Meanwhile, on a ship cutting through the dark waves of the ocean, Willy, Captain of the Willy Pirates, stood on the deck beside Kuroobi, once a member of the Arlong Pirates and now sworn to Willy's crew. Kuroobi's arm remained stiff in a cast.
"Those brats," Kuroobi muttered bitterly. He thought about how he lost to them. "Every day, I see Take and Chew in my mind. It makes my blood boil," he said.
"They'll be fine," Willy replied. He knew that was not true. He thought of the Love Pirates. They're the ones we should be worrying about.
"You two look like sulking children,"Banazi, Captain of the Banazi Pirates, strode across the deck with a grin. Beside him walked Eboshi, the Captain of the Jellyfish Pirates.
"The Willy Pirates do not sulk," Willy said sharply as he glared at Banazi.
Banazi chuckled. "Good. Because we have bigger plans. Revenge. To wipe out the Love Pirates once and for all," he said.
"The next time I see them, they'll die," Kuroobi growled as he clutched his injured arm.
"They will," Banazi agreed smoothly. "They're pushing forward toward the New World," he added.
"The… New World?" Kuroobi asked as he narrowed his eyes.
"Yes," Eboshi explained. "The second half of the Grand Line. Where only the strongest survive," he added.
Banazi's grin widened. "And we plan to stop them before they ever set foot there," he said.
"How do you know where they are?" Kuroobi demanded.
Banazi held up a crumpled newspaper. "They were last seen at Mecha Island. That's close to the New World," he replied.
"That doesn't prove where they'll go next," Willy said.
Banazi smirked. "No, but we can predict their path. They've been moving from smaller islands, one after another," he said.
"And?" Kuroobi pressed.
Eboshi stepped forward. "Their next place will be Rainbow Island," he said.
Willy's eyes narrowed. He thought to himself, Humans can be useful. He said, "Fine. We can set a course for Rainbow Island," he said.
Banazi's smile vanished. "You don't give orders here, Willy. This is my ship," he said.
The deck fell silent. Willy stared at Banazi. The tension between the two captains hung heavy in the air.
Banazi smiled again. "Besides, we would need to stop for supplies," he said.
At that moment, Bravo, a member of the Banazi Pirates came running toward them. "Captain, we have a pirate ship approaching us," he said as he pointed to his left.
They all looked and turned to see a ship with a distinctive wooden vessel with a rounded hull design that somewhat resembles a castle. Its main sail was white and had the name "BEGE" at the top. The Jolly Roger painted on the sail was a castle with two arrows pointing up, and the 'crossbones' are cannon barrels. The stern of the ship has a brick-like turret structure housing two large cannons. There were additional smaller cannon ports visible on the side of the hull.
At that moment, the BEGE Pirates' ship fired a massive cannon. The shot tore through the sky with a thunderous boom. The projectile streaked across the waves as it cut through the air before slamming into the side of Banazi's ship.
The impact was devastating. The wood splintered and flames erupted. The deck shook violently as the explosion ripped through the hull. There was smoke and fire billowed upward.
"We've been hit," Bravo said as he stumped across the deck.
Banazi gritted his teeth. "What do they want?" he growled.
"They want trouble," Eboshi said.
Kuroobi clutched his cast-bound arm. "Humans," he remarked as he gritted his teeth.
"The sea is full of enemies, we would need to teach him a lesson," Willy said. He thought he had already lost half of his crew to humans. He thought he will not let more humans disrespect fishman like this.
At that moment, the BEGE ship approached them and got side by side. On the deck of the ship, they saw a short man with a stocky build. He had an oiled-up and slicked-back hairstyle. He had a sharp but hooking beak-like nose. He also has five o'clock stubble on his upper lip.
He wore a black-and-white suit. He had a green scarf around his neck. He had expensive golden rings with precious stones mounted on them. He had a pirate captain's coat with red and gold trimming and a fedora hat. He was smoking a cigar.
"Who are you?" Bravo asked.
