Perhaps Sami's threat worked.
Or perhaps Hans' intuition finally got lucky for once.
Either way, the Swordfish managed to sail out of that cursed snowstorm without incident.
Several days later…
"Land! Boss!"
Hans shouted excitedly from the lookout platform.
"Land ahead!"
The crew rushed onto the deck, craning their necks to look into the distance.
Sami stepped out of the captain's cabin as well.
Sure enough, an island appeared ahead—primitive and untouched.
As the ship drew closer, its details became clearer.
"Wow!"
"Finally, land!"
"This island looks ancient…"
Towering trees that seemed to pierce the clouds, gigantic flowers no one had ever seen before, and—
"ROOOAR—!"
"Mo… mo… mon—monster!"
Everyone turned toward the sound.
A massive lizard-like creature was wandering along the beach.
Its body was covered in thick keratin scales.
The creature glanced lazily at the approaching Swordfish, snorted, shook its head, and slowly lumbered back into the jungle.
Smack.
Sami slapped the frightened sailor on the back of the head.
"Monster, monster—what monster?"
"You don't even know what a dinosaur is? Illiterate idiot."
"Don't tell people you're from the Jellyfish Pirates. It's embarrassing!"
"Di… dinosaur?"
"Listen up, all of you!"
Sami clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"This island is called Little Garden."
"Don't be fooled by the name."
"If anyone actually treats this place like their backyard garden and dies here, don't blame me for not warning you."
He swept his gaze across several crew members who still looked unconcerned.
His tone grew serious.
"This island is completely different from anywhere you've been before."
"It's full of ancient creatures that went extinct in the outside world long ago."
"Like the dinosaurs you just saw."
"They're tough, powerful, and extremely dangerous for most of you."
"And that's not even mentioning the insects."
"Mosquitoes, ants, all that stuff—they're prehistoric versions too."
"If one bites you… well, imagine the consequences yourselves."
He paused.
Then continued:
"I'm going ashore."
"Anyone who wants to explore can come."
"But you move in teams."
"Your weapons stay in your hands at all times."
"Stay alert."
"If something feels wrong, retreat immediately."
"And anyone who doesn't want to go ashore stays on the ship and keeps watch."
"Understood?!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Soon, nearly a hundred bold crew members assembled with swords and firearms.
But Sami and his four officers had already jumped off the ship and entered the jungle ahead of them.
Three Triceratops now lay before them.
One had a fatal slash across its neck.
Another had its skull crushed inward by brute force.
Isaac was currently locked in a wrestling match with the third.
He gripped the dinosaur's massive horns with both hands, muscles bulging as his feet carved deep trenches into the soil.
"Hey, hey, hey, Isaac!"
Aldo rested his spiked club on his shoulder, watching with amusement.
"We already finished ours. Why are you so slow?"
Isaac snorted.
With a sudden burst of power, he executed a perfect suplex, slamming the enormous Triceratops into the ground.
BOOM!
Before it could recover, his iron fist smashed into its neck.
The beast finally went limp.
"What's the rush?"
Isaac flexed his wrist.
"I just wanted to see who was stronger."
Then he turned to Sami.
"Boss, let's keep a Triceratops on the ship."
"It can be our mascot."
Sami raised an eyebrow and chuckled helplessly.
"In your dreams."
"Do you know how much something that size eats in a day?"
"Where are we supposed to store its food?"
"If it's a carnivore we might feed it Sea Kings."
"But if it's a herbivore, what—do we stop at every island just to gather plants for it?"
"Sounds like a nightmare."
At that moment—
Shouts and scattered gunfire echoed from deeper in the jungle behind them.
"Charge!"
"Shoot it!"
"Aim for the eyes!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Haha…"
Sami grinned.
"Sounds like plenty of the boys came ashore."
"I thought the Grand Line might've scared the guts out of them."
"Come on, Boss," Aldo laughed, thumping his chest.
"We're elite fighters who carved our way out of the West Blue."
"If we were cowards, would we have followed you into the Grand Line?"
