shoo away what she thought were predators trying to prey on the sparrows. When she looked up, she immediately noticed what was wrong. She saw an egg in the nest that definitely didn't look like it belonged there, it was easily ten times bigger than the sparrow eggs beside it. Unsure of what to do, Ann's mother removed it from the nest and took it inside. Once inside, she set the egg down on the table near the fireplace. Just then, a three year old Ann came down from the stairs wiping away the blurriness from her eyes. The little girl saw the giant egg and immediately took a liking to it. Her mother, who was thinking of discarding the egg, smiled at the scene. Ann hugged the egg near the fireplace and played with it, oftentimes rolling on her stomach on top of it. Thankfully the egg was particularly resilient to the toddler's antics.

After a few days, as Ann was playing with the egg near the fireplace, it suddenly moved on its own and startled her. The toddler studied it and moved away from it carefully. She called for her mother and they both watched the egg as it slowly cracked at the top. Just then, a beak popped up and started pushing away at the eggshells and a cute, but large, black and white baby bird came out with a "Gwak! Gwak!"

Ann slowly crawled towards it. She looked it over before suddenly giving it a big hug. "Balloon!" She shouted. The young girl liked balloons because they were able to float in the sky. Even as a three year old child, she had an innate desire to fly freely among the clouds.

The years flew by and the town eventually got treated to the sight of a young girl flying in the sky atop her best friend, the Panda bird, Balloon. It has become such a common sight that no one had expected that the same bird would be the reason why the whole town laid in ashes right now.

—

The sound of leaves crunching resounded as a group of people can be seen walking inside the forest. "Over here Boss!" One of them called out and pointed at a path that led outside of the woods. "The town's just ahead!"

"Good. Let's move quickly, bring the money." A tall, lanky man with six ponytails said. He was wearing a pirate ensemble and was holding a broom in his hand. The group headed towards the town bringing a moderately sized chest with them. The chest opened slightly, revealing stacks of bills and coins inside.

They reached the town gate where two guards stepped in front of the gate and confronted them. "What is your purpose here, pirates?" The taller, more muscular guard asked, his right hand holding a spear. The group that arrived was pegged immediately as pirates from their attires but it wasn't a rare site around these parts. This group in particular was not a rare visitor to Blue Town.

—

'Six-sided' Spiel and his crew first visited their town a few months back, much to the surprise of the town residents. A pirate with a 3,000,000 berry bounty has arrived at their doorstep with a group of around thirty pirates and the people knew of only one way this could go. Against their expectations, the pirate approached peacefully with a calm face. He took out his pistols, placed them on the ground and walked over to the guards, who only looked at him in confusion. He actually only came to ask about their local product, the Blue charcoal, "I've heard it can produce a beautiful blue flame." He said. "That sounds like it can be really useful…"

The guards informed the town Mayor who came out to greet Spiel. The mayor, a man in his fifties who was two meters tall with a bulky body, was a former Marine Petty Officer who was a native of Blue Town. After retiring, he returned to his hometown and started out as its first gate guard and eventually became its mayor. "You're 'Six-sided' Spiel, a minor-threat pirate. What are you doing in my town?" He asked, crossing his still-muscle bound arms across his chest.

Spiel narrowed his eyes at being called a minor threat but quickly schooled his face back to a laid back expression. "I want to procure some of that 'blue stone' that your town produces…I'm willing to part with a lot of my…earnings."

The mayor raised his eyebrow but otherwise was unfazed. Being a former marine, he had faced a lot of pirates, most of them having higher bounties than the one before him, so he wasn't worried. Seeing that the pirate only wanted to buy Blue charcoal, a stone that was basically just a household item, he instructed the manufacturer to let the pirate buy some, for twice the normal market price of course.

After the mayor left, Spiel and his crew were led to the market where they saw buckets filled with blue rocks all over the place. He walked over and picked up one of the stones from one of the piles. The pirate captain then held up the blue charcoal under the sun to analyze it. "Hmm…" he hummed as he took out a matchbox from his coat and lit the Blue charcoal. Quickly, the stone caught on fire, flaring up in a bright blue flame. Curiously, Spiel's hand didn't get burnt because the stone mysteriously floated upwards and hovered in the air for everyone to see. "I see." He turned towards one of the workers with a disappointed look. "This flame…is quite weak." He said. The stone suddenly fell to the ground and Spiel's boot came down and crushed it.

"I uh, that's just how we make it..." The frightened worker said. "Our Blue charcoal is usually used in lamps and fireplaces so we don't want it to be too hot or it can burn down someone's house. That's why we don't put a lot of azurite in it." He spilled. The worker immediately realized his mistake as the pirate's eyebrow raised in curiosity. He gulped as the tall pirate rested his hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a glint in his eyes. "What's this…azurite?"

