"Boss, what should we do with these guys?"
The one speaking was Henry, an officer from the navigation team. He nudged the bounty hunter leader lying limp on the ground with the tip of his boot.
Sami casually glanced at the defeated men scattered across the ground and asked, "Do we still have empty cages in the hold?"
"Yes, Boss," replied Aldo, one of the combat team officers. He grinned knowingly. "Plenty of space. More than enough to fit all of them."
"Then take them along," Sami said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Even mosquitoes are still meat."
At that moment, the scar-faced brute on the ground seemed to regain a bit of strength. He struggled to lift his head, making a hoarse sound in his throat as he growled unwillingly.
"Y-you… used poison… How shameless… Pirates like you… no honor…"
Sami paused mid-step and turned back, flashing him an innocent smile—almost one of pure logic.
"Honor?" he chuckled. "That's something you humans care about. What does it have to do with a jellyfish like me?"
He had told the lie so many times by now that it rolled off his tongue effortlessly.
He even felt a strange sense of pride.
I'm not even claiming to be human anymore. You expect to bind me with morality?
The scar-faced man choked on the absurd reasoning, his eyes rolling back as he nearly fainted again on the spot.
"HAHAHAHA!"
The officers quickly tied the bounty hunters into tight bundles and hoisted them over their shoulders like sacks of grain.
Then they followed Sami leisurely toward the docks.
"By the way," Henry said while walking, frowning slightly in thought, "before that guy passed out earlier, didn't he shout something about… Jack?"
Aldo shrugged indifferently.
"Who knows? Probably some unlucky guy we sold off. Sounded like nonsense to me."
"Who cares! They're cargo now anyway! Hahaha!"
Five Years Later
Sea Circle Calendar 1475 — West Blue
The old Swordfish had long since been replaced by a larger and heavier warship, but the name remained the same.
The pirate flag bearing an abstract jellyfish skull had become a symbol that made every mafia group in the West Blue tremble.
On deck, both new and veteran crew members trained under the watchful eyes of officers, enduring brutal daily drills.
This was a pirate ship that had truly survived through bloodshed.
At the bow, Sami leaned against the railing, gazing at the endless blue horizon.
Five years.
Five years of raiding, evading, and growing in the West Blue.
Though he hadn't wanted it, his bounty had climbed to an eye-catching level, and the pirate crew had evolved into a genuine force of violence.
He believed he had prepared thoroughly.
But the longer he delayed, the more uneasy he felt.
The truth was—
He had been deliberately stalling.
Using the excuse of building strength to avoid stepping into the legendary sea known as the Grand Line.
Because monsters lived there.
Monsters capable of crushing everything.
Is the timing right yet?
If I go now… what if I run straight into—
"Boss!"
The voice of navigator Hans interrupted his thoughts.
Hans approached with a chart in hand.
"The next island has been confirmed. It's a major supply point called God Valley. We can dock there to restock."
"God Valley?"
Sami repeated the name instinctively.
His heart skipped a beat.
That name… sounds familiar.
No.
Impossible.
How could a place called that exist in the West Blue?
It had to be a coincidence.
"Yeah, God Valley," Hans replied. "According to the charts, the island's resources are pretty abundant."
"God Valley… in the West Blue?"
Sami's voice rose unconsciously as he grabbed Hans by the shoulders.
Hans was startled by his captain's sudden reaction.
"Y-Yeah, Boss. It's always been in the West Blue. Old pirates around here all know it—it's a big transit island."
Always in the West Blue?!
Lightning seemed to explode inside Sami's mind.
He slowly released Hans, his face turning pale.
The place destined to become the graveyard of the Rocks Pirates.
The battlefield of the God Valley Incident, where Monkey D. Garp and Gol D. Roger would clash with monsters and bury countless Celestial Dragons.
God Valley.
And it was here.
In the West Blue.
The very sea where he had been hiding all these years.
How is that possible?!
Wasn't God Valley supposed to be in the New World?!
God Valley…
The name sounded more like some leisure island for Celestial Dragons.
No, no.
It must just be a place with the same name.
Yes.
That had to be it.
Sami nodded firmly, trying to convince himself.
There's no way my luck is that bad.
If this God Valley really is the one I'm thinking of… then hiding in the West Blue all these years to avoid the Grand Line would make me look like a complete idiot.
A fool who thought he had avoided the center of the storm—
while standing directly on a volcano.
"Boss… are you okay?" Hans asked cautiously.
Sami forced himself to calm down. Taking a deep breath, he issued the order in the steadiest voice he could manage.
"Dock and resupply first. We leave in three days."
"Yes, Boss!"
Just as the crew began preparing to follow the order—
One of the combat officers, Aldo, came running across the deck excitedly, waving a stack of papers in the air.
"Boss! Boss! Our pirate crew's bounties got updated!"
For a moment, the entire deck froze.
Then cheers exploded as everyone rushed toward Aldo.
"Brother Aldo! Do I have one this time?!"
"Me too! Me too! Did my bounty go up?!"
A bounty was a pirate's medal—proof of strength.
Every update was like a festival.
Aldo was nearly knocked off his feet by the crowd and shouted irritably.
"Back off! Back off! None of you have one! This update is mainly for the captain and the officers!"
He pulled out a stack of wanted posters and tossed them into the crowd.
"They're all here! Go look yourselves!"
The crew immediately began scrambling for them, running aside to check excitedly.
Finally free, Aldo hurried over to Sami and handed him several posters.
"Boss! Yours! It went up! Way up!"
Sami suppressed the turmoil in his heart and took the poster.
The first one was his.
[Predator — Riberra Sami]
Bounty: 69,000,000 Beli
Captain of the Jellyfish Pirates
Crimes: Attacking Marines, arson, plunder, human trafficking, numerous heinous acts. Dead or Alive.
The photograph appeared to have been taken recently during a raid on a mafia convoy at a port.
In the image, Sami was swinging a blade into an enemy in front of him.
Blood splattered across his face.
Yet his lips were curled into a grin filled with both excitement and madness.
"The Marines' photography skills are terrible," Sami muttered with a twitch of his mouth. "I'm usually such a kind and friendly person. This makes me look like some bloodthirsty maniac."
"Wow! Captain, your bounty jumped to 69 million Beli!" Hans leaned over, his face full of admiration. "That's an increase of ten million in one go! You're definitely in the Top Ten of the West Blue now! Who would dare disrespect the Jellyfish Pirates anymore? Everyone will tremble just hearing our name!"
Sami knew it was flattery, but the corner of his mouth still rose slightly.
He waved his hand modestly.
"Hahaha… keep it low-key, keep it low-key. Hans, how many times have I told you? I've never cared about such empty fame… hahaha…"
The pride in his laughter was impossible to hide.
Clearly, Hans's flattery worked extremely well on him.
But when Sami flipped to the next poster—
The smile on his face froze.
He flipped another page.
And another.
His expression darkened at a visible speed.
Until his face became as black as the bottom of a pot.