"Fair point! Hahaha!"
"Boss," Feiqi asked calmly.
"Should we wait for them?"
Just then—
RUMBLE…
A deep, powerful vibration rolled through the island.
It sounded like the heartbeat of the earth itself.
Even the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.
"Thunder?"
"No."
Sami shook his head.
His eyes sharpened as he looked toward the volcano at the island's center, faint smoke drifting from its crater.
"That's a volcano."
"Volcanic activity."
"What?!"
"A volcano eruption?!"
"This island is way too dangerous!"
Sami waved dismissively.
"Let the crew play around."
Then he pointed toward the island's center.
"We're heading straight there."
Marine Headquarters — Marineford
Supreme Strategic Conference Room
A heavy wooden round table stood at the center of the room.
More than a dozen high-ranking Marines with star-marked shoulders sat around it, smoke curling in the air.
"The situation at sea is becoming increasingly unstable."
Vice Admiral Geniel Bass placed a stack of reports on the table.
"Outlaws are popping up like poisonous mushrooms after rain."
Beside him, Vice Admiral Ashe Lard, wearing round glasses, adjusted them and spoke.
"The most concerning name… is still Rocks D. Xebec."
"According to fragmented intelligence from Cipher Pol, they've spent the last two years in Elbaf, attempting to recruit the giant warriors."
"If the ambitions of Rocks Pirates combine with the strength of Elbaf…"
He stopped there.
Everyone in the room understood the implication.
Under Rocks were monsters like:
ShikiCharlotte LinlinCaptain JohnWang Zhi
Any one of them could dominate an entire sea.
"Exactly," said Vice Admiral Kina Hawk.
"Rocks' past achievements were terrifying."
"A Marine Admiral died."
"The Gates of Justice were destroyed."
"Our reputation suffered immensely."
"And worse…"
"Ever since Rocks became famous, countless pirates have gone to sea trying to imitate him."
The room filled with heavy sighs.
Rocks' rise was the Marines' deepest wound.
"But the Marines are not lacking in new blood."
"We have promising rising stars!"
"Men like Sengoku, Monkey D. Garp, and Tsuru."
"In barely over a decade they've risen to the rank of Rear Admiral through extraordinary achievements."
"They represent the future of the Marines."
At the mention of these names, several officers displayed complicated expressions—admiration mixed with pressure.
The discussion shifted to other pirate crews active in the Grand Line.
Eventually—
A report from the West Blue arrived.
"…Additionally, according to the final sighting report from the West Blue branch and confirmation from our informants in Whiskey Peak, the pirate crew known as the Jellyfish Pirates…"
"…led by Predator Riberra Sami…"
"…entered the Grand Line roughly one month ago."
"Riberra Sami…"
Vice Admiral Hawk frowned.
"The one with the 69 million bounty?"
"I remember that crew stayed in the West Blue for five or six years. Not very large."
"Yes."
The intelligence officer nodded.
"They rarely harassed civilians and even traded fairly with towns."
"Our previous assessment was that they were content to dominate the West Blue while weakening local mafia forces."
"But now…"
"Now," Vice Admiral Lard finished, "our judgment may have been wrong."
"They spent six years quietly building strength before entering the Grand Line."
"That level of patience suggests either extreme caution…"
"…or extremely large ambitions."
"A pirate crew capable of restraint is sometimes more dangerous than reckless destroyers."
Vice Admiral Bass nodded.
"Exactly."
"The fact that they reached 69 million without harming civilians says a lot."
"Their true strength may be far greater than it appears."
"I recommend increasing surveillance and deploying at least a Marine Headquarters Colonel-level force to capture them."
"We cannot allow them to establish themselves in the Grand Line."
At the head of the table sat the silent Fleet Admiral.
Finally, Kong spoke.
"Notify all Marine branches in the first half of the Grand Line."
"Raise the threat level of the Jellyfish Pirates."
He paused.
"They remained hidden in the West Blue for so long before entering this sea…"
"They are definitely planning something."
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