"Keh keh, if I had really left, wouldn't I have missed out on such miraculous treasures? I kept wondering how they cooked two thousand portions in half an hour. So that was the trick, these wonders on you!"
"These jars are truly magical. Heaven itself favors me!"
Don Krieg stared at every jar on Amon's ship, greed soaking his face. He silently congratulated himself for not striking first and instead tailing them. Otherwise this shipload of treasure would have slipped through his fingers.
Now that he "owned" the ship, he was certain it would not be long before he dominated the entire Grand Line. He even pictured the final treasure falling neatly into his hands. The brighter his imagined future grew, the wider his grin spread.
Having already declared the ship his, he no longer worried about Zeff. The old man had swallowed a potion right in front of him, and now the man could barely stand. Krieg took it as proof the heavens were on his side. As for Amon, the harmless-looking shopkeeper, Krieg did not put him in his eyes at all. If the man behaved, perhaps he would leave him a dog's life. If he dared resist, heh…
"Admiral, truly brilliant!" Pearl chimed in, piling on the flattery. "With a vessel like this full of treasure, our Don Krieg Pirates will become the strongest crew in the world."
"Hahaha, do not fret. Your reward will be generous," Krieg said with a lordly wave.
"Thank you, Admiral!" Pearl's face lit up at the promise.
The sudden reappearance of the three villains drained the color from the Baratie crew. Then they saw all those pirate ships that had "departed" silently circling back.
"Despicable!"
"Krieg, you have no honor!"
"Hahaha. Despicable, no honor, do you expect pirates to keep their word?"
Their curses were music to Krieg's ears. He threw his head back and laughed. "Besides, you will all die in a moment, so who will be left to tell tales about Don Krieg?"
His intent was plain. He would kill everyone here, especially now that he had seen the jars' power. The timid cooks' knees knocked together. The fighting cooks' faces went scarlet with fury, ready to bite.
Zeff, weakened by the potion's side effect, had already fainted. With their captain out cold, the staff's worry only deepened.
On deck, Amon watched Krieg's performance with bored amusement. He had noticed the tail the moment Sanji led everyone over. He even remembered this crew. Ten years from now they would blunder into Mihawk's path on the Grand Line, wake the world's greatest swordsman from a nap, and get fifty ships carved into driftwood for the offense. Then they would limp to the Baratie and be thrashed by a brand-new pirate captain named Luffy, with Zoro and Sanji at his side.
Biggest crew in the East Blue, sure, yet weak as water. Even ten years later Krieg would barely be worth 17 million. Right now, he might crack ten million on a good day. Trash. Amon could pinch him flat with one finger.
And this clown still dared to rob him, swaggering like he had already won. It was almost funny.
"Mr. Amon, do not worry. We will protect you. When fighting starts, take your boat and run. I am sorry, I brought this trouble to you." The small blond leaned close, voice low and tight with shame.
Amon smiled and said nothing.
Below, Krieg admired the ring of ships closing in and grew even more pleased with himself. "Keh keh. No one is running anywhere. Kid, your body is small but your mind is sharp."
Sanji and Amon had spoken softly, but not softly enough to escape Krieg's ears.
"Boys, move. Seize this boat of treasures, and the East Blue belongs to Don Krieg."
Crew surged toward the ship.
"Mr. Amon, go, hurry, or it will be too late," Sanji urged. In his eyes, Amon was just a civilian, one breath from being cut down.
"Ah, people these days, no decency at all. I try to sell things quietly, and someone already wants to rob me. I had hoped to keep a low profile."
Amon stretched lazily and stepped out. Under a hundred shocked eyes, he let his presence roll free. A crushing pressure burst from him. Krieg and his two lieutenants froze where they stood, faces draining in disbelief.
Amon walked toward them at an unhurried pace.
Krieg stared, sweat soaking his back. Only now did he understand what kind of beast he had poked.
"What is happening to Krieg, why did he stop?"
"Is the shopkeeper a master?"
"Looks like it, thank the heavens, we might live!"
On the Baratie, the cooks whispered, hope edging into their voices.
Then someone muttered, just loud enough, "Look at that back, does he not look like that over-one-hundred-million bounty merchant?"
Heads turned as one. Faces changed. It matched, perfectly. The infamous man who punched a Celestial Dragon and drew a Marine Admiral, right here on their rail.
Krieg and his men heard it too. Terror hit the ceiling. Knees shuddered. They dropped flat, pressed to the planks like dying dogs. They wanted to beg for mercy, yet under that suffocating pressure, even breathing was a task. Words were impossible.
So this was the kind of man they had tried to rob. Ridiculous.
Amon crouched in front of Krieg, smiling without warmth. "I hear you wanted to rob my jars?"
Krieg's eyes filled with tears. Why had his mouth been so cheap?
"I also hear the Don Krieg Pirates are the largest crew in the East Blue." Amon glanced past him at the proud ring of hulls. His lip curled.
He raised his right hand. A blade of light leapt free.
Weight crashed over the sea, a pressure like a mountain range. Sword intent flooded every inch of space, and the air itself quivered.
A deep hum rolled across the water. That will surged again, rattling the sky.
"So strong…"
The cooks stared, stunned. The pirates on the surrounding ships sensed something wrong at once.
"What is that?"
"What is happening?"
Boom!
The sword light arrived, death in a single stroke. Every ship that Krieg had brought erupted at once. Men gaped, minds blank with shock. Instinct screamed the only answer. Run.
Amon did not plan to let any of them escape. These were pirates with a ledger full of blood. He felt no need for mercy.
His fingers flicked.
Radiant sword energy blossomed overhead and fell like a river of stars.
A beam tens of meters long linked sea and sky and then scythed forward. Everything it touched was swallowed. Screams knifed upward as bodies spun through the air like leaves in a storm.
The sword energy did not slow. It knifed on, a moon-bright arc, and the ring of pirate ships shattered into splinters. Wood geysered into the sky, then rained down in a mad hail as the light finally thinned and went out.
Silence spread, broken only by the hiss of falling debris on the water.
The Baratie crew stood with eyes wide. Too strong. Far too strong.
Sanji had gone pale. He had told Amon to run. Now he wished the deck would swallow him whole.
On the lower rail, Krieg panted with glassy eyes. His fleet, his years of work, erased with a casual wave. There was no time to mourn. He could not even control his own limbs to crawl away.
"How frightening. Newcomers these days, truly more and more frightening."
A lazy drawl brushed Amon's ear.
Before anyone could react, a tall, lank man in a yellow striped suit and sunglasses, stubble rough on his chin, stepped into view.