Great Line Waters – Swordfish
The Swordfish sailed at full speed until the silhouettes of the three Marine warships were completely swallowed by the distant horizon. Only then did the atmosphere on the deck—tight as a drawn bowstring—suddenly relax.
But what followed was a tide of pain and exhaustion.
"Quick! Carry the seriously injured to the infirmary!"
"Ship doctor! Mr. Hiluluk! This side needs priority treatment!"
"Brother Isaac, take some men and check the hull damage—especially the spots that took cannon hits!"
"Come help! Careful, his leg might be broken!"
The deck immediately turned into a frenzy of activity. Shouts, the clanging of tools, and cries of pain mixed together.
Sami stood alone on the stern deck, silently watching everything.
Although he had injuries himself, they were not severe. Thanks to his extraordinary self-healing ability, the bleeding had already stopped.
For now, he chose not to add to the chaos.
After watching for a moment, he turned and walked toward the helm.
Hans was still standing before the wheel, fully focused, both hands firmly controlling the direction.
"Hans."
"Boss!" Hans turned his head when he heard the voice, though his body still maintained the posture of steering.
"We've already shaken them off. Relax a bit—lock the wheel and take a breather. What's the next island?"
Hans finally let out a long breath. His shoulders visibly relaxed.
"Boss, according to our current route and the direction of the Log Pose (a compass that records an island's magnetic field in the Grand Line), the next recording point is a Winter Island—Bolse Island. At our current speed, if the winds and currents don't change much, we should arrive in about seven days."
"Bolse Island?" Sami frowned slightly. "Shouldn't the next island be Jaya?"
In his memory, after leaving Alabasta, the next destination should clearly have been Jaya, and from there they could ride the Knock Up Stream to reach the Sky Island.
Was the route different in this era compared to decades later… or something else?
Hans was momentarily stunned by the question. He lowered his head and carefully checked the readings of the Eternal Pose in his hand against the sea chart before shaking his head with certainty.
"Boss, you might be remembering wrong. After departing Alabasta, the Log Pose definitely points to a Winter Island—Bolse Island. Only after completing the recording there will the needle recalibrate and point to the next stop, which should be the Jaya you mentioned."
"…Is that so."
Sami fell silent for a moment.
A navigator's judgment and the direction of a Log Pose did not lie. Perhaps he really remembered incorrectly… or perhaps the sea routes of this ocean contained subtle differences that even time itself could not fully reconcile.
"Maybe I mixed it up. We'll follow the pointer. Maintain course."
"Yes, Boss!"
Hans refocused on the helm and the sea chart.
Sami left the helm room and walked toward the noisy bow.
"Ardo! Where's Ardo?"
Feich, who was helping carry an injured crewman, looked up.
"Boss, Ardo said his whole body hurts. The ship doctor examined him—said he overexerted himself during the battle. Multiple severe muscle tears and internal shock. He's been forced to rest in his cabin."
"Alright, let him lie down and recover." Sami nodded. "Feich, spread the word—everyone should focus on treatment and repairs. We have seven days before reaching Bolse Island. By then, most of our combat strength must be restored."
"Understood, Boss!"
Sami said nothing more and walked toward the captain's cabin at the stern.
Once the door closed, most of the outside noise was shut out. He took a deep breath and sat at his desk, opening the navigation log wrapped in waterproof oilcloth.
Just as Sami wrote down the date and the words Breakout Battle off the Coast of Alabasta, he suddenly remembered something, and his pen paused.
The deal with the middleman, Gillian…
The original plan had been to complete the transaction in Alabasta.
But after causing such a massive incident, the entire kingdom was probably already under high alert. There was no way the deal could happen there now.
The next port—Bolse Island—might be a better option.
Sami closed the logbook and unconsciously tapped his fingers on the wooden desk.
Seven days of sailing.
A precious period for recovery… and also preparation for whatever variables might lie ahead.
Bolse Island, huh…
Narration
On the Grand Line, where climate, magnetism, and ocean currents were all unpredictable and bizarre, generations of sailors had explored the seas with their lives.
Over time, they eventually discovered seven relatively stable and efficient main routes.
