Although the prison break was planned for the night, there was no reason to delay the hunt for Wena.
After a brief rest and a quick meal to restore their strength, the group immediately headed toward the remote northeastern dock where the Dog Pirates' ships were moored.
By now, the morning light had completely driven away the darkness.
A few early risers could already be seen moving around the harbor, though this particular section remained unusually quiet.
As they approached the two ships with dog-head figureheads, a few silhouettes could be seen moving lazily on deck, clearly not yet fully awake.
"Captain! Captain! L-l-l-look!"
A lookout on one of the Dog Pirates' ships suddenly widened his eyes and pointed toward the dock.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you stuttering so early in the morning?"
The crewmate in front of him turned back impatiently while yawning.
In the next second, the sleepiness vanished from his face.
"Y-y-y-you… what are you doing here?!"
Several Dog Pirate crew members quickly gathered together in panic.
Below their ship stood Sammy with several officers.
Marcus and Kahelo flanked him on either side.
"Relax," Sammy said calmly.
"We're only here to take Wena away."
"Wena? Wasn't he taken away by you already?!"
A small Dog Pirate officer shouted, trying to sound brave.
"Hah. He escaped."
Sammy let out a cold laugh.
"Isn't he on your ship?"
The Dog Pirates looked at each other, then shook their heads together.
"You don't mind if I search, do you?"
Sammy's gaze swept across the two ships.
They instinctively shook their heads again, then realized something was wrong.
But seeing the men behind Sammy ready to move at any moment, the Dog Pirates dared not refuse.
They could only nod weakly.
Sammy waved his hand.
His men immediately boarded the ships and began a thorough search.
Cabins.
Cargo holds.
Storage rooms.
Every possible hiding spot was checked.
However, after searching both ships carefully—
Wena was nowhere to be found.
While the search continued, Sammy calmly watched the uneasy pirates in front of him.
"So."
"Why did you come here?"
"W-w-we ran out of supplies… so we came here to restock…"
"Oh?"
"My men heard you bought quite a lot of medicine and bandages."
The Dog Pirates immediately began showing their injuries.
Some raised arms wrapped in bandages.
Others revealed stitched wounds.
"It's from last time! When you took Captain Wena away!"
"A lot of us got injured, so we had to buy medicine!"
Sammy nodded as if accepting the explanation.
"I remember something though."
"We didn't leave you a Log Pose last time."
"So how did you find Alabasta?"
"…Uh…"
The group instantly fell silent.
Their eyes darted around nervously.
No one dared answer.
Sammy's patience ran out.
His gaze turned cold, and the air around him seemed to drop several degrees.
Marcus and Kahelo understood instantly and stepped forward.
Marcus grabbed the small officer by the collar.
Before his fist even came down, the man nearly fainted from fear.
"Don't hit me! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
"It's… it's a Vivre Card!"
"Captain Wena made Vivre Cards for the officers!"
"We have fragments of his Vivre Card!"
"We followed it all the way here!"
Sammy extended his hand.
"Hand it over."
A bruised pirate trembled as he pulled out a small piece of white paper from his coat.
The fragment moved slowly on Sammy's palm.
The motion was weak—indicating the owner's life force was fading—but its direction pointed clearly toward the interior of the harbor.
"Just as I thought…"
Sammy narrowed his eyes.
"He never returned to the ship."
"He's hiding somewhere in the port."
Without another word to the collapsed Dog Pirates, Sammy led his men in the direction indicated by the Vivre Card.
They crossed the harbor district.
Through streets.
Between warehouses and narrow alleys.
Finally—
The Vivre Card led them to a tall building near the harbor plaza.
The Rapeseed Port Clock Tower.
The tower was built of pale gray stone.
It was not yet time for the bell to ring.
The doors were closed.
The area was eerily quiet.
Sammy and his men quietly approached the base of the tower.
The main door stood slightly ajar.
Inside, a spiral staircase wound upward.
The Vivre Card trembled more strongly here.
"He's up there."
Sammy spoke softly, glancing toward the observation deck and bell chamber above.
"Marcus. Kahelo. Come with me."
