On God Valley, Ginny was encouraging the gathered slaves.
This group had formed a rough escape team—
and among them was a shark fish-man.
He had just used his sharp teeth to bite through Ivankov's chains.
Then, after hearing Ginny speak, he suddenly asked:
"Um... would Lord Nereus receive your message?"
🌊
"Nereus? Who's that? Some important person?"
Ginny had become a slave at age four.
That name meant nothing to her.
The shark fish-man was about to explain—
but an older slave nearby cut in first.
"Nereus? Oh, he's a major figure."
The speaker was a pirate.
He had picked up a newspaper on the island,
rolled dry leaves into a makeshift cigarette,
and leaned against a dead tree savoring it—
only to realize he had no fire to light it.
So he simply held it in his mouth and spoke.
"I was captured three years ago.
Before that, I'd heard his name plenty.
Captain of the Fish-Man Pirates.
One of Rocks's great fleet captains.
A monster from the deep sea.
Back when I was still free—
his bounty was already astronomical.
Over three billion berries, I think."
💰
"Hee-buru... that really is a huge figure.
Do you know him?"
Ivankov looked toward the shark fish-man,
clearly surprised a slave here might have such a connection.
"How could any fish-man not know Lord Nereus?!
Anyone born on Fish-Man Island these past years grew up hearing his stories!
Though... Lord Nereus probably doesn't know who I am."
"Then what's the point of mentioning him?
Even if he got the message, would he definitely come save you?"
"Not definitely.
Other pirates—hard to say.
But Nereus?
He actually might."
The older pirate answered instead.
"That guy has attacked World Government slave ships nonstop since the day he became famous.
A lot of slaves gained freedom because of him.
Among those freed people was a musician.
I heard they even wrote him a song.
I once heard it aboard ship... it went something like this..."
🎵
He cleared his throat and sang awkwardly:
Put away your chains and shackles, no more crying till the dawn
Hear the tide already calling, moonlight lights the road back home
Tears become waves upon waves!
Until the dawn rises again, everyone shall be set free!
Yo-ho-ho-ho~ Yo-ho-ho-ho~
Sing this song! Waves of homecoming!
But his singing skill was terrible.
By the end,
it had drifted fully into the melody of Binks' Sake—
the most familiar pirate song on the sea.
🏴☠️🎶
"He sounds like a really good person.
Then we should pray he received the message too.
Maybe more of us survive that way."
Ginny said it hopefully.
"A good person?
But I heard he killed countless Marines.
Almost every fleet sent after him was annihilated.
Very few survivors."
The World Government did not fully control information,
so anti-government stories still spread.
But it remained the largest ruling force on the sea.
Most newspapers still framed events around government authority.
That meant wanted criminals rarely had good reputations.
At best:
mixed fame.
Usually:
pure notoriety.
And Nereus's public name in many ears was simple:
a demon who killed without blinking.
👁️
Ivankov, however, laughed loudly.
"Then I take back what I said!
If he killed that many Marines, he's a great hero! Hee-haw!
But right now—
that's not our problem.
Let's think about saving ourselves first."
In Ivankov's eyes:
Celestial Dragons enslaved himMarines escorted slaves for them
So Marine deaths meant very little.
He quickly turned back to discussing how to seize the Devil Fruits.
At Sea Near God Valley
Meanwhile,
more and more pirate ships began appearing near God Valley.
Sebastian and the others had already obeyed Nereus's orders:
their ships were hidden near another island farther away,
with personnel standing by there.
Nereus and Babel themselves remained aboard Rocks's ship as it approached God Valley.
🌊🚢
"Shakky can't be split equally!"
"Which idiot raised that question? Obviously Shakky chooses herself! She'll definitely pick whoever steals the most treasure!"
"No! She'll choose whoever rescues her!"
The ship remained deep in collective love-starved madness.
Even Babel had joined in—
he too had interest in Shakky and hoped for favor.
But at that moment—
another pirate ship gradually approached Rocks's vessel.
Its hull was sleek and narrow,
longer and thinner than most pirate ships.
Its speed was excellent.
At the bow stood a man around two meters tall.
He wore:
a neat white suita monocle
His appearance looked less like a pirate—
and more like CP0.
🕴️
"Excuse me! Is Mr. Nereus aboard this ship?!
My name is Valentine!
Captain of the Valentine Pirates!
Current bounty: 437 million berries!"
"Hey! Hey! Nereus! Looks like someone's looking for you!"
Whitebeard shouted from near the rail.
That immediately drew attention from the whole Rocks ship.
Nereus turned too.
The man stood upright and continued:
"Mr. Nereus truly is involved in this event.
I heard your name long ago.
After becoming a pirate myself,
I saw your name repeatedly in newspapers.
I have followed your footsteps all this time.
And today—
I finally meet the real you!"
He adjusted his monocle.
Then smiled politely.
"As long as I kill you here,
I will completely surpass you—
and use your head to make my name famous across the seas."
⚡
Silence.
Absolute silence fell across Rocks's ship.
Even the terrifying collective obsession over Shakky vanished instantly.
Only sea wind and waves remained audible.
🌬️🌊
Then—
the ship exploded in laughter.
Shiki laughed so hard his cigar fell without him noticing.
Miss Buckingham bent forward clutching her stomach.
Streusen rolled on the deck outright,
as if hearing the greatest joke imaginable.
😂
Yet Valentine remained perfectly composed.
He looked around politely and asked:
"Everyone... why laugh so much?
If I take Mr. Nereus's head shortly after this—
won't your embarrassment be rather severe?"
The mockery did not embarrass him at all.
Instead,
he seemed to believe everyone else simply lacked understanding.
That alone—
finally made even Nereus interested.