Deep in the sea, inside the pilothouse of Trunks's flagship, the atmosphere was tense. Maps were spread out on the table, and faces were tense. Trunks stared at a red dot on the map, representing Castella Island, which Lucchini had destroyed days earlier.
"He thought he was being clever," Trunks said, tapping the table. "He hit me without confronting me. But I don't let anyone who hurts me get away."
"Sir, Lucchini doesn't move haphazardly. Every move is calculated. If he attacks us now, we might be the ones who are lured in."
"I'm not lured in, Marcus," Trunks said sharply. "I'm the one who drags others into his jaws."
The second captain, Falco, chimed in. "And what do you propose?"
Trunks replied, "We hit him where he least expects it. Santora Island, his secret supply exchange center. No one knows we know about it."
Marcus said, reviewing the reports, "But it's well-defended. Lucchini's men there are trained and know the terrain."
Trunks replied with a cold smile, "That's why we'll come at night... like mold, not seen until it spoils everything."
That night, three small ships from Trunks' fleet, commanded by Falco, set out. They carried no flags or lights. They were just trained men, knowing their mission wasn't to fight... but to sabotage.
Falco told his men before disembarking:
"Don't fire unless you have to. We're not looking for an overt victory... we're looking for an indelible mark."
On Santora Island, Lucchini's men were relaxed. They hadn't expected a direct attack, especially after their withdrawal from Castilla.
One of the guards said as he drank, "Tronx wouldn't dare come near here. This is tiger territory."
The other replied, laughing, "The tiger is asleep... and the wolf is licking its wounds."
But they didn't know that the wolf was beginning to creep in.
In the middle of the night, Trunks' men infiltrated the warehouses, planted small charges under supply crates, and cut the main ropes to the docks.
"Luchini will wake up tomorrow to find his fangs are out of food," Falco said, installing a charge under the cargo bay.
Before dawn, the men withdrew, leaving behind a small fire that had begun to smolder in one of the warehouses.
In the morning, Lucchini's men were awakened by successive explosions and screaming in the port.
"Attack! Where did they come from?!" one of them said, running.
"We don't see anyone! Just a fire... and a small black flag on one of the poles!" *
Out at sea, Trunks was watching through his binoculars, then said to Marcus:
"Tell Lucheni that I don't need to confront him… I'm ruining his world piece by piece."
Marcus said:
"Do you expect him to respond?"
Trunks replied:
"Of course. A tiger doesn't forget… but now he knows that a wolf doesn't sleep."
The next day, Lucheni gathered with his men in the command room. His face was calm, but his eyes were burning.
"We've been hit in the deep," Vittorio said. "Supplies are damaged, and the island is no longer safe."
"Trunks is starting to play my game… but he doesn't know I have more than one paw."
"Shall we respond?" one of the officers said.
"Not now," Lucheni replied. "We'll make him think he's won… and then drown him in his regret."
At the end of the meeting, Lucchini, staring at the map, said:
"Tell all our men that the sea is no longer a battlefield… but a chessboard. Trunks has begun to move… but his role will soon be over."