The idea had sounded perfect.
Reality, unfortunately, had other plans.
Sammy’s clever scheme to search the remains of dead pirates for a fully charged Log Pose ended in complete failure.
After years of exposure to Little Garden’s humidity, rain, and unforgiving climate, every Log Pose they found had long since rusted, cracked, or stopped working altogether.
In the end, all their searching earned them was a pile of useless junk.
With no other choice, the Jellyfish Pirates were forced to settle down on this dangerous prehistoric island and begin an entire year of wilderness survival.
Time passed quickly.
Before they knew it, nearly a full year had gone by.
Just as Dorry and Brogy had warned them, Little Garden was no place for ordinary humans.
Dinosaurs, poisonous insects, deadly diseases, brutal heat, and the occasional volcanic eruption had taken a terrible toll on the Jellyfish Pirates.
By the end of the year, nearly a third of the crew had been killed or seriously injured.
But those who survived that merciless hell had undergone a complete transformation.
Even the most ordinary combat crewman aboard the Swordfish now possessed the reflexes, strength, and ferocity to stand toe-to-toe with pirates carrying bounties of around three million Berries.
As for Sammy and his officers…
After an entire year of battling dinosaurs, surviving natural disasters, and occasionally enjoying a few “friendly sparring matches” with the two giants, their strength had grown to an entirely different level.
How strong were they now?
Even they weren’t completely sure.
“Boss!
Another ship is approaching the island!”
At that moment, a fierce sparring match was reaching its end in a clearing the crew had carved out of the jungle.
“HRAAAH!”
Aldo roared as his right fist tore through the air and shot straight toward Sammy’s face.
Sammy, however, stood completely still.
His eyes were closed.
He didn’t seem to notice the incoming punch at all.
The wind from Aldo’s fist whipped the loose strands of hair across Sammy’s forehead.
Then, at the very last instant…
Sammy tilted his head by the smallest possible margin.
WHOOSH!
Aldo’s fist brushed past his ear.
Almost at the exact same moment…
BAM!
Sammy struck without ever opening his eyes.
“Ugh!”
Aldo grunted as he was knocked off his feet and slammed heavily onto the ground.
Only then did Sammy slowly open his eyes.
He lowered his gaze toward his own fist.
“Tch…
Still not quite there.”
His brows furrowed.
“That feeling keeps appearing for only an instant before disappearing again.”
Sammy stared at his hand for another second before shaking his head.
“Forget it!”
He turned toward the crewman who had brought the report.
“Sound the assembly horn!”
A grin spread across his face.
“EVERYONE, MOVE OUT!”
…
Meanwhile, aboard the Crown Ark, which was slowly approaching Little Garden…
“Your Highness Lucas, the island ahead should be Little Garden, the second island on this route through the Grand Line.”
A man dressed like a butler knelt on one knee before a figure seated in an extravagant chair on the upper deck.
“We’ve spotted nearly ten pirate ships anchored along the coast.
The island may be extremely dangerous.”
The man addressed as “Your Highness” had perfectly groomed blond hair and held an elegant crystal glass between his fingers.
He responded in the lazy, condescending tone of someone who had spent his entire life looking down on others.
“Hmm.
Vasily, they’re probably nothing more than common rabble who happened to gather here.”
He took a leisurely sip from his glass.
“They’re hardly worth worrying about.
Prepare for our landing.”
By the time Sammy and his crew reached the shore, the newly arrived vessel had just anchored beside the other ships.
It stood out immediately.
Compared with the battered pirate ships surrounding it, the newcomer was almost absurdly luxurious.
Ornate carvings decorated its hull, and every visible detail seemed designed to scream wealth and status.
Sammy took one look at it and grinned.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted toward the deck.
“HEY!
BROTHERS OVER THERE!
WELCOME!”
Several people aboard turned toward him.
“Looks like you’ve come a long way!”
Sammy paused dramatically.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any booze aboard, would you?”
His grin widened.
“Rum would be even better!”
Vasily walked to the railing and looked down at Sammy.
His brows immediately knitted together, and undisguised disgust filled his eyes.