The man smiled. Suddenly, with a mechanical grind. Small windows slid open across his chest. From each opening, miniature cannons emerged. "Capone Bege," he said.
In an instant, the cannons fired. Tiny cannonballs shot outward. They whistled through the air toward Willy, Kuroobi, Eboshi, and Bravo. As they flew, the projectiles began to expand, swelling in size until they were full-sized cannonballs.
The air trembled as the barrage struck. One after another, the cannonballs exploded on impact. Each detonation shook the deck with thunderous force. Flames and smoke erupted, the sheer number of blasts overwhelming the ship.
Bravo was sent flying back. "Massive explosions, there are too many," he shouted.
Kuroobi gritted his teeth, clutching his injured arm. "What is that?" he asked as he used his other hand and hit the cannon ball away.
Eboshi's eyes narrowed as the smoke thickened. "Get him," he shouted.
Willy looked at him. "He has those devil fruits," Willy said as jumped out of the way from the explosion.
Bege smiled. The cannon loaded once again. They fired. The ship mask got hit. There was fire roaring.
"Zako stab," Banazi said as jumped forward. He attempted to slash Bege. Bege looked up and suddenly a man appeared in front of Zako. He blocked the attack.
"Where did you come from?" Banazi said as his blade clashed against the man in the grey suit. There were sparks flying with each strike.
Suddenly, several more men appeared beside Banazi. They had swords and guns in their hands. Some of the men ran below deck.
"They're coming from inside him," Willy muttered. He pointed as tiny soldiers marched out from a bridge that had formed within Bege's stomach. They leapt onto the deck.
Willy saw a man approaching him and punched him in the gut. The man went flying back and crashed into the deck.
Kuroobi was surrounded by armed men. "Humans will not defeat me," he said.
Banazi snarled as he shoved his opponent back with brute force. At that moment, Banazi got hit with a bazooka. There was a loud explosion and Banazi was sent flying back.
Banazi looked up to see a very large man with spiky light purple hair on the sides of his head and beard. He had a giant red, green, and yellow three-barreled machine gun. He wore a black vest with a white suit underneath it, a green cape, a red cravat and black shoes with white polka-dots.
"Captain!" Bravo shouted as he rushed to his aid.
The large man swung his heavy machine gun into position. The barrels spun with a metallic whine. In an instant, the weapon roared to life. A deafening barrage of bullets erupted. There was a spray across the deck in a storm of fire and steel.
The air was shredded by the hail of gunfire. Splinters exploded from the wooden planks as the rounds tore through everything in their path. There were sparks flying where bullets ricocheted off iron fittings.
Bravo dove to the side. However the bullet hit him in the shoulder and he went flying back. He landed hard. Bravo was bleeding from his shoulder. He spat blood.
Bravo gritted his teeth as he looked to see the large man destroy his ship.
Eboshi looked at the man.
Banazi got up and rushed towards the large man.
Bege raised a pistol. He pressed the trigger and fired. The shot rang out, and the bullet tore into Banazi's shoulder. "You don't go after Gotti," Bege said.
Banazi staggered back and to the ground. He gritted his teeth and clutched the wound. "Damn you," he said.
At that moment, the skies shifted. The winds howled. The waves surged violently, and the heavens opened. Sheets of rain poured down and drenched the deck as thunder rumbled overhead.
"It's a storm!" Eboshi said.
Bege's eyes narrowed as he assessed the weather. "Fall back," he commanded. His men obeyed instantly, retreated into him. Other men came up with large bags and they also jumped into Bege. Bege looked from the railing from the ship and smiled. The ship drew further away.
The Banazi ship groaned under the storm's fury. It was tossed violently by the crashing waves. Ropes snapped and sails tore.
Willy looked at Banazi who was being treated. He smiled. He thought the human needed to lose his pride.
He looked up and saw a massive wave which rose like a wall of water. It was towering over the ship. Its shadow swallowed the deck as it approached and threatened to engulf them all.
"No," Eboshi shouted.