Half an hour later…
"Ugh… so cold… Am I… in the underworld?"
Colonel Ronald's consciousness struggled to rise from the darkness. The agonizing pain coursing through his entire body made him suck in a sharp breath.
"Colonel! Colonel Ronald! You're awake!"
The anxious voices of his subordinates gradually became clear in his ears.
With great effort, he forced open his heavy eyelids. The first thing he saw were several worried faces—his soldiers.
However… they looked rather strange.
Most of them were wrapped in large leaves.
"I… I'm still alive?"
Ronald's memories flooded back like a rising tide—spore soldiers, living fungal tendrils, the giant mushroom fists, the brutal pounding… and then endless darkness.
"Morris? Did you capture him?"
He tried to sit up abruptly, but the motion pulled at the injuries across his body. He groaned in pain as cold sweat poured down his face.
"Report, Colonel… Morris was taken away!"
"Taken away? By who?!"
Ronald's heart tightened.
"The Jellyfish Pirates! Predator Riberra Sami and his crew! They suddenly appeared. While we were trapped by Morris's abilities and you had been knocked down, they ambushed him, knocked him unconscious, and took him away—along with our… our weapons and equipment."
The noncommissioned officer lowered his head in shame as he finished.
"What?! The Jellyfish Pirates?! What are they doing on such a remote island?!"
Ronald felt his mind buzz.
The situation had completely exceeded his expectations.
He had believed this was merely a pursuit mission targeting a dangerous Devil Fruit user. How had it suddenly involved a notorious pirate worth over a hundred million?
"Could it be… they were lying in wait the whole time? The mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?!"
Colonel Ronald's expression became extremely grim.
"And, Colonel…"
Another soldier hesitated before continuing.
"That Sami… before leaving, he loudly declared that Morris's ability was extremely powerful and that he would definitely recruit Morris into the Jellyfish Pirates."
"Recruit Morris?!"
For a moment, Ronald felt his brain struggling to process the absurd development.
Morris had been defeated by Sami… and Sami still wanted to recruit him?
What was this supposed to be—talent acquisition among pirates?
He forced himself to calm down.
The target had been taken by an even more dangerous pirate crew. His unit had suffered a disastrous defeat, and all their equipment had been looted. The enemy had even publicly declared their intention to recruit the target and expand their power.
At that moment, a cool breeze brushed across Ronald's nearly bare chest.
He suddenly realized something and hurriedly reached for his waist.
That was where his saber—and that crucial pair of shackles—should have been hanging.
Empty.
Looking down again, he realized that aside from his Marine-issued dark blue underwear, all his clothes and equipment had disappeared.
"My shackles… the Seastone shackles!!"
Ronald's face turned deathly pale. He slammed his fist into the ground.
"DAMN IT!!!"
It was over. Completely over.
Mission failure. Target stolen. Unit heavily damaged. Equipment completely lost.
Those were all serious problems—but they could still be explained and repaired.
But the Seastone shackles were a strategic resource strictly controlled by the World Government.
The G10 Branch possessed only three pairs, used specifically to restrain Devil Fruit criminals.
And now one of them had been stolen by pirates under his command and fallen into the hands of a ruthless pirate captain.
This wasn't just a major loss—it was a grave dereliction of duty.
Once the report reached headquarters, the consequences would be far worse than simple reprimand.
"Jellyfish Pirates… Sami… very well. Very well!"
Ronald ground his teeth, his chest heaving violently.
But now was not the time to vent his anger.
He forced down the rage threatening to explode and took several deep breaths.
"Forget cleaning the battlefield. Count the casualties and losses. Anyone who can move should assist the others. Take all the wounded and withdraw to the warship immediately! We can't stay here any longer!"
"Yes, Colonel!"
Ronald lay back down on the ground, staring at the sky partially covered by the enormous cap of the Gaqila Giant Mushroom.
His heart felt ice-cold.
This operation on Rongrong Island had failed completely.
Not only had they failed to eliminate Mushroom Tyrant Morris, but they had also lost valuable equipment—and worse, Predator Sami had profited from the chaos, growing even stronger.
How was he supposed to write this report?
At the Swordfish
Meanwhile, Sami and his crew had safely returned to their ship.
He handed the cloth-wrapped shackles to Caheiro.
"Use these to cuff that Morris. Then throw him into the lower hold cell. We'll sell him to Gillian along with the Sky Shells later."
"Yes, boss."
Aldo scratched his head while watching Morris being dragged away.
Unable to hold back any longer, he asked,
"Boss, didn't you say in the forest that you wanted to recruit that guy? Why did you change your mind as soon as we got back?"
Hearing this, Sami shook his head and revealed a sly smile.
"Recruit him? I did consider it. His ability is extremely troublesome in certain environments, and he definitely has potential."
He turned around, leaning casually against the ship's railing.
"But after thinking about it carefully… the guy is too crazy and obsessive. For the sake of his mushroom kingdom dream, he'd do anything—even eat mushrooms raw and force his subordinates to go insane with him. That kind of personality doesn't fit our crew. The risk is too high."
Walking to the edge of the railing, he looked toward the fading outline of Rongrong Island.
"And besides, what I said earlier was mainly meant for the Marines."
"For the Marines?"
Aldo and Marcus both looked at him.
"That's right. Do you remember Short-Leg Wiener? Not long after we captured him, his bounty increased. I don't know the exact reason, but I suspect the Marines believed we intended to recruit him."
He continued calmly,
"This time we showed up, defeated Morris, and clearly stated we wanted to recruit him—after he had just directly beaten a Marine colonel."
"What do you think Marine Headquarters will conclude when they read that report?"
"They'll assume that anyone Predator Sami wants to recruit must be far more dangerous than their original bounty suggests. Especially since Morris demonstrated the ability to seriously injure a Marine colonel. To prepare for a potential alliance of powerful pirates—and to encourage bounty hunters or rival pirates—they'll likely…"
"…raise Morris's bounty significantly!"
"Exactly."
Sami snapped his fingers, his smile widening.
"Morris defeated a Marine colonel directly. That feat is far more convincing than Wiener losing to us. His bounty increase could easily exceed Wiener's."
"And when we sell him to Gillian, we'll get a share based on the new bounty."
Marcus finally understood everything.
"So you never truly intended to recruit him. You deliberately sent that signal. Once his new bounty is issued, the value of the Morris we're holding will rise along with it. Selling him to Gillian means we earn even more."
Aldo stared at Sami in shock.
After a long moment, he finally managed to mutter,
"Boss… your scheming is really obvious."
Sami laughed.
"Hahaha! It's just a little experiment. What actually happens depends on how the Marines interpret things."
At that moment, Hans leaned out of the navigation room.
"Boss! We've finished recording Rongrong Island's magnetic field!"
"Excellent! Everyone to your stations!"
"Set sail!!!"
At his command, the Swordfish cut across the blue sea and headed toward a new course.
Standing on the stern deck, Sami cast one last glance at the towering shadow of the giant mushroom at the island's center.
Morris… the Fungus-Fungus Fruit… a Marine colonel… Seastone shackles…
He chuckled softly.
"This sea really never lets anyone get bored."
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