"Look! There's an island ahead!"
"We made it! It's the Boin Archipelago!"
After overcoming countless hardships on their journey, they had finally arrived at the incredible island.
Ever since their encounter with CP9 on the Sea Train, Bellamy knew their movements could no longer be hidden. He had never underestimated the power of the World Government and the Marines, and he was well aware that he was no match for the Admirals at his current level.
The moment the train arrived at the Gourmet City, Bellamy had everyone disembark immediately. That very night, they commandeered a ship, loaded it with enough supplies, and set sail under the cover of darkness, heading straight for the Boin Archipelago.
Their swift and decisive action allowed them to narrowly escape a catastrophic disaster.
What Bellamy didn't know was that on the morning of the day after their departure, Admiral Kizaru had arrived, descending from the sky. Immediately after, the entire Gourmet City was forcibly locked down under Marine orders. No one was allowed to leave; they could only enter. Countless World Government intelligence agents were deployed, tearing the entire city apart in their sworn duty to find any trace of Bellamy.
This time, the Five Elders were truly serious.
If they had been even a single step slower, Bellamy might have had to personally experience what it felt like to be kicked at the speed of light.
But getting off the train early didn't mean the rest of the Bellamy Pirates' journey would be smooth sailing. After hastily acquiring a ship and setting out to sea, Bellamy quickly realized they were still a great distance from the Boin Archipelago. This was the consequence of their early departure; they had only ridden the Sea Train for one stop, a journey of about five days covering less than a thousand nautical miles. This was a significant deviation from Bellamy's original plan.
Setting out from the Gourmet City, they sailed in a straight line toward the Boin Archipelago for nearly two months. Over such a long period, the supplies on the ship had long since been exhausted. If not for the frequent storms of the Grand Line and the common appearance of Sea Kings, Bellamy and his crew might have starved or died of thirst at sea.
It was a truly miserable voyage, but such is the nature of the sea. You can never predict what will happen in the next second. If you seek a stable life, you should never attempt to go to sea.
"We're finally here!"
The journey had been incredibly arduous. The whole crew was so starved they'd collectively lost a ton of weight. Halfway through, to ration their food, Bellamy had even reluctantly tossed a few of his clones overboard. Now, only two clones remained on the ship, and everyone had to pitch in to handle the extra chores.
The moment they saw the island, even Bellamy couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
The Boin Archipelago was a peculiar island. Not only was it alive, but the entire island was covered in delicious food and drink. As Bellamy's ship approached, a rich aroma wafted into their nostrils.
Gulp.
It was the scent of roasted meat. Everyone couldn't help but swallow hard.
"I can't take it anymore! Get the ship to shore, now!"
They had been driven mad by hunger during their voyage. The smell of roasted meat was an irresistible torture they could no longer endure. If Bellamy hadn't developed his Gear Third: Energy Storage Mode, he would have undoubtedly been the most famished of them all. But ever since learning Jio-Ken, he had gained the ability to consume a massive amount of food at once and then go for long periods without eating. During this food shortage crisis, Bellamy had used this ability to save a significant amount of their supplies. He still hadn't disengaged from his energy-saving mode, so his own need for food wasn't particularly great.
Just as his crewmates were staring ecstatically at the endless feast before them, Bellamy's pupils suddenly constricted.
"Wait a minute!"
Something was wrong. Deep beneath the sea, something seemed to be trembling violently. Bellamy shot his Observation Haki downwards, and in an instant, a blurry image appeared in his mind.
"This is bad!" he yelled. "Reverse course immediately! Now!"
The island was coming to life!
There was no time to explain. Bellamy frantically spun the helm, desperately trying to turn the ship around. "Ross, get the sails to full mast! Hurry!"
Sensing imminent danger in their captain's voice, the crew placed their absolute trust in his judgment. Without needing any further urging from Bellamy, everyone immediately returned to their posts, and the ship began to rapidly pick up speed.
Bellamy's instincts proved correct.
Just as their ship had pulled away, the Boin Archipelago—or rather, the giant plant known by its scientific name, the Stomach Baron—slowly began to rise from the seabed. The entire island, except for the very center which was the Stomach