Amid deafening cheers and jubilant roars, the Blazing Fang burst violently through the ocean's surface, sending towering sprays of white water into the air!
The ship finally broke free from the grip of the deep sea and settled steadily upon the sunlit, sparkling waters above.
"Wahahaha! Sunshine! Real sunshine!"
"We made it! I feel alive again!"
The deck erupted into celebration.
Yet among all the cheering crew, one figure stood apart.
Tiger didn't shout with everyone else.
Instead, he stood quietly by the rail, tilting his head upward as he immersed himself completely in the unobstructed sunlight.
This feeling was utterly different from the gentle rays filtered through the Sun Tree Eve onto Fish-Man Island.
It was warmer.
More direct.
More...
...free.
So this...
...is what the real surface looks like.
This is... the world Captain Sammy and the others were talking about.
The sea breeze carried the warmth of the sun across his face, stirring the hair on his forehead.
For a moment, he was completely captivated.
Unfortunately...
...the celebration lasted less than ten seconds.
"Hey..."
"Look over there!"
One of the sailors pointed toward the port side, his voice filled with astonishment.
Everyone turned.
The jubilant atmosphere instantly fell silent.
Only a few hundred meters away, a stretch of ocean lay beneath heavy lead-gray storm clouds.
Hailstones the size of fists crashed relentlessly into the sea, throwing up endless sprays of water.
The constant pounding of ice against the ocean echoed across the waves, standing in almost absurd contrast to the brilliant sunshine surrounding the Blazing Fang.
"So..."
"So this is the New World's weather?"
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
There wasn't a trace of fear in his voice.
Only excitement.
"Hahaha!"
Aldo slapped the railing and burst into laughter.
"Hell on one side, paradise on the other!"
"Looks like fortune's smiling on us, Captain!"
"The New World must be our lucky land!"
Sammy didn't laugh.
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze piercing through the curtain of hail until it settled upon a dark silhouette struggling toward them.
"Lucky?"
He gave a faint snort.
"I'm afraid..."
"...that's not the case."
"Captain Sammy!"
The lookout shouted a warning from the crow's nest.
"There's a ship inside the hailstorm!"
"It's coming straight at us at full speed!"
"What kind of ship?"
Kaihalo's hand was already resting on the hilt of his sword.
"Navy?"
"Or a merchant vessel?"
As the ship burst out of the hailstorm and entered the sunshine, its full appearance came into view.
Its figurehead...
...was an enormous grinning pig's head.
The hull was decorated with illustrations of green onions and slices of roast pork.
"...What in the world is that?"
Sammy blinked, momentarily bewildered.
A floating restaurant?
No...
The Baratie's in the East Blue, and that's decades later.
Could there already be some kind of restaurant-themed ship?
"Captain!"
"It's..."
The lookout sounded equally confused.
"A pirate ship!"
"Their Jolly Roger is a skull with a bowl of ramen on top..."
"...and two green onions crossed beneath it."
Kaihalo had already pulled out his thick scrapbook of wanted posters and flipped rapidly through the pages.
"Found it."
"They're definitely pirates."
"The Ramen Pirates."
"Captain Noodles Mountain Rudal."
"Bounty: 240 million berries."
"Paramecia-type Noodle-Noodle Fruit user."
"Second Mate Char Siu Abughost."
"Bounty: 110 million berries."
"No Devil Fruit."
"Judging by the ship and the flag..."
"...this should be Second Mate Abughost leading one of their divisions."
"The Ramen Pirates?"
Fetch scratched his head.
"I think I read about them in the newspaper a couple of years ago."
"They already made it into the New World."
"So why are they still hanging around the entrance?"
Marcus folded his arms and smirked.
"Why else?"
"They're too scared to challenge the real monsters..."
"...so they prey on rookies who've just arrived."
"The reason doesn't matter."
Sammy rolled his shoulders before interlocking his fingers.
A series of crisp cracks echoed from his knuckles.
"What matters..."
"...is that they're obviously looking for trouble."
Tiger's eyes snapped open.
Before he had even fully processed who the enemy was or how powerful they might be, his body had instinctively settled into the opening stance of Fish-Man Karate.
So this...
...is exactly what Captain Sammy warned me about.
The sea really is full of danger.
We've barely arrived...
...and we're already heading into battle.
A trace of surprise flashed through him.
But there was no fear.
Instead...
...a burning fighting spirit began rising from the base of his spine.
This is adventure.
This is the reality I chose when I left the safety of home.
At that moment...
...a broad hand rested on his shoulder.
Tiger turned around.
Aldo was looking up at him.
"Kid."
"Stay in the back for your first fight."
His tone allowed no argument.
"This isn't some brawl in Fish-Man District."
"Stand back."
"Watch."
"Learn how a real naval battle is fought."
"Why?"
Tiger protested.
"I can fight!"
"Tch."
Aldo scoffed.
"So what if you can?"
"That doesn't mean a damn thing."
"First, you need to survive."
"Out at sea..."
"...if you haven't learned how to stay alive..."
"...charging in blindly is just asking to die."
"Listen."
"Step back."
"You'll have plenty of chances to fight later."
Tiger looked toward Sammy.
The captain simply nodded.
Grinding his teeth, Tiger reluctantly suppressed the battle fever surging inside him.
He retreated to the base of the main mast and stood beside Fetch and the other support personnel.
Just then, a loud, crude voice boomed across the sea through a Den Den Mushi loudspeaker.
"HEY—!!"
"You fresh-out-of-the-oven rookies!"
"If you know what's good for you..."
"...hand over everything valuable!"
"We Ramen Pirates only rob your money!"
"We'll even let you crawl back to Paradise with your lives!"
The voice paused before continuing with a greedy laugh.
"Of course..."
"...if you've got a Devil Fruit..."
"...or something especially rare..."
"...that's a different story!"
"Hahahaha!"
The pirates aboard the opposing ship erupted into mocking laughter and jeers.
Clearly...
...they had repeated this routine against newcomers countless times.
Sammy slowly walked to the bow.
The sea breeze fluttered the hem of his coat.
His eyes settled upon the burly man standing proudly at the enemy's prow...
...and the grinning pirates behind him.
"You've got some nerve."
"You really don't know who I am?"
He chuckled softly.
"You want our treasure?"
"Fine."
He paused.
Just before the enemy could grin in triumph, Sammy suddenly raised one arm and pointed directly at their main mast.
"Then..."
"...trade us your pirate flag for it."
"W-What?!"
Abughost froze for an instant before flying into a furious rage.
"You ignorant little rookie!"
"Open fire!"
"SINK THEM!"
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