{Upper Yard}
Vane, along with his two guards, Hiro and Jimmy, all sat together in the castle stationed at the upper yard. The trio were all bored whereas they were having a very long day after ensuring their underground business was flourishing.
"I think I'll die of boredom." Vane pouted, lounging his face on his palms.
Jimmy intercepted, "I'll be the first to die of boredom, Vane. We don't have anything important other than staying hooked inside the castle all day."
"I definitely agree with you, Jimmy," Hiro sighed, "why don't we take a walk outside?"
A sudden realization just dawned on Vane, compelling him to jolt away from his recliner. "Let's send the pirates an invitation." He snapped his finger with a wide grin plastered on his lips.
Hiro and Jimmy shared a glance, "pirates? Wait, do you mean…" They uttered in unison!
"Yes, pirates!" Vane massaged his temples, "let's have the Blue Eyed pirates here on the upper yard."
Hiro leaned against the wall while sipping a glass of liquor. "But how are we going to lure them here?"
"Vane-san, we can't just lure them here as of now," Jimmy said, "why don't we extend the invitation to all the pirates camping here on the upper yard and also those from the nearby islands?"
Vane halted in his tracks, contemplating on his plans to lure the rookies of the sea into his threshold to take their heads. "Let's set up a game."
"Game?"
"What type of game would get the pirates intrigued to participate?"
Silence loomed in the castle for a brief extent, the trio trying to figure out the best game to hasps the pirates' engrossment and also to hook Gojo and his crew in a trap making them a vip participants.
"Hiro, I'll need you to deploy this message to Foolio right away. Get him to send an invitation to the captain of the Blue Eyed pirates in Crownfall city and all the pirates lurking in the nearby islands or rather, I'll have him to extend the invitation to all pirates throughout the Grand Line," Vane ordered, "It'll be a death game and also, whoever snitches on us with the marines will have to face his fate."
"Impressive. We'll have some rookies including the Straw Hats pirates to feast with us. I could see all these pawns playing right into your plan." Hiro answered with a grin.
Vane sipped a barrel of liquor, "most of these pirates are in for treasure chest and treasure maps, so we'll have him write that in the invitation letter."
"Aren't you planning to include your own name in the body of the invitation letter? Most of these pirates sailing in the Grand Line might know about our tale in the seas and some might be willing to join your crew if they find out you're still alive as well as the mastermind of this pirate festival."
Vane shrugged, "you certainly have a good point. I'll have Foolio do that and also, the event will commence in a week from now."
"A week?"
"Yes. We'll have the slaves set up the stage before the time comes."
"A pirate festival, huh? Can't imagine how many fishes will fall in your trap, kahekahe." Jimmy chucked.
"It'll be fun. We will afford the pirates with the latitude to engage in whatever actions they see fit—up to and including theft, murder, abduction, and other such offenses.." Vane clenched his fist, "furthermore, any individual who dares to disclose any information to the marines regarding this festival shall be made to crumble into oblivion by my very own."
"Anyways, it's going to be fun. We'll have the pirates kill one another while the secret plan commences."
Hiro hoists his sword from the shelf he allotted it earlier as he departs from the castle to relay the message to Foolio who was occupied divulging orders to the slaves underground.
***
{Underground}
"Is it advancing smoothly?" Hiro asked, glancing at the bandaged slaves, drenched in tons of sweat while working densely.
Foolio, the corrupt marine commodore, shifted his gaze from the slaves towards Vane's right hand man. "Oh, nice to meet you, Hiro. How are you feeling today?"
Hiro strode forward diligently, his grin never fading away from his lips as he strapped his hands over Foolio's shoulder. "Come with me for a second, I've got some important alert for you."
Foolio shrugged, swallowing hard as Hiro escorted him into a shallow corner where the slaves were unable to eavesdrop on their conversation. "W-What is it you want to talk about?" His heart pounded extremely hard as if it was about to flare up.
"Chill down," Hiro used a finger to trace Foolio's lips, "what I am about to clarify you must be kept secret of course." His voice was calm but terrifying.
"Y-Yes sir."
"If you dare snitch on us by alerting the marines, you'll face the consequences."
Foolio swallowed as sweat slid on his brows.
"Good boy," Hiro smiled, "an order from Vane. He needs you to write an invitation letter to every pirate lurking through the first half of the Grand Line. Of course, we'll welcome the pirates with tons of food, liquor and girls–"
Foolie cut him off, "s-sorry to cut you off, Hiro-san. What exactly do you mean?"
