"This…" Hepody hesitated.

If he really helped pirates escape under threat, then far from becoming the "hero" he'd imagined, he would instead become the Navy's latest laughingstock.

"Hurry!" Krieg glanced at the nearby black ship. It still hadn't made a move, but his voice grew more urgent. "Choose—do it, or die!"

Before Hepody could react further, Gin had already understood the captain's intention and moved silently behind him.

He pressed his remaining iron crutch against Hepody's back, blocking any chance of escape.

"I suggest you listen to our captain," Gin said coldly from behind.

Hepody looked ahead at Krieg, then back at Gin. With no way out, he raised his hands in surrender.

"F-Fine… I'll bring you aboard the warship."

And so, under coercion from Krieg and Gin, Hepody had no choice but to pull out a flare from his coat and shoot it into the sky.

The signal flare quickly drew the attention of one Navy ship, which approached. The other ship remained on standby nearby.

Even so, the sailors were extremely tense.

The impact of that cannon shot from the black ship had left them traumatized—something they'd never forget for the rest of their lives.

Now, in order to rescue their superior officer, the ship had to sail into the blast range of that very vessel. Their anxiety was more than justified.

Thankfully, the rescue went smoothly. Lieutenant Hepody successfully boarded the ship.

But so did Krieg and Gin—holding Hepody hostage.

The Navy soldiers aimed their rifles at them, tense and alert.

From the soldiers' reactions, Krieg immediately realized that the man they had captured was indeed a commanding officer.

He laughed inwardly. With this leverage, he had no reason to let Hepody go. He grabbed him roughly, slammed him to the deck, and barked:

"Put down your weapons. Or your commanding officer's head goes first."

Hepody felt the cold barrel of a gun pressing into the back of his head. Shivering, he shouted desperately, "Do as he says! Do as he says!"

The sailors glanced at one another, but they had no choice. Their superior officer was in the hands of the notorious and cunning Krieg.

One by one, they lowered their weapons.

The second Navy ship sailed closer. Its sailors crossed over via boarding planks.

When they saw the scene on deck, they froze in shock.

Krieg, seeing the growing number of soldiers, feared things might go awry. He yanked Hepody up by the hair and growled:

"Order them to sail—full speed, as fast as possible!"

Gin hesitated and asked, "Captain… what about our crew?"

There were still many pirates struggling in the sea. If the Navy ship sailed over, it could pick them up.

"Fool!" Krieg snapped, face dark with rage. "Those kinds of crew, I can recruit as many as I want once I rise again! What matters now is putting as much distance as possible between us and that cursed black ship!"

Seeing Krieg's bulging, furious eyes, Gin realized his captain was nearly mad.

Then again, who wouldn't be, after being chased for days by a man on a raft, only to return to the East Blue and be wrecked by a random black ship?

Krieg just wanted to escape—to reach an island, land ashore, and breathe.

This sea was no longer the one where he could take whatever he wanted. It had become a devouring beast.

Gin, too, bowed silently to reality.

Suddenly, a Navy sailor shouted, "The black ship's coming!"

Everyone turned—and sure enough, the black ship was closing in fast.

Strangely, it hadn't fired again. Otherwise, they'd already be blown to pieces.

People were filled with dread and confusion, unaware that their heads were already inside a noose—a noose that was tightening.

This time, even Hepody panicked more than Krieg.

"What are you all standing around for?! SAIL! SAIL!!" he shouted.

He'd barely escaped the sinking of the flagship—he couldn't survive another cannon blast.

But then, in the blink of an eye, three figures appeared on deck.

Everyone jumped in shock.

They looked more closely at the intruders.

One was the black-haired beauty Krieg had seen through his spyglass earlier—now holding a vicious spiked mace, its sharp protrusions making hearts race.

Another was a man in a black suit, wearing glasses. A perfect gentleman—if not for the long claws on both hands.

The last was a monster—his head like that of an octopus, his arms a blend of pincers and tentacles.