As long as a ship strictly followed the Log Pose and stayed on one of these routes, it could reach the final destination relatively safely.
However, relatively safe never meant free of variables.
If a ship deviated from the established route due to naval battles, storms, or other accidents, it might enter unknown waters outside the mainstream routes.
At that point, the Log Pose's needle would begin pointing toward islands with stronger magnetic fields, completely altering the ship's course.
Just like many years later, when Nami once said that the next island after Alabasta should have been a Winter Island.
But because of Hina's pursuit, the ship deviated from its route, and the powerful magnetic field of Sky Island forcibly rewrote the direction of the Log Pose.
Marine Headquarters – Marineford
Supreme Strategy Conference Room
Around a heavy solid-wood table sat more than a dozen Marine officers wearing coats of justice.
On the projection screen at the front of the room, an emergency report from the G2 Branch was being displayed simultaneously in text and images. The presenter was Colonel Nelson.
The footage eventually froze on a blurry image of a three-masted sailing ship breaking through a ring of smoke and cannon fire, along with a brief note describing Colonel Brugras being injured and captured.
"…In summary, the above is the emergency combat report and preliminary threat assessment submitted by Colonel Brugras of the G2 Branch regarding the Jellyfish Pirates. The report details their armed prison break at Rapeseed Harbor in the Kingdom of Alabasta, violent assaults against the kingdom's garrison forces and our Marine patrol fleet, and their eventual successful breakout."
Colonel Nelson finished his presentation, distributing copies of the documents to the officers present while fixing relevant photos and bounty posters onto the tactical board with magnets.
Presiding over the meeting was the current Marine Admiral—Kong the Steel Bone.
Standing at the head of the table with his arms crossed, he swept his sharp gaze across every face in the room.
"Regarding the emergency report from Colonel Brugras of the G2 Branch—and the series of extremely severe international attacks recently carried out by the Jellyfish Pirates, led by Predator Riberra Sami—what are your thoughts?"
A brief silence followed, broken only by the rustling of documents.
"It's that Jellyfish Pirates crew again." Vice Admiral Asher Larde, wearing round glasses, spoke first. "We haven't even finished dealing with domestic protests and inquiries from the World Government. And now they've escalated to openly attacking another member nation—Alabasta—conducting an armed prison break and defeating a Marine fleet commanded by a colonel… The pace of their escalation feels… unusually fast."
"Vice Admiral Larde, your wording is too mild! This isn't provocation or escalation—this is outright warfare!"
Vice Admiral Genir Bass, known for his hardline stance, slammed his palm onto the table.
"They've attacked two World Government member states in succession and defeated—and captured—a Marine colonel! That's equivalent to declaring war on both the World Government's order and the authority of the Marines! I believe the priority is to immediately raise the bounties of every member of that crew. We must show the world our determination to eradicate them. A higher bounty will let every pirate know exactly what happens when this red line is crossed!"
"I completely agree with raising the bounty," said Rear Admiral Shadi, frowning as he repeatedly flipped through the files.
"But what concerns me more is this part of their record… About a year ago, this pirate crew completely vanished. They only resurfaced recently in the Drum Kingdom. And after reappearing, their strength and threat level increased dramatically. Where did they go during that year? What did they experience? And did they receive assistance from forces we're unaware of?"
The question struck the heart of the issue. Several officers exchanged glances, and the atmosphere grew even heavier.
"That's the key point," Kong said sharply, his gaze turning even more piercing. He nodded slightly to Colonel Nelson.
"Yes, Admiral Kong."
Nelson stepped forward immediately and pointed a baton at the navigation chart of the Grand Line on the board.
A route marked in bright red extended from the West Blue, passed through Reverse Mountain, crossed several islands, and finally stopped at a point labeled Little Garden.
"Based on the Jellyfish Pirates' sailing trajectory and cross-analysis of multiple intelligence sources, we believe that during the year they disappeared, there is a very high probability that they remained on a special island where the Log Pose requires one full year to store magnetic energy—Little Garden."
"Little Garden?!" Rear Admiral Grigor leaned forward slightly, disbelief written across his face. "Isn't that place…"
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