Hiro sighs, "to cut it short, Vane-san is holding a pirate festival here at upper yard a week from now. You're to send an invitation letter to all the pirates and also the captain of the Blue Eyed pirates lounging at Crownfall city."
"Understood," he saluted, "I'll get this done right away."
"Thank you for your co-operation, Foolio-kun. If any pirates were to notify the marines, you'll be held responsible and I'll be the one to claim your head."
"Yes sir!"
"Well, I'll be taking my leave now. Good luck."
Watching as Hiro's silhouette faded into the distance, he whispered to himself, "pirates festival, huh? Just what the hell is he planning to achieve?"
….
The crew strayed into the depths of Crownfall City in Gravitas Island as Gojo began to sing, compelling the other duo to clamp their palms over their ears in a desperate attempt to avoid sustaining damaged eardrums.
"Hey, did you guys just hurt my heart?" Gojo winced.
"Have you ever listened to yourself singing before now?" Ryuken whistled.
"It's way more dangerous than a gun pointed directly at your head. Your voice could kill a navy admiral for real, dawg."
The duo bursted into laughter.
"Hey! Would you guys stop hurting me?" Gojo shrugged, declining himself from singing further.
The sun cascaded a bright glow deep into the horizon as the trio marched in a straight line with tons of luggages they'd purchased for their next voyage.
"Hauling all these loads onto the ship is tough. I'm tired."
"Don't be a wimp, Ryuken. If we don't do this now then when?" Jake hummed.
'Here I come, upper yard.' Gojo let his intrusive thoughts get the best of him as he sprinted through the forest to locate the Sorcerer they'd anchored by the shore.
"Wait, you fool." Jake yelled.
"Let's chase after him," Ryu muttered, "how can he be that fast after all the ups and downs that occurred in the city today?"
"Something is definitely fishy about him," Jake murmured, "don't tell me he is…"
"Shit! How the hell does he still have the strength to wander after such a tight day? We can't let him wander into the upper yard districts."
"Even though, we actually don't know the whereabouts of the upper yard. Then how is he going to locate it?"
"I don't know. But one thing for sure is… he's definitely going to cause us troubles."
The duo grit their teeth as they sprinted behind their captain's to locate their ducked vessel.
They both discarded their luggages, their chest heaving simultaneously while their hands were stationed at their knees gasping for breath after running for a long time. "Y-You bastard!!" Ryuken wiped the sweat off his brows, "why did you ditch us so randomly?"
Gojo chuckled, "heh? What're you talking about, ha ha." He rolled his eyes and lips sideways. "I need to explore." Gojo's eyes gleamed, eager to locate the whereabouts of the upper yard which rumoured no trespassing.
"It's pointless to stop you right now. Suit yourself." Jake ignited a cigarette as he hopped onto the deck of their vessel to dispatch the luggages they'd bought.
Hmm?
Ryuken's eyes caught a glimpse of something, hanging at the ship's mast. "Guys, what's that?" He pointed a finger at the mast, grasping Gojo's and Jake's engrossment.
"I'll get it." Their captain leaped upwards and grasped the piece of paper strapped inside a white envelope.
"Someone dared invade the Sorcerer?" Jake withdrew his pistol from his waist while Ryuken drew out his sword from the scabbard.
"I don't think anyone is here right now," Gojo's voice was calm, "for now, let's see what this is."
They glanced at the pirate skull imbued at the body of the envelope as he extracted the paper.
"A letter? What does it say?"
They began to read.
"To the Esteemed Pirates of the Grand Line, you are hereby invited to the greatest gathering ever to grace the seas — the Pirate Festival!
Hosted by the one and only Vane, the Master of Festivities, this grand event will bring together pirates from every corner of the world. Legends, rookies, warlords, and those bold enough to call themselves kings of the sea… all are welcome.
The prize? A treasure that will shake the very foundation of the world and whoever dared to notify the marines will have a gruesome death," they swallowed as they continued reading the letter. "A relic left behind by the Pirate King himself.
Yes… that Pirate King.
Prepare your ships, rally your crews, and set your course. Only the strongest, the smartest, and the most daring will rise above the chaos and claim glory.
Location details are enclosed. Follow the Log Pose and trust the call of adventure.
Let the festival begin in a week's time!"
The trio read the letter and exclaimed in unison. "A pirate festival?" Gojo smiled.
"In a week from now? That's crazy!"
"Upper yard, huh? See you in a week." Gojo declared, clenching his fist in excitement.
*****
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