The West Blue is the strongest of the four great oceans!
This claim isn't baseless or random.
On the surface, major nations in the West Blue secretly harbor unknown pirate crews to plunder resources and wealth for their countries.
Among them, the Flower Country's famous Eight Treasure Navy is actually a pirate crew. Their current leader is Don Chinjao, with a bounty exceeding five hundred million Beli and possessing the "King's Haki" - a rare ability found only once in a million people!
However, five or six years ago, Marine Hero "Iron Fist" Garp crushed Don Chinjao's prized conical head in a single punch. Since then, he's gone quiet, focusing on training the next generation.
These are the visible facts.
Beneath the surface, various mafia gangs operate with impunity.
Among them are the most notorious Four Mafia Families!
Capone Bege, still young, hasn't unified his forces yet, so he can't become the leader of the fifth mafia family.
In such a chaotic landscape, naturally, some lawless individuals emerge.
That's why the West Blue is called the strongest ocean - no one disputes this.
Though the Marines are incredibly powerful, the New World is turbulent with legendary pirates carving out their territories. They're too busy to deal with the West Blue's chaos, leaving the region unchecked and fostering a fierce spirit among its people.
As a result, merchant convoys are rare. Either they're state-sanctioned trades escorted by warships, crews confident in their own defenses, or those risking their lives for profit.
On the route to Capone Bege's headquarters, a merchant fleet flying the banner of a certain family found itself surrounded by a pirate crew.
The fleet's hired guards had drawn their long blades, standing in tense confrontation with the pirates. A single misstep could spark a brutal slaughter.
Inside the merchant fleet, a portly merchant wiped his greasy sweat with a white towel, nervously awaiting successful negotiations between the guards and pirates.
After all, those who could conduct business in the chaotic West Blue naturally had connections. They knew most of these pirates were dispatched by foreign powers or mafia factions to plunder wealth.
If both sides could secure safe passage with minimal cost, it would benefit everyone. But if negotiations failed and led to bloodshed, no one wanted that outcome.
Cultivating a loyal guard was no easy task!
"Aura Fostein! Why has the 'passage fee' suddenly increased so much? Last time it was 500,000 Beli, now you're demanding ten times that? Don't tell me you're trying to break the rules?"
The Guard Captain—a burly three-meter-tall man with a full beard—shouted angrily at the pirate leading the sea raiders.
If not for the fear of losing their own men, the Guard Captain would have insisted on boarding to settle this properly. They were all just trying to make a living at sea—what right did these pirates have to be so unreasonable?
"Hahaha! You'll give it to us today whether you want to or not!" The pirate leader encircling the merchant ship stood at average height, his face weathered crimson by years of sea winds. His bare chest bore a tapestry of scars, making him look utterly menacing.
"The route's boss just changed. Now it's Capone Bege in charge. If you don't like it, come up and fight us!"
"Fight!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Pirates aboard the ship and those swimming in the water roared in unison, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
"Capone Bege? That young prodigy who's already being talked about as the fifth major Mafia family in West Blue?" The Guard Captain's heart skipped a beat, a sense of impending disaster washing over him.
It was an unwritten rule among these underworld bosses: to rise quickly and spread your reputation, you had to be ruthless. Everyone operating in West Blue knew this truth.
In simple terms, you needed to establish your dominance—make people understand you weren't to be trifled with.
That's why they loved making examples of people—using chicken-slaughtering tactics to teach others the rules.
"Haha! So it's Boss Bege's crew who took over the route. How fortunate!" The portly merchant ship captain emerged from behind the guard captain, his face a mask of obsequious smiles. "Consider this a congratulatory gift for your ascension, Boss Bege!"
A guard promptly brought forward a chest. Upon opening it, the unmistakable scent of ink wafted out—five million Beli, not a coin more or less.
The guard captain seized the chest, slammed it shut with a resounding thud, and hurled it toward the pirate ship a hundred meters away with a force that made the vessel rock.
"Oh? You sly pig, you've got some nerve," Aura Fostein, the pirate leader, blurted out without ceremony. He snatched the chest, quickly counted the contents, and confirmed not a single coin was missing.
"Fine! Since you're so cooperative, you're cleared to pass!"
With a grand wave of his hand, he ordered the pirate ship to create a narrow passage just wide enough for the merchant convoy to squeeze through.
Before the convoy could move, a small boat driven by the wind's force approached. A pirate aboard shouted, "Boss, another ship's coming from behind!"
"Oh?"
Aura Fostein peered into the distance and spotted a vessel racing toward them on the wind's wings. It would reach them in less than two minutes.
***
The ship that came riding the wind and waves wasn't large, but it moved with incredible speed—clearly no ordinary vessel could compare.
Aura Fostein, with his keen eyes, instantly recognized this as a former Marine warship converted for civilian use. Its deep draft, caused by the heavy modifications, didn't hinder its navigation in the slightest.
Anyone with a ship like this is either from the Marines or a major player in the black market! he thought, but instead of confronting them, he chose to observe quietly.
At the ship's bow stood two figures—a young man and woman, both appearing barely past adolescence.
Suddenly...
Aura Fostein's entire body shuddered. His eyes bulged, and his hands trembled slightly, as if a gentle sea breeze could topple him over.
He recognized the newcomers!
The woman was Aurora—the former princess of the Mafia before Capone Bege took over. She was the precious daughter of his former boss.
What made him tremble wasn't Aurora, but the other figure standing beside her—someone who stood defiant against the sea wind, completely unmoved.
Three hours ago, a rumor spread from Elbak Island.
A natural-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit user had appeared by the former young mistress Aurora's side, killing Capone Bege's trusted subordinate "Killer" Gotti with a single move.
The convenience of phone bugs meant that for people in this dangerous line of work, intelligence was as valuable as their own lives!
In the Four Seas, a Logia-type Devil Fruit was a symbol of invincibility! What could they possibly use to fight against it?
Aura Fostein might be a pirate captain, but he wasn't particularly strong. He could only play at being a pirate in a small corner of West Blue. However, his sharp eyes and intuition had allowed him to escape death countless times, so he put great faith in his instincts...
Staying here any longer would be dangerous!