"Prepare to open fire!!"
The panicked voice of a Marine echoed across the harbor, which had erupted into chaos.
Seth stood calmly, unbothered by the dozens of rifles aimed at him. His attention wasn't on the weapons , it was fixed on the frail-looking man up front, the one with the rat-like face. Behind him stood a formation of Marine soldiers, guns in hand, all aiming at the man in the black cloak and mask that revealed only his eyes.
Seth, who had just descended from the sky and destroyed a small portion of the port, smiled. He had wanted a dramatic entrance, which led to the current situation.
He pointed a finger directly at the rat-faced man and spoke in a sharp voice
"You're Marine Lieutenant Nezumi, aren't you?"
"Yes! Who are you!? What are you doing here!? Do you realize trespassing on a Marine base is a serious crime!?"
Despite the fear in his voice, Nezumi bombarded Seth with questions.
"Hmm… Who am I? You're not qualified to know that," Seth replied with mocking sarcasm.
"You…!!"
Nezumi clenched his teeth in fury.
Seth added while reaching into his coat,
"As for why I'm here , well…"
Bang!!
"Hmm...?"
Seth looked down at his chest. A bullet had just pierced through it.
"I... I…"
The Marine soldier who fired tried to explain himself as his comrades all stared at him.
"Good shot! , what are you waiting for , open the damn fire on this criminal!"
"Fire!!"
Nezumi barked his order gleefully.
Without hesitation, the Marines obeyed and began firing round after round at Seth, who stood completely still like a fool.
Bang!!
Bang!!
Bang!!
Gunfire echoed through the area. Dozens of bullets tore through Seth's body, but no blood was spilled.
He slowly lifted his head and looked at the formation of Marines, who were now drenched in sweat. Seth remained completely still, untouched, even after several bullets had struck his chest , and even a few had gone through his head.
"Am I hallucinating!?"
One of the soldiers muttered aloud in disbelief. His comrade pinched himself.
"Nope! Not a dream. This guy's a monster..."
"Where the hell did he come from!?"
"What have we gotten ourselves into…?"
"A monster!!"
The troops began retreating instinctively, unable to control their fear.
"Y-You there!! What the hell are you!?"
Nezumi screamed, his body trembling as he backed up behind his troops.
"Hmph, that was rude…"
Seth muttered with mild irritation, glancing at the bullet holes in his cloak as they began to seal themselves.
"Anyway, I'll pretend none of you fired at me…"
He locked eyes with Nezumi and gestured for him to come forward.
"Don't worry, I'm not here with hostile intent…"
He pulled a few documents from his inner coat pocket, raising an eyebrow when he noticed Nezumi frozen in fear. Seth sighed and spoke in a firm voice.
"Listen. I'll count to three. If you're not in front of me by then… I'll send you on a one-way trip to hell."
"One…"
"Two…"
"Wait! , Wait! , I'm coming , I'm coming!!"
Nezumi ran forward in a panic and stood before Seth, shaking under the killing intent radiating from him.
Seth stopped counting. A smile curled beneath his mask. He patted Nezumi on the head mockingly.
"Obedient dog…"
Nezumi clenched his jaw in shame and anger but dared not look up at Seth.
"Tch ! , Boring..."
Seth muttered, clearly disappointed. He tossed the documents to the ground.
"Pick them up. You might find something… interesting."
Nezumi scrambled to grab one of the pages, but the others were blown away by the wind. He chased one down before it hit the water, then quickly skimmed the first page, his eyes widened in shock. He read the second one, and his body began to tremble.
Then came Seth's sarcastic voice
"Last night, I caught a variety of fish. One of them was particularly stubborn…"
"A saw-nose shark."
Nezumi's face turned pale the moment he heard that last part.
"Damn it… He's talking about Arlong…"
"Damn it!! That useless bastard! How could he let someone like this get hold of a document like that!?"
Seth watched him sweat and said indifferently,
"Those fish… are dead. I'm in charge of that place now. And as you can see, I'm a little too busy to handle security. So I'd like you to handle it. Naturally, I'll pay you…"
Seth leaned in slightly, his voice dark and cold.
"The price is simple: if you don't do exactly as I say, I'll send these documents to Marine HQ. And you know better than anyone what will happen next…"
"A Marine lieutenant caught cooperating with a notorious pirate…"
Seth stopped mid-sentence. He blinked.
"Blegh!!… What documents are you talking about?"
Nezumi asked nervously, his mouth full as he swallowed the documents.
Seth's mouth fell open in disbelief. He sighed and shook his head.
"You really shouldn't have done that…"
"Those documents were your ticket to staying alive. You really have no idea the position you're in… do you?"
Seth placed a hand on Nezumi's head. The man began to weep and beg.
"wait !! ,Please… f-forgive me…"
"Too late."
Seth said coldly, and activated the Flame ability.
ZZZZZTT!!!
The Marines flinched and froze in place. Their eyes widened as Nezumi's head exploded like a watermelon.
Without hesitation, they dropped their weapons and fled in terror.
Seth watched them run. Flames danced across his body without burning his clothes.
"Might as well finish the job…"
"Fire Fist."
A massive fist of fire shot forth, engulfing the fleeing Marines.
BOOOOM!!
"Pillar of Flame."
-----
Crack !!
The dust hung thick in the air. The scent of ash was everywhere.
The Marine base was reduced to rubble. Fire devoured the walls. Smoke poured from every corner.
Seth stood amid the wreckage. The flames slowly faded from his body. His eyes scanned the destruction in silence.
"Much better, just Like my mother said , no need to overthink. Besides, no one will tie this back to me .... I never used Flame powers publicly…"
"The one known for flame is Ace…"
He muttered as he walked over the scorched ground, stepping around twisted metal and charred bodies.
He entered the ruined storage room. It was half-destroyed, but the iron chest in the corner remained intact.
CRACK!!
He kicked the box open, revealing piles of cash, wads of golden Berries.
He reached in, pulled bundle after bundle, and packed them into a cotton sack he'd taken from one of the soldiers.
After counting it all, he sighed bitterly.
"Twelve million Berries…"
"If only I could've made money this easily back then… my father might still be alive…"
He pushed the thought away, tied the sack shut, and slung it over his shoulder.
Leaving the scorched building, he looked toward the horizon. A cold breeze pushed the smoke aside. He stood still for a few moments.
"No reason to stay here any longer…"
He jumped onto one of the sailboats drifting by the port, it was in better shape than his own. Tossing the sack aboard, he began adjusting the sails.