Dressrosa.
The Fairy-tale Forest, Green Bit.
"Wow~~! Carlo, is this your territory in the New World? It looks gorgeous."
From the bow of the pirate ship, Ivankov gasped in amazement as the pristine island of Green Bit came into view.
The scenery was simply too beautiful.
So beautiful that it made him forget the pain of the bump John had left on his head.
After the battle with Zephyr,
and seven or eight days of sailing,
Carlo's group had finally returned to the New World from the Grand Line.
They had sailed back to the vicinity of Dressrosa first.
At this moment,
what lay ahead of them was Green Bit, an island within Dressrosa's territory.
On Green Bit, no trace of human habitation existed,
so the island remained an untouched, primordial paradise.
Everywhere you looked, lush primeval forest stretched out.
Ancient trees towered sky-high.
Flowers of every color dotted the forest, a beauty so intoxicating it made you dizzy.
Even the sea breeze carried the refreshing scent of blossoms.
But now,
besides the jungle scenery,
the island hosted things that did not belong.
Just offshore, thirty or forty pirate ships of every size lay at anchor in a long row.
Among them were the winged-skull vessels of the Sky Pirates,
as well as ships bearing a variety of other Jolly Rogers.
Those belonged to the dozen-odd vassal crews under the Sky Pirates' flag.
Along the beaches and shoreline, crude wooden huts and tents had sprung up.
Right now, campfires blazed in front of those huts and tents.
Hundreds upon hundreds of pirates bustled about preparing food.
Out on the open sea, some pirates were still busy fishing, adding ingredients for the coming feast.
Others had gone inland to hunt the island's wild beasts.
The whole place bustled with activity.
When Carlo's six-ship fleet appeared on the horizon,
it instantly drew the attention of these pirates.
Many immediately dropped what they were doing, warily drawing swords or pistols.
A sharp-eyed few spotted the Sky Pirates' flag from afar, brightened, and waved their arms in excited cheers.
"It's the Captain! Captain Carlo's back!"
"The boss is back!"
Hearing that, the rest relaxed, joy on their faces, and swarmed onto the beach to welcome Carlo.
Onboard, Ivankov, Kuma and the others stared wide-eyed at the ant-like crowd gathering on the sand.
"S-so many people! Are all of them your subordinates, Captain Carlo?"
Facing that dark mass—tens of thousands at a glance—even the reckless Ivankov looked at Carlo with awe.
His way of address shifted from casually calling him Carlo to respectful "Captain Carlo."
Carlo said nothing. He rose slowly from his seat and walked to the prow.
The instant his figure appeared,
a frenzied roar that shook the sea erupted across Green Bit's beach.
The clamor startled countless birds into flight and seemed to make the whole island tremble.
"Heavenly King Carlo!"
"Heavenly King Carlo!"
"Heavenly King Carlo!!"
The pirates weren't just shouting; they were venting their reverence and wild adoration.
Ivankov even saw a huge portrait unfurled on the sand.
The man in the portrait was none other than Carlo.
Below the picture were his epithet, full name, and a long string of numbers dusted with gold powder.
"That's… Captain Carlo's wanted poster!"
Dragon, sharp-eyed, recognized it at once.
The giant portrait was simply an enlarged version of Carlo's bounty sheet.
They had already been stunned a few days earlier when newspapers reported Carlo's bounty of 4.444 billion Berries.
Seeing it again now, that shock resurfaced uncontrollably.
It made them realize
why the pirates ahead were acting so fanatical.
Fanatical?
Of course they were!
No matter which crew, seeing their Captain's fame resound across the world,
his bounty topping even the legendary Gol D. Roger at a monstrous 4.444 billion Berries,
second only to the late pirate overlord Rocks in all of pirate history,
would make any pirate tremble with excitement!
To follow such a boss was their pride, a tale to tell for life!
It was their ticket to rise alongside him and shake the world!
With the appearance of this staggering bounty,
the gloom that had weighed on them—because Carlo had stayed away so long, Golden Lion had seized most of the Rocks Pirates' turf, and the Sky Pirates had been forced to lie low here near Dressrosa—
vanished in an instant!
Doubt, worry, disappointment all turned into even wilder worship!
As Carlo's ship reached the shore,
as he stepped down the gangplank,
tens of thousands of New World pirates knelt like a wave, lowering their unruly heads respectfully before the mighty man,
shouting in unison:
"Captain Carlo!!"
The sight stunned even Alice and her son, still aboard.
Little Teach especially
felt a tempest in his heart as he watched that tall back, standing in silence yet commanding the obeisance of thousands.
A real man should be like this!
Perhaps the father his Mama Alice spoke of, the great Rocks, had been just such a figure?
Facing the sea of kneeling men, Carlo remained calm. "Where's Babel?" he asked quietly.
"Boss Carlo, Captain Babel went to catch some Sea Kings. There're so many mouths to feed here, he should be back soon."
A black-haired man of average build stood up from the crowd and approached with respectful steps.
"Pathesius? You're here too? Weren't you off running a shipping company?"
Carlo raised an eyebrow at the sight of him.
With humble haste, Pathesius pulled an unopened box of premium cigars from his coat, took one out, and offered it with both hands, then flicked his lighter to light it for Carlo.
Only then did he answer deferentially:
"When I heard you were back, I dropped everything and rushed to Green Bit. My little business is nothing beside the honor of seeing you again, Boss."
The look he gave Carlo was more respectful, more awestruck than ever.
He thanked himself for the choice he'd made six years ago.
Back then, at Rocky Port, he'd sensed that Carlo would one day soar and make his name across the seas.
It had only been a matter of time.
He had thought that day might come in a dozen years, when Carlo reached his forties at least.
But to Pathesius's astonishment,
in a mere six years
Carlo had become the Heavenly King, and the World Government had placed on his head a bounty surpassing Roger's, stunning the entire world!
If people had first known Carlo merely as the Fourth Division Captain of the Rocks Pirates,
now his name truly shook the seas as the Captain of the Sky Pirates!