On Gold Island, Branxo had been captured by Eldraggo.
"Who are you?" Eldraggo growled.
"I-I'm... Branxo. A treasure hunter," he stammered, trembling uncontrollably.
"Golass. Kill him," Eldraggo said, tossing five gold coins onto the ground.
"Hmph..." Golass unsheathed his massive katana.
"W-wait! If you kill me, you'll never find the treasure!" Branxo lied out of desperation.
"You know where it is?" one of Eldraggo's crew asked, eyes narrowing.
Branxo nodded quickly, hoping his bluff would hold.
'Looks like they don't recognize me. He's the one who stole our treasure!'
"I'm one of the Hyena Three, Branxo. You've probably heard of us. We're pretty famous treasure hunters in the East Blue."
"If you dig in the right place, you'll find diamonds, rubies, sapphires... and tons of gold!"
Everyone in this part of the sea knew about Eldraggo's obsession with gold.
Golass pointed his massive blade at Branxo's throat.
"Where is it?"
"It's impossible to find without a map," Branxo said, still shaking.
"This map?" Eldraggo tossed a scroll at his feet.
'They have it?!' Branxo's eyes widened.
'If we had this earlier, we wouldn't have spent months searching for clues, though we learned that Woonan's treasureis here!'
'But it would take us years or even decade to find it where the treasure lies in this Island. We were willing to take a risk for that too.'
He unrolled the map, reading out loud.
"The great pirate Woonan's greatest treasure… sleeps from the hills to the south… if the whale faces west... The ocean is…"
"It cuts off there," Eldraggo said.
"We couldn't make out the rest."
"If the whale faces west..." Branxo muttered, a spark lighting in his eyes.
"I know where it is."
Eldraggo and his crew leaned in, eyes gleaming.
"Then tell us!" Golass barked.
"You have to promise to spare my life first," Branxo replied firmly.
"Yes, yes... I promise. Now tell us!" Eldraggo demanded.
"That's not good enough! I'll take you to the treasure. After that, I'm leaving, and you can deal with whatever traps Woonan left behind."
"Tch... fine. Lead the way," Eldraggo grunted.
Meanwhile, near the island...
Ling, Branso, Branzo, and Tobio approached in a small boat, with Ganzo trailing behind them with his own boat.
"Stop!" Tobio grabbed onto Ling's pants.
"Oi, oi, oi... you're gonna rip my pants," Ling muttered.
"I won't let you attack Woonan!" Tobio declared.
"I'm not gonna fight him, okay?" Ling replied.
"Huh?" Tobio looked confused.
"I'm a pirate," Ling said, matter-of-fact.
Everyone froze. Ganzo narrowed his eyes but stayed silent.
"I became one today. I'm here to recruit him to join my crew."
"You said you were after his treasure!" Tobio accused.
"Well, you said he was strong, right? I'm going to invite him to join my crew!"
"He's not going to join your crew!" Tobio shouted.
"I agree!" Branso chimed in.
"Even if he's somehow alive, Woonan's one of the most successful pirates from the East Blue!"
"He's got a 60 million berry bounty! Even if you're strong, that's suicide!" Branzo added.
"Oh? Sixty million from someone in the East Blue?" Ling sounded genuinely impressed.
'If he really has a bounty that high and alive, then he's worth testing my strength against... maybe even recruiting. This is getting interesting.'
"We're close! I can see the island!" Branso announced, pulling out a telescope.
"I see Eldraggo's ship! They got here first!"
"Then we'd better hurry," Ling said.
A minute later, they docked on the beach.
"Come on! Let's follow their trail!" Ling shouted, jumping ashore.
Branso and Branzo followed.
Ganzo caught up and held Tobio back by the collar.
As they argued, the other three slipped away into the forest, tracking Eldraggo's footsteps.
On the east side of the island...
"Is this the place?" Eldraggo asked, standing before a castle.
"Yes! If the whale faces west, its tail points east just like that statue we saw. This has to be it!" Branxo explained.
"And since there's a castle here, that confirms it!" Eldraggo grinned.
"So where's the gold?"
"It's buried beneath the castle. If you dig straight down, you'll find it in three days," Branxo replied.
"Three days, huh?" Eldraggo smirked.
"I'll get it done in ten seconds."
Everyone scrambled away.
"There it is! His Devil Fruit power!" one of the crew shouted.
'What?!' Branxo bolted with the others.
Eldraggo began charging his ability. The air around him grew heavy and vibrated with tension.
"What's going on?!" Branxo asked a nearby crew member.
"That's the Captain's Devil Fruit, Shout-Shout Fruit. He can condense his voice into a beam of destruction."