“Where did these filthy savages come from?”
He waved his hand as though shooing away insects.
“Get out of here at once!
If you disturb the noble Prince Lucas, do you have any idea how severe your crime will be?”
“Huh?
Prince?”
Sammy raised an eyebrow and glanced at the pirate flag flying above the ship—a skull decorated with a crown.
He shrugged.
“But relax.
I’m only here to make a deal.”
Sammy held up a Log Pose and gave it a little shake.
“A Log Pose needs an entire year to finish recording this island’s magnetic field.”
He pointed toward it.
“We happen to have a few extras that only need one more month before they’re fully charged.”
Sammy smiled.
“So how about it?
We trade you one for some alcohol and supplies.
Sounds fair, doesn’t it?”
The commotion below had apparently disturbed Lucas.
The sharp click of polished leather shoes sounded across the deck as he approached the railing.
“What is all that noise down there?”
Vasily leaned toward him and quietly explained the situation.
Lucas snorted.
His contemptuous gaze swept over Sammy and the Jellyfish Pirates gathered on the shore.
When he noticed that nearly half of them were dressed in clothing made from animal hides after their year on Little Garden, the disdain on his face grew even stronger.
“Hmph.”
Lucas lifted his chin.
“A pack of filthy savages who live like beasts actually thinks they’re worthy of negotiating with me?”
He gave Vasily a dismissive wave.
“Kill them.”
Lucas smiled arrogantly.
“Take their Log Poses for me.
They’ve just saved us an entire year of waiting.
Ohohohoho!”
Vasily immediately bowed.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Then he turned sharply toward the armed guards.
“GUARDS!
LOAD YOUR WEAPONS!”
Sammy sighed and scratched his cheek.
“Tch.
So much for negotiating.”
“FIRE!”
BANG!
BANG!
BANG—!
The instant the guns went off, the Jellyfish Pirates scattered like ghosts.
Most of the bullets tore harmlessly through empty air.
“They’re too fast!”
“AAARGH!”
“GAAH!”
The battle became hopelessly one-sided almost as soon as it began.
The Crown Pirates’ guards didn’t even have time to organize a proper second volley.
The Jellyfish Pirates rushed the ship like a pack of starving wolves, stormed onto the deck, and tore through the guards with frightening ease.
Within moments, bodies were sprawled everywhere.
Even after being forced face-first onto the deck, Vasily still looked utterly horrified.
“D-Damn it…
How is this possible?!”
His eyes trembled.
“This is only the second island of the Grand Line!
Why are there monsters like you here?!”
Nearby, Lucas had also been captured.
Yet even with his arms restrained, he continued shouting with all the arrogance of a man who hadn’t understood his situation.
“You filthy commoners!
Do you have any idea who I am?!”
He struggled furiously.
“I WILL NOT FORGIVE THIS!”
Marcus licked his lips and gave him a wicked grin.
Then…
SMACK!
SMACK!
He slapped Lucas twice across the face.
“Commoners, huh?”
Marcus cracked his neck.
“Go on.
Say it again.”
He sneered at the stunned nobleman.
“You’re already our prisoner, and you’re STILL putting on airs?”
Marcus spat to the side.
“People like you are exactly why I hate nobles.”
Not long afterward, one of the Jellyfish Pirates’ newest officers, Nostra Cahelo, approached Sammy with a stack of information gathered during the interrogation.
“Boss, we’ve got the whole story.”
Cahelo glanced down at the notes.
“These people came from the North Blue.
Their captain, Lucas, used to be a noble from some small kingdom.”
He continued.
“Apparently, he tried to launch a palace coup and failed.
Afterward, he fled to sea with what remained of his family’s guards and wealth, then formed this so-called Crown Pirates.” This story is hosted at g.com.
Cahelo flipped to the next page.
“Lucas is the only member of the entire crew with a bounty.”
He looked up.
“Seventeen million Berries.”
Aldo spat onto the ground.
“Bah!
Another bunch from the North Blue.”
He crossed his arms.
