After drifting at sea for more than ten days and eating the same handful of dishes cooked aboard the ship every single day, Sammy felt as though his taste buds were about to organize a rebellion.
The moment they stepped ashore, he led his officers straight toward the market.
Right now, there was only one thing on his mind.
Food.
Good food.
Anything that hadn’t come out of the Swordfish’s kitchen.
Sammy stopped in front of a fruit stall piled high with strangely shaped produce.
Many of the fruits were unlike anything he had ever seen in the West Blue.
“Boss, give me a few of these…these…and that one that looks like a butt.”
He pointed casually.
“Yeah.
That one.
I’ll take those.”
Sammy didn’t bother asking what any of them were called or what they tasted like.
He simply picked whatever looked interesting, paid the vendor, took one for himself, and tossed the rest to the officers behind him.
CRUNCH!
The instant he bit into it, juice burst across his tongue.
The flavor was strange but surprisingly refreshing—a mixture of tropical sweetness and some unfamiliar spice that exploded in his mouth.
“Hm?”
Sammy chewed a few more times and raised an eyebrow.
“That’s…actually pretty interesting.”
The others quickly finished their fruit as well, casually tossing the pits into the bushes beside the road.
“Ohoho…”
Sammy watched one disappear behind the greenery and grinned.
“Wow.
I’m such a terrible person.”
Before long, their growling stomachs drove them into a nearby tavern that seemed fairly popular.
Inside, the atmosphere wasn’t much different from the rough taverns they were used to in the West Blue.
The room was reasonably bright, but the air was thick with the smell of alcohol and sweat.
Heavy wooden tables and chairs were scattered around without much concern for order, while some corners of the building had been crudely reinforced with rough stone.
Most of the customers looked like men you wouldn’t want to provoke.
Scars covered exposed arms and faces.
Weapons rested openly within easy reach.
The moment Sammy and his officers walked through the door, several unfriendly gazes immediately turned toward them.
Sammy’s group couldn’t have cared less.
They strolled inside as though they owned the place, walked straight to the counter, and knocked against the wood.
“Boss, bring us whatever you’ve got that’ll fill our stomachs.”
Sammy pulled out a stool.
“And a few mugs of rum.”
“Sure.
Give me a moment,” the bartender replied.
While they waited for their food—
PURU PURU PURU PURU…
PURU PURU PURU PURU…
A distinctive ringing sound came from inside Sammy’s clothes.
He calmly reached into his coat and pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
CLICK!
The moment he answered, the snail’s sleepy face transformed.
Its mouth stretched into an arrogant grin, while its hair somehow mimicked a ridiculous pompadour.
“Hey, hey, hey!
My dear business partner, Captain Sammy!”
An excessively enthusiastic voice burst from the Den Den Mushi.
“I’m heading back to the West Blue again!
You get your hands on any good merchandise this time?”
The tavern suddenly became noticeably quieter.
Quite a few customers subtly tilted their heads, clearly listening in.
“Oh, Boss Gillian.”
Sammy’s tone remained casual.
“I forgot to tell you.
I’m not in the West Blue anymore.”
He leaned against the counter.
“I’m in the Grand Line now.”
“Oh?
Really?!”
“HAHAHAHA!
That’s more like it!
With a bounty like yours, staying in the West Blue would’ve been a waste!”
Gillian sounded genuinely delighted.
“The Grand Line suits you better!
It’s a shame I won’t be getting as many of those…special West Blue gang products from you anymore, but that’s fine!”
His voice became more businesslike.
“From now on, if you capture any pirates with bounties over fifty million Berries, bring them to me!”
Several people in the tavern froze.
“I guarantee I’ll pay you far more than you’d ever get by turning them over to the Marines!”
“Sounds good.”
Sammy smiled.
“Then it’s a deal.
Once I catch a big fish, I’ll contact you.”
“HAHAHAHA!
That’s why I like doing business with you!
Strong and straightforward!”
Gillian laughed again.
“If you ever make it to the Sabaody Archipelago, come find me!
I’ll make sure you’re properly entertained while you’re there!”
CLICK.
The call ended.
