Two days later, somewhere in the Paradise half of the Grand Line…
"Red bean soup! RED BEAN SOUP! Get me some damn red bean soup right now! I'm bored out of my mind—I need it to kill time!"
A massive, overall-wearing fat man bellowed aboard a pirate ship. His golden hair was tied up like a candied hawthorn skewer at the back of his head, with two strands of golden beard dangling down to where his collarbones 'should' have been—if he had any. (Spoiler: He didn't.)
In short, the man was grotesque.
"Y-Yes, right away, Queen-sama!"
The underling trembled as he scurried off. Queen was notoriously volatile—whimsical, cruel, and prone to killing his own men on a whim.
"Ugh, time moves so damn slow! This Brachiosaurus-Head ship is crawling! When the hell am I getting back to Wano?!"
Queen rolled around the deck like a petulant child, radiating frustration.
"Next time, I'm upgrading my ship! That bastard King, always dumping work on me—just you wait!"
"Queen-sama, there's no rush. I've lived in Paradise my whole life—a few more days won't kill me," said a smaller man standing nearby.
Queen's eye twitched.
"Oi, Osten. Did I 'ask' for your opinion? Just 'cause Kaido-sama sent me to fetch you doesn't mean you can run your mouth in front of me!"
He scoffed, jabbing a meaty finger into Osten's chest.
"So what if you ate an Ancient Zoan? Means jack shit. You might not even make the Tobiroppo, let alone the All-Stars! Come talk to me as an equal when you're a Shinuchi!"
Queen flopped onto his back, arms crossed.
"I just wanna get back to Onigashima for my research! I've got a new poison bullet idea brewing! Compared to my genius, you're 'nothing'! Just another errand!"
Osten's face darkened, but he quickly bowed.
"O-Of course, Queen-sama! Forgive my insolence. Once we reach Onigashima, I'll follow your lead!"
His voice was humble, but his eyes burned with resentment.
As a former Supernova with a 150,000,000 Belly bounty, he wasn't used to being humiliated like this—especially not in front of underlings. If word got back to the Beast Pirates, his reputation would be 'toast'.
"Play along for now. Once I'm strong enough, I'll kill this fat bastard first," Osten seethed internally.
Queen, oblivious (or indifferent), waved him off.
"Good. Stick with me, stay away from that trash King, and I 'might' keep you alive."
In the pirate world, strength ruled. Queen's recruitment of Osten had been… 'direct'.
[Flashback]
"You Osten? I'm Queen, Calamity of the Beast Pirates. Join us."
"Hah?! No way—"
'BOOM!'
"Brachiosaurus… MIGHTY PUNCH!"
"Tch. Weakling. Toss him on the ship. If he's alive, he'll obey."
[End Flashback]
Osten had learned the hard way—when you can't fight back, 'endure'.
(Though in his heart, he swore vengeance. "I'll overthrow Kaido one day!" A bold dream. Even Kaido would've applauded his ambition… before smashing his skull in.)
"Queen-sama! Ship spotted ahead!"
The lookout's shout snapped Osten from his fantasies. Queen perked up—'finally', some entertainment!
"Wahaha! Gimme those binoculars! Let's see if there's fun to be had!"
He scrambled to the railing, squinting at the horizon. A lackey hurriedly handed him a telescope.
At first, Queen saw nothing. Then—
A Marine ship with no insignia came into view.
"Hmph. No-name vessel. Probably some low-ranking nobodies."
He smirked, turning to his crew.
"Nothing to worry about! Just background characters!"
Then he noticed something else.
"Wait… What's that huge splash? Oh! A 'sea beast'! Damn, that thing's fast!"
Queen's eyes sparkled with envy.
"So jealous! We've got either weaklings who can't catch one or Devil Fruit users who'd drown trying. Ugh! With a sea beast, we'd be back in Wano in no time!"
He clutched his face dramatically.
"My research! My test subjects! Just wait a few more months—Daddy Queen's coming home to 'play'! Wahahaha!"
True to form, Queen launched into one of his infamous grotesque dance routines, his underlings reluctantly joining in (lest they face his wrath).
Osten saw an opportunity.