"The rest of you guard every exit below."
"Don't let even a rat escape."
They climbed the narrow spiral stone steps silently.
The higher they went—
The stronger the Vivre Card's pull became.
And faintly—
A smell of blood drifted through the air.
Finally, just below the bell chamber, they reached a small storage room used for miscellaneous items.
The wooden door was slightly open.
Heavy breathing could be heard from inside.
Sammy signaled.
Marcus kicked the door open violently.
"Ugh!"
An angry, startled groan came from inside.
Within the cramped room, Wena sat slumped against the wall.
His body was wrapped in bandages, but fresh blood still seeped through them.
His face was pale as death.
In his hand he clutched a short dagger.
His eyes were filled with shock—and despair.
He clearly had never expected them to track him down so quickly.
Morning light streamed through the high tower windows.
Dust floated in the air.
It illuminated Wena's twisted face—
And Sammy's cold, expressionless eyes.
"Found you."
Sammy's voice echoed faintly through the empty tower.
"S-Sammy…"
"P-please… let me go…"
"I was wrong before… I shouldn't have run…"
"We can still talk…"
"About Alabasta's towns… if we work together we can make even more money…"
He repeated his old proposal.
His eyes clung to the idea like it was the only straw left to save him.
Sammy listened quietly.
His face showed no reaction.
Not even mockery.
He simply tilted his head slightly toward Marcus and Kahelo.
"Looks like he still doesn't understand the situation."
To Sammy, Wena's proposal was laughably childish.
A pirate who preyed only on defenseless towns like a hyena—
A coward who dared bare his teeth only at sheep—
Such a piece of trash dared speak of cooperation?
Sammy had already judged him long ago.
A pirate with no courage to challenge the strong.
No ambition to sail farther.
A short-sighted fool destined to destroy himself.
Selling him to collectors or arena owners in Sabaody was the only value he had.
"Cooperate?"
"Wena, you're mistaken about two things."
"First—I never considered you worthy of being my partner."
"Second…"
"You escaped."
"You ruined my plan."
"You cost me a capable subordinate."
"You wasted an entire night of my time."
"And now I had to personally come here to find you."
"You think saying 'let's talk' makes up for that?"
Wena's face turned even paler.
He understood.
There was no room left for negotiation.
His survival instinct pushed him to struggle.
But—
Sammy had already lost interest.
"Do it."
Marcus and Kahelo lunged forward.
Wena roared and slashed desperately with the dagger.
Kahelo sidestepped easily, grabbed his wrist, and twisted.
Crack.
A sharp snap echoed.
The dagger clattered to the floor as Wena screamed.
At the same moment Marcus stepped in and drove a heavy punch into Wena's already wounded abdomen.
"GAAH—!"
The scream died halfway.
Wena curled like a shrimp, gasping in agony.
All resistance vanished.
He collapsed into the pile of junk.
His wounds split open again.
Blood soaked the bandages.
All that remained were painful groans and uncontrollable spasms.
"W-why…"
"I came with sincerity…"
"I truly wanted to work with you…"
Sammy walked over and looked down at the fallen pirate captain.
"A deal is a deal."
"I already promised someone in Sabaody I'd deliver the captain of the Dog Pirates."
"You running away made things difficult for me."
He took out some hemostatic powder and roughly sprinkled it onto Wena's wounds.
Then he tied Wena's hands and feet tightly with a special binding technique, ensuring he could never escape even if he woke up.
"Take him."
Sammy stood and dusted off his hands.
Marcus hoisted the completely helpless Wena over his shoulder like a sack.
Kahelo scanned the tower carefully to ensure no one had noticed.
The three of them quickly descended the stairs.
The crew waiting below immediately closed in, forming a protective escort.
The harbor was already becoming lively in the morning light.
Yet the group slipped away through the shadows of buildings just as quietly as they had arrived.
They returned quickly toward the Swordfish.
Sammy walked at the front.
Capturing Wena had finally been completed—earlier than planned.
Now it was time to rest and prepare.
Because tonight—
They would deal with a far more troublesome matter.
Breaking Leon out of the Rapeseed Port prison.
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