The Den Den Mushi returned to its usual half-asleep expression, and Sammy tucked it back into his clothes.
Only then did he notice something.
The tavern had become much quieter.
Much, much quieter.
Especially after Gillian had casually thrown around phrases like—
“With a bounty like yours, staying in the West Blue would’ve been a waste.”
“Pirates worth more than fifty million Berries.”
And…
“I’ll pay more than the Marines.”
Several men who had appeared to be drinking and chatting casually had gone strangely still.
Their eyes flickered toward Sammy.
Then, one after another, hands quietly slipped into coats and pockets.
Wrinkled stacks of wanted posters appeared.
Rustle.
Rustle.
Rustle.
Pages were rapidly flipped as vicious, scarred, and bizarre faces flashed past.
Then—
“Si…si…SIXTY-NINE MILLION?!”
A strangled shriek exploded from one corner of the tavern.
Sammy turned toward the sound.
A short, chubby man had practically launched himself out of his chair as though someone had stepped on his tail.
His eyes were enormous.
Both hands were gripping a wanted poster.
Before he could say anything else, the companions beside him reacted with astonishing speed.
One of them lunged forward and clamped both hands over his mouth.
“Nothing!
Nothing happened!”
Another man forced a smile toward Sammy.
“He drank too much!
He’s just talking nonsense!”
Their faces were pale enough to make their desperate smiles look more painful than friendly.
Then, without wasting another second, they grabbed their still-struggling companion and practically dragged him out of the tavern.
The chubby man’s muffled—
“MMMPH!
MMMMPH!”
—slowly disappeared outside.
“…”
Silence.
Sixty-nine million.
That number seemed to possess some kind of magical power.
The atmosphere inside the tavern instantly dropped below freezing.
All the loud bragging, drunken laughter, and friendly shouting from moments earlier disappeared. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
A few conversations continued here and there, but every voice had been lowered to barely more than a whisper.
It was as though everyone was afraid that making too much noise might wake a sleeping monster.
An invisible pressure settled over the room.
The suspicious and hostile looks that had greeted Sammy’s group when they entered had completely changed.
Now there was fear.
Wariness.
And a very strong desire not to accidentally make eye contact.
Aldo’s body tensed slightly.
He leaned closer to Sammy and lowered his voice.
“Boss…”
His eyes moved around the tavern.
“Something feels…off.”
Sammy couldn’t help laughing.
He grabbed the mug of rum that had just been placed in front of him and took a long drink.
“Ahhh!”
Then he looked at Aldo as though the man had said something ridiculous.
“What are you worried about?”
Sammy grinned.
“With our strength, what could possibly happen to us in a place like this?”
He wasn’t boasting.
It was simply the truth.
Every officer sitting beside him was already strong enough to handle themselves against ordinary pirates and bounty hunters.
Even if every armed man inside the tavern suddenly rushed them at once, Sammy and his officers were confident they could put them all down without suffering so much as a serious scratch.
And reality proved Sammy right.
Their food arrived.
So they ate.
Calmly.
Casually.
As though the suffocating atmosphere around them didn’t exist.
Meanwhile, all those rough-looking men who had seemed so dangerous when Sammy first entered did nothing.
They drank silently.
Occasionally, someone would steal a glance at Sammy’s table from the corner of his eye.
But that was it.
Not one person dared make an actual move.
Eventually, Sammy finished his meal.
He pushed his chair back and stood.
His officers followed.
Under the silent gaze of countless nervous eyes, Sammy’s group casually walked across the tavern and stepped outside.
No one tried to stop them.
No one said a word.
Even after Sammy and his officers disappeared through the doorway, several seconds passed before the frozen atmosphere inside the tavern finally began to thaw.
“Phewwww…”
Someone released a long breath.
Then—
THUMP!
THUMP!
Several men who had been sitting near Sammy’s table suddenly collapsed onto the floor as the strength left their legs.
“Dear God…he’s finally gone…”
“I-I thought I was going to die…”
“No kidding!
A sixty-nine million berry monster…and he only JUST came out of the West Blue?”
“That’s insane…”
Another man wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
“I’ve never even seen someone with a bounty over forty million in person before…”
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