“Gentlemen, your house-special grilled meat is ready.
Enjoy!”
Just then, the tavern owner emerged from the kitchen carrying five enormous plates of sizzling grilled meat.
The rich aroma instantly spread through the room, making more than a few customers turn their heads.
He acted as though he hadn’t even noticed Shark and his companions groaning on the floor.
Nor did he seem bothered by the lingering tension in the air.
Still smiling cheerfully, he placed the plates in front of Sammy and his men.
Only then did he straighten up and sweep his gaze across the bounty hunters who still had their hands resting on their weapons.
“What are you doing?
Put those things away!”
His friendly expression vanished.
“Have you forgotten the rules of the Sea Monster’s Throat?
The moment someone walks through that door, they’re my customer.
Until I close for the night, nobody lays a hand on my customers!”
Shark struggled to raise his head and pointed toward Sammy.
“Boss, it wasn’t us!
He was the one who—”
“Hm?!”
One sharp glare from the tavern owner shut him up.
The bounty hunters who had still been considering making a move exchanged uneasy looks.
In the end, they reluctantly released their weapons and returned to their seats, pretending nothing had happened.
At last, the suffocating tension inside the tavern began to fade.
Even so, curious and wary eyes continued drifting toward Sammy’s table from time to time.
Sammy quietly took in the entire scene.
His opinion of the tavern owner immediately rose.
“Boss, I didn’t realize your name carried this much weight around here.”
Sammy glanced at the bounty hunters who had obediently backed down.
“These guys make their living with blood on their blades, yet they’re still willing to follow your rules.
You must have quite the reputation in this part of the West Blue.”
The bartender, who had been silently polishing glasses beside them the entire time, answered without even looking up.
There was an unmistakable note of pride in his voice.
“Of course he does.”
He continued polishing the glass in his hands.
“Back when our boss still ruled the seas, he had a bounty of twelve million Berries.”
Several nearby customers glanced over.
“They called him Groff the Rockbreaker.”
The bartender nodded toward the tavern owner.
“He only settled down here because he got tired of life at sea and decided to retire.”
Groff chuckled and waved dismissively, once again wearing the easygoing smile of a businessman.
“That was a long time ago.
Nothing worth bragging about.”
He sighed.
“I’m getting old.
Fighting and killing stopped being interesting years ago.
These days, I’m just an old man getting by on the little bit of respect my old friends are still willing to give me.”
Groff looked at Sammy.
“You’re new here, kid.
You didn’t know the rules of my tavern, so I’ll forget what happened just now.”
Then his gaze became a little more meaningful.
“You’re young, but you’ve got courage.
And your…background is certainly unusual.”
His eyes lingered on Sammy for a moment.
“I have a feeling there’ll be a place for you on these seas someday.”
Sammy immediately put on an expression that practically said, Of course I’m incredible!
I just don’t like showing off.
He gave a quiet snort and sat back down as though his earth-shattering declaration about being a jellyfish who had eaten the Human-Human Fruit had been nothing more than a casual remark.
Then he waved at his officers, who were still standing there in a daze.
“What are you idiots staring at?
Sit down!
Drink!
Eat!”
“Y-Yes, Boss!”
“Right away!”
His officers finally snapped out of their shock and hurried back to their seats.
But the way they looked at Sammy had changed.
They had always respected and feared their captain.
Now there was something else in their eyes.
Amazement.
As if they were thinking:
As expected of the captain… We really have no idea how deep his secrets go.
Whispers continued spreading throughout the tavern.
Unsurprisingly, nearly every conversation revolved around two things.
The Jellyfish Human-Human Fruit…
…and the young pirate named Ribera Sammy.
Sammy calmly picked up his knife and fork and began cutting into the grilled meat on his plate.
At least, he looked calm.
Inside his head, his thoughts were racing.
He had carefully watched everyone’s reactions, and one thing was now certain.
Somehow, that ridiculous lie he had invented on the spot had actually worked.
They bought it.
But that still left two important questions.
First…
How the hell had his photograph gotten out?
And second…
What exactly had he done that finally made the Marines take notice of him, and decide his head was worth seven million Berries?
Right now, Sammy had absolutely no idea.
He bit off a large piece of meat and chewed slowly, his eyes once again drifting toward the pink wanted poster hanging on the wall.
Then another thought occurred to him.
Come to think of it…
Is this wanted poster even useful?
