บท 9: CHAPTER 9

"Long live Lord Alastor! Long live Lord Alastor!"

Alastor preferred real money in his pockets over the empty glory of cheers for "long live." Still, as a leader, he knew it was essential to balance grace with power, especially if he wanted these pirates and ruffians to work loyally for him in the future.

Internal destruction could directly damage the inside of a person's body, but Alastor's defense was complete, without any weaknesses—his body was equally tough inside and out.

That's why, no matter how hard Wamon tried, he couldn't inflict any truly fatal damage on Alastor —not even enough to seriously wound him.

Alastor glanced at the scattered corpses of Wamon and more than a dozen other members of the Atamayama Thieves Brigade on the ground. He wasn't about to show them the mercy of collecting their bodies.

"Let's go back to Bakura Town," he said, waving his hand as he led his elated subordinates back.

About half an hour after Alastor left, the bandits sent by Shutenmaru to support Wamon arrived.

Seeing the blood-soaked, horrific scene before them, one of the bandits froze, his face turning pale.

"Master Wa... Wamon, they're... they're all dead..."

The bandit stood there in shock, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him.

A cold wind blew, carrying the smell of blood and causing him to shiver. Finally, he turned and stumbled back toward the bandits' headquarters.

"Where are Wamon and the others?" Shutenmaru, wearing a purple-striped coat, asked.

The returning bandit's eyes were empty and lifeless. "Brother Wamon and the others... they're dead."

Shutenmaru, who had been lifting a bowl to drink, froze in shock. "What did you say?"

"They're all dead, and it was brutal. Intestines were scattered everywhere, and Brother Wamon's head had fallen to the ground, nearly crushed."

The bandit, who had been holding back his emotions, finally broke down, crying as he recounted the horrific scene he had witnessed to Shutenmaru.

"They died so terribly, Boss Shutenmaru!"

Shutenmaru's hand, still holding the wine bowl, began to tremble, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

Crack! The wine bowl shattered in his grip.

A terrible murderous intent formed on his face, and he said to the knight before him, "Take me to where Wamon fell."

Wamon's death sent shockwaves through the entire Atamayama Thieves Brigade. After all, Wamon was the second-in-command.

As they marched, members of the bandit group shouted angrily:

"Who killed Brother Wamon?"

"Who else? It must be those damn Beast Pirates!"

"Damn it, I swear we'll avenge Brother Wamon!"

"With Brother Wamon's strength, it should've taken three or five of the Beast Pirates to even try and bring him down. Could it be that Jack "the drought" himself did it?"

They all knew the Beast Pirates' true strength. In the Kuri region, the Atamayama Thieves Brigade was well-acquainted with these enemies—they had been rivals for over a decade.

To them, no ordinary member of the Beast Pirates could've possibly killed Brother Wamon, even if several joined forces. After some thought, they concluded that only Jack could have done this.

After hearing his men's analysis, Shutenmaru's expression grew even darker.

In truth, he also believed that Jack was the culprit.

Soon, they arrived at the scene of Wamon's tragic end.

The brutal sight made the eyes of every member of the Atamayama Thieves Brigade turn red with fury.

"Boss Shutenmaru, let's go to war with the Beast Pirates!"

"We'll take down Jack and avenge Brother Wamon!"

The crowd was excited.

Although Shutenmaru was also furious, he managed to keep a trace of calm and quickly realized something was off.

In a deep voice, Shutenmaru said, "Maybe it wasn't that bastard Jack who did this."

"What? It wasn't Jack? How could that be?" The younger members were stunned.

Shutenmaru glanced around at the smooth ground, noticing only minimal disruption—barely any trees were broken.

"If it were Jack, there would be massive craters everywhere, and not just the trees but even the grass would be destroyed!"

They called him "Drought" for a reason—wherever he went, trees fell, and not a blade of grass was left standing.

Shutenmaru had clashed with Jack several times and knew that his attacks would have left a much larger impact on the surroundings.

The members of the Atamayama Thieves Brigade looked at each other in confusion.

If it wasn't Jack, could it have been one of the other high-ranking members of the Beast Pirates, like the Agents or one of the other two Calamities?

But that didn't make sense; the Kuri region was Jack's territory, and no one else would usually interfere with his domain.

"Who did this? Tell me, Wamon!" Shutenmaru looked at Wamon's lifeless head and asked in anguish.

---

Meanwhile, in Bakura Town, the pirates were celebrating with drums and laughter.

A grand feast was underway.

Billy had bought several carts full of safe food from the Orochi tribe, making all the pirates' mouths water.

But none dared dig in until Master Alastor had taken the first bite.

Alastor didn't pay them any mind, instead eating heartily and devouring an entire cart of food by himself.

Speed, Billy, and the others stared, jaws nearly hitting the floor.