"Queen-sama… If you want it so badly, why not just 'take' that sea beast?"
Queen froze mid-dance.
"…"
Then his grin returned, wider than ever.
"Zum zum zum… Of 'course' I knew that! I was waiting to get closer before striking! You 'idiot'—you ruined my master plan!"
He resumed dancing, now with extra flair.
"But since you 'insist'… ALL HANDS! PREPARE TO BOARD THAT SHIP AND STEAL THEIR SEA BEAST!"
The crew cheered (mostly out of fear).
Osten smirked. "Perfect."
Meanwhile, aboard the unmarked Marine vessel—
A certain "Little Yellow" (the sea beast in question) suddenly shuddered.
It had a 'very' bad feeling about this.
"Next time you can't pull this kind of stunt, kid. You've still got a lot to learn. Stick close and watch how a real pirate operates, hmph! ..."
Queen lectured his underling with a mentor-like demeanor—what a stand-up big brother act!
"Yes, yes, my mistake. Big Brother Queen must've already thought of it—I spoke out of turn!"
Oswald rolled his eyes and hurriedly agreed. 'Pfft, what a shameless fatass.'
"Listen up, you lot! Get ready—the moment they show any sign of running, row like your lives depend on it! We 'are' taking that sea beast!" Queen barked his orders.
"OOOH!!!"
The lackeys roared in response.
"Bunch of idiots! Why the hell are you yelling so loud?! If you scare off the Marines, you're jumping in to 'pull the damn ship yourselves'!!!"
---
Meanwhile, on the Marine warship, Victor was lounging on the deck, soaking in nature—well, basking in the sun and enjoying the sea breeze.
He looked utterly at ease, a rare moment of leisure for him. After all, he'd just lifted a massive weight off his shoulders.
"Victor, check out this drawing I made of the seahorse! Hehe!"
Gion handed him a sketch she'd done last night while the seahorse was asleep.
Victor took it, examining it seriously. He glanced back and forth between the actual seahorse, the drawing, and Gion's proud smile.
"Hmm, not bad. But maybe... never draw again," Victor said flatly.
The day before, Victor had stunned everyone on the ship with his artistic skills, gifting Gion a portrait so breathtaking she declared it the greatest treasure of their voyage.
Inspired, the three women had picked up brushes and started sketching too.
What Victor now held in his hands was Gion's 'magnum opus'—the seahorse with bulging, bloodshot eyes, its mouth agape, tongue lolling to the side, its entire face twisted into a grotesque nightmare.
If the seahorse saw it, it'd probably sob, "That's NOT what I look like! If I die like this, I'll be disowned from the family registry! This abomination has NOTHING to do with me!"
Gion's smile froze at Victor's remark.
Beside them, Rebecca and Wendy were howling with laughter, nearly pounding holes in the deck. Gion shot them a glare before turning her fury back on Victor.
"What's wrong with it?! I just added a 'little' artistic flair to reality! How is it 'that' bad? Yeah, you're an amazing artist, fine, I admit it—but mine isn't terrible either!!" she argued.
"Hey, Little Yellow, turn around for a sec. Just one look—big sis drew a portrait of you. 'Guaranteed' to surprise you!"
Instead of responding, Victor called out to the seahorse pulling the ship, holding up the sketch.
Yes, the white seahorse had been christened "Little Yellow" by Gion.
It turned its head—and immediately went into shock. 'Is this even a creature from this world? This transcends the laws of nature itself.'
Little Yellow promptly vomited up its breakfast, yesterday's breakfast, and the breakfast from the day before that. It purged everything, as if retaining even a morsel would be an insult to the "art" before it.
Then, it turned back around, its entire being shrouded in gloom, its fins moving mechanically as if its soul had left its body.
Victor watched as the color drained from Little Yellow's scales, leaving it a monochrome husk, enveloped in a cloud of despair.
"Little Yellow, come on, it was just one look. No need to lose the will to live. Snap out of it—keep pulling! Better days are ahead!"
Victor tried to console it. 'Please don't give up now.'
If Little Yellow could speak, it'd probably wheeze:
"One look... and half my lifespan is gone. Are you people 'serious' right now?"