If I don’t transform, who the hell is going to recognize me as that pink jellyfish-looking freak?
By the time Sammy had demolished most of the meat on his plate, he finally remembered the real reason they had come ashore.
He put down his knife and fork and turned toward Groff.
“Boss, since you used to sail the seas yourself, I’m guessing you still know plenty of people.”
Groff looked over.
“My ship needs a few more sailors.
Think you could introduce me to some reliable men?”
Groff continued wiping down the counter as he laughed.
“Reliable men?”
He glanced around the tavern.
“Eight out of every ten men who walk through these doors think they’re skilled.”
His smile became slightly amused.
“The problem is, truly capable men usually know they’re capable.
And men like that tend to be proud.”
Groff looked directly at Sammy.
“So the real question is, kid…do you have the strength and confidence to keep men like that under control?”
Sammy smiled confidently.
“There’s something you should understand about my ship, Boss.”
He leaned back slightly.
“Being talented isn’t the most important thing.”
His smile faded.
“The most important thing is following my rules.”
“Rules…”
Groff raised an eyebrow.
He set down the cloth in his hand, and his expression became complicated.
“I’ve heard a little about those rules of yours.”
He paused.
“To be frank, pirates are people who value freedom above almost everything else.
Don’t you think all those restrictions you place on your crew are a little too strict?”
“Oh?”
Sammy narrowed his eyes.
“You have a problem with my rules?”
“I wouldn’t call it a problem.”
Groff shook his head.
“I simply don’t agree with all of them.”
His gaze sharpened slightly.
“If I had to guess, your original plan was to quietly build your strength, expand your crew, and wait for the right opportunity before making a name for yourself.
Am I wrong?”
Sammy said nothing.
Groff lowered his voice.
“I’ll tell you something, kid.
If you hadn’t imposed so many rules on your crew, that wanted poster probably wouldn’t have appeared for quite some time.”
Sammy’s eyes narrowed.
“You would’ve had much more time to grow in the shadows.”
Groff leaned slightly closer.
“The information I received says that several men you kicked off your ship for breaking your rules were furious about it.”
Sammy’s expression darkened.
“They turned around and sold information about you, your movements, your activities, and everything to the Marines and to the gangs you’ve made enemies of.”
Groff glanced toward the wanted poster.
“Now that your bounty has officially been issued, there’s no hiding anymore.”
“You’ve entered the Marines’ sights.”
He paused.
“And some very powerful figures in the underworld are watching you too.”
Sammy silently nodded.
Groff’s words had struck exactly where it hurt.
Sammy really had intended to keep a low profile while quietly building up his strength.
After all, even though he knew the story of One Piece, almost everything he remembered revolved around events that happened after Luffy began his journey.
And even then, most of what he knew followed Luffy’s perspective.
But right now…
It was the year 1470 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Fifty years before Luffy would set sail.
Almost none of the storylines Sammy remembered were useful yet.
All he knew about this era were fragments of legendary events.
Events such as the rise of the Rocks Pirates, their ambition to overthrow the World Government, and the shocking incident at God Valley involving the Celestial Dragons.
Before Sammy had been transported into this world, the One Piece story in his previous life had only just finished the Wano Country arc.
And that was the biggest problem.
His knowledge of events from this era was painfully vague.
What year did everything happen?
What exactly led to each incident?
Who was involved, and when?
He couldn’t remember the details.
All Sammy knew was that the God Valley Incident should be happening sometime within the next few years.
Which meant attracting too much attention this early was definitely not a good thing.
And another possibility bothered him even more.
If those fanfiction stories he had read were even remotely accurate…
What if Rocks really was traveling around recruiting powerful pirates?
What if that lunatic heard about Sammy and decided to recruit him too?
Sammy wanted to become stronger.
Of course he did.
But he couldn’t become too famous too quickly.
The last thing he wanted was to attract the attention of a madman like Rocks and get dragged onto that doomed ship.
Because Sammy already knew how the story ended.
The Rocks Pirates would eventually lose.
And when monsters of that level started fighting…
Would someone like him even survive being caught in the middle?
Forget gaining anything from it.
Staying alive would already be an achievement.
Sammy had absolutely no intention of getting involved.
The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
Damn it, Oda!
Why did you have to update so slowly?!
You can join my P.
@.
T.
R.
3.
0.
N to get access to 35 additional chapters!
/Meegoatbaa Whether you join as a free or paid member, you’ll also get access to 2 extra chapters.