—

"I'm here to purchase azurite." The captain said lazily. They were standing by the gate on that fateful day. Spiel has since been buying a large quantity of pure azurite from the town and have not had any interest in their blue charcoal at all.

The two guards shared a serious look. One nodded at his companion and motioned for him to watch their visitors. "Let me get the Mayor." He said before disappearing into the town.

The guard was left alone staring at the pirates who were giving him nasty looks while their captain was looking around with a bored look on his face. "So…I have heard that you've been selling a lot more of your…blue stones lately?" He drawled as he walked in circles around the guard. "I thought you said azurite was…an ancient mineral?" He swept the floor with his broom while smiling. "Didn't you say you were running out?"

The guard gulped as he stood straight. "Please wait for the mayor to address you." He said.

"Hmm? What's all this? We've been doing business with your town very well lately…" Spiel asked. The guard didn't say anything anymore and just stood in his post stone-faced. They all waited in silence for the mayor to come. After a while two figures finally emerged from behind the gate and approached them. The Mayor, who was wearing a fancier clothing ensemble than he wore in the past stood tall in front of Spiel as his two guards flanked him with their spears pointed up. "What's the meaning of this…dear mayor?" The pirate captain asked. There was no more amusement on his face and instead, a frown was starting to form on his lips. The mayor crossed his arms and addressed the lanky pirate with a straight face. "We will no longer be selling our azurite to you, you…fu-" The mayor was able to stop himself from saying what he really thought. "Ahem!...we have heard what you have been using our prized product for." He uncrossed his arms and was unable to stop himself from pointing rudely at the pirate captain. "I should have known what a filthy pirate like you would do with the azurite!" He shouted, veins popping on his forehead. He closed his fist and gripped it tightly. "I can't, for the life of me, let you keep using the product we made proudly for your violent crimes! Never come back here again!" He huffed, his face turning red and smoke rising from the top of his head.

Spiel just looked unimpressed during the mayor's whole tirade. He looked the fuming man in the eyes with a bored look and waited for him to settle down before he spoke. "Are you absolutely sure you won't be selling the azurite to us anymore?" He nudged the chest they'd brought and opened it with his leg, revealing a mountain of treasure inside. "I have brought with me…one hundred million berries. I will give you all of these for as much azurite as you can give me…if you want more…I'll give you more next time." The guards gulped at the sight of that much money and turned to their town leader.

The mayor's face, who had significantly calmed down, turned bright red again as more smoke came out from the top of his head and even from his ears. "Do you think I can be easily swayed by mere money?!" His guards had to hold him back with all his might because he was about to lunge at Spiel. "You better leave before I call the marine base and have you arrested, you damn pirate!"

Spiel's expression turned into disappointment. He sighed and instructed his men to take the chest back while the mayor was still looking at them with contempt and his guards were pointing their spears at them. "You will…regret this." Spiel said as they were turning around to go. "Hmph!" The mayor snorted before going back inside the gate.

—

"Are we just leaving without anything captain?" One of the pirates asked. The whole crew turned to look at their captain, waiting for his response. "Hmm…we will be coming back…I need that azurite." Spiel said, stopping in his tracks. He looked back towards his crew and flashed them a wicked smile. "Next time…we won't be paying! Hihihi!" The whole crew started laughing as well as they made their way back to their ship.

"Ouch!" One pirate tripped on something jutting out of the ground and yelled in pain. "This stupid blue rock tripped me up!" He complained. "Wait, blue?" The pirates came together and gathered around the blue rock in the ground. It shone brightly even though it was surrounded by trees blocking out the sunlight. It looked like it was dropped inside a freshly dug hole and covered with dirt sloppily. Spiel kneeled down and observed the rock, the blue light illuminating his face. A smile slowly started forming on his face which became bigger and bigger until it almost reached his eyes. The stone suddenly started slowly coming out from the ground, seemingly being lifted by an invisible force. Seeing it completely out of the hole, it looked to be twice the size of a regular-sized human head. It continued floating until it was right in front of Spiel's head, who had stood up from his kneeling position. "Hahaha…" He laughed without any hint of amusement. "Let's go back."

—

Ann and Balloon had returned into town after flying around by the beach. She hoped that somebody would find the azurite she had planted together with Balloon quickly as it means the continued prosperity of Blue Town. The past few months since the town started getting more azurite has seen to the improvement of the town's economy. The market was expanded, the roads were paved, the buildings started getting second floors and the overall happiness and health of the citizens improved. Ann was so happy for the town she was born in, a little more and her town was going to be more well known than Orange Town, that port town south of them on the same island. All that the town needs, she thinks, is better security, because the more prosperous they become, the more criminals will try to take what they have for easy profit. She had mentioned it to her mother, who had taken it up to the town's mayor. Her mother said that the mayor told her it was next on his 'Blue Town Rise!' project. A few more months of profit and he will erect walls around the town with cannons lining up the top of it. Ann was satisfied when she heard this as she wouldn't be happy if her town continued to be unprotected.

