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For the sake of one Devil Fruit, every predator in the West Blue had gathered in one place.

This should have been a carnival for pirates and the underworld.

Even so, a small number of bounty hunters, blinded by profit, had disguised themselves and slipped in at great risk. Marine infiltrators, desperate for information, had also entered without fear of death.

Beyond them, a few special guests had arrived as well.

A gentle sea breeze blew as an unremarkable little pirate ship slowly entered Mad Hatter Town's inner bay.

The waters near the docks were already packed with ships. There was no open space left.

Relying on its smaller size, the little ship forced its way through the larger vessels and found a narrow place to berth amid the crowded harbor.

That alone showed how skilled the helmsman was.

On deck, a boy with short, wavy blond hair and a scar around his left eye dropped anchor over the side.

Splash.

The anchor hit the water and sank toward the seabed.

After letting it go, the boy clapped his hands and praised the helmsman without turning around. "Hack, your steering is as good as ever."

"Did you forget again?" the tall man at the helm said instead of accepting the compliment.

"Forget what?"

The boy had barely asked before the back of his head took a sharp chop.

The one who struck him was a girl in a short dress and high black stockings, her figure slender and graceful.

Because the chop had been a little too forceful, the red hat with goggles on her head slipped off and fell onto the deck, revealing orange hair beneath.

The girl was visibly annoyed and did not even bother picking up the hat.

She glared at the confused boy. "How many times do I have to remind you? Aliases. Aliases. Do you know what an alias is?"

"Ha. Sorry, sorry. I forgot." The boy smiled as if it did not matter, bent down, picked up the hat, and set it back on her head.

The girl puffed out her cheeks with an expression that said she had given up on him.

"All right, Pipe. Tell me one more time. What are you supposed to call me? And what are you supposed to call Hack?"

"Clara and Banded Back."

"Good. If you mess it up again, the consequences are on you."

The girl using the alias Clara waved her fist a few times, then headed into the cabin.

The boy called Pipe rubbed the back of his head and muttered, "Even if it's an alias, did you have to give me one as ridiculous as Pipe?"

"What are you standing around for? Get ready. We're going ashore."

Clara's voice came from inside the cabin.

"Coming, coming."

Pipe hurried after her.

A short while later, both of them had changed their appearance slightly. Each wore darker sunglasses.

Pipe added a black top hat, while Clara removed her previous hat and tied up her hair instead.

The most distinctive change was the length of iron tubing strapped across his back.

"Ha... Banded Back, we'll leave the house to you."

Pipe nearly called Hack by his real name again, but Clara's glare caught him in time.

At the cabin doorway, Hack, now using the alias Banded Back, nodded solemnly. "Leave it to me. You two be careful."

"Relax. We're not doing anything reckless."

Pipe waved at him and jumped down from the ship with Clara.

The two walked side by side along the dock.

Clara glanced at him and lowered her voice with helpless annoyance. "You really do exhaust me. That is just a pirate ship we stole. Even as a joke, don't casually call it home."

"Don't worry about little things. It carried us here, and it gave us a convenient cover identity."

"That's true, but..." Clara sighed softly, then grew serious. "Fine. I need to remind you anyway. The main purpose of this operation is information gathering. Do not act on your own."

Pipe pressed down the brim of his hat and said seriously, "I know. The first priority is to figure out the troop deployment around the Labor Factory. If conditions allow, getting a detailed map would be even better."

"As long as you know."

Clara nodded and began observing the flow of people around them.

"Even the docks are this crowded. I can hardly imagine how many pirates and underworld people are gathered inside town."

"That just makes it easier for us to move."

Pipe's gaze flicked across the surrounding terrain, light and quick. Every glance stored away a corresponding detail.

He suddenly caught Clara's hand and pulled her toward the roadside.

Dragged aside so suddenly, Clara looked confused.

"Sorry. I sensed hostility behind us. It wasn't aimed at us, but..."

Pipe explained while glancing, without making it obvious, at a group of murderous-looking pirates approaching from behind them.

With that reminder, Clara noticed the pirates as well. She glanced at them once, then immediately looked away.

Without a word, they both slowed.

Soon, the pirates passed them and headed deeper into town.

Clara watched their backs and carefully searched her memory for West Blue pirate intelligence. After a moment, she whispered, "Sharp-Horn Pirates. They aren't especially famous in the West Blue, but their captain, Kazt, is a Zoan user. He isn't weak."

"A few days ago, an armed merchant ship belonging to the Bolkin Trading Company, one of the largest firms in the West Blue, was attacked by pirates. It was probably them."

Pipe said calmly, "Ordinary pirates couldn't have taken down one of Bolkin's armed merchant ships alone. They must have worked with another crew."

Clara nodded. "Most likely."

"Then it doesn't matter as long as we don't clash with them."

Pipe looked away.

With a gathering like this, plenty of people here were stronger than the Sharp-Horn Pirates.

When Clara heard him say that, a strange look entered her eyes.

Noticing it, Pipe asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing. I'm just surprised your attitude is so appropriate this time. It gives me the strange feeling that you've finally matured."

Pipe chose not to answer.

The two entered the street side by side.

At a glance, the road was full of pirates carrying blades and guns. Most moved in groups of two or three. Few walked alone.

After only a few hundred meters, they had already seen several bloodstains on the ground.

The crowd surged around them. Beyond the noise came the clash of blades, the sounds of fighting, and scattered gunshots from farther away.

Following the sound of steel, they saw a pirate cut down another man with a single slash.

"Ha! Fool. That's what you get for crossing me."

The blood-covered pirate laughed wildly while searching the corpses on the ground for money and weapons.

The surrounding crowd cheered the winner as if they had just watched a thrilling dogfight.

"What a mess," Clara murmured.

Pipe kept his eyes forward, his face expressionless.

In an age like this, such scenes were already ordinary.

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