"A bunch of useless trash. You dare set your sights on our boss? Bounty hunters or slave traders—doesn't matter. All of you can die."
Valentine was furious. She finally had a chance to go out with the Boss—there was no way she would fail to perform.
More than that, these people were truly blind, daring to disturb their outing.
"Zzzip… zzzip…"
Valentine controlled her Laser Armor Arrows. The arrows streaked out in multiple beams, weaving through the air and piercing every bounty hunter or trafficker trying to surround them.
"What kind of sorcery is this? A Devil Fruit user?"
"So fast! I can't even see it!"
Boom!
After the arrows flew, explosions followed—power Valentine could now control with ease. Her ability development had grown tremendously, and her close-range combat had improved.
Like now.
"Ten-Thousand-Kilo Burst!"
Someone crept up behind her and leapt forward with a blade, but Valentine sensed him instantly.
She spun and kicked.
A ten-thousand-kilo impact poured out in an instant—the weight of her leg spiking above ten thousand kilos.
Localized weight increase—another stage of her ability development.
The condensed force in her leg exploded stronger than a cannon blast. A huge, two-man-tall bruiser was launched into the sky and vanished from sight.
"Damn it… she's just a woman! Don't be scared!"
The trafficker wanted to shout more to boost morale, but seeing Rosen completely unmoved, he lost his confidence.
Truthfully, anyone who could reach the Sabaody Archipelago—whether bounty hunter or slaver—had decent strength. Otherwise, they wouldn't dare target pirates with bounties over a hundred million.
But what they didn't understand was that "decent" and "powerful" were worlds apart.
"You dare look down on me? Meteor Shower!"
Valentine was annoyed. She sent her Laser Armor Arrows soaring into the air, then raining explosive shots down. The hundred enemies around them were wiped out in moments.
"You've grown stronger," Rosen praised. Valentine had never been particularly exceptional, but now she was far from weak.
"Thank you, Boss."
Along the way, Rosen encountered hunters and pirates who fled at the sight of them, as well as a few who didn't believe the rumors and took chances. All of them ended up dead or wounded.
At Tree 18, another Supernova had landed—Eustass Kid with a 315 million bounty, accompanied by the Massacre Soldier Killer, bounty 162 million.
"Halfway around? Finally made it. Hahaha…"
Kid laughed viciously. The moment he landed, he annihilated a pirate crew walking ahead of them simply because he didn't like the look of them.
"I heard Crocodile should be passing through the Sabaody Archipelago around this time. If we run into them, we'll wipe them out. After all this silence, obviously their goal is the New World too."
Kid spread his fingers and cackled. He had his eyes on Crocodile.
The former Shichibukai had suddenly resurfaced and become a hot topic in the first half of the Grand Line. If Kid could defeat him, they would instantly become the brightest Supernovas of their generation.
But Crocodile wasn't considered a Supernova, and his crew weren't treated as rookies—even if many of them were new. Their leader was the seasoned powerhouse Crocodile.
Enel, Hathaway, Bonney, MR.5, Robin—each now had bounties over a hundred million. Some were over four hundred million, others over seven hundred million. Such high rewards drove countless bounty hunters mad. Even death wouldn't stop them.
Even strong pirates wouldn't pass up the chance for fame.
"They're here?"
At Tree 27, inside a tavern, rumors had already spread: Crocodile had landed on Sabaody, and many bounty hunters had suffered heavy losses.
The Marines received the information, but took no major action. Without a concrete plan, a siege would fail. And you couldn't just pull top-tier combat power out of nowhere.
So Marine Headquarters chose to ignore it for now.
Even if Crocodile was strong, he was still far from a Yonko with a massive force. In fact, the Marines hoped he'd hurry into the New World and clash with the emperors.
No matter who won or lost, great pirates would fall. And if Crocodile died there, even better.
"Monk, what should we do?"
Urouge's crew watched him drink, waiting for his decision.
"This is my personal choice. If you want to follow, come with me. If you don't, I won't force you. The treasure on this ship is enough for you to live the rest of your lives. You don't need to make the same choice I do."
Urouge had decided.
That man was destined for great things. He had once promised Urouge that if they met here again, he would give him an answer. And now Urouge had made up his mind.
"We'll follow you! And they're super strong! Didn't you see? Their crew is even bigger than last time. The Crimson Queen has a 790 million bounty, and Enel has 480 million! That's insane!"
"They're going to become the brightest stars of this era!"
"Even an Admiral and Hero Garp couldn't take them down!"
"Exactly!"
"Indeed…"
Even with all his training, Urouge still felt the gap between himself and them was enormous.
"Food! Bring out the food! If you keep dawdling, I'll smash your shop!"
Jewelry Bonney devoured everything like a starving beast. Her men stood by, covered in sweat.
Every time their captain ate, they could only watch—there was no competing with her.
"The chef collapsed…"
The shop owner was drenched in sweat. These weren't pirates—they were a bottomless abyss. She had eaten several times her own body weight. How was she not dead?
Of course, he could only think that. Saying it aloud would get his shop smashed—and even calling the Marines wouldn't help…
"Hurry! Find a doctor for the Godfather!"
The Fire Tank Pirates arrived shortly after, with no time for sightseeing. Bege's injuries hadn't healed and were worsening.
"Yes!"
"Damn it…"
Bege staggered. That bomber would pay dearly one day.
One by one, the Supernovas arrived on the Sabaody Archipelago. The timing varied, but most would remain on the island for a while.
First, the coating process took time.
Second, everyone knew Sabaody was the gateway to the New World, and pirates of the same generation kept an eye on each other—some to observe, some to eliminate competition…
And some stayed simply because Sabaody was a pleasant island.
"So Crocodile has arrived on Sabaody? Send intelligence officers. Don't lose track of them. Blood must be repaid. And keep a close watch on former Rear Admiral Harry as well."
Howard Abbot's eyes shone with cold, dangerous light.
"Yes!" a Marine replied, standing at attention.
Before Abbot lay two bounty posters—Crocodile's, and the poster of the defected Rear Admiral Harry with a 270 million bounty.
Across the island, pirates with bounties exceeding a hundred million continued to gather—numbers already in the double digits, and clearly still rising.
(End of chapter)