Golass kept a wary eye on Branxo, not letting him escape.
"Here it comes!" someone shouted.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Eldraggo roared.
Elsewhere on the island...
"Damn it, we lost the trail..." Branso muttered.
Ling suddenly paused, sensing something with his Observation Haki.
BOOOOM!
Smoke erupted from the eastern side.
"Follow the explosion!" Ling said, taking off at a pace slow enough for the others to follow.
"Hahaha!" Eldraggo laughed maniacally.
"If I destroy everything, the gold will show itself!"
"With the castle gone, I can dig right through the middle!"
He turned to Golass.
"Kill him. We don't need him anymore!" He tossed more coins.
"Men! Ready your gear! I'm gonna gonna blow up the gorund and ready to get this island's worth of gold!"
Eldraggo vanished into the smoke.
Golass stepped forward.
"Your value's gone."
He picked up the coins.
"Y-you!" Branxo stumbled back as Eldraggo's men grabbed him.
Golass raised his katana, aiming for Branxo's neck.
"Don't!..." Branxo shut his eyes tight.
CLANG!
A figure landed between them, catching the blade barehanded.
"Well now... what do we have here?" Ling said calmly.
"Huh?!" Golass looked stunned.
"An enemy!" someone shouted.
Eldraggo's men rushed at Ling, releasing Branxo in the chaos.
Branxo fled, running until he found two familiar faces.
"Branxo!" Branso and Branzo called out.
"My brothers!" Branxo cried, tears welling up.
"You're alive!" Branso said, relieved.
"We didn't know you were captured!" Branzo added.
"I saw who stole our treasure and followed them onto their ship. I didn't know they worked for Eldraggo," Branxo explained breathlessly.
"We're just glad you're safe." Branso placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Who was that guy back there? He looked strong," Branxo asked.
"We brought him to help us find Woonan's treasure," Branso replied, scratching his head.
He didn't want to explain they were being exploited.
Back in the clearing...
Golass yanked his sword free as Eldraggo's men surrounded Ling.
But before they could strike...
Ling looked at the swordsman in front of him and smirked.
A wave of invisible force erupted from Ling.
Twenty men dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"What just happened?!" Golass gasped.
From the hill, the three brothers watched, stunned.
"He took them all down without even moving!" Branxo said in awe.
"I didn't know you brought someone that strong!" he added.
Branso and Branzo stared, wide-eyed.
Even the power Ling had shown earlier on the food boat stall was nothing compared to this.
"W-we didn't know..." Branso muttered.
Snapping out of his daze, Golass lunged forward.
"I don't know what trick you used, but I'm killing you!"
Ling shifted aside effortlessly.
"You're quite good," he said, as he dodge easily.
"RAAAHHH!" Golass roared, unleashing a relentless barrage of strikes.
Ling evaded each one smoothly.
"Amazing! He dodged all of them!" Branzo gasped, eyes wide.
"That's Golass! He's worth eight million berries, y'know!" Branso added, practically sparkling with excitement.
They forgot they were being exploited.
With another furious shout, Golass delivered a heavy overhead strike.
Ling raised his arm and blocked it barehanded.
"What are you ashamed of?" Ling asked calmly.
Golass froze for a moment.
"Deep down... you didn't want to kill that man, did you?"
Golass's grip trembled.
"I was watching earlier. I saw the hesitation in your swing." Ling's voice was firm, yet oddly understanding.
"I can feel it..."
With a push, he threw off Golass's blade.
Golass snarled and charged again, swinging wildly. Ling dodged with ease, weaving between the strikes.
As they moved, Ling kept speaking.
"You're ashamed of what you've become. Drawing your sword for coin... for a mere momey."
"Even if I'm not a swordsman, I can tell."
"You've thrown away the pride that should come with your blade."
Golass's attacks faltered, his movements growing unsteady.
"You're skilled. But without pride your sword slows down. Even if it's just for a moment..."
Ling's eyes narrowed.
"And that moment is everything."
"This shame is what's holding you back. Though I'm still strongerthan you a thousand times..."
"RAAAHHHH!" Golass let out another cry this time, tears lining his eyes.
"Lion's Trust!" he roared, calling out his strongest technique.
Ling's turned serious.
"Come."
With one final battle cry, Golass hurled himself forward, pouring everything into his slash.
Ling clenched his fist.
"Then I'll meet you with all my power as my gift to you, wounded swordsman."
His punch collided with the blade.
CRACK!
A shockwave burst outward. Golass's katana shattered like glass.
Ling's fist didn't stop. It drove forward and slammed into Golass's chest, sending him flying across.
"A swordsman without pride will always lose the sharpness of his blade." Ling said softly.