"No, to be precise, I am very angry."
Mio's tone gradually turned cold.
Massacres of a town are not rare in the pirate world. After all, this is the real world—far from the idealized beauty shown in anime. Pirates run rampant across the seas, many of whom will stop at nothing to seize wealth and power. To them, destroying a town—or even an entire kingdom—is acceptable if it means fulfilling their goals.
As for such things, Mio would not personally engage in them, but neither would he care—as long as they didn't hinder him.
But this time, it did. It had disrupted his plans and wasted his time.
"Black Crow, I used to be on the same boat with Whitebeard. This is my son—you should recognize him, right? He's the son of me and Whitebeard. For Whitebeard's sake, I hope you won't go too far. You want alcohol, but we haven't touched any of the wine in this town. Just go get it yourself," Miss Ba Jin said in a low voice, her eyes filled with fear.
Despite her words, she didn't dare harbor any thoughts of resistance.
The power gap was just too vast.
She had once sailed under Whitebeard's banner and knew exactly how terrifying someone of his caliber could be. Her son was strong, but when facing the Black Crow, he stood no chance.
"You didn't touch the wine? And now you're invoking Whitebeard's name?" Mio sneered, grabbed Miss Ba Jin's head, and slammed it into the ground. His voice grew darker. "I might let you live, but first, you'll coat my ship. You leave after that. If you can't do it—then even if Whitebeard himself came, it would be useless. Let alone someone claiming to be his son. And besides… is he really Whitebeard's son?"
If Whitebeard truly had a son, would he let him be used by a woman like Ba Jin? Whitebeard treasured his family too much for that. Letting his own child be used as a tool to extort others? Unthinkable.
Bang!
Miss Ba Jin's face smashed into the ground, now smeared with blood.
Weevil, who had just risen from the ground, saw this and erupted in anger. "Mom! You bad guy, dare to hurt mom! Weevil will kill you!"
With a furious cry, he threw a punch toward Mio.
A powerful gust howled as the punch sliced through the air.
Mio casually raised his hand to block the attack and curled his lips. "Not bad strength. Kind of like Whitebeard… but that's all."
And then—
Mio's power exploded.
Crack.
A sickening twist and the sound of bones snapping filled the air. Tears welled in Weevil's eyes as intense pain overtook him.
"Aghh! It hurts! It hurts so much! Mom, Weevil hurts!" he screamed while rolling on the ground in agony.
Weevil's physical ability was impressive. Though clearly untrained, he possessed astonishing raw power. If given proper training and a suitable Devil Fruit, he might have reached admiral-level strength someday—even if his intellect left much to be desired.
But alas, he fell under the manipulation of Miss Ba Jin.
And Mio had no interest in keeping a mindless brute on his crew.
Miss Ba Jin climbed up again, this time smiling nervously and nodding quickly. "Yes, yes, we'll coat your ship! Right away! Please just don't kill us!"
"Oh?" Mio raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Then, he smiled faintly. "In that case, get to work."
"Of course, of course!" Miss Ba Jin nodded repeatedly, then turned to Weevil, who was still writhing on the ground, and kicked him. "Get up, Weevil! We need to coat Lord Black Crow's ship!"
"But Mom, Weevil is hurting…"
"You have to move even if it hurts! Don't you want to meet your dad?" Miss Ba Jin snapped impatiently.
At the mention of his "father," Weevil immediately forced himself to his feet.
Miss Ba Jin shot Mio a warm, fawning smile. "I'll take my son to coat your ship now, Lord."
She began dragging Weevil toward the port.
Mio merely stood and watched, a subtle smile on his lips—one of quiet ridicule that Ba Jin failed to notice.
Not long after, Miss Ba Jin suddenly shouted, "Weevil! My dear son! They hurt your mother! Kill them and avenge me!!"
Then, like a seasoned pirate, she bolted—grabbing her money pouch and sprinting out of the town.
Weevil, loyal as ever, roared and lifted his large blade. "Weevil will kill you to avenge Mom!!"
"How cruel," Lilith muttered, watching the fleeing figure of Ba Jin.
No matter how much Weevil had done for her, she betrayed him without hesitation. That's the nature of pirates—especially ones like her.
But both Lilith and Mio had anticipated this.
Bang!
Mio grabbed Weevil's sword with one hand, stopping it with ease. With a slight movement, he pushed Weevil back several steps. Then, with a flash, he vanished—and reappeared beside him.
He seized Weevil's head and smashed it into the ground.
RUMBLE.
The earth cracked beneath the force.
And Mio didn't stop.
He yanked Weevil's head up again and slammed it down once more.
Meanwhile, some distance away, Lilith intercepted Miss Ba Jin's escape. She stood in her path, a faint smile on her face. "Naive. Did you really think you could escape?"
Before Ba Jin could respond, Lilith snapped her fingers.
Her wings spread wide behind her, fluttering softly.
Wind blades surged into the air.
And then—the ability of the Replacement Fruit activated.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The trajectory of the wind blades shifted unpredictably.
Screams echoed as blood splashed into the air.
Within moments, Ba Jin's legs were sliced open. She collapsed, blood pouring from her wounds, her face twisted in agony.
"If you'd apologized earlier, you might have lived," Lilith said coldly. "But now? I'm afraid your time is up."
With a swift kick, Ba Jin's broken body flew back—landing before Mio.
Next to her lay Weevil, unconscious from the earlier assault.
Both waited in silence.
Awaiting judgment from the Black Crow.