Sizzle...
In an instant, everyone present heard the sound of something melting and vaporizing.
Blinding light flared, followed by a wave of searing heat.
All the moisture in the room seemed to be sucked dry. Even the air itself felt scorched, growing thick and heavy under the heat.
Despite being nearly ten meters away, the bosses of the seven major shipbuilding companies felt their bodies parch and burn. It was as if just a little more heat would make their flesh ignite beyond their control.
The ground and walls visibly melted, turning into bubbling lava. Yet the massive fireball seemed completely unaffected, stepping calmly across the molten surface as it walked inside.
At that moment, Mayor Barbarov, who had clearly anticipated this, spoke in a steady voice.
"Flag Hunter Don Accino, we didn't hire you to tear my house apart."
As his words fell, a sharp, hissing laugh came from within the fireball.
"This isn't a hire," the voice said. "It's a partnership."
Almost immediately, the temperature dropped.
The blinding light and intense heat vanished, revealing an enormous, bloated figure over three meters tall. His body looked swollen like a balloon, completely naked except for a straw skirt woven from flags. Atop his head was a mass of black hair shaped like a split folding fan.
As his body cooled, two men and a woman hurried out from behind him.
"Dad's Devil Fruit ability is amazing..."
"The Sky Pirates' pirate flag belongs to us..."
"Gold... gold..."
Only then did the bosses of the seven major shipbuilding companies snap back to their senses.
"A Devil Fruit ability? To produce that kind of heat..."
Beside Achino, two brothers who looked like twins spun forward, moving with exaggerated, swan-like dance steps as they addressed the group.
"Our father is the user of the Atsu Atsu no Mi. He's a man who can swim in magma. Flames are nothing to him."
That made everything click.
Standing nearby, Barbarov added calmly, "According to our intelligence, the captain of the Sky Pirates, Yemu, is a user of the Mera Mera no Mi. With this man here, there's no need to fear his flames."
"I see."
No one dared to underestimate the man in front of them anymore. Instead, their attention shifted to someone else.
"And the other one? That treasure hunter? Is he a Devil Fruit user too?"
"Yes," Barbarov replied with a nod. "He's a user of the Jara Jara no Mi. But that's not the important part. What matters is that he once defeated CP0."
"CP·Zero? You mean the World Government's intelligence agency..."
Barbarov nodded again.
This time, everyone truly felt reassured. With those two men on their side, along with their carefully prepared plan, the Sky Pirates, worth over fifty billion berries, might really be within their grasp.
"So when will they arrive?"
Everyone was already getting a little impatient.
"Well… it should be within the next few days."
At that moment, Achino's twin sons spoke up loudly from the side, brimming with confidence.
"They're just the Sky Pirates. Our dad alone could wipe them out. We don't need anyone else at all, right, Dad?"
Achino's expression sharpened as he replied.
"Don't let the gold blind you, my sons. Those aren't ordinary small-time pirates."
"Hey, Dad…"
"But those foolish treasure hunters actually dare to make me wait here for them. It's infuriating… heh…"
As he spoke, Achino's body temperature began to rise again beyond his control. White steam blasted from his nostrils, making the two sons and the daughter beside him instinctively retreat in alarm.
Just then, to everyone's disbelief, another voice suddenly echoed through the room.
"I can't just pretend I didn't hear that. Idiots who haven't even mastered Haki, thinking they can run rampant across the seas just by relying on Devil Fruits…"
Everyone was startled and hurriedly looked around, but there was nothing to see.
"Who's there…"
Achino was instantly hit where it hurt. His body temperature surged even higher, heat shimmering in the air as he scanned his surroundings.
Then, before everyone's stunned eyes, it was as if the air itself had been wiped clean. Three translucent figures slowly emerged into view.
"H-how is this possible… Mad Treasure, when did you get here…"
The bosses of the seven major shipbuilding companies stared in complete disbelief, cold sweat pouring down their foreheads.
The place where the figures appeared made it clear they had been hiding in the conference room all along, yet no one had noticed a thing.
That meant…
The thought sent a chill through them, and their gazes snapped toward the Den Den Mushi belonging to their boss, Umit.
"This is bad…"
Even Barbarov, who had remained relatively calm until now, was visibly shaken.
Among the three, a burly man with deep purple, gear-shaped hair, clearly the leader, laughed as he spoke.
"Jararara… we've been here from the very beginning. Who would've thought that the bosses of the seven major shipbuilding companies of Water 7 were all Umit's subordinates, and former pirates at that…"
"What kind of ability was that? Another Devil Fruit?"
Barbarov asked, recalling how they had just turned transparent.
"Scared, huh? I ate the Iro Iro no Mi. I'm a master of disguise. That was my camouflage art, yo…"
Beside Mad Treasure, a brown-skinned man spoke in a rhythmic, rap-like tone.
"Disguise?!"
While everyone was still reeling in shock, the previously silent Den Den Mushi suddenly spoke.
"Now that everyone is here, let's not waste time. As agreed, we'll begin discussing how to bring the Sky Pirates into our fold."
With that, everyone gradually calmed down. Since even their boss didn't seem to mind, they, as subordinates, had nothing to say.
"Understood, Umit-sama. I'll make the arrangements. We'll need a bigger table."
…
More than ten minutes later, everyone was seated together.
"Before we discuss the plan, let's settle the distribution of the spoils first. As agreed—"
Before Barbarov could finish, Achino cut in.
"One billion Belly, the Sky Pirates' pirate flag, and their ship are mine. In addition to that, the promised invitation to enter the Dark World."
"That's not a problem," Barbarov replied on behalf of his boss.
"As for me, all the gold belonging to the Sky Pirates goes to me. No objections, right?"
"That's fine as well."
"Then we can start preparing the battle plan. Of course, if you two think you can defeat them by charging in head-on, I have no objections either."
After speaking, Barbarov looked toward the four members of the Achino family led by Achino, then toward the three treasure hunters led by Mad Treasure. Seeing that neither side spoke, Barbarov nodded.
"Alright then. Since no one has any objections, I'll lay out our plan."
"While bounty amounts don't fully represent a pirate crew's strength, being worth that much, combined with surviving an encounter under Bullet, is more than enough to prove that the Sky Pirates aren't the inexperienced, all-name-no-substance crew people imagine them to be."
"So our strategy is simple. We take them down one by one."
"And to make that happen, we're going to blow up Scrap Island!!!"