A familiar medicinal smell.
The tightness across his body... Had his wounds been bandaged?
He could hear the sound of waves. Was he on a medical ship?
It seemed Kari had found him and brought him to a Marine base.
Griffin slowly opened his eyes, his vision gradually focusing.
...
His battle with Shiki had stretched from the open sea all the way to the Floating Island. He wasn't sure where he was now.
Moreover, the Floating Island was constantly moving—it might not even be in the New World anymore.
...
In the final moments before losing consciousness, Griffin had used the tissue sample he kept from Kari's body to send his coordinates to him.
He hadn't involved Kari in the fight against Shiki because even with his help, Griffin wasn't completely confident he could kill Shiki. He didn't want to reveal that trump card yet.
The nature of the Float-Float Fruit's ability meant that if Shiki wanted to escape, Griffin had no way to stop him.
By the time his final gambit took effect and Griffin managed to restrain Shiki for a brief moment, he no longer had the energy left to summon Kari.
It was just a pity his broken blade had been a fraction too short, failing to pierce through Shiki's heart.
—
Something felt off...
Griffin rubbed his eyes, feeling an unusual itchiness in them.
...
"You're awake?"
"To wake up after just two days with such severe injuries—you've got a tough body."
A somewhat flippant voice spoke up. Griffin's eyes focused on the pineapple-headed man sitting by his bedside.
It was a man with a golden punk hairstyle, his exposed chest bearing a 'cross' tattoo. The lower part of the cross curved into a crescent moon, resembling two upturned mustaches.
This was...
The symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates!!
Griffin's pupils contracted sharply. In an instant, he realized who this man was, his body quickly shifting toward the headboard into a defensive posture.
...
"Don't be so tense. I'm not a bad guy... Well, not exactly a good guy either, but there's nothing left on you worth stealing."
Marco laughed, one hand on his hip. "When we fished you out, even your face was covered in wounds. You had at least seventeen life-threatening injuries all over your body."
"Who are you? Where did you escape from? Care to share?"
...
He doesn't recognize me...
Griffin touched the bandages on his face and spoke in a lowered voice: "My name is Beria. I'm a merchant sailor. I was attacked by pirates..."
"Thank you for saving me. May I ask who you are?"
Marco pointed at himself, grinning. "You don't recognize me? Seems you don't read the newspapers much."
That line feels familiar somehow...
"I'm Marco, commander of the First Division and doctor of the Whitebeard Pirates! The Phoenix with a bounty of 979,000,000!"
Griffin feigned shock: "What?! The legendary Whitebeard Pirates?!"
"But the Whitebeard Pirates are in the Grand Line, aren't they? Isn't this the North Sea?!"
...
Marco frowned slightly. "The North Sea? You must be mistaken. These are the waters near Ford Viti Island in the New World. We found you on our way back to our base."
"How could someone from the North Blue drift all the way here?"
Fodeweitan Island...
This is Whitebeard's territory in the New World, so does that mean this is where I fell...
Whitebeard's territory is the largest among the Pirate Emperors of the New World, stretching from Fish-Man Island all the way to the waters before Wano Country, with numerous islands flying the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates.
If I were to go to the nearest Marine base from here, the route should be...
Griffin pressed his hand against his head, grimacing in pain: "Sorry... my head hurts terribly. Besides my name and being attacked by pirates, I seem to have forgotten a lot of things."
"But I remember I'm from the North Blue. Could it be that I was attacked after entering the New World..."
Marco stepped forward and patted his shoulder: "Don't force yourself. Traumatic amnesia is normal. You'll remember naturally once your body recovers."
"Just rest well. Remember to take the medicine by your bedside. Now that you're awake, at least I don't have to feed you anymore."
...
After Marco left, Griffin realized the gravity of the situation.
Staring at the ship's ceiling, even without using Observation Haki, he could sense through the wooden planks the presence of a terrifying mountain-like figure standing above.
