Goli was a notorious pirate with a bounty of 130 million Beli. He was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user who had eaten the Hound-Hound Fruit, Model: Firewood Dog, and with the power it granted him, he had carved out a fearsome reputation. His name was infamous even across the seas of the Grand Line.
But one day, Goli encountered an enemy unlike any he had ever faced before.
That opponent was far stronger than him, so overwhelming that resistance was almost laughable. No matter how unwilling he was to accept it, Goli understood a simple truth: a smart man does not fight a losing battle. After a brutal and harrowing clash, he fled in disgrace with only a handful of his most loyal subordinates.
Escape did not mean surrender.
Goli knew that if he wanted to rise again, he would have to gather his former crew and rebuild his strength. Unfortunately, reality was cruel. No matter how hard he tried, few answered his call. Worse still, his enemy hunted him relentlessly, like a curse that refused to let go. With no other option left, Goli led his remaining men back toward the Grand Line.
From that moment on, only one word burned in his mind: revenge.
Yet he was not foolish. With their current strength, confronting that enemy head-on would be suicide. After careful thought, Goli realized that before anything else, he needed an exceptionally powerful ship. Naturally, his sights turned toward the legendary shipbuilding capital of the world: Water Seven.
Commandeering a looted medium-sized warship, Goli and his men charged toward Water Seven with grim determination. As they neared their destination, a luxurious vessel suddenly entered his field of view. It looked like a floating palace, radiating wealth and extravagance.
To a seasoned pirate like Goli, this was nothing less than a gift from the sea.
Greed flared instantly. Without hesitation, he ordered full speed ahead, aiming straight for the opulent ship.
As for whether he might have bitten off more than he could chew, he gave it no thought at all. In the vast New World, he would not dare claim dominance, but in the first half of the Grand Line, he still had plenty of confidence.
Aside from the Marines, he believed there were very few who could truly stand against him.
That confidence, however, shattered almost instantly.
Their first ramming attack failed. The luxurious ship avoided it as if it had seen the strike coming. The sudden turn of events enraged Goli.
"Hit it again!" he roared. "Ram it until it sinks!"
The ship accelerated once more. But at that moment, a massive figure leapt high into the air from the opposing deck.
A giant bear, five or six meters tall, landed heavily before them.
The bear wielded a long staff that radiated overwhelming pressure.
Goli sucked in a sharp breath. "Damn it…"
Fear crashed over him like a tidal wave.
He recognized the creature immediately.
Big Pan.
Years ago, Goli had come across reports about Eli Winters and his companions. Among them, the most unforgettable presence was that terrifyingly powerful bear. Back then, Goli had admired their strength, even secretly dreaming of roaming the seas with such power one day.
He never imagined fate would be so cruel.
Not only had he provoked them, he had done so willingly, marching straight into their path. The thought that even Marine admirals could not stop Eli Winters made despair grip his heart. Challenging them with his ragtag crew was no different from courting death.
This was lighting a lamp in a latrine. Pure suicide.
"Wait!" Goli shouted desperately.
The bear ignored him.
It even cursed at him.
An outrageous misunderstanding, and yet there was no room for explanation.
Left with no choice, Goli and his strongest subordinates joined forces to resist Big Pan's ferocious assault. But the moment they clashed, the outcome was decided. Blood sprayed from their mouths as they were sent flying like leaves in a storm.
At the last second, Goli managed to grab onto a shattered plank. As a Devil Fruit user, falling into the sea would have meant certain death.
"Tch. Trash," Big Pan spat contemptuously.
Humiliation burned through Goli like molten lava. He had ruled the seas for years. Never had he been treated with such disdain. Even the enemy who had destroyed everything he once had never looked down on him like this.
Yet hatred could not change reality. Faced with power so vastly beyond his own, Goli swallowed his rage and swore silently that one day he would repay this humiliation tenfold.
What he did not know was that his future had already ended.
From the moment he appeared, Eli Winters' Eye of Judgment had seen the blazing red mark of sin on his soul. For someone as steeped in blood and crime as Goli, mercy was never an option.