Even Hepody, who had seen his fair share of Fish-Men in the Grand Line, found this one particularly bizarre… and strangely familiar.

Where… have I seen this creature before?

No one could answer the questions now rising in every mind:

Who are they?

When did they board?

How did they appear without anyone noticing?

In that moment, both Marines and pirates instinctively stood together, united in fear, bracing for a fight.

Still held in Krieg's grip, Hepody stared blankly at the three intruders—until his eyes landed on the monster.

"Ah… ah… it's… it's…"

His throat rasped, like something was caught between gagging and screaming.

Krieg felt Hepody trembling in his hand. He threw him to the deck and growled:

"What's wrong with you? You know them?"

"It's the Deep Sea Reaper!!" Hepody finally shrieked. "The most notorious outlaw in the East Blue! The man who killed Branch Captain Morgan! That's Davy Jones!!"

Davy Jones?

Krieg was confused.

When Davy Jones first rose to infamy, Krieg had been preparing his fleet for the Grand Line.

Then came the disaster—barely seven days into the Grand Line, and he was already fleeing back to the East Blue. He had no time to read newspapers or look at bounty posters.

Gin was no different. The name Davy Jones meant nothing to him.

But when Hepody linked "Deep Sea Reaper" and "Davy Jones," Gin vaguely remembered a childhood horror story.

A story. Nothing more.

So how could a story come to life?

And yet… the one who stood before them was Davy Jones.

He had brought along Alvida and Kuro, instantly teleporting aboard—leaving only Buggy behind to guard the ship.

Davy Jones hadn't paid attention to his bounty posters or news reports, so when he heard the old title "Deep Sea Reaper," he simply stared coldly at the Navy officer.

Hepody was already muttering to himself:

"His bounty's fifty million Berries… The highest in the East Blue…" He looked toward the black ship. "It makes sense now. We encountered the Deep Sea Reaper…"

His gaze met Davy Jones's steel-gray eyes—unblinking, absorbing. Hepody froze, teeth chattering.

Had he been in his office, he might've sneered and said, "There are plenty of 50 million bounty pirates in the Grand Line."

But now, after hearing the rumors, witnessing the ship destroy three vessels, and now standing before the man himself, his fear peaked.

Even Krieg didn't make him feel this afraid.

Fifty million?!

Krieg was stunned. He hadn't looked at bounties in a while—but in that time, someone in the East Blue had not only surpassed him—but doubled his bounty?!

His bounty was only 17 million, and even the notorious "SawShark" Arlong was only 20 million.

And yet, this man had a bounty of fifty million?

He also now realized from Hepody's words that this monster was the owner of the black ship. His wariness deepened.

But after fear came regret.

If he had known the black ship's owner was also a wanted man, maybe they could've cooperated.

But he had tried to steal the ship right from the start—shutting off any path for alliance, and inviting disaster instead.

It was too late for regrets now.

Krieg realized every decision he'd made lately had been a mistake—each one dragging them deeper into the abyss.

Alvida, standing beside Davy Jones, recognized Krieg. She was about to whisper this to her captain—then paused.

Would the captain even care who Krieg was?

Would he care at all?

Clearly not.

So, she said nothing.

As for Kuro, his identity was still hidden. His faked death hadn't yet been exposed, and his old bounty poster was just a blurry silhouette. No one recognized him.

The Navy knew Alvida had joined Davy Jones, but they were still using her old bounty photo—fat, pockmarked, unrecognizable.

They could never have guessed she had changed so drastically.

Once Hepody named Davy Jones, the entire deck fell silent—ice cold.

Davy Jones stared at Hepody for a moment, then finally spoke:

"Alvida. Kuro. Leave him. The rest—kill them all."

"Yes, Captain!" Alvida responded, raising her spiked mace.

Kuro adjusted his glasses with his palm and nodded silently.

Krieg sighed.

So, it had come to this.

Fighting was now inevitable.

And as he watched Davy Jones' two crewmates charge forward, Krieg realized this fragile alliance between Navy and pirate was about to shatter in blood.

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