Marco wasn't an ordinary crew member. He had followed Whitebeard since childhood, and as the ship's doctor, he would never leave that man's side...
Which means...
I'm currently aboard the Moby Dick - the headquarters of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Marine's number one enemy!!
——
——
Gulu gulu gulu...
Walking out of the cabin, Marco immediately spotted the broad-backed figure chugging alcohol on the deck and spoke disapprovingly: "Pops! I've told you to drink less for your health!"
The mountain-like figure responded with thunderous laughter, tilting his head back as torrents of liquor cascaded from the wooden barrel into his mouth.
"Brat! What kind of man would I be without my drink?! Gu-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra—"
Thud—
Putting down the barrel, Whitebeard turned around, his crescent-shaped mustache curling upward with his smile.
"That kid woke up?"
Marco approached to conduct his daily checkup on Pops: "Don't change the subject... Yes, he's awake."
"He claims to be a maritime merchant named Beria, saying he drifted here after being attacked by pirates..."
"First he mentioned the North Blue, then said he couldn't remember... Feels like he's lying."
...
As Marco attached medical instruments to Whitebeard, he murmured: "Ordinary merchants wouldn't sustain such severe injuries, nor recover this quickly."
"His physical vitality is extraordinary - likely a Zoan-type user or from a special race. Moreover..."
"His immediate reaction upon seeing my tattoo was vigilance. He clearly recognizes our pirate crew's symbol. We haven't been to the Four Seas for years, so how would he know..."
...
"Don't worry about such things. Meeting on the high seas is fate itself. Give him a ship to leave once he's recovered."
Whitebeard lifted a person-sized liquor barrel and drained it completely without spilling a drop: "Even if he's our enemy, would we need to strike when someone's unprepared?"
...
Marco finished attaching the instruments properly and smiled: "You're right. We are the strongest... Hey! Pops! You drank again when I wasn't looking!"
——
——
That same day, late at night.
A massive sea fish swam hundreds of meters below the Moby Dick, then began following the ship's movement.
Griffin emerged from his cabin and leaned against the silent railing of the deck.
This distance was just enough for Griffin to converse with Kari inside the fish's belly.
"What happened in Dressrosa after that day? Did Zephyr and the others return safely?"
Kari explained the situation where Kuzan joined forces with undercover World Government agents to repel Kaido—all information he had gathered from newspapers, with no mention of Red Hair.
The intelligence about Zephyr being attacked had been suppressed, and Kari didn't know the specifics.
"Can your current body withstand high-speed movement? Do you need me to take you away?"
...
"I'll find a way to escape on my own. If anything happens to you, it would be troublesome…"
After thinking for a moment, Griffin transmitted his voice to Kari: "Use the nail I left behind to have someone make a Vivre Card. Secretly deliver it to Smoker—he'll know what to do."
"And… you should have arrived sooner!"
Griffin couldn't help but complain.
Kari's voice remained completely flat: "I traveled at my maximum mechanical speed to your location, but you weren't there."
"Next time, please provide more precise coordinates or activate the summoning equation promptly to avoid high-risk situations."
...
Forget it, why am I blaming a tool? It makes me look foolish.
Just then, Griffin heard footsteps approaching from behind.
"Hmm… There shouldn't be anyone else on night watch duty today. Who are you?"
It was a burly man who appeared to be around thirty years old, with messy black hair, a bandana, holding a cherry pie, and missing several teeth.
The moment their eyes met, both simultaneously sensed a certain shared quality in each other.
Blackbeard Teach set down the cherry pie, lowered his eyebrows, and repeated the question: "Hey… who are you?"
Griffin narrowed his eyes and smiled, masking the killing intent within: "Hello, my name is Beria. I'm a merchant rescued by Captain Marco."
...
"Is that so…" Teach also smiled: "Hello there, I'm Teach, just an ordinary night watchman for the Whitebeard Pirates."