Invasion

Bighorn Village, Drum Island,

The Eustass Pirates had made their way to Bighorn Village on Drum Island, seeking respite from their sea travels. The town was nestled in a snowy mountainous region and was a welcome change from the high seas. As the pirates entered the cozy inn, they were greeted with a blast of warmth that contrasted the frigid exterior. The inn's hearth crackled with a roaring fire, while the aroma of hearty stews and freshly baked bread wafted through the air.

found themselves a large wooden table by the window, covered with platters of steaming hot food and mugs of spiced, mulled wine. The pirates, for a brief moment, could forget the cares of the world outside as they filled their empty stomachs.

Killer scooped a spoonful of hot pepperoncino into his mouth. "Ah, this is incredible! I never thought they will serve my favorite food in a place like this."

Bonney, her mouth full of bread, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the food here is great, I'll feel bad if we rob them afterwards"

"Shhh…keep your voice down"

Kid chimed in "We seriously need a good cook. We can't live off that crap we eat on the ship everyday"

"Killer is a pretty good cook, right?" Kai said shifting his attention towards him.

"I only do it as a hobby. Plus, I already have enough duties and I don't feel like cooking for you bunch"

"Kahahaha! I'd feel the same way if I were you" Kai chuckled, amused by his response.

"I can't believe how carefree you are. If it was me, I'd already had taken over this shithole of an island, instead of wasting time in this crap" Krieg declared with a mix of annoyed and arrogant expression. He was sitting at the corner of the table with his arms crossed.

"Shut up Krieg, no one asked for your opinion! You and your wannabe tough pirate attitude…*Munch*-*Munch*-*Gulp*…no one care about that bozo, so have some fun while you can" Bonney exclaimed, she and Krieg seem to be completely incompatible.

"The hell did you say to me little shit?!"

"Calm down Krieg" Gin was genuinely trying to calm him down, but the rest seem to enjoy their little quarrel.

"You got roasted by a girl half your age, how embarrassing" Kai said, fueling Krieg's anger even further. Heat and Wire were dying from laughter.

As the crew laughed and enjoyed their meal, they couldn't help but notice the villagers outside who seemed anxious and whispered among themselves. Their eyes darted nervously toward the inn, giving the crew an uneasy feeling.

The inn's door swung open, and a tall, stern-looking man entered, flanked by a dozen similarly dressed individuals. The leader had a distinct air of authority and wore a fur-lined green tunic and has armor plates on his arms. The crew fell silent as they watched this new arrival. 

The only person who was able to recognize him as Dalton a former Royal Guard who server under Wapol was of course Kai. 

The man introduced himself as Dalton and looked at the pirates with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "You folks don't look like you're from around here What's your business in Bighorn Village?" 

Kid leaned back in his chair, a sly grin on his face "Just passing through, mate. We needed a break from the sea and a warm meal."

Kai chimed in. His tone friendly "We've heard Drum Island is famous for its medical treatments. We thought we'd check it out."

Dalton frowned but continued to question them. "You're a long way from home, and your arrival has spooked the locals. They've seen their share of trouble, and they're worried."

"I see, then in that case I'll be very straight forward with you…" Kai cracked a vicious grin before he got on his feet and reached for his hammer "…if you show us to the Drum Castle and keep out of our way, then I promise to not hurt any people, how does that sound?"

Kai made an offer before he stepped out of the inn. Kid and the rest didn't bother to join him since they knew very well that the enemies were no match for him at all. 

Kai knew that Dalton hated Wapol and was hoping for an interesting answer where he betrays him, but it seems that his sense of duty to protect the people and prevent the pirates from doing whatever they please on this land prevented him. Though it didn't matter for Kai either way since he was going to find it anyway.

"I'm afraid I can't help you. You pirates are unwelcomed here, you are to leave the island at once" Dalton said with a commanding voice before he started transforming from his human form into his bison hybrid form "If you do so, I'll overlook all of your actions and threats until now"

"Can't help but admire such an honorable person like you, but…having a sense of honor, bravery and pride isn't always wise. After all, honor and glory are of no use to the dead" Kai said as his tone dopped and his face became serious. 

"Save you speech for someone else, the last thing I want is life lessons from a pirate" Dalton said as he grabbed his weapon and charged at Kai with incredible speed, trying to slash him with his peculiarly-shaped spade.

"A little advice for the future, never tell a pirate what to do. We absolutely love our freedom and absolutely hate anyone who tries to take it away" Kai suddenly disappeared after saying that, moving at an incredible speed whish left Dalton and his men in complete shock. 

"He disappeared?!"

SWOOOSH!! In a split-second Kai appeared above Dalton again with his hammer swinging downward.

"Dalton-san! Above you!" His men tried to warn him, but it was too late for him to dodge and with one powerful blow on the back of his head, Kai smashed Dalton into the ground.

"AGHHHH!!—COUGH!" Dalton threw a mouthful of blood before he collapsed to the ground. Kai made sure to use enough force to not kill him or knock him unconscious right away.

"You bastard, kill him!" Dalton's men tried to save him, but Kai responded by summoning a wind cloud from his left arm and controlled it, compressing the winds into powerful, crescent wind blades before he launched them at the attackers, slashing them down one by one.

"Demolishing Winds!!" 

SPLASH!! SPLASH!! Dalton looked at the scene of his men taken down in horror, but he couldn't do anything at his state. Kai approached him slowly, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.

