One Piece: The True Codex

"When I came upstairs just now, I noticed many people openly drinking in the hall. These drinks must have come from that Count, right?" William quickly pieced together the situation.

"Exactly. The king trusts him deeply. It's said that the king's decision to issue the prohibition law was influenced by his advice," Sherlock replied through gritted teeth. "Now it's clear—after the prohibition was enacted, he used his position and influence to monopolize the liquor industry, funneling all the profits into his own pockets. Our smuggling network, which we painstakingly built, must have caught his eye. That's why we were attacked. No wonder we couldn't break into the Kalmar City market no matter what we tried."

At this point, Aramis brought over an unopened bottle of red wine. William took it, turned the bottle in his hands, and examined the label and packaging. His brow furrowed. "Is this ours?"

Aramis nodded grimly. Arcadio and his men hadn't just stolen their business; they had also seized the stock they had stored locally, only to sell it openly under their own name. If not for William's restraint, the impulsive young men in their group would have stormed Arcadio's mansion and torn him apart by now.

Sherlock's rage burned even hotter than Aramis's. Upon arriving in Kalmar City, the first thing he had done was to investigate the whereabouts of his father's body, only to learn that it had long since been dumped into the sea.

His father, a respectable merchant, had died a humiliating death in a foreign land, and now even his remains were lost.

To Sherlock, his sole reason for living now was to avenge his father. As the only son of Sassarian, it was his duty!

"William, with your skills and some preparation, killing Arcadio wouldn't be difficult," Sherlock said, his eyes red with anger. "As for the Red-Beard Pirates, you're already on the ship. You could poison him."

"And the Marines?" William countered. "We still haven't identified the mastermind on their side. I've already sent Gin to investigate. We should have news soon."

Leaning forward, William placed a hand on Sherlock's shoulder and locked eyes with him. "But let me ask you—do you think just killing them is enough?"

"I don't think it's enough," William continued before Sherlock could respond. "They treated us like dirt, so we'll do the same to them. What we've lost, we'll take back tenfold. Their lives? That's just interest. I don't just want their lives—I want everything they have!"

Sherlock's chest heaved with fury. Of course, he wanted nothing more than to butcher Arcadio and his accomplices as quickly as possible. Every day of restraint was torture for him. But he knew that his revenge could only be achieved with William and his crew's help, so he had to follow William's plan. Besides, William would never abandon the idea of revenge—after all, Vallon had died because of their enemies.

After a moment of silence, Sherlock asked, "What's your plan?"

"First, we'll make them turn on each other. Then, the first to go will be Barbarossa. We'll take over the Red-Beard Pirates," William explained.

Barbarossa might seem like the strongest force to deal with, but in reality, he was the easiest target for William and his allies. Barbarossa's greatest asset was his brute strength. As long as William could match that strength and gain the trust of Arcadio and the Marines, he could replace Barbarossa.

During his time infiltrating the Red-Beard Pirates, William had already begun to craft a more detailed plan based on his observations.

After finalizing their strategy, William left the tavern and returned to the streets.

Judging by his nonchalant demeanor, no one would suspect he had just been plotting to murder his own captain.

A shout from behind caught William's attention. He turned to see Reis, the first mate of the Red-Beard Pirates, striding toward him with a group of seasoned pirates—some of the ship's best.

William's heart skipped a beat. His hand casually rested on the hilt of his cutlass. He had practiced his Iai Slash countless times. Whether it was bamboo mats, wooden stakes, trees, stones, or human bodies, nothing could withstand the explosive power and speed of his swordsmanship.

If Reis stepped into his attack range without showing any signs of preparation or defense, William was confident he could kill him in a single strike.

Feigning confusion, William kept his body relaxed but ready to spring into action. Reis, oblivious to William's hidden intentions, called out from a distance, "I've been looking all over for you."

"What's going on?" William asked, relaxing slightly. If Reis had discovered his secret, he wouldn't have started the conversation from so far away without making any threatening moves.

"There's a bit of trouble. Come with me," Reis said as he reached William, his tone tinged with impatience. Without offering much explanation, he motioned for William to follow and headed toward the street corner.

As they walked, one of the older pirates explained the situation to William.

The Red-Beard Pirates had over a hundred crew members, all of whom were completely detached from regular production. Their daily needs—food, water, and other necessities—were a massive drain on resources.

While basic supplies could be obtained through raids or extortion, replenishing military equipment was far more challenging.

After every sea battle, the pirates would burn through cannonballs, throwing axes, knives, bullets, gunpowder, and even swords and firearms. None of these were cheap, and since pirates couldn't avoid battles, they needed a stable supply line.

Thanks to their alliance with a powerful local figure, the Red-Beard Pirates relied on Arcadio to provide most of their military supplies. Arcadio often diverted resources from the Navia Kingdom's army to support them. Occasionally, thanks to his good relationship with Colonel Roy, he even managed to procure some of the Marines' latest weaponry for the pirates.

But Barbarossa wasn't a fool. While he might not be a strategic genius, he wasn't about to entrust such a critical lifeline entirely to someone else without a backup plan.

In Kalmar City, the Red-Beard Pirates also had connections with independent arms dealers. Compared to Arcadio, who pilfered military supplies like a rat, these dealers were far more professional. Barbarossa frequently purchased weapons from them.

Of course, being merchants, these arms dealers didn't limit their business to the Red-Beard Pirates alone.

Among their customers were kingdom representatives secretly stockpiling arms for potential wars, as well as notorious pirate crews.

The old pirate explained that Reis had planned to meet with one of these arms dealers to procure supplies. However, he had received intel that a rival pirate crew, one hostile to the Red-Beard Pirates, would also be there.

Since Barbarossa wasn't around and Reis didn't know how many men the rival crew had brought, he decided to gather a group of skilled fighters to accompany him. If the rivals had the numbers, they could avoid being at a disadvantage. If not, Reis wouldn't hesitate to start a fight and eliminate them.

"Who are they? Who dares cross us?" William asked.

Barbarossa's bounty was a staggering 19 million Beli, a figure kept relatively low only because of his collusion with Arcadio and the Marines, who had shifted much of the blame for his crimes onto other pirate captains.

In the East Blue, where the average pirate bounty was only three to four million, a bounty exceeding ten million was already considered extraordinary. Naturally, William was curious.

Reis, who had been walking ahead with a grim expression, suddenly turned to look at William. After a pause, he said, enunciating each word clearly, "The Cook Pirates, led by 'Red-Leg' Zeff!"

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