“They’ve barely got any strength, but somehow they’ve got enough arrogance for ten crews.”
Sammy waved a hand.
“Deal with them.”
Then he nodded toward the captured ship.
“Inventory everything useful and move the supplies into storage.”
That evening, a massive bonfire once again burned in Little Garden’s clearing.
But this time, instead of dinosaur meat roasting over the flames, the Jellyfish Pirates were feasting on expensive ingredients looted from the Crown Ark.
Aldo took a huge gulp from a bottle of red wine.
His face immediately twisted.
“Boss…
this wine is terrible.”
He stared suspiciously at the bottle.
“It doesn’t hit right at all.
Rum’s way better.”
Cahelo, seated nearby, gave a soft laugh as he gently swirled the wine in his glass.
“A wild boar really can’t appreciate fine grain, can it, Aldo?”
He took a small sip.
“One bottle of that wine is worth enough to buy ten crates of rum.”
“Just endure it a little longer.”
Sammy picked up another bottle and laughed.
“One more month and our Log Poses will finally be fully charged.”
He leaned back comfortably.
“Then we’ll leave this island and sail for our next destination.”
Sammy grinned at Aldo.
“Once we get there, you can drink as much rum as you want.”
Hearing the conversation, Dorry and Brogy wandered over as well.
“GABABABABA!”
Dorry laughed.
“So you little guys are finally leaving?”
Brogy grinned beside him.
“Time really does fly!”
“Yeah.”
Sammy looked around at the Jellyfish Pirates gathered before him.
The crew was noticeably larger than it had been one year earlier.
For a moment, even Sammy couldn’t help feeling emotional.
Back then, after failing to find a single usable Log Pose among the remains of the pirates who had died on Little Garden, they’d had no choice but to stay on the island and wait out the full year.
They had paid a brutal price for it.
Many people had died.
Others had been permanently injured.
But those who survived had grown tremendously stronger.
And because the Grand Line’s routes forced ships to follow specific chains of islands, new pirate crews had continued arriving at Little Garden throughout the year.
Sammy had taken full advantage of that.
Sometimes they traded.
Sometimes they settled things through a Davy Back Fight—a pirate game in which crews competed for members.
And sometimes…
They simply beat the other crew into submission and absorbed whoever was worth recruiting.
Little by little, the Jellyfish Pirates gained new blood, new resources, and new strength.
They had even gained three new core officers.
The first was “Gentleman” Nostra Cahelo, former captain of the Twilight Pirates from the West Blue, with a bounty of nineteen million Berries.
The second was “Mute” Alberto, a former officer of the Twilight Pirates, with a bounty of ten million Berries.
And the third was “Harpoon” Leon, former captain of the Cormorant Pirates from the East Blue, with a bounty of fourteen million Berries.
When Sammy first heard the name Cormorant Pirates, he’d gotten excited and assumed Leon might be some kind of Zoan Devil Fruit user.
Unfortunately, after meeting him, Sammy discovered that Leon was simply an unusually tough ordinary human.
A little disappointing.
Still, the Jellyfish Pirates had become a true gathering of people from all Four Blues.
There were now crew members from the East Blue, West Blue, South Blue, and North Blue living aboard the same ship.
Of course, not every encounter during that year had ended peacefully.
Plenty of pirates didn’t even bother listening to Sammy’s offer before answering with bullets and blades.
The Jellyfish Pirates showed no mercy to those idiots either.
Without exception, they became little more than stepping stones on the crew’s path to becoming stronger.
Overall, after an entire year of brutal survival, constant fighting, recruitment, and consolidation on Little Garden, the Jellyfish Pirates were far stronger than they had ever been before.
Their numbers hadn’t decreased despite all their losses.
Instead, the crew had grown to an elite force of 137 members.
Everyone’s weapons had been repaired, replaced, or upgraded repeatedly through battle.
Even the Swordfish itself had undergone several major renovations using materials and equipment seized from defeated pirate crews.
A year ago, they had arrived at Little Garden as newcomers to the Grand Line.
Now…
They were finally ready to leave it for something far more dangerous.
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