"Snap back to reality…are you willing to point me to the right direction now? Or should I start massacring these innocent villagers instead?" Kai asked with a menacing tone of voice. Seeing the helpless situation, Dalton had no choice but to tell him "Thank you" he said before he dropped him down "You stop my way next time, I'll kill you"

Just as Kai finished with him, the crew immerged from the inn after finishing their meals and drinks.

"Phew…I'm so full" Kid said rubbing his stomach before he approached his brother "Are you done with them?"

"Yeah, let's move" 

Meanwhile in Robelle Town, Blackbeard's raft was docked on the island's port before the group of five made their way to the town. 

At the same time, Wapol and his men left the Drum Castle, they were initially heading to Bighorn Village after the Eustass Pirates arrived, but other news prompted Wapol to change his destination.

"Wapol-sama!!" Another messenger appeared again shortly after Wapol descended from the Drum Rockies, shouting his lungs out. His face was very pale, and he was panting heavily "Wapol-sama!!"

"What is it this time?!" Wapol questioned in annoyance, he was riding his pet Robson a White Walkie.

"We have bad some news!...Huff…Huff…another pirate crew just showed up and started attacking Robelle Town!"

"What?! Another pirate crew?! What's going on? Why are pirates surging into this island one after another damn it?!" Wapol cursed loudly, cold sweat started dripping from his forehead, but he wasn't going to back away yet, not until his enemies prove to be superior to him "We're changing destination…forget that shithole of a village, if we're going to save someone let's save the town's people, their tax money is what really matters the most"

"Hai!"

A while later…Robelle Town,

"What's that darkness coming out of him?" Someone remarked while pointing at Blackbeard who grinned wickedly.

"Zehahaha!...Black Hole!" Blackbeard placed his hand in the ground and spread his darkness over a large area and, much like an actual black hole, swallowed up several buildings "It's time we let those World Government bastards start to notice us…Hoi! You lot, you better start preparing your valuables and supplies, I don't like to repeat myself twice…"

"I-It swallowed the buildings!!" The town's people watch the pirates in fear, nobody dared to stand their way.

"What kind of power is that?"

"This will be my only warning…Liberation!" Afterwards, Blackbeard expelled all of the destroyed remains of what his darkness had swallowed up at once, crushing a couple of people in the process and leaving everyone in utter shock.

"Amazing power, Captain!" Burgess exclaimed in excitement while watching the show, before Wapol finally showed up at the town, apparently, he missed Blackbeard's display of power, but he was still wary of him. 

When the town's people noticed his presence, they started calling his name as a way for them to ask for help.

"--Wapol-sama!"

"King Wapol is here!"

"Your highness please helps us, these pirates have been wreaking havoc in our town!"

'Tsk…these good for nothing idiots' Wapol thought in his head while looking at them in disdain before he gave orders to him men "Bring out the Royal Drum Crown 7-Shot Bliking Cannon!"

The Royal Drum Crown 7-Shot Bliking Cannon is Wapol's ultimate weapon, a large cannon capable of shooting 7 powerful shots.

"That weakling is the king of this country?" Van Augur wasn't impressed by Wapol who proceeded to hop off his transport pet and used the cannon to shoot at Blackbeard and his crew.

"That's what you get for messing with my country you stupid pirates!"

None of the five were fazed and with a swift move, Augur fire seven bullets at the cannon balls, causing them to explode mid-air before Burgess jumped towards Wapol with a wide grin.

"What?! They stop them?!" Wapol was shocked, his legs were trembling, and signs of fear were apparent on his face.

"Let me deal with this weakling captain! Wiiihahaha!!" Burgess wasted no time and proceeded to fight Wapol and his men alone, and he managed to defeat them with ease.

"I told you, you will only receive one warning. Now it's time for destruction, Zehahaha!"

"…"

Blackbeard proceeded to destroy the entire town after he ransacked it.

Later on, Wapol and his men managed to slip away from the town and escaped the island by sheer luck when the Blackbeard Pirates weren't paying attention to them.

A While Later…Near one of the Drum Rockies,

"This is it?" Killer questioned, while looking upwards at the towering drum shaped mountain. 

"This is where Dalton pointed out, well if it's not the right one we'll just check out the others as well. We got nothing to lose" Kai stated.

"So how are we getting up there?" Bonney asked "It's not like everyone can fly like you two"

"Hmph…then we just climb up, simple as that" Krieg said, approaching the mountain.

"No, we're not…did you forget about my Devil Fruit?" Kai mentioned.

"Your Devil Fruit? Oh yeah, you can create clouds that we can use to fly up there" Kid stated.

"Bro, I'm surprised you're the one who figure it out"

"You think I'm that stupid?!"

"Anyway…" Kai focused on his arms and summoned a large very dense cloud below them that proceeded to lift them up slowly.

"Your ability is really useful, I'm jealous" Bonney said while examining the cloud with awe.

"I could do the same with my magnetic power if I wanted to" Kid stated with pride. 

"Let me guess, you don't have enough metal to create something big enough to carry all of us?" 

"Yeah…" 

"Kahahaha! Don't worry kiddo, there are many things your magnetic power can do other than gathering metals that you still haven't discovered yet. I'll help you reach your full potential, don't worry" Kai assured.

The crew quickly made their way to the top of the mountain, and the first thing they were greeted with is a massive castle

"Cool castle" Bonney remarked.

"Let's search this place!" Kai exclaimed.

Using his Observation Haki to scan the area for any enemies, Kai was able to sense five strong approaching them

Kai turned to everyone and warned them, his face was sweating, and he got on guard right away "Hey, someone very strong is coming!!!"