Not all pirates were like the Straw Hats—adventurers wearing pirate skin.
For the vast majority of those who set sail for adventure, it was never for dreams, but for those shiny, beautiful yellow-gold darlings.
For profit, pirates knew no bottom line and held no lower limit. They burned, killed, pillaged, and plundered—committing every conceivable evil. Totally ignoring the laws set by the World Government, they trampled basic human moral standards into absolute dust.
Yet, despite being despicable to such an extent, a set of rules still circulated among pirates. Though these unwritten rules appeared to carry no legal enforcement, those lawless scoundrels out on the high seas inexplicably held them as golden, inviolable truths.
The cruel pirate game, the Davy Back Fight, was the most prime example.
Once you lost in the Davy Back Fight, the selected crew members were obligated to swear allegiance to their new captain. This was a universally recognized rule within pirate circles.
If anyone tried to go back on their word, their reputation would be completely reviled by all other pirate crews, and they could forget about ever surviving in the pirate world again.
It truly was an extraordinarily cruel form of competition, even if it rarely resulted in casualties.
However, to certain cunning individuals, the Davy Back Fight was an absolute masterstroke for expanding their own pirate crews.
Take "Silver Fox" Foxy, for example.
Even though this split-headed man had a paltry bounty of only 24 million Berries—making him a total nobody in Hannabal—by relying on all sorts of dirty tricks and the powers of his Slow-Slow Fruit, the Foxy Pirates had achieved victory after victory in the Davy Back Fight, absorbing many capable subordinates and growing into a force that could not be overlooked.
And now, the Silver Fox had set his sights squarely on the Straw Hat Pirates...
Late at night, deep within the hideout of the Foxy Pirates, an internal meeting was currently underway.
"Captain Foxy, I still don't get it. Why do we have to issue a challenge to the Straw Hats?"
The speaker was a tall, green-skinned Fish-Man. He had a pointy nose, and across his eyes sat the signature black eye mask of the Foxy Pirates.
"I looked into the commotion that happened on the East Island today, and it turns out it was caused by the Sorcerer on their ship! They say that in just a few breaths of time, an entire street was completely wiped off the map!"
"The Sorcerer's bounty is 97 million Berries! I'm afraid their Straw Hat captain, whose bounty is over a hundred million, must be even more terrifying!"
Hearing what the green-skinned Fish-Man said, the rest of the Foxy Pirates swallowed hard in unison, then turned their gazes toward their captain.
To be honest, they were extremely baffled by their captain's actions this time around as well.
"Capote, are you an idiot?"
Foxy was in no hurry to answer. Instead, Porche, who sat right beside him, pouted at the green-skinned Fish-Man and said, "You've been following the Boss for so long, and you still don't get it? If the Boss didn't have absolute certainty, how could he possibly challenge someone else?"
"Puh-puh-puh! The Captain is a very sly man, after all," Hamburg muttered, covering his mouth as he let out a sneaky laugh.
(That's true... The Captain is as sly as a fox. He wouldn't be that reckless.) The others exchanged glances, their hearts settling down a bit.
"Feffeffeffe... Since you're all so puzzled by this, allow me to explain a little."
Foxy leaned back against the back of his chair and explained to his subordinates, "First of all, you all need to make two things clear. Number one: the Straw Hats are indeed very strong. If we were to fight them in the Dead End Race—where there are no rules to speak of—it would be extremely difficult for us to defeat them."
"Number two: wanting to defeat the Straw Hats in the Davy Back Fight doesn't mean we actually have to win this Dead End Race."
"Huh?" Everyone's faces were filled with utter confusion.
"But, Captain Foxy..."
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Capote's forehead as he questioned, "The only event in our Davy Back Fight this time is the Dead End Race itself! That's the only reason we managed to save that 10-million-Berry entry fee!"
"Yes, you're absolutely right. But you have to remember, we and the Straw Hats aren't the only two pirate crews entering the Dead End Race." A glint of cunning flashed in Silver Fox's eyes. Paired with his already wretched appearance, it made him look exceptionally insidious.
