After an entire night of feasting on Little Garden, the Straw Hat crew and the two giants had eaten and drunk their fill. It wasn't until noon the next day that everyone gradually woke up.
But something unexpected happened—both the navigator Nami and the cook Sanji suddenly fell seriously ill. A high fever struck them without warning, and it wouldn't go down. With no ship doctor on board, no one understood what kind of illness it was.
Falling sick right after entering the Grand Line could be considered "fortunate" in a way—the symptoms appeared immediately instead of lurking unnoticed, giving the crew a chance to seek treatment quickly.
Nefertari Vivi stayed by their side, wiping their bodies with hot towels, trying to bring down the fever. But it had little effect. Both of them were delirious, their minds clouded by the heat.
As for Monkey D. Luffy—his "solution" was to somehow transfer their illness onto himself, which was, of course, completely impossible. He was immediately restrained by Roronoa Zoro and Eren to stop him from doing something reckless.
"If I can be cared for by Her Highness… dying here would be worth it," Sanji muttered weakly, completely drained yet blissfully satisfied.
"I'm not dying! If you want to die, go ahead!" Nami shot back, her body limp but her tongue as sharp as ever. She hadn't achieved her dreams yet—there was no way she'd die here.
"Although most doctors on Drum Island were driven away, King Wapol still has twenty top physicians by his side. If he's willing to help, these illnesses shouldn't be a problem," said Igaram.
Even so, he wasn't confident. The king's personality was erratic—getting him to cooperate would be extremely difficult.
"Then we're heading to Drum Island. Now."
Luffy's expression turned serious. When it came to his crewmates' lives, he never joked.
As for the three captured members of Baroque Works, Usopp had originally suggested throwing them into the sea and letting them fend for themselves. Sparing them could lead to future retaliation.
But killing prisoners wasn't something the crew could bring themselves to do.
Instead, they entrusted the prisoners to the giants Dorry and Brogy. Whether those three survived afterward had nothing to do with them.
With a combined attack—"Hakoku"—the two giants blasted a path through a Sea King, allowing the Going Merry to escape safely. Their weapons were damaged in the process, ending their century-long duel and prompting them to seek out their scattered Giant Warrior Pirates and set sail once more.
Standing on deck practicing swordsmanship, Zoro noticed a white News Coo fly overhead. Since he had no money, it flew off and landed in front of Igaram instead.
"Give me one," Igaram said, tossing 100 beli into its pouch. The bird happily dropped a newspaper and flew off in search of its next customer.
Even pirates wouldn't harm News Coos—offend them, and you'd never get news again.
On the Grand Line, where travel and communication were difficult, newspapers were the only window to the outside world. Without them, one might as well live like a primitive on an isolated island.
The headlines, as always, were sensational:
"A Most Evil Pirate—The Fastest Rising Bounty!"
"The Future Fifth Emperor of the Seas!"
"Buggy the Clown Disappears in the East Blue—A Massive Conspiracy Brewing!"
"Artoria Joins the Marines—A Future Admiral!"
"Red-Haired Shanks Makes Contact with the Whitebeard Pirates!"
This time, the Marines had made a shocking move.
The bounty of Buggy the Clown had skyrocketed—from 15 million Beli… to 3 billion Beli.
A two-hundred-fold increase—something unprecedented in the history of the seas.
In fact, there had been internal debate within the Marines and the World Government—not because the bounty was too high, but because they thought it was too low.
The one who pushed this view the most was Admiral Sakazuki himself.
During their clash, his magma powers had proven devastating as always—but Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit ability allowed him to split apart, preventing direct damage. Most attacks were neutralized, and only a few managed to burn him.
Even worse, Buggy's Conqueror's Haki-infused techniques gave Sakazuki a serious headache. Without his immense stamina, he wouldn't have been able to endure the fight at all.
Against Buggy, even Sakazuki's usual "trade damage for damage" strategy lost effectiveness.
The only advantage he had was endurance—dragging the battle into a prolonged fight.
In other words, Buggy had become his natural counter.
A monster like that appearing on the seas—and only being worth 3 billion?
A severe underestimate.
This wasn't Sakazuki exaggerating the enemy—he simply dealt in facts. He even proposed a large-scale military draft to strengthen the Marines, but Fleet Admiral Sengoku rejected it, leading to serious disagreements between them.
Still, there was some good news.
Artoria had joined the Marines. After donning justice, her ideals aligned closely with Sakazuki's—though not as extreme, she shared his determination to eradicate evil.
Meanwhile, the Marines continued searching for Buggy in the East Blue—but he had seemingly vanished without a trace.
No one believed he was dead.
A schemer like him hiding in the shadows was far more terrifying.
Because as long as Buggy lived…
the nobles of the East Blue w
ouldn't sleep peacefully for a single night.
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