When they returned to the Swordfish, the crew that had been waiting on deck immediately surrounded them.
"Brother Ardo, how's the island?"
"Did you see any big shots?"
"Are there any fun places in the harbor?"
The sailors winked suggestively while asking about the island's entertainment.
But Ardo simply waved them off irritably.
"Hmph. We only went to a lousy tavern. Nearly pissed me off to death—who had the mood to look around?"
He snorted, dragged over a wooden barrel, and sat down heavily.
Then he recounted what had happened in the tavern—especially Baggins' arrogant attitude and the bet about Sky Islands—adding plenty of dramatic embellishment.
"What?! Those small fry dared to doubt the captain?!"
"Who the hell is this Baggins guy? That takes guts!"
"Found him! A pirate worth 17 million!"
Some crew members immediately fumed and wanted to rush to the island to beat him up.
But others latched onto a different part of the story.
"Wait… Sky Islands? Are we actually going to a place like that?"
"Up into the sky? How?"
The deck erupted into noisy discussion.
Sami didn't join the debate. Instead, he walked straight toward the helm room.
Navigator Hans was bent over a chart, marking something carefully.
"Hans."
"Boss!"
Sami stepped beside the chart.
"I want to ask you something. Do you know any islands in the Grand Line where there are strong upward winds or massive rising currents nearby?"
Hans blinked in confusion.
"Upward winds… strong enough to lift an entire ship?"
"Yes. Something powerful enough to push a ship upward."
Hans frowned and pushed up his glasses.
"I… don't think such a place exists. I've never heard of anything like that."
"It doesn't have to be constant," Sami added. "It could be periodic—but the scale must be enormous."
"Periodic…"
Hans began flipping through several navigation manuals and scattered voyage logs.
After quite a while, he hesitantly pointed to a patch of sea near Jaya.
"There's no record of anything permanent. But there are reports of intermittent upward currents near Jaya."
He tapped the map.
"According to scattered records, extremely violent upward sea currents sometimes appear here. But they last only about one minute. And they're completely unpredictable."
Hans shrugged.
"Ships caught in them usually end up destroyed. That's why no one has ever managed to record their exact pattern."
Sami nodded silently.
Of course he knew about the Knock-Up Stream near Jaya.
But the problem was timing.
Right now, there was no one like Montblanc Cricket, someone who had spent years researching the phenomenon.
More importantly—
Sami glanced out the window at his crew, who were still loudly arguing on deck.
His crew wasn't the Straw Hat Pirates—fated heroes of destiny.
Nor did they have a monster navigator like Nami, someone capable of handling extreme Grand Line weather from the very beginning.
That wasn't to say Hans was incompetent.
On the contrary, Hans was diligent and improving rapidly.
But something like the Knock-Up Stream—a natural disaster with almost zero margin for error—was far too dangerous.
If they miscalculated even slightly, the Swordfish and everyone aboard could be annihilated.
The bet had to be won.
But Sami would never gamble the lives of his crew on such a reckless chance.
So for now—
The Knock-Up Stream route was eliminated.
Sami vaguely remembered that there was another, safer route to Sky Island.
Unfortunately, too much time had passed since his past life's memories.
The names and locations were completely gone.
For now, the only option was to search for an island with persistent upward winds.
If even Hans—whose job was planning navigation routes—had never heard of such a place, it likely meant that island lay outside the known Grand Line routes.
Unknown waters…
Islands with such extreme winds would certainly be rare.
But if people had successfully reached Sky Islands before, there had to be some traces or hidden rumors left behind.
Hidden rumors…
Suddenly, Sami's eyes lit up.
Gillian.
As a slave-trade broker who operated across the Four Seas and the Grand Line, Gillian's information network extended through both the underworld and legitimate channels.
He might know something unusual.
But before that—
"Cahelo."
Cahelo appeared in the doorway almost instantly.
"Boss, you called?"
"While we were at the tavern, did you notice any suitable bounty targets?"
