Deep in the Western Sea, where small islands are scattered like chess pieces, Lucchini's ship sailed silently. No chants, no cannons, only measured steps and orders conveyed by gestures.
Lucchini stood on the deck of his ship, his black hair blowing in the wind, his eyes fixed on a small island on the horizon. On his flag, the tiger emblem roared silently, as if announcing that the hunt had begun.
He said to his assistant, Vittorio:
"Trunx thinks I'll confront him on the open sea... but he's forgotten that a tiger doesn't attack from the front."
The island they were approaching was known as Castella, a small trading post belonging to Trunchus, where goods were stored and repackaged before being distributed to ships.
"The garrison is weak," Vittorio said, consulting the maps. "But the guards know the sea. If they spot us, Trunchus might send reinforcements."
Lucchini replied with a cold smile:
"They won't see us. We'll strike, and disappear… like the shadow of a tiger."
At night, Lucchini's men landed on the island in small boats, dressed as local merchants. They infiltrated the storehouses and began planting small charges of gunpowder in strategic places.
"This will set fire to the heart of the Trunks… without anyone seeing who lit it," Vittorio said, placing a charge under the cargo rig.
Before dawn, the men quietly withdrew, and the ship returned to sea.
Lucchini stood on the prow of the ship, watching the island from afar, then raised his hand.
"Launch the spark," he said calmly.
In an instant, the island shook with successive explosions. Storehouses caught fire, docks shattered, and small merchant ships burned before they could move.
In the harbor, the guards shouted:
"Attack! Where did they come from?!"
But there was no one there. Only fire, smoke, and a Tiger flag fluttering on a burning pole.
Out at sea, Lucchini laughed briefly and said,
"Tronx lost today… no ship, no shot, just a plan."
The next day, news reached Trunks at his naval headquarters.
One of his men said,
"Castilla burned. The warehouses were destroyed, the goods were lost. No sign of the attackers… only the Tiger flag."
Tronx froze, then said angrily,
"Lucchini… is starting to play my game."
Tronx gathered with his aides and began reviewing his maps.
"He's not attacking me… he's attacking my economy. He wants to weaken me before he confronts me," he said.
"Shall we respond?" Marcus replied. Trunks said, "Not now. The tiger is waiting for us to get angry... but we will keep quiet, and then we will strike where it least expects."
That night, Lucchini wrote a short letter, which he sent via a neutral merchant to a port near Athens.
In the letter, he wrote:
- "Tronks is beginning to weaken. The sea doesn't need a king... but someone who knows how to hide and strike. Tell those who matter that the tiger is on the move."
At the port, the letter reached one of Perdus's men, who read it silently, then said:
- "Lucchini is not fighting for gold... but for balance. And perhaps he will be key in the coming war."