Before becoming a captive, Perona never imagined she would find herself in such a predicament.
With no means of resistance, she had no choice but to resign herself to fate.
She had mentally prepared for all sorts of hardships.
And yet…
"Why… why is this happening?"
As a prisoner, was she supposed to be engaged in intense strength training?
Perona was on the verge of tears.
The relentless daily weightlifting was not only mentally exhausting but also left her body aching all over.
She didn't want to train, nor did she want to work out!
However, captives had no rights.
"Big dumb bear, I'm exhausted… Can I rest for five—no, just three minutes?"
Perona, struggling under the weight of a massive iron ball on her shoulders, looked pitifully at Jim, who stood before her with arms crossed and an expressionless face.
"124 reps left."
Jim's so-called "friendly reminder" was essentially a rejection of Perona's plea.
Her eyes sparkled as she tried a softer, pleading tone. "I'm really, really tired. Can't you just… let me off the hook, just this once?"
"If you fail to complete them within the time limit, you'll have to do an additional 100 reps."
Jim remained unmoved, offering yet another friendly reminder of her situation.
Seeing how utterly unyielding Jim was, Perona's posture, bent slightly under the iron ball's weight, looked all the more pitiful.
"You damn bear! You'll be single forever!"
She gritted her teeth and cursed Jim in her heart.
"Perona, your time is running out," Jim said emotionlessly.
"…."
Left with no choice, Perona begrudgingly continued her training.
By the time she finally finished her set, she collapsed onto the ground, looking as if she were on the brink of death.
"G-Gaya… is she here yet?" Perona weakly murmured.
Jim lifted his gaze toward the castle and spotted Gaya approaching with a bento box in hand.
As she reached them, Gaya nodded at Jim before turning to Perona with a smile. "I made an extra dessert today—it's your favorite, red berry cake."
"Really?!"
Perona, as if revitalized, shot upright, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Gaya nodded with a warm smile.
"T-This is so touching…"
Tears welled up in Perona's eyes.
In this living nightmare, the only source of comfort she had was Gaya's cooking.
Of course, more importantly, the food helped ease her fatigue and soreness.
Ignoring her aches, Perona eagerly devoured the meal Gaya had prepared.
Gaya watched her eat with a gentle smile.
Once Perona had nearly finished, Gaya spoke softly. "Perona, I'll be leaving on a trip with Maude tomorrow. For the time being, Philo will be preparing your meals."
"Eh?!"
Gaya's words struck like a bolt of lightning, leaving Perona utterly stunned.
The joy of her meal vanished in an instant.
Without Gaya's cooking…
She glanced sideways at the massive, cold iron ball.
How was she supposed to survive this hellish training?
...
The next day.
A ship carrying Maude, Gaya, Lafitte, Brook, and Bailey slowly departed from the inner bay of the Thriller Bark.
Once they passed through the massive red-lipped gate of Thriller Bark, the ship quickly disappeared into the thick mist, heading toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
For the sake of securing a nomination for the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Maude and Lafitte needed to reach Sabaody as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications.
Once they arrived, Lafitte would ascend the Red Line alone to await the start of the Warlord meeting.
In the meantime, Maude would remain on Sabaody, where he and Gaya planned to visit Rayleigh.
Jim and the others remained stationed at Thriller Bark.
Considering their manpower, Maude left the Underworld Ferry at Thriller Bark, opting instead to take an abandoned ship left in the dock by an unknown pirate crew.
This way, once they reached Sabaody, no one needed to stay behind to guard the vessel.
Originally, Maude hadn't planned on bringing Brook along.
However, after drifting in the Florian Triangle for so long, the mere mention of setting sail had Brook so excited that he spun in circles nonstop.
Seeing how thrilled Brook was, Maude couldn't bring himself to leave him behind.
...
As the ship sailed steadily through the thick fog, Maude lounged on a deck chair near the bow, holding an old, slightly yellowed book.
"Wandering merchants who can make 'Vivre Cards'… only exist in the New World."
Closing the book he had borrowed from Perona, Maude muttered to himself.
These so-called wandering merchants traveled the New World aboard small wooden boats, selling all sorts of strange yet practical items, including the unique shell-based technologies from Skypiea.
Aside from selling goods, they also provided Vivre Card-making services.
To navigate the dense fog of the Florian Triangle with absolute precision, Maude needed a few Vivre Cards as directional guides.
In a way, Vivre Cards were even more reliable than Log Poses when it came to navigation.
Especially in the Florian Triangle, where the Log Pose was rendered useless.
According to rumors, a notorious pirate once hid a vast treasure trove on an uncharted island within the Grand Line, one whose erratic magnetic field made it impossible to record with a Log Pose.
To ensure he could always find the island, he left someone with a Vivre Card behind.
With this method, even without a Log Pose, the pirate could locate the island using the Vivre Card's guidance.
Inspired by this strategy, Maude wanted to create a few Vivre Cards to maximize the geographical advantages of the Florian Triangle.
...
Ten days later.
Maude and his crew finally arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
They casually docked their vessel at Grove 8 of the Yarukiman Mangrove.
"Now then, where exactly is Rayleigh's bar…?"
Standing by the ship's railing, Maude rubbed his chin in thought.
From memory, he only vaguely recalled that the bar's name had something to do with 'Rip-Off.'
With such a distinctive name, it shouldn't be too hard to find by asking a few locals.
...
Before they could even disembark, a large group of armed men—brandishing swords and guns—stormed toward them.
These men belonged to a slave-hunting squad that specialized in capturing pirate captains.
On the Sabaody Archipelago's underground slave market, pirate captains were always in high demand.
The nobles who indulged in the slave trade particularly enjoyed showcasing their captured pirate captains at social events.
It was a way for them to flaunt their power—demonstrating how effortlessly they could trample those who roamed the seas as outlaws.
Where there was demand, there was business.
The hunters quickly locked onto the ship's Jolly Roger.
"That's the Jolly Roger of the Ceramics Pirates."
"Heh, their captain has a 42-million bounty. Should fetch a decent price."
"Alright, boys, let's—huh?"
The leader of the slavers suddenly noticed Maude and his crew standing on deck.
"Wait a minute…!"
His bear-like frame stiffened, and his eyes widened in shock.
"That's… that's Bacardi Maude! The man with a 500-million bounty! Why the hell is he on the Ceramics Pirates' ship?!"
The sight was so terrifying that the slaver captain collapsed to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.
As for the rest of his crew, they were utterly petrified.
"Well, well, what a coincidence."
Maude cast a glance at them before leaping down.
That simple movement was enough to send the entire group crumbling to the ground like dominoes.
They were doomed.
The once-arrogant slave hunters broke down on the spot.
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