“Boss, what should we do with these guys?”
Henry, one of the officers in charge of navigation, nudged the limp bounty hunter leader lying on the ground with the tip of his boot.
Sammy casually glanced at the men sprawled all over the street like discarded loot.
“Do we still have room in the cages below deck?”
“Plenty, Boss.”
Aldo, one of the combat division officers, immediately answered with a knowing grin.
“We’ve got more than enough space to squeeze all of them in.”
“Then take them all.”
Sammy waved a hand as though the matter wasn’t even worth thinking about.
“Even a mosquito is still meat.
No point wasting perfectly good merchandise.”
At that moment, the muscular, scar-faced bounty hunter on the ground seemed to recover a little strength.
He struggled to lift his head, a hoarse growl escaping his throat.
“Y-You…coward…”
He coughed weakly.
“You used poison… You damn pirates…have no honor!”
Sammy, who had already started walking away, stopped.
He turned around and gave the man the most innocent smile imaginable.
“Honor?”
Sammy chuckled.
“That’s something you humans care about.”
His grin widened.
“What does any of that have to do with a jellyfish like me?”
By now, Sammy had repeated his ridiculous lie so many times that it rolled off his tongue naturally.
He was even beginning to feel strangely proud of it.
I’ve already given up pretending to be human.
You seriously think you can guilt-trip me with human morality?
The scar-faced bounty hunter’s eyes rolled back at Sammy’s shameless logic.
He nearly passed out again from sheer frustration.
“Hahahaha!”
Sammy’s officers burst into laughter.
They quickly tied the bounty hunters up so thoroughly that the men looked like wrapped packages, then slung them over their shoulders like sacks of grain.
With their new “cargo” secured, the group leisurely continued toward the docks.
“Come to think of it…”
Henry frowned as he walked.
“Before that guy passed out earlier, didn’t he shout something about someone named Jack?”
Aldo shrugged carelessly.
“Who knows?
Probably some unlucky bastard we sold off somewhere.
The guy was barely making sense.”
Then he laughed.
“Who cares?
They’re all our merchandise now anyway!”
…
…
Five years later.
Sea Circle Calendar, Year 1475.
West Blue.
The original Swordfish was gone.
In its place sailed a larger, heavier, far more powerful warship.
But Sammy had kept the name.
Swordfish.
Above its sails flew a pirate flag bearing an abstract skull wearing a jellyfish-shaped hat, with several tentacles extending from its sides and two crossed swords beneath it.
Over the past five years, that flag had become a symbol feared by criminal organizations throughout the West Blue.
Across the deck, veteran pirates and newer recruits trained relentlessly beneath the watchful eyes of their officers.
Day after day.
Again and again.
Their training was harsh because the sea had been harsher.
This was no longer a ragtag crew of desperate men playing at being pirates.
This was a pirate crew forged through real battles.
A crew that had survived bloodshed.
At the bow of the ship, Sammy stood with his hands resting on the railing, staring across the endless blue sea.
Five years.
Five whole years had passed.
He had raided, fought, hidden, expanded, and strengthened his forces throughout the West Blue.
Much to his annoyance, his bounty had also climbed to a level that could no longer be ignored.
And somewhere along the way, the Jellyfish Pirates had transformed from a rough pirate crew into a genuine organization built for violence.
Sammy believed he had prepared as thoroughly as possible.
Yet the longer he waited…
The more uneasy he became.
The truth was, Sammy had been deliberately delaying the inevitable.
He kept telling himself that he needed more strength.
More men.
More preparation.
Anything that gave him an excuse not to enter that legendary sea.
The Grand Line.
Because somewhere out there were monsters he knew could crush people like him without a second thought.
Is the timing really right?
If I go now, what if I run straight into-
“Boss!”
Hans’s voice snapped Sammy out of his thoughts.
The navigator approached with a sea chart in his hands.
“We’ve confirmed the next island.
It’s a major resupply point called God Valley.
“God Valley?”
Sammy repeated the name without thinking.
His heart skipped a beat.
God Valley…
Why does that sound familiar?
No.
Impossible.
Why would an island with that name be in the West Blue?
It had to be a coincidence.
There had to be more than one island with the same name.
“Yes, God Valley.”
Hans looked down at the information on his chart.
“According to the records, the island is pretty rich in resources too.”
“God Valley…”
Sammy slowly turned toward him.
“…is in the West Blue?”
His voice rose without him realizing it.
Then he suddenly grabbed Hans by the shoulders.
Hans nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Y-Yeah, Boss!
Of course it is!”
He stared at Sammy in confusion.
“It’s always been in the West Blue.
Every veteran pirate around these waters knows about it.
It’s a major transit and supply island.”
Always…
In the West Blue?!
It felt as though lightning had struck Sammy directly in the brain.
His hands slowly released Hans.
The blood drained from his face.
God Valley.
The God Valley where the legendary battle would take place.
