“Your constitution isn’t bad; you’ve got the energy to chatter already?”
Alcremie expressed its thoughts with even more vivid gestures and language, but Jack didn’t get angry. Such an adorable Alcremie—it’s normal for others to like it. Anyway, they can’t take it away.
“What kind of brainwashing did you use on it?! Let me go! This is no place for me!”
“Sure, as long as you join us, I can let you go.”
Officially joining the crew required an assessment, but as long as the other party agreed, Jack could temporarily improve Cavendish’s treatment.
“In your dreams! I would never associate with savages like you!”
“Is that so? No problem. You’ll change your mind.”
According to Kaido’s teachings, when you see potential in someone’s strength, you must be patient with them. Jack had fully grasped this principle.
“Sheepshead, keep an eye on these guys. Let me know if anything happens.”
Alcremie was only a key keeper, not a guard. After assigning someone else as the temporary jailer, Jack prepared to leave.
“Wait! Give me back my sword! That’s a famed sword!”
“You don’t need it right now. You’ll have a new ‘sword.'”
…
Some time later, Jack had already returned to Wano Country. Cavendish had also been brought back to the Beasts Pirates’ headquarters and then sent to Udon.
This was the only way to enter Wano Country without an identity check—entering as a prisoner. Those directly sent to prison had no chance to cause trouble.
And Cavendish soon saw his “new sword.”
It was also the holy sword of physics, called crowbar in layman terms.
“You bstards! You bunch of bstards! How can you call this a sword?!”
“According to Captain Jack’s orders, you’ll get your belongings back when you come to your senses.”
The pirates stationed at the quarry watched Cavendish with amusement. Here, even prisoners were classified into different ranks.
The most ordinary ones were those wearing prison uniforms. Most of them were undergoing reform through labor and had a chance of being released. The most severe cases were those with heavy shackles on their feet. These individuals typically had no chance of leaving and were doomed to work until death as serious offenders.
The most special cases were people like Cavendish, who hadn’t been made to change into prison uniforms. This meant the Beasts Pirates wanted to recruit them, but they hadn’t agreed, so they were sent here to “experience life.”
“Until then, you should get used to your new weapon.”
This was the quarry. Hammers, chisels, and crowbars were common tools. Jack kept his promise and picked the tool that most resembled a sword from the lot to give to him.
Cavendish didn’t choose to pretend to join and then take the opportunity to escape, as he had no intention of aligning himself with any force at this time.
No matter which Emperor of the Sea’s force it was, it wasn’t a place you could come and go as you pleased. Pretending to join and then leaving was no different from declaring war. If he pretended to join and then ran away, all that awaited him was relentless pursuit by the Beasts Pirates.
Unless he joined another powerful force for protection, he would spend the rest of his life on the run.
There were people who made such choices, but this was not the fundamental reason for Cavendish’s refusal. If he were afraid of that, he wouldn’t have dared to challenge Jack in the first place. It was more because his personality rejected the idea of deceit.
…
In the end, he was forced to stay here and began plotting how to escape. Under the threat of “no work, no food,” he was compelled to start working, and Farul, his steed, was reduced to a packhorse.
Although it’s a prison, no one acts like a local boss here. All the prisoners know one thing: only the Beasts Pirates are in charge here.
Ding! Ding! Bang!
The sound of hammers striking stones echoed as the prisoners toiled under the guards’ watchful eyes. However, Cavendish noticed that some people had faint looks of anticipation on their faces.
“What are you so happy about?”
“Today, people from the outside will come to visit. If we cooperate with them, we might get a chance at reduced sentences.”
“Visit? What’s there to see in a place like this?”
Surveying the entire quarry, Cavendish couldn’t find anything worth looking at.
“We are the exhibit. People who break the law here are sent to mine. It’s meant to serve as a warning for the children here.”
This was part of Wano Country’s routine educational program. The Shogun sent people to organize visits for local children of the appropriate age, letting them see what life is like for those who break the law, thereby maintaining stability in the country.
The program had been implemented after the assassination attempt on Kozuki Hiyori. While its effectiveness wasn’t yet clear, feedback from parents suggested that the children had been much more obedient after returning home.
“So… you’re saying outsiders will enter the prison, right?”
“Yeah, you could put it that way. Why do you ask?”
“You’re a local, right? I have a plan that might help us escape. But I need you to tell me about the terrain around here…”
“Wait! Are you saying… escape?!”
Hearing Cavendish’s words, the man became visibly excited.
“That’s right, but I’ll need more people to pull it off.”
Seeing the light in the other man’s eyes, Cavendish thought he had sparked his interest. However, in the next moment, the man did something completely incomprehensible to Cavendish.
“I’ve something to report! Someone is planning to escape!”
“Guards! Someone is planning to escape!”
He threw down his pickaxe and shouted toward the nearby guards. Before Cavendish could even react, members of the Beasts Pirates were already approaching.
“What are you yelling about? Who’s trying to escape?!”
“It’s him! The new guy! I heard him with my own ears talking about breaking out, and he even tried to rope me in!”
“You ba*tard!”
Cavendish was furious to see his plan being exposed, but before he could make any move, a palm pressed him to the ground. The warden, Babanuki, had appeared behind him without him noticing.
The strange force coming from behind felt very familiar, like when Jack had pinned him down not long ago, but his attention wasn’t on that; it was on the man who had betrayed him.
“You b*stard! Why did you sell me out? Don’t you want to escape too?”
“Idiot. I got locked up because of a street fight in the Red-Light District. I’ll be out in less than a month. Only a fool would try to break out with you. Oh, by the way, Lord Babanuki, would this count as a meritorious deed….”
“Let’s talk about it later. Since you’ve done a good job reporting, you can serve as the model example this time. As for the new guy, he’ll be the bad example.”
Every time there was an event like this, the Udon quarry would pick two examples to show the outsiders the difference between properly reforming and harboring evil intentions. This made those with a chance of release unwilling to risk participating in riots or escape attempts.
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