Outside Karma City, at the private port, the warship of the Redbeard Pirates lay silent. However, the crew on the dock wore grim expressions.
Zeff and the pirates from the Chef Pirate Group had managed to escape from Barbarossa and his men, which was unfortunate enough. But upon returning to their ship, they were met with even worse news: their vessel had been attacked, leaving no survivors.
Barbarossa stormed up the gangplank with a dark expression, stepping onto the deck where several corpses lay—the guards he had left behind to watch the ship.
Without sparing the bodies a glance, he marched towards the captain's quarters at the stern. The pirates following him up the plank shuddered at the sight of their captain's face.
Moments later, a roar echoed from the stern, like the desperate cry of a beast cornered, filled with hysterical rage.
William, along with a group of veteran pirates, stumbled forward and saw the door to the captain's quarters wide open. Barbarossa stood at the center of the room, breathing heavily. His usually rugged, hairy face now showed not only anger but also a hint of bewilderment.
The room was in chaos, clearly ransacked and deliberately sabotaged.
The luxurious carpet had been shredded into strips, and velvet lay scattered across the floor, mixed with spilled wine and dirt, creating a filthy mess.
William knew what truly enraged Barbarossa wasn't the destruction but the loss of critical items: the navigation logs, captain's journal, and sea charts. After all, it was William himself who orchestrated this as a mole.
Standing at the center of the wreckage, Barbarossa appeared both furious and confused. His disheveled state starkly contrasted with his former imposing presence as a feared pirate of the East Blue. The drastic change was almost pitiable—though William saw it as nothing more than crocodile tears.
In just a few days, Barbarossa had lost two key confidants: the navigator Hayreddin and the vice-captain Reyes. Now, the crucial information detailing the locations of their treasure had also been stolen. If Hayreddin and Reyes were killed by the Chef Pirate Group, who could have attacked the Redbeard Pirates' warship?
Barbarossa felt like a giant spider web was gradually tightening around him, leaving him clueless about the perpetrator. Neither his Devil Fruit abilities nor his formidable strength could help him here. Like a beast caught in a skilled hunter's trap, his brute force was no match for human cunning.
A pirate cautiously approached Barbarossa, sensing his daze, and softly called out, "Captain?"
Barbarossa snapped out of his thoughts, his face twisting with ferocity. In a flash, he drew his blade, slashing the unlucky pirate. The man staggered back, stunned, before a thin line of blood appeared across his throat. He clutched his neck in vain, but it was too late.
Thud!
The unlucky pirate spun halfway before collapsing to the ground. Blood pooled quickly beneath him.
The crew stared at the corpse, their expressions mixed with fear, confusion, and anger. Yet, no one dared speak.
Even the notoriously violent Hayreddin had rarely killed a subordinate without reason, preferring to punish rather than kill. But Barbarossa, once revered as a wise leader capable of leading them to victory, had now killed one of his own without a second thought!
The crew suddenly found this version of Barbarossa unfamiliar. But with his sanity seemingly on the brink, none dared provoke him.
William, too, feigned fear, lowering his gaze. Inwardly, however, his thoughts drifted to the burn on Barbarossa's chest, where the once-thick chest hair had been entirely scorched away.
"So, he fears fire," William mused.
After killing the pirate, Barbarossa's anger subsided slightly. His priority now was to secure the treasure recorded in the stolen logs. With Zeff escaping to sea, catching him would require the help of Arcadio and Roy.
Barbarossa knew, however, that he had stirred up trouble. Since neither Arcadio nor Roy was his subordinate, they wouldn't obey him without an exchange of benefits. If the treasure he had accumulated over the years was looted, he would become penniless and lose the leverage needed to enlist their help in chasing Zeff.
Barbarossa didn't even have time to meet Arcadio and personally reassure his ally. He immediately ordered the crew to prepare for departure. Yet, shortly after, a crew member reported that the unknown enemies had not only looted the captain's quarters but also sabotaged critical parts of the ship. Repairs would take at least several days.
Barbarossa's face darkened, but there was nothing he could do. His earlier disturbance in the slums had led to a city-wide lockdown, and all ships at the dock had already departed, leaving him unable to seize a replacement vessel.
He had no choice but to contact Arcadio and request a merchant ship. For this, he decided to bring along not only Clow but also William—an unusual move.
Barbarossa understood he was now in a position of seeking help. Since Clow, Arcadio's man, had been injured due to him, bringing the similarly wounded William was a calculated display for Arcadio. It signaled that he hadn't intentionally neglected or sabotaged Clow, as his ship's only navigator had also been gravely hurt.
For Barbarossa, who usually avoided letting his crew interact with Arcadio's men, this was a rare exception—one that highlighted just how dire the situation had become.
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