Without hesitation, Cahelo pulled out his bounty notebook and flipped through it rapidly.
"Found one. The Blood Axe Pirates. Their captain—'Ripper' Roz. Bounty: 51 million Berries."
He handed over the poster.
"This is the highest bounty among the pirates we heard about in the tavern. His crew is also one of the stronger groups on the island."
"Only one above fifty million?"
"There are two others close to it."
Cahelo pulled out two more posters.
"Iron Anchor Hawk – 42 million."
"Poison Bee Vera – 38 million."
"Everyone else's bounties are… frankly beneath notice."
"51 million… 42 million… 38 million…"
Sami studied the three grim faces on the posters.
He shook his head.
"Attacking towns, slaughtering civilians… This so-called pirate paradise is worse than I expected."
He sighed.
"Well. Even fly meat is still meat."
"We'll take these three."
"Understood."
"Spread the word. Tonight we send a few unfamiliar faces to scout the island. Find their usual hangouts and movement patterns."
He tapped the posters.
"Tomorrow we restock."
"Yes, Boss!"
"The 51 million one—Roz—is mine."
"Marcus and Feich, you two take one target."
"Cahelo, you and Ardo take the other."
"Got it."
Sami paused before adding another instruction.
"Remember. Capture them alive if possible."
He looked at them seriously.
"Control your strength. Don't leave permanent disabilities or serious injuries."
He smiled faintly.
"After all… damaged merchandise sells for less on the market."
The Next Morning
The atmosphere on the Swordfish deck was… unusual.
"What?! That 42-million Iron Anchor Hawk is mine!"
Marcus and Ardo stood face-to-face, glaring at each other.
The air seemed to crackle with sparks.
Cahelo stood between them helplessly, holding the two contested bounty posters.
Marcus leaned against the mast with folded arms and sneered.
"Why should it be yours? My bounty is higher than yours. And I've never been slower than you on missions."
He tilted his chin.
"That target should obviously be mine."
"Bullshit!"
Ardo slammed his spiked club onto the deck with a heavy thud.
"In Alabasta I took down twice as many enemies as you! Can you do that?"
"Brute strength," Marcus scoffed. "Clearing fodder isn't the same as capturing a captain."
"Who are you calling a brute?! I was following the boss when you were still wandering around somewhere!"
"That was the past. Right now my bounty is higher than yours."
Marcus's words were as sharp as ever, stabbing directly at Ardo's pride.
The tension between them kept rising.
Cahelo rubbed his forehead in frustration.
Feich sat nearby calmly cleaning his rifle.
Then suddenly—
A cunning glint flashed in Ardo's eyes.
An expression that didn't match his rough appearance appeared on his face.
He suddenly raised his voice toward the ship's cabin.
"Boss! Perfect timing! Come judge this! Marcus is trying to steal my—"
"Boss?"
Marcus instinctively turned around toward the cabin door.
There was no one there.
Now!
Ardo moved like lightning.
He snatched the bounty poster labeled Iron Anchor Hawk from Cahelo's hands.
"Hahaha! All warfare is deception! Got it!"
Clutching the poster, he jumped off the gangplank and sprinted toward the island.
"Come on boys! Let's grab the first victory!"
His combat squad roared and rushed after him.
Feich shook his head, picked up his rifle, and followed at a relaxed pace.
Marcus finally realized what had happened.
"ARDO, YOU BASTARD! YOU CHEATED!!!"
He stared at the disappearing figure in the harbor crowd, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword.
Then he glanced at the remaining poster—Poison Bee Vera.
It was still a decent target.
But his pride refused to let it go.
He shot Cahelo an annoyed glare.
(Cahelo only shrugged innocently.)
Marcus turned to his team.
"What are you standing around for?! Move!"
He pointed toward the harbor.
"Move fast! We cannot let that brute Ardo get ahead!"
His voice dropped coldly.
"And if we lose…"
"…everyone gets extra training tonight."
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