Just as she was reminiscing, the gate suddenly shattered and went up in bright blue flames. A woman, who was standing near the gate was thrown back away from the blast. She saw what had become of the two gate guards and a floating figure riding atop a broom outside, a large glowing blue rock orbiting around him. "Ahhhh!!!!" She screamed.

"Yahahahaha!!" The pirates started pouring in from the shattered gate, initiating the chaos inside the town. "You stupid bastards! You should have taken the money!" A pirate cried right as he slashed an escaping townsman. The large blue stone suddenly flew by and shot through one of the buildings, making a large hole and immediately setting it on fire.

"I knew it!" The mayor, who came out of his house wearing his former marine outfit, ran towards the chaos and yelled. "Come out, my soldiers!" A group of armed men came out of the town's newly built barracks, carrying rifles with them. They knelt in one knee and aimed their weapons at the man floating in the air, Spiel, the captain of the Six Star Pirates. "Fire!" The mayor roared and the loud sound from multiple rifles erupted, sending multitudes of bullets at the floating pirate. Spiel just looked at them impassively as he raised his hand and opened his palm in front of the speeding bullets. The oncoming bullets lost speed in less than a second, stopping just a feet away from Spiel's body. He then closed his palm and the bullets fell on the ground. The mayor and the guards were dumbfounded, a few of them letting their rifles slip from their grasp. "Damn! I knew he had a devil fruit but which fruit is it!" The mayor yelled in frustration, eliciting a chuckle from Spiel. He then saw the despair on his soldier's faces and quickly ran over to give them orders. "Pick up your weapons! If you can't take on the main guy, then deal with his minions!" He had personally trained these soldiers the same way he was trained in the marines. That being said, it has only been a few months and they were still a militia made up of civilians, they weren't used to fighting in wars like he did. "Go! I'll take care of the big boss, you take care of the other pirates!"

"You called me a minor threat back then…do you still stand by that classification?" Spiel asked lazily as he recovered the azurite rock and lobbed it towards the Mayor.

"I am former Marine Petty Officer Jagrock, and the marines do not make mistakes in their classifications!" The mayor unsheathed a large, wide blade from his hip and struck the meteor-like projectile away, creating sparks of blue flames.

"Hmph. Let's see how long that classification…holds true." Spiel raised his left arm to lift a couple of debris from the ground with his devil fruit while his other arm flung the azurite rock behind him, out of Jagrock's sight.

What's he planning? The mayor thought as he quickly readied himself for the pirate's next move. The debris floating in the air started to move, at first slowly, then quickly gained speed and headed towards the former marine. "Just as I thought!" Jagrock swung his blade forcefully and deflected the projectiles away before quickly turning towards the front where he expected a burning meteor to come. Those were just distractions and that thing will probably come from-

"Aarrgghh!!" Jagrock shouted in pain as he was suddenly struck from behind, the azurite meteor burning through his cloak and searing his back. Through the pain, he was somehow able to keep standing while he slowly was dropped to his knees. "Yii-aahh!" With a shout of determination, he was able to rotate to the side to let the azurite meteor fly through, the rock embedding itself on the ground.

"Huff, huff." He was kneeling on one knee while using his sword as support. He looked up to see Spiel slowly getting closer towards him, the meteorite spinning slowly beside him. "Do you still stand by…your previous classification?" The pirate captain asked, a malicious grin on his face.

"Hah, hah…dirty bastard." The mayor spat as he slowly stood up, using his blade to lift himself up from the ground. "Don't think just because you have tricked me, it'll be enough to classify you as a threat! You're still no match for someone like Captain Smoker and his men!"

"Sigh…after I'm done with you and this town…" Spiel looked down on Jagrock as he slowly lifted the azurite directly above the former marine. He kept it floating higher and higher until it was hovering a few stories above him. "I'll raze every single town I see on my way to Loguetown. And when I get there…let's just say…where there's smoke, there's fire." Spiel flicked a finger down and Jagrock looked up to see the meteorite coming down towards him.

I should have called the marines on him the first time he showed up here. I'm sorry vice admiral, I'm a failure… the azurite rock was just a foot above him when he remembered something. That devil fruit! I seem to remember an old notorious pirate having the same power…but last time I heard, he was very much alive. He whipped his head towards the pirate captain. Then what devil fruit does this guy-

That was his very last thought as the meteorite dropped directly on top of his head while his eyes widened in realization. His skull was cracked open and pieces of his brain flew in several directions, some of which landed on Spiel's clothes. The tall, lanky pirate shook it off of his coat as he looked at the azurite rock and thought. As long as I have this, no one will be able to…hmm? Has it become smaller than-

Booommm! Booommm!

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard several explosions from behind him.