Forcing a smile uglier than crying, Goli bowed deeply and spoke in a voice dripping with flattery.
"Honored Sky Sovereign, this was all the fault of my ignorant subordinates. We have already been punished. I beg you, please spare us this once."
Eli's lips curled into a faint, unreadable smile. His sharp gaze locked onto the shifty, rat-faced pirate before him.
"My companion smashed your ship," Eli said calmly. "Aren't you angry? Or are you pretending to be respectful while plotting revenge in secret?"
Goli's face drained of color. His body trembled violently.
"I would never!" he stammered, bowing repeatedly. "Offending you was entirely our fault. We deserved everything that happened. I hold no resentment at all!"
Eli glanced toward the sea, where pirates struggled desperately in the water. Every single one of them glowed with the same hateful red.
Criminals through and through.
His expression turned cold.
"This punishment is far from enough," Eli said flatly. "How about I simply kill all of you? What do you think?"
Goli's legs gave out. He collapsed to his knees with a heavy thud.
"Please, mercy!" he screamed. "We truly meant no harm. Please, spare us!"
Fear crushed him. Eli Winters was rumored to be ruthless, a man who never showed mercy to pirates. Sweat poured down Goli's face.
Had his identity been exposed? Otherwise, why would such a minor collision warrant extermination?
He would never receive an answer.
Eli turned to his companions. "Kill them all."
Big Pan's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Got it, boss! I was itching to smash these idiots anyway!"
With a roar, Big Pan charged forward, his dragon-carved staff sweeping through the pleading pirates.
Though surprised by the order, none of the others questioned it. They trusted their captain completely.
With Felina and the others joining the fray, it was like wolves among sheep. In moments, half of the seventy to eighty pirates were dead.
Goli watched in horror. These men were his last chance to rise again, and they were being erased before his eyes.
"You call yourself righteous?" he screamed at Eli from the shattered deck. "How can you slaughter innocent people like this?!"
"Innocent?" Eli sneered. "They are nothing but filthy rats."
"Eli Winters! You will die horribly!" Goli screamed, already crushed under Big Pan's staff.
"You are quite impressive," Eli said coldly. "You know exactly what you have done, yet you still dare call yourself innocent. Do you think not flying a pirate flag makes you any less of a pirate?"
Goli froze.
"How… how do you know?"
He never found out.
Big Pan knocked him unconscious and dragged him aboard the Silver Dragon. A Devil Fruit user was far too valuable to waste.
Soon after, the rest of the pirates were slaughtered.
From the shadows, a man in a striped suit watched everything unfold. He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with purple hair and a short beard. A small mouse peeked from his chest pocket.
This man was Iceburg, also known as Tilestone, future mayor of Water Seven.
His brows furrowed in disgust as he watched the carnage. People who abused power like this deserved to be arrested and executed.
Still, he chose not to interfere. Water Seven already had enough trouble.
With the Sea Train nearing completion, the day his teacher would be taken away by the World Government was drawing closer. He wanted him to escape, but the stubborn old man refused.
"Damn it… when the time comes, I will drag him away if I have to," Iceburg muttered, tossing away his cigarette.
He gave Eli's group one last look before turning toward the inner city.
As expected, Goli added another Devil Fruit to Eli's storage.
After a brief cleanup, the Silver Dragon entered Water Seven.
The city lived up to its name as the world's greatest shipbuilding hub. Ships crowded the harbor so densely that docking was a nightmare. Simon, who guided the ship, was exhausted by the time they found a spot.
Once ashore, everyone except Simon disembarked.
"So this is Water Seven," Felina said, gazing around. "It is really lively."
"And so many ships," Chiyo added, linking arms with her.
"We will have plenty of time to look around," Eli said with a laugh. "Let's eat first. I hear something called Water Water Meat is amazing."
"Then let's go!" Big Pan urged eagerly.
Laughing, the group headed into the city.
None of them noticed a man in work clothes watching from a corner of the dock, eyes burning with excitement as he stared at Robin.
"Devil Child Robin," he whispered. "Jackpot."