Alastor glanced over at them, then set his sights on another cart of food, saying casually, "Aren't you eating? Don't be shy."

They looked at each other and then scrambled toward the last cart, ravenously digging in.

"Billy, did you notice? After Master Alastor ate from that cart, his injuries almost seemed healed!"

Speed ate more delicately, observing Alastor as she whispered her surprise to Billy.

Billy, focused solely on being Alastor's follower, replied in an awestruck tone, "Is that all? This is Lord Alastor we're talking about. Even Master Jack, the Drought, holds him in high regard!"

Early the next morning after the banquet, Alastor gathered everyone once more:

"Continue searching for any traces of the Atamayama Thieves Brigade as before."

"Yes, Master Alastor!"

Billy and the others rushed off to work without a second thought. Only Speed asked, "We just wiped out a group of mountain bandits yesterday—will they really show up again today?"

Alastor smiled and replied, "Good question. It's precisely because we killed some of them yesterday that they'll be forced to come out today. We took their money, and now they can't eat!"

Hearing this, Speed was convinced and set off energetically.

Just as Alastor predicted, Speed soon discovered another group of bandits. This group was even bolder than the last, as they'd gone so far as to steal food from Paradise Farm!

Paradise Farm, a fertile piece of land developed by Kozuki Oden, was one of his few successful political achievements. Today, it's one of the only places in Wano Country that can produce safe food amidst the pollution covering most of the land. The food for last night's banquet had come from this very farm.

Upon receiving this news, Alastor set out immediately.

The leader of this bandit group wasn't particularly strong—far weaker than Wamon. Alastor had no interest in exchanging words with him and swiftly dispatched him, securing a good haul of safe food.

When word of this incident reached the bandit headquarters in Atama Mountain, Shutenmaru flew into a rage, his face twisted with fury.

"Not only did they kill one of my top men, but they killed a second one too! Do they think I'm made of clay? Whoever did this, I swear I'll tear them to pieces!"

On Onigashima, in the Palace of Drought.

Ever since Jack learned that Alastor had instantly killed Holdem and become his strongest subordinate, he'd started to pay special attention to him—the man whose name he'd barely remembered before.

As the chief overseer of the Kuri region, Jack would receive reports whenever something major happened in Bakura Town.

One day, a young man arrived with a report:

"Lord Jack, Master Alastor has mobilized everyone to track down the Atamayama Thieves Brigade. I heard they even killed the bandits' second-in-command, Wamon!"

Jack was both surprised and delighted to hear the news.

What surprised him was Alastor's boldness in daring to challenge the notorious Atamayama Thieves Brigade. After all, Shutenmaru, the leader of the bandits, was no small threat—even Jack himself wasn't entirely certain he could handle him.

What delighted Jack was that Alastor's strength was far greater than he'd initially thought.

Jack knew Wamon was quite formidable—Shutenmaru's right-hand man and much stronger than the late Holdem—yet Alastor had managed to defeat him.

"Good!" Jack clapped his leg in approval.

However, when he received word the next day that Alastor had taken down yet another officer of the Toushan Bandit Group, Jack was no longer as pleased. Beneath his iron mask, he looked slightly concerned.

Standing beside him was Sheepshead, who had a sheep-like form due to his artificial Devil Fruit powers and served as Jack's trusted subordinate. Guessing Jack's thoughts, Sippshead said, "Master Jack, Alastor is indeed strong, but Shutenmaru is even stronger. If Alastor keeps provoking the Atamayama Thieves Brigade, he might be in danger."

This was precisely Jack's concern; he didn't want his valued subordinate to be killed by Shutenmaru.

Sheepshead offered, "Master Jack, allow me to go to Kuri and warn Alastor."

"No, I'll go myself."

Drought Jack stood up, his over-eight-meter-tall frame towering like a mountain, radiating an imposing aura. In a deep voice, he commanded, "Prepare the ship. We're heading to Kuri."

"Yes, Master Jack!" Sheepshead quickly obeyed.

In truth, Jack had wanted to meet Alastor for some time but hadn't found the right opportunity. This was the perfect chance, and it would also show his care for his subordinates—a win-win situation.

Jack set off swiftly, bringing only Sheepshead, and headed to Kuri. After half a day's journey, they arrived in Bakura Town.

The hall that had once belonged to Holdem was now Alastor's residence.

Alastor was idly running his fingers along the blade of the Sandai Kitetsu, feeling the sinister energy within it, when Billy burst in, looking both excited and awestruck.

"Lord Alastor, M-Master Jack is here!"

Alastor raised an eyebrow. Drought Jack was here? And without any prior notice?

Still, he wasn't overly surprised; as chief of the Kuri District, Jack's visit was a reasonable inspection.