“Pirates! Pirates are coming! The Vikings are coming!” Leon’s shout carried out throughout the village, which was already beginning to bustle with its morning duties.

Everyone froze at Leon’s words.

“Pirates? This better not be a prank, Leon.” One of the men of the village stepped out of their little hut, looking at Leon with dead seriousness.

“Yes, pirates! They’re about to land at the beach! Everyone needs to prepare themselves!” Leon was huffing and puffing; he had sprinted the entire way. After looking deeply into Leon’s eyes, the man turned around and ran to his hut.

“EVERYONE! PREPARE ARMS! GET THE CHIEF!” He came out with a strange gong, a loud instrument, and began banging on it. Men began to swarm out of their huts, all gathering at the man’s house. The chief, an elderly man with a white goatee that spoke of wisdom, stepped out of the biggest hut in Uxopia.

“Fools! They are pirates, you men are no match for them.” The Chief stepped down, shaking his head at the men’s attempts of grabbing hunting spears and swords. He had once sailed the sea and had seen the mighty strength of pirates.

Meanwhile, Kenji and Hatsume ran to Aunt Anari’s house.

“Aunt Anari! Pirates are coming!” Kenji burst open the door to see Anari preparing lunch in the kitchen.

“Pirates? Baby, hurry inside! Tell Leon he has to come too, where is he?” Anari’s expression quickly fell; her entire attitude became serious.

“He’s outside with the men. I think he wants to fight-”

“I’m here. Anari, the pirates have arrived! They called for everyone in the village to meet at the entrance.” At that moment, Leon opened the door and stepped inside. His face was grave, even with a hint of stress.

“Hatsume, Kenji, stay here.” Anari put her finger to her lips, signaling for the two to be quiet. She then stepped out the door, following Leon down to the gate.

“Aunt, they said children as well.” Leon’s next words only made Anari mad. A place with pirates was no place for children.

“How the hell will they know?”

“They're having one of their men search the houses - if he finds anyone the village would pay dearly.” Leon shook his head in sorrow. Anari could only give in at that point, allowing Kenji and Hatsume to leave with her.

“Stay close to me, okay?” She pulled them in close, and the three boys and one lady began to jog to the entrance of the Village.

They soon arrived at the sight of all the members of Uxopia Village in a semicircle, with the Viking Pirates standing in front facing the Chief.

Kenji would never forget those Viking Pirates.

The smell of seawater, salt, and rum instantly hit their noses as they arrived. All of the Viking Pirate’s men had long beards with heaven-knows what stuff within it. They looked and smelled as if they hadn’t washed in a week, with dirty clothes and bacteria-infested teeth. In their hands they all held axes the size of an adults head, a proud trademark of the crew.

All around, they were a nasty bunch.

“May I ask what brings you pirates to my humble village?” The Chief bravely spoke up, even though his tone was submissive.

“What we're here for is simple, ya’ know?” A rather filthy man stepped up from the pirates, waving his axe around in a domineering and aggressive manner.

“What is your request, feared captain?” The Chief bowed his head slightly at the sight of this man. He was a wise man, and he knew most of these pirate captains had huge egos that weren’t meant to be crossed. It was much better to submit to the will of such a pirate as Captain Axe Jack.

Axe Jack had managed to pull together a bounty of 8,000,000 beli - 5 million more than the East Blue average. He was known for his crews savage and violent nature, raiding towns for their loot and their women. He was one of the worst possible pirates that could've landed on Uxopia.

“Bring all your villages stored beli and put it in this chest.” Axe Jack broke out into smiles, then one of his crew members threw a wooden chest onto the ground.

“That’s all, Captain Jack?” The Chief was pleasantly surprised. The money was no deal, they could just do more business in the main city of the island. As long as the confrontation was peaceful, it would be considered a win.

Axe Jack looked back at his crew, breaking out into a disgusting smile.

“Well..since ya’ asked. Bring all yer woman here and line ‘em up! Not the ugly ones either!” Chief’s expression quickly dropped, as well as all of Uxopia’s men and women.

“No way! Chief, let’s kill this guy! Who is he to ask for our women!?!?!” The crowd of armed men broke out into an uproar, raising their weapons threateningly. Take the women of the village? Arrogant and disgusting: they would not accept it!

“Don’t get ya beer soured, we’ll take good care of ‘em.” Axe Jack swung his axe again to shush the crowd, the rest of his crew doing the same. The Chief was deep in thought, debating on what to do.

It was extremely stressful for him.

“Wait! Captain, look at that girl over there.” One of the filthy members of the crew pointed at a girl wearing a bright yellow dress, standing out in the crowd.

She was holding onto two little boys and had a youth at her side, seemingly a mother-figure. As the pirate's attention focused on her, her face quickly turned red with rage.

“Ahaha! Good eye, Buck. I want her! Bring her here!” Axe Jack’s eyes loomed over her pretty dress, smiling more and more. He had no shame, even ignoring the Chief’s decision as a whole.

“Impossible! You disgusting rodents!” The group of men once again broke into an uproar; they wouldn’t stand for such a development. Even the Chief was angered, stepping forward to stop the madness.

“Don’t touch her you swin-”

“WOOSH!”

Blood soared into the sky, along with a head floating after it. It landed in the center of the ground, with the body it was once attached to falling quickly after. The face of the corpse spoke of only horror, shock, and age. His white goatee landed on the ground, being dirtied by crimson blood and mud.

It was the first death Kenji ever saw.