Shanks stood speechless as he watched Gustave's trio demolish Drought Jack with ruthless efficiency. Just moments ago, these three had shown complete indifference to incoming cannonballs, but the instant Shanks prepared to engage the enemy himself, they'd sprung into action like hunting predators.
Leaving Tom and Po to guard their valuable prisoners, Gustave returned to the Red Force with obvious satisfaction.
"Shanks," he called out immediately upon landing, "what's Jack's current bounty?"
"Three hundred ninety million Berries," Shanks replied, having checked the wanted poster during the brief battle.
"Only 390 million?" Gustave looked genuinely disappointed. "That seems rather low for one of Kaido's top subordinates."
He'd forgotten that Jack's bounty wouldn't reach the full billion until after Luffy's future adventures began. For now, the young boy remained safely under Gustave's protection rather than stirring up global chaos.
"Hey!" Shanks protested indignantly. "390 million Berries is an enormous fortune!"
"I suppose it's adequate," Gustave conceded after brief consideration. "Jack's crew should add another ten or twenty million to the total. Combined with my savings, that brings us to over 700 million Berries—more than enough for commissioning an exceptional ship."
His mental calculations were precise: roughly 600 million for ship construction would leave 100 million for operational expenses and upgrades.
"So, Shanks, where's the nearest Marine base from here?" Gustave continued with business-like efficiency.
"You're planning to turn Jack over to the Marine?" Shanks asked with growing incredulity.
"Turn him over?" Gustave replied with mock offense. "Please choose your words more carefully! I'm a law-abiding citizen assisting the Marines in capturing dangerous criminals. That bounty money is rightfully earned compensation!"
"You shameless..." Shanks muttered, then called for Yasopp to retrieve their navigation charts.
"The closest Marine installation is the Grand Line G-3 base," Yasopp reported after consulting their maps. "Vice Admiral Garp is currently stationed there."
"Perfect!" Gustave's grin grew positively predatory. "If Garp's in charge, I might be able to negotiate some bonus payments for such a high-value capture."
"Shanks," he added with obvious mischief, "want to come along and visit your old friend?"
"Are you insane?!" Shanks exploded. "You want me to voluntarily walk into a Marine base commanded by the man who's been hunting me for months?!"
The red-haired Yonko genuinely suspected Gustave might try to collect his bounty as well.
"Just kidding!" Gustave laughed, patting Shanks' shoulder reassuringly. "Though I admit the thought crossed my mind."
"Luffy, Ace, pack your gear!" he called to the brothers. "Time for a family visit!"
"You're leaving already, Uncle Gustave?" Uta asked with obvious disappointment.
"It's only temporary, Uta," Gustave said gently, stroking her hair with paternal affection. "Shanks will undoubtedly visit Windmill Village again soon, and we'll all reunite there."
"Okay," Uta nodded reluctantly, though her sadness was apparent.
After quick farewells and gear collection, Gustave's crew boarded Jack's captured ship. As the two ships sailed in opposite directions, both crews waved until distance made further gestures impossible.
However, their departure hit an immediate snag when Tom realized he had no idea how to reach the G-3 base. Sheepishly, he asked Gustave for navigation charts—which Gustave suddenly remembered he'd forgotten to request from Shanks.
Tom was forced to halt their ship while Gustave transformed into lightning and streaked back toward the Red Force.
Shanks and his crew were sailing peacefully when electricity suddenly crackled across their deck, materializing into Gustave's embarrassed form.
"Um, Shanks," he said with an awkward smile, "I left in such a hurry that I forgot to get charts or log pose showing the route to G-3. Could you spare a copy?"
"You're absolutely hopeless," Shanks groaned, though he provided the requested navigation materials without further complaint.
While Gustave was retrieving their navigation necessity, Jack slowly regained consciousness aboard his former ship. His first sensation was a strange lightness around his face, followed by growing horror as he realized what was missing.
"WHERE ARE MY TUSKS?!" Jack's anguished scream echoed across the water.
"You bastards cut off my beautiful ivory!" he roared upon discovering only jagged stumps where his magnificent tusks had once been. "I'll kill every one of you!"
In his fury, Jack began activating his Ancient Zoan powers, intending to transform and sink the entire ship with everyone aboard.
BONK!
A massive mallet crashed into the back of Jack's skull, sending him back into unconsciousness before his transformation could complete.
"Tom's hammer really works perfectly!" Luffy said with satisfaction, hefting the cartoon weapon that had appeared from nowhere.
To prevent Jack from attempting anything desperate upon awakening—and lacking proper Seastone restraints to suppress Devil Fruit abilities—Tom had assigned Luffy as guard duty. The cat had provided him with the magical mallet and simple instructions: one solid hit would keep Jack unconscious for hours.
As for why Tom wanted Luffy specifically watching their prisoner, it was because Tom had personally harvested Jack's tusks as trophies for his collection. The poor All-Star was being thoroughly humiliated by cartoon physics.
After retrieving the navigation necessities, Gustave's crew set course for the G-3 base. Three days of steady sailing brought them within sight of their destination—a massive Marine fortress bristling with defensive weaponry.
Unfortunately, they'd forgotten one crucial detail.
"Incoming fire!" Ace shouted as cannon shells streaked toward their ship.
"Oh, right," Gustave realized with chagrin. "We're still flying Beast Pirates flag."
After the defensive barrage exploded harmlessly around them, the crew quickly lowered the horned skull flag that had been marking them as enemies.
At Marine Base G-3, Admiral Aokiji had been enjoying a peaceful nap in his favorite lounge chair when a subordinate interrupted with urgent news.
"Admiral, sir! The Beast Pirates ship approaching our position just lowered their flag!"
"Ara ara, how strange," Aokiji mumbled, still half-asleep. "What could that mean?"
Deciding the situation merited personal investigation, he made his way to the fortress walls just as amplified voices carried across the water:
"ATTENTION MARINE PERSONNEL! WE HAVE NO HOSTILE INTENTIONS! WE'RE HERE TO SPEAK WITH VICE ADMIRAL GARP!"
"Admiral, what are your orders?" the Marine lieutenant asked nervously.
"Let them approach," Aokiji decided after brief consideration. "Whatever their intentions, this is a heavily fortified base with an Admiral in command. Even if Kaido himself attacked, we could handle the situation."
When he observed the visitors more closely—an adult man, two children, a panda, and a cat disembarking with a thoroughly trussed Jack sporting an enormous head bump—Aokiji's concerns evaporated entirely.
"Definitely bounty hunters," he concluded with amusement.
"Marine personnel!" Gustave called out cheerfully. "Please inform Vice Admiral Garp that his student and grandsons have come for a visit!"
Intrigued by this family connection, Aokiji decided to meet these unusual visitors personally. This promised to be far more entertaining than another afternoon nap.