Grand Line, An Unnamed Island.
Half an hour ago, the Blackbeard Pirates arrived on the island.
Half an hour later, the town lay in ruins—some residents fled, others perished.
"Zehahaha..."
Perched atop the rubble of a collapsed building, Blackbeard held a newspaper in his hand. His wide grin revealed a set of missing teeth as he let out his signature laugh.
"Phantom Sniper... the Gatekeeper of the New World... now that's interesting. Zehahaha..."
Blackbeard looked down at the photograph of Maude printed in the newspaper.
The expression. The posture.
Even through the paper, a chilling, predatory aura radiated from the young man.
Not ordinary by any means…
Even without the content of the article, just the sheer presence captured in the photo was enough for Blackbeard to judge—this newly appointed Warlord of the Sea was a man who had carved his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. A true predator, no mere upstart.
A towering, well-built man with long purple hair—Blackbeard's helmsman, Jesus Burgess—sidled up beside him, glancing at the newspaper in his captain's hands.
"Wahaha! This Phantom Sniper seems pretty capable, huh? Hey, Augur, he's a gunman like you."
Burgess chuckled as he turned his gaze downward, toward a tall man draped in a black cloak. The man sat among the rubble, his right eye concealed by a single-lens scope, his hands resting on a heavily modified rifle.
Van Augur, the Blackbeard Pirates' sharpshooter.
Meeting Burgess' gaze, Augur responded coolly, "He and I are not the same."
"Not the same?"
Burgess blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? The newspaper makes it clear—he's a gunman, otherwise, why would he be called Phantom Sniper? And just like you, he can take lives from thousands of meters away."
The roughness of his words reflected his straightforward nature.
Augur remained composed. "That man… is not a pure sniper."
"Huh?"
Burgess tilted his head, even more perplexed.
Augur, unwilling to elaborate, fell into silence, effectively ending the discussion.
But Blackbeard had no intention of letting the conversation die there.
Putting the newspaper aside, he let out a boisterous laugh. "Zehahaha! Augur, I'm curious—which gun is stronger, his or yours?"
Hearing this, Augur lifted his rifle slightly, sharp glints flickering in his eyes as he asked in return,
"Are we planning to remove him from the Warlords?"
"Nah, not worth it…"
Seeing the battle hunger in Augur's gaze, Blackbeard spoke seriously, "That guy is clearly a tough one. Besides, there's a much better target."
Lowering his rifle, Augur nodded silently.
Burgess leapt off the rubble, flexing his thick, log-like arms before shouting, "Captain, if we're going to the New World, we'll have to fight this Phantom Sniper sooner or later! Why not just make him our target now?"
"Zehahaha! No need for unnecessary trouble."
Blackbeard's eyes gleamed menacingly as an inky darkness suddenly emanated from his palm, swallowing the newspaper in an instant.
"It's still not the right time... Zehahaha!"
"Fine..."
Burgess, always eager for a brawl, sighed in disappointment. His gaze then shifted toward their ever-silent ship doctor, Doc Q, who sat slumped over his horse like a man on the brink of death.
Sensing Burgess' stare, Doc Q quietly tucked away a different newspaper—one that listed the members of Maude's crew.
Among those names, there was one in particular that caught his interest.
East Blue, A Certain Sea.
A small brigantine ship with a goat figurehead floated idly on the ocean's surface.
Furled sails bore the faint image of a straw hat-wearing skull.
"Oi, Luffy! Come look at this!!!"
A sudden, excited voice rang out across the deck.
If Maude were here, he would instantly recognize it as Usopp's.
"What? Did you catch a big fish?!"
The cabin door burst open with force.
A young man clad in a red vest and straw hat, sandals on his feet, charged onto the deck like a beast let loose from its cage.
"Is it a big fish?!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked expectantly toward Usopp, who stood by the railing.
The Usopp of today was no longer the scrawny sharpshooter of old.
Two years of relentless training—combined with a diet heavy on meat—had forged his body into something that, at first glance, could rival Zoro's muscular build.
But in sheer physical endurance, he was still leagues behind Zoro and Luffy, both of whom had undergone exceptional training from a young age.
"Not a fish—this!"
Usopp grinned, holding up a newspaper while keeping his other hand firmly pressed against the front-page image.
"Not a fish?"
Luffy's enthusiasm deflated instantly, his eyelids drooping with disappointment.
His once-vibrant energy dissipated like a mirage, leaving him looking utterly disinterested.
Seeing this, Usopp's excitement dampened slightly.
"The fish can wait. Look at this first."
He sighed, trying to salvage the moment.
With the promise of fish as bait, Luffy's interest was piqued just enough. He stepped forward, following Usopp's pointed finger to the headline photo.
'Warlord of the Sea, Bacardi Maude?'
Luffy stared at the picture for a moment before turning back to Usopp, confusion written all over his face.
His expression seemed to say, "And? Why are you showing me this?"
Usopp jabbed at Maude's photo with enthusiasm. "Luffy! Do you know who this ridiculously cool guy with a 500 million bounty is?!"
Luffy hesitated. "A Warlord?"
Eyes shining, Usopp declared, "That's true—but he's also something else!!!"
"What?"
Luffy tilted his head, playing along.
"My master!!!"
"…"
Luffy blinked.
For a moment, silence filled the air.
Then, his eyes bulged outward, his mouth slowly gaping open.
"EH!?!?"
His exclamation rang out across the ship, loud enough to disrupt the man training with weights on the other side of the deck.
Zoro, mid-rep, froze at the sudden outburst.
Veins popped on Zoro's forehead as he was about to shout, "You're too damn loud!"—but someone beat him to it.
"You're too damn loud!"
Nami stormed out of the cabin, her authoritative gaze locking onto Luffy and Usopp.
Under Nami's fierce glare, both Luffy and Usopp instinctively shrank their necks.
"We're running low on food, and you two—huh?"
Just as she was about to lecture them, Nami's eyes landed on the newspaper in Usopp's hands. More specifically, on the photograph of Maude printed on it. She abruptly stopped mid-sentence, striding over to Usopp before snatching the newspaper from his hands.
"It's Maude."
Gazing at the image of Maude, a flicker of light danced in Nami's eyes.
Usopp, noticing her reaction, looked at her in surprise. "Nami, you know my master?"
"You know him—huh? Your master?"
Nami blinked in confusion.
"That's right." Usopp puffed out his chest. "Maude is my master. Who would've thought, haha!"
"..."
Nami took two steps back.
"Oi, oi! Nami, what's with that dumbfounded look!?"
"..."
"Guys! I smell food!"
Luffy's voice suddenly burst with excitement.
"Are we eating?"
At the mention of food, the first thing that came to Zoro's mind—naturally—was mealtime.
And then—
Amidst the lively commotion, the crew followed the direction Luffy was pointing in, catching sight of a ship with a fish-head figurehead.
That was… the floating restaurant, Baratie.
Fate, it seemed, had a way of keeping things on course.
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