The sea surface lay calm, but danger lurked beneath.
Giant Sea Kings moved through the depths, preying on weaker marine life.
A submarine glided swiftly through the ocean, its movements mirroring the waves, allowing it to go unnoticed by the massive predators.
This vessel, decorated with a smiling face, belonged to the Heart Pirates.
At the helm was the Captain, one of the Supernovas: Surgeon of Death Trafalgar Law.
---
Inside the Polar Tang submarine, Law sat on the sofa, absorbed in the latest underground world intelligence newspaper, evaluating the veracity of the information.
"Hiyah, ah-dah! Hiyah~ yo, ah-dah!"
His thoughts were repeatedly interrupted by a white blob bouncing in front of him.
"Bepo, stop that. You're too noisy," Law said irritably.
Bepo, the Mink polar bear and navigator, froze, ears drooping.
"Sorry, sorry… I'm just worried about meeting the 5 billion Berries Arrogant Emperor who defeated the Four Emperors. They say he can defeat the combined Four Emperors…"
Law leaned back, scanning the newspaper with a measured indifference.
"Don't pay attention to rumors. Most underground news is exaggerated. If you believed all of it, the world wouldn't just have Four Emperors, but dozens. A man with that combat power cannot merely be listed as the 'Fifth Emperor.' The current Four would also be at risk."
He paused, then added with dry sarcasm,
"Still, a 5 billion Berries bounty is hard to believe. It feels like bait placed deliberately by the Marines. I don't know their intentions, but many greedy individuals will surely risk themselves foolishly to try to claim it."
Penguin, a crew member, approached with a stack of snacks.
"Captain, don't you think this bounty is exaggerated? A new pirate with 5 billion Berries? Isn't that too much?"
Law calmly responded,
"The Marines don't issue bounties without reason. There must be something about the Arrogant Emperor that makes the Marines see him as a serious threat. Perhaps…"
He paused, uncertainty flickering briefly in his eyes.
"Could this relate to those underground rumors claiming he was once a Celestial Dragon?"
Penguin smirked, half-joking,
"Celestial Dragons! World Nobles! Even as pirates, they seem more valuable than us."
"Still, his strength must be tremendous," Law noted, scanning the headline: 'Straw Hat Pirates have defeated dozens of passing pirate crews; do they aim to hunt other Pirate King contenders?'
"Otherwise, their crew wouldn't be heading to Sabaody Archipelago. Any crew with such a reputation will draw more attention than us."
Shachi, leaning over to inspect the paper, laughed loudly.
"So we're going to encounter the Straw Hats at Sabaody. Let's see if they live up to the hype or if the Marines have just glorified them."
Law's eyes narrowed, memories flashing:
A person cannot decide their birth, but they can decide who they become… even a Celestial Dragon has the right to pursue freedom.
He whispered softly, closing his eyes under the newspaper, recalling Corazon.
---
Meanwhile, at a burning Marine outpost, flames devoured everything in sight.
At the entrance, a group of pirates dressed as swordsmen blocked the way, grinning cruelly.
"Heh heh heh… charred Marines, what a feast," they sneered, taunting the trapped soldiers.
Inside, Marines cried and pleaded, swords raised in desperation.
"Please, spare us! We'll burn alive!"
"We agreed to let you take the villagers' wealth! Why kill us?"
---
A man with an eyepatch, wearing a fur-collared leather jacket and a classical swordsman's hat, stood silently. X markings adorned his chin and chest, and a blood-stained four-bladed axe rested before him.
His eyes, calm yet sharp, scanned the intelligence he had seized.
"Arrogant Emperor… Shirogai Yamikuro," he murmured.
As a former Marine, X Drake understood exactly what a 5 billion Berries bounty represented: absolute combat power that even the Marines could not easily contend with. Few in the world deserved such a mark.
Whoosh. Flames consumed the last space where the Marines could survive, smoke thickening the air.
"Rear Admiral Drake! Rear Admiral Drake!!!"
A Marine General, face streaked with tears and soot, knelt in panic before him.
"Please… for your time as a Marine, show mercy!"
Drake, now a pirate, turned slowly, gazing down at the pleading Marine.
"A Marine Lieutenant Commander begging a pirate? Where is your pride?"
This was X Drake, the Fallen Marine Rear Admiral, bounty: 222 million Berries.
"Rear Admiral Drake! It's a misunderstanding!" the Marine stammered, desperate.
"I bribed Brigadier General Miles, the one you killed, to get this rank. I just want to live peacefully! I've long despised the Marines—Miles embezzled soldiers' pay and allowed pirates to plunder legally. I'll become your pirate if you let me survive!"
Drake's crew watched silently, knowing their captain's intention.
Drake's expression remained cold.
"It's pathetic that the Marines have people like you," he said, turning away.
"Heh heh heh… kid, you're going to die!"
His subordinates immediately grasped his meaning, kicking the Marine back into the inferno.
The man screamed and writhed, eventually vanishing into the fire.
---
Drake ignored the chaos behind him and retrieved the four-bladed axe, strapping it to his waist.
He gazed toward the distant horizon.
"Sabaody Archipelago…"
A grim smile touched his lips.
"It seems a major incident that will trouble the Marines is about to unfold there…"
---