The place where the Rocks Pirates would meet their downfall.
The battlefield that would draw in Garp and Roger…
The place where countless Celestial Dragons would become caught in a historic disaster.
THAT God Valley?!
It was in the West Blue?!
The same West Blue where I’ve been hiding all these years?!
How the hell is that possible?!
Wasn’t God Valley supposed to be somewhere in the New World?
Then again…
With a name like God Valley, wouldn’t it make sense for it to be some kind of vacation spot for the Celestial Dragons?
No.
No, no.
It has to be another island with the same name.
Yeah.
That’s definitely it.
Sammy nodded firmly, desperately trying to convince himself.
There’s no way my luck is THAT terrible.
Because if this God Valley really is the God Valley I know…
Then I’ve spent the last five years hiding in the West Blue because I was afraid of sailing into the Grand Line…
…while sitting right beside the disaster I was trying to avoid.
What kind of idiot thinks he escaped the storm only to realize he’s been standing on top of the volcano the entire time?!
“Boss?”
Hans stared anxiously at Sammy’s rapidly changing expression.
“You okay?”
Sammy forced himself to calm down.
He inhaled deeply.
Then, in the steadiest voice he could manage, he gave the order.
“We dock and resupply first.”
He paused.
“We leave in three days.”
“Yes, Boss!”
The crew immediately prepared to carry out his command.
But before they could get far, Aldo came charging across the deck with a stack of papers raised over his head.
His face was practically glowing with excitement.
“BOSS!
BOSS!”
Everyone turned toward him.
“Our crew’s bounties have been updated!”
For half a second, the deck went silent.
Then—
“WOOOOOO!”
The entire crew erupted.
Pirates rushed toward Aldo from every direction, surrounding him almost instantly.
“Brother Aldo!
Did I finally get one this time?!”
“Me too!
Check mine!”
“Did my bounty go up?!”
“Come on, Aldo!
Tell us!”
It was a medal.
Proof of strength.
Proof that the world knew their names.
Every new bounty update was practically a festival.
Aldo was shoved back and forth by the crowd until he finally lost his patience.
“GET OFF ME!
MOVE!”
He pushed several men away.
“No, you didn’t get one!
Neither did you!
This update is mostly for the captain and a few officers!”
Groans immediately erupted.
Aldo pulled another bundle of wanted posters from inside his coat and shoved it into the crowd.
“Here!
The rest are all in there!
Go look for yourselves!”
The crew immediately fought over the stack and rushed off to one side, excitedly flipping through the posters.
Finally free, Aldo hurried toward Sammy and handed him several wanted posters.
“Boss!”
He could barely contain himself.
“Yours went up!”
Sammy raised an eyebrow.
“A LOT!”
Still trying to suppress the storm of thoughts caused by hearing the name God Valley, Sammy accepted the posters.
The first one on top was his.
His brand-new wanted poster.
PREDATOR
RIBERA SAMMY
BOUNTY: 69,000,000 BERRIES
CAPTAIN OF THE JELLYFISH PIRATES
CRIMES: ATTACKING MARINE FORCES, PILLAGING, ARSON, MURDER, AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
DEAD OR ALIVE.
Sammy stared at the photograph.
It appeared to have been taken not long ago during an attack on a gang fleet at a harbor.
In the picture, Sammy was swinging a cutlass down at an enemy.
Specks of blood covered his face.
And somehow, the photographer had captured him wearing a wild grin filled with excitement and bloodlust.
Sammy’s eye twitched.
“The Marines are terrible at taking pictures.”
He muttered under his breath.
“I’m usually such a friendly, approachable person.”
He stared at the image again.
“This makes me look like some bloodthirsty psychopath.”
“Whoa!”
Hans immediately leaned over Sammy’s shoulder.
“Captain!
Your bounty is sixty-nine million Berries now!”
His eyes widened dramatically.
“It jumped by TEN MILLION in one shot!”
Hans grinned from ear to ear.
“That definitely puts you among the top ten bounties in the West Blue!”
His voice grew louder.
“Who in the West Blue would dare disrespect the Jellyfish Pirates now?!
People are going to tremble the moment they hear our name!”
Sammy knew perfectly well that Hans was flattering him.
Unfortunately…
It worked.
The corners of Sammy’s mouth began creeping upward.
He quickly raised a hand and tried to look modest.
“Hahaha!
Keep it low-key.
Low-key!”
He waved dismissively.
“How many times have I told you, Hans?
I’ve never cared about meaningless things like fame or reputation.”
“Hahahaha…”
The smug satisfaction in his laughter made his claim completely unconvincing.
Clearly, Hans knew exactly how to stroke his captain’s ego.
Still grinning proudly, Sammy flipped to the next wanted poster.
Then his smile froze.
He flipped to another.
His expression darkened.
Another.
The color of his face grew worse with every poster.
Within seconds, Sammy’s expression had become as black as the bottom of a burned cooking pot.
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