Perhaps Sammy’s threat had finally worked.
Or perhaps Hans’s instincts had, by some miracle, actually been right for once.
Either way, the Swordfish managed to escape that damned blizzard without further disaster.
Several days later…
“LAND!
BOSS!”
Hans’s excited shout rang down from the lookout.
“LAND AHEAD!”
Crewmen immediately flooded onto the deck, eagerly staring toward the horizon.
Sammy stepped out of the captain’s cabin as well.
Sure enough, an island had appeared ahead of them.
Even from a distance, it looked unusually primitive.
And as the Swordfish drew closer, its strange landscape gradually became clearer.
“Whoa!”
“We finally reached land!”
“This island looks ancient…”
Towering trees stretched toward the clouds.
Enormous flowers unlike anything they had ever seen bloomed between the dense greenery.
And then-
“ROOOAAAR!”
“M-M-M-MONSTER!”
Everyone spun toward the sound.
A gigantic lizard-like creature was strolling lazily across the beach, its enormous body covered in thick, hardened scales.
It gave the approaching Swordfish a completely uninterested glance.
SNORT!
The creature shook its head and leisurely wandered back toward the jungle.
Sammy immediately smacked the terrified sailor on the forehead.
“Monster, monster, monster, what monster?!”
He pointed toward the creature.
“You don’t even know what a dinosaur is?
What are you, illiterate?”
Sammy clicked his tongue.
“Don’t tell people you’re from the Jellyfish Pirates when we go out.
You’re embarrassing me.”
“D-Dinosaur…?”
“All right, listen up!”
Sammy clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Listen carefully, boys.
This island is called Little Garden.”
His expression became serious.
“Don’t let that harmless little name fool you.
If any of you idiots start treating this place like your backyard and end up dead, don’t blame me for not warning you.”
Sammy swept his gaze across several crewmen who still looked unconcerned.
“This island is completely different from anywhere else you’ve ever visited.”
“Creatures that went extinct everywhere else a long time ago are still alive here.
That dinosaur you just saw is only one example.”
He pointed toward the jungle.
“They’ve got thick hides, ridiculous strength, and for most of you, they’re extremely dangerous.”
Sammy paused.
“And dinosaurs aren’t the only thing you need to worry about.”
“There are prehistoric insects, mosquitoes, rats, and all kinds of other ancient creatures crawling around this island.”
His eyes narrowed.
“If one of those things bites you, don’t come crying to me afterward.
You have no idea what kind of disease or poison they might be carrying.”
He gave the crew another moment to absorb his warning.
“I’m going ashore.”
“Anyone who wants to explore can come too—but you move in groups.”
Sammy’s voice hardened.
“Your weapons stay in your hands.
Stay alert at all times.
The moment something feels wrong, retreat immediately.”
“If you don’t want to go ashore, stay on the ship and keep watch.”
He raised his voice.
“UNDERSTOOD?!”
“YES, CAPTAIN!”
Before long, nearly a hundred of the braver crewmen had gathered with swords, guns, and other weapons.
But Sammy and four of his officers had already jumped ashore ahead of them and entered the jungle.
By the time the others began organizing themselves, two Triceratops were already lying dead in front of Sammy’s group.
One had a fatal slash across its neck.
The other’s skull had been violently caved in by brute force.
Meanwhile, Isaac was still wrestling with a third.
Both of his massive hands were wrapped tightly around the dinosaur’s horns.
His muscles bulged beneath his clothes as the Triceratops pushed forward with all its strength.
Deep trenches formed beneath Isaac’s boots as his feet carved through the soil.
“Hey, hey, Isaac!”
Aldo stood nearby with his spiked club resting across his shoulder, happily watching the spectacle.
“We’ve already finished ours!
What’s taking you so long?”
Isaac snorted.
Then the muscles across his waist and abdomen suddenly tightened.
With a violent twist of his body, he executed a perfect shoulder throw.
BOOM!
The enormous Triceratops was ripped off balance and slammed onto the ground with enough force to shake the earth.