"To win this Davy Back Fight, someone needs to win the championship of the Dead End Race. But have you guys considered this: what if the champions turn out to be another pirate crew entirely?"
"Boss, you mean...?" A few of the sharper pirates showed sudden realization.
"Feffeffe... The contestants this time include General Gasparde, the Fish-Man Alliance, and countless other powerful pirate crews. Winning the championship is going to be ridiculously hard!"
Foxy raised his head with immense smugness and grinned. "So right from the start, I never intended to fight for that championship! As long as the Straw Hat Pirates don't take first place, this Davy Back Fight can be treated as a draw..."
"..." Everyone fell silent. As they stared at the split-headed man's sinister smile, they finally understood what their captain was planning.
A Davy Back Fight could never end in a draw; a clear winner and loser had to be decided. If a round ended in a tie, an immediate sudden-death tiebreaker would follow until a victor emerged.
"The Straw Hat Pirates will definitely go all out to win the race, running headfirst into conflicts with the other powerful pirate crews. Meanwhile, we'll just sit back on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."
A dark, meaningful smile appeared on Porche's face as she said softly, "Once the Dead End Race comes to an end, we'll immediately initiate the tiebreaker match. By then, the Straw Hats will surely be severely weakened, while we'll have been conserving our strength right from the start..."
"When that time comes, we couldn't lose even if we tried!" A pirate jumped up in excitement, pumping his fist into the air as he shouted, "That way, the Straw Hats will be swallowed up by us! The Foxy Pirates will become even stronger!"
"As expected of the Boss!"
"You're amazing, Captain Foxy!"
The pirates were beside themselves with excitement. Their eyes shone with fiery enthusiasm, their faces turning red from sheer exhilaration.
"Feffeffe! Really now, who do you think I am? Feffeffeffe..."
Foxy threw his head back and laughed loudly at the sky. Listening to the rampant flattery of his subordinates, the split-headed man had already swelled with arrogance to an uncontrollable degree.
Looking at how completely confident these pirates were, it seemed not a single one realized that there was a fatal flaw in this plan.
Namely: what on earth were they supposed to do if the Straw Hat Pirates actually did win the Dead End Race?
However, not everyone in the room had lost their minds.
In that very room, a peculiar man and woman sat in a dark corner, looking on with cold eyes—completely out of place with the lively atmosphere around them.
To be precise, it was a man, a woman, and a dog...
"Sigh... Talk about asking for death. I really don't know where these pirates get their mysterious confidence from."
A beautiful woman wearing a ladies' suit, a black eye mask, and possessing a hairstyle that looked remarkably like cat ears spoke with utter disdain, whispering her complaint to her companion: "If this pirate crew hadn't been the easiest one to blend into, I wouldn't want to hang around with these idiots for even a second."
"It doesn't matter, Carter. Once their ship takes us to our destination, killing every single one of them won't be a problem at all."
The speaker was a muscular man in a athletic tank top. He wore a pair of sunglasses, and his bright red mohawk was particularly eye-catching.
"Besides, this mission is a classified operation that even the Marines can't know about. Killing them will be perfect for silencing them."
Miss Carter nodded in agreement. Looking at the mohawk-wearing man beside her, she lowered her voice to a level only the two of them could hear: "Kosha, what secret does this Seven-Star Sword actually hold to make those higher-ups care so much about it?"
The agent named Kosha pondered for a moment. Just as he was about to answer, the husky lying at their feet suddenly raised its head alertly, emitting a low growl from its throat.
(They're here?) The expressions of both Carter and Kosha shifted. Exchanging a glance, they silently slipped away from their spots, vanishing into the night outside the building.
Under the bright moonlight, they instantly spotted a man wearing a white suit and a mask standing at a nearby street corner.
This masked man was none other than the CP0 agent who had just completed a transaction with Madame Emily earlier today.
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