Winds of the Sabaody Archipelago

The wind of the Sabaody Archipelago was always exceptionally charming.

After blowing through neon bubbles, the wind itself seemed to carry a dreamy scent.

Of course, it might also be the charming fragrance left behind by the sweet-smiling Angel who had just departed.

Buggy lay on his familiar hospital bed.

He took a sip of the sweet-smelling coffee.

Compared to most of the Marines on the escort ship, the wound on his cheek seemed insignificant.

Then, he opened the brand-new Newspaper in his hand.

Hmm, it had been almost twenty days since he left the escort ship.

During this time, he had, unusually, not caused any trouble.

The Gotham City police would probably give him a good citizen award if they knew.

This was quite rare.

Most of the time, Buggy felt he was very rational.

He had also behaved rationally when facing the subsequent investigations by the Marines.

The benefit of acting rationally was that, before long, he received a month of paid leave and the current private hospital room.

As if it knew his identity.

The first wanted poster attached to the Newspaper was of himself.

A clown with a red nose, wearing a black and white striped prison uniform, with a scruffy beard, holding a sign.

His expression was one of forced composure.

It was taken when he was arrested.

The bounty was...

Two Hundred Million Belly.

That was quite a sum.

Our protagonist boy, the Straw Hat Kid, currently had a bounty of only One Hundred Million Belly. He had seen the report of the Judicial Island incident in the Newspaper not long ago.

So, was he still in Water Seven, or was he heading towards the Sabaody Archipelago?

Buggy guessed, but didn't pay too much attention.

He wasn't interested in the main characters.

Passionate bonds and such, he couldn't care less.

Besides himself, who was already a hot topic, the other reports were about the eleven Supernovas who had gradually emerged over the past year.

Eustass Kid from the South Blue, with his flamboyant personality, the "Death Surgeon" Trafalgar Law, and Captain Hawkins of the Hawkins Pirates.

The deeds of these criminals were openly published in newspapers distributed everywhere.

Even the bounties, which should have been a death sentence, had become a metric for pirates to compare themselves.

And the Navy and the World Government, seemingly representing justice, were more like an iceberg floating on the sea, hiding their unfathomable darkness beneath the water while only showing their pristine, bright surface.

They even printed the word "Justice" on it with great seriousness.

The entire azure world was like a magnified Gotham City.

But it was precisely this kind of world that made Buggy look forward to it even more.

Chaos was also a kind of beauty.

A smile of unknown meaning involuntarily appeared on his face.

Even the passing nurse pushing a small cart couldn't help but blush.

Sergeant Jacques' gaze also followed the nurse's retreating figure for a long time.

He wanted to be a little more reserved, but on the Warship, he faced all sorts of muscle-bound men all day.

Once they set sail, they often wouldn't see a woman for months.

But if he could latch onto Major Arrow, things should get better in the future, right?

"Lord Arrow, the person you wanted has been brought to the port area."

"Well done, Sergeant Jacques."

Buggy put away the Newspaper and replied with a smile.

Arrow didn't have many connections within the Navy before, but Buggy wasn't in a hurry to associate with them.

Instead, it was Sergeant Jacques, who originally belonged to Brownie's subordinates.

He was in the lower-middle ranks of his original unit and wasn't heavily relied upon, yet he inwardly craved change, or rather, craved improvement.

When Buggy, a Major with a background, appeared before him, Jacques naturally gravitated towards him.

For Buggy at this stage, he was a useful tool.

Furthermore, Sergeant Jacques knew how to face reality.

The Sabaody Archipelago was formed around the roots of the Giant Mangroves, creating as many as 79 areas.

The area where the Marines were stationed was Area 66.

It possessed a medium-sized port capable of docking multiple ships.

It also had warehouses for the temporary storage of goods.

The warehouse was somewhat damp, with wooden crates piled up haphazardly. Around them were scattered piles of dry straw, it was unclear if it was leftover from previous cargo or simply for decoration.

In a corner, there were a few crushed cigarette butts.

It was the kind of place that would make a construction site safety officer want to flee overnight.

There was also a distinct smell of excrement mixed with fishiness.

Clearly, the goods piled here included live animals.

Buggy felt like he wanted to cut off his nose and throw it outside.

However, Sergeant Jacques, who considered himself to have latched onto a powerful figure, was by his side.

He felt it would be better to maintain an image of normal sanity.

Of course, if he couldn't maintain it, there was nothing he could do.

After all, the only way to live sanely in this world was to disregard rules.

If the chief physician of Arkham Asylum saw this, they would probably re-evaluate the Joker's condition.

At the very least, he could be moved from a solitary confinement cell to a ward with some time for activities.

The two pairs of clean leather boots lightly trod on the dry straw.

Soon, they stopped in front of a rusty Iron Cage.

Inside the cage, Arne weakly opened his eyes and saw only these leather boots.

"Cough... cough..." he breathed carefully, the pungent smell of the warehouse making him feel disgusted.

So disgusted that he felt becoming a slave to some noble wouldn't be so bad.

Under the damp and cold conditions, he felt as if a hot iron had been placed on his forehead.

His abdomen, which had only been crudely treated, throbbed with pain with every slight breath.

Dignity, in the face of survival, was...

worthless.

"My dear Navigator Candidate."

"Why don't you welcome your captain?"

Buggy squatted down, his gaze meeting Arne's, his tone laced with teasing. "You should know, I've always been a man of my word."

Candidate?

Mister?

Arne wanted to look up, but somehow a mist covered his vision.

Seeing the young naval officer before him was like seeing that crazy, eccentric Joker.

Even the teasing tone was exactly the same.

"Cap...Captain!"

"...Cap..tain..?"

Sergeant Jacques' voice on the side was trembling.

Why, why would this pirate prisoner call Major Arrow captain?

Why did Major Arrow specifically buy this prisoner?

Why...

He suddenly remembered the Major he saw when the warship exploded.

The strips of flesh that suddenly fell from his face.

A terrifying guess welled up in his heart.

His legs trembled uncontrollably.

Jacques desperately wanted to run away.

Yes, the base was close to the warehouse, and the Base Commander was Rear Admiral Sicily. He had to report this.

He had to report it!

But no matter how he urged them, his legs wouldn't move an inch.

It was as if hands were gripping them tightly.

Jacques looked down.

There were indeed hands holding his feet.