Before it could struggle back to its feet—
BAM!
Isaac’s heavy fist crashed into the side of its neck.
The dinosaur immediately went still.
“What’s the rush?”
Isaac shook out his wrist.
“I just wanted to see which one of us was stronger.”
Then he looked toward Sammy.
“Boss, why don’t we keep one on the ship?”
Isaac continued with a perfectly serious expression.
“It could be our mascot.”
Sammy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Keep dreaming!”
He gestured toward the massive animal.
“Do you have any idea how much something that size eats every day?”
“Where the hell are we supposed to store enough food for it?”
Sammy shook his head.
“If it ate meat, we could at least catch Sea Kings and feed those to it.”
“But this thing eats plants!”
“What are we supposed to do?
Every time we dock somewhere, dedicate half our supply run to buying vegetables for our pet dinosaur?”
He waved dismissively.
“Just thinking about it is already giving me a headache.”
At that moment, distant shouting and scattered gunfire echoed through the jungle behind them.
“KILL IT!”
“SHOOT!
AIM FOR ITS EYES!”
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Sammy listened for a moment before laughing.
“Sounds like quite a few of the boys came ashore after all.”
He grinned.
“After everything the Grand Line’s thrown at us lately, I figured most of them would’ve lost their nerve.”
“Boss, come on.”
Aldo thumped his chest.
“We’re elites who fought our way out of the West Blue!”
“If they were cowards, why would they have followed you into the Grand Line in the first place?”
Sammy laughed.
“Fair point!
Hahahaha!”
Fitch looked toward the sounds of fighting.
“Boss, should we wait for them?”
Before Sammy could answer…
RRRRRUMBLE…
A deep, majestic roar rolled out from the heart of the island.
It sounded almost like the beating of the earth’s enormous heart.
Even the ground beneath their feet trembled faintly.
“Thunder?”
“No.”
Sammy shook his head.
His expression sharpened as he looked toward the center of the island, where wisps of smoke drifted from the mouth of a distant volcano.
“It’s the volcano.”
“The sound of volcanic activity.”
“What?!”
One of the officers stared at him.
“A volcanic eruption?!
This island is insane!”
Sammy merely waved a hand.
“Let the boys play around here on their own.”
He pointed directly toward the rumbling in the distance.
“We’re moving on.”
His grin widened.
“Straight to the center of the island!”
…
Marine Headquarters, Marineford
Supreme Strategic Conference Room
More than a dozen high-ranking Marine officers sat around a massive solid-wood table.
Stars decorated their shoulders.
Cigar and cigarette smoke hung heavily in the air.
“The situation across the seas has become increasingly troubling.”
Vice Admiral Gernier Bass lowered the stack of reports in his hands and broke the silence.
“Lawless bastards are appearing everywhere like poisonous mushrooms after a rainstorm.”
Beside him sat Vice Admiral Asher Lard, a man wearing round-framed glasses.
He adjusted them before speaking.
“The greatest concern remains that name…”
His expression darkened.
“Rocks.”
“According to the fragmented intelligence we’ve received from CP, the Rocks Pirates have remained in Elbaf for nearly two years, apparently attempting to win the giants over to their side.”
Lard’s gaze swept across the table.
“But we cannot afford to relax simply because they’ve remained there.”
“If Rocks’s ambitions are ever combined with the military strength of Elbaf’s giant warriors…”
He stopped.
There was no need to finish.
Every person in the room understood exactly what that would mean.
The officers serving beneath Rocks-
Shiki.
Charlotte Linlin.
John.
Wang Zhi.
Edward Newgate.
Which one of them wasn’t already a monster capable of dominating an entire region?
And above them all stood Rocks himself, a man whose true depths remained impossible to measure.
“Exactly.”
Another vice admiral, Gina Hawk, spoke in a grim voice.
“Rocks’s previous achievements are simply too shocking to ignore.”
“An admiral fell.”
He clenched his jaw.
“During those years, the reputation of the Marines suffered humiliation after humiliation.”
“And worse, ever since Rocks’s name began shaking the world, countless pirates have started treating him as someone to imitate.”
Hawk slammed one finger against the table.
“They’re flooding out to sea in greater numbers than ever.”
“The situation is deteriorating by the day.”
Several heavy sighs sounded throughout the conference room.
The rise of Rocks had undoubtedly become one of the deepest wounds the Marines had suffered in recent years.
“But the Marines aren’t lacking a new generation of talent either.”
Another officer spoke.
“We have promising young forces of our own.”
“Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru…”
“In little more than a decade, those three have accumulated enough military achievements to rise all the way to commodore.”
“Their momentum is extraordinary.”
“And they’re not the only ones.”
“Talented officers are emerging throughout our branches.
Captains, commanders, and other capable officers continue to distinguish themselves.”
“They are the future pillars of the Marines.”
At the mention of those names, complicated expressions appeared on several generals’ faces.
There was admiration.
But also a faint sense of pressure.
The uncomfortable realization that the younger generation was rapidly catching up.
From there, the discussion shifted toward the current situation across the seas.
One after another, the officers reported on pirate crews beginning to make names for themselves in the first half of the Grand Line, as well as several troublesome groups causing chaos in the New World.
Initial countermeasures were discussed.
Strategies were proposed.
Targets were prioritized.
Then…
A report from the West Blue was placed on the table.
“There’s one more matter.”
The intelligence officer opened the report.
“According to the final sighting reported by our West Blue branch, combined with confirmation from our informants at Whisky Peak…”
He paused.
“The Jellyfish Pirates, formerly based in the West Blue, entered the Grand Line approximately one month ago.”
Several officers looked over.
“Their captain is ‘Predator’ Ribera Sammy.”
“Ribera Sammy…”
Vice Admiral Gina Hawk frowned.
“Isn’t that the man with the sixty-nine million berry bounty?”
He thought for a moment.
“If I remember correctly, he spent five or six years operating in the West Blue.”
“His organization never seemed particularly large, did it?”
“Correct.”
The intelligence officer nodded.
“They almost never harass civilians.
In fact, they’re known to conduct fair business with ordinary towns.”
“Our previous assessment was that they were content to establish themselves as a dominant pirate crew within the West Blue.”
The officer looked down at the report.
“We even believed their activities against local criminal organizations could indirectly help weaken the West Blue’s underworld.”
He hesitated.
“But now…”
“Now it appears our assessment may have been wrong.”
Vice Admiral Lard took over.
“They spent six full years accumulating strength in the West Blue before finally choosing to enter the Grand Line.”
His eyes narrowed.
“That isn’t the behavior of a crew acting on impulse.”
“Either they possess extraordinary patience…”
He paused.
“…or their ambitions are far greater than we assumed.”
The room grew quieter.
“A pirate crew capable of restraining itself while possessing considerable strength can sometimes be far more dangerous than reckless brutes who only know how to destroy whatever stands in front of them.”
“Agreed.”
Vice Admiral Bass nodded.
“They’ve managed to accumulate a sixty-nine million berry bounty despite their policy of avoiding attacks on civilians.”
He tapped the report.
“That alone tells us quite a lot.”
“Their actual combat strength may be significantly greater than what appears on the surface.”
Bass leaned back slightly.
“I recommend immediately raising their surveillance priority.”
“We should also consider deploying at least a Marine Headquarters captain-level force to capture them.”
His expression hardened.
“We cannot allow the Jellyfish Pirates enough time to establish themselves in the Grand Line.”
At the head of the table sat Admiral Kong.
He had remained silent throughout the discussion, listening to every report without interruption.
Now, at last, he gave a slow nod.
“Notify every Marine branch operating throughout the first half of the Grand Line.”
His voice was calm but carried unquestionable authority.
“Increase their alert level.”
“Raise the Jellyfish Pirates’ threat classification.”
Kong’s gaze settled on Sammy’s report.
“They remained hidden in the West Blue for years before finally entering these waters…”
His eyes narrowed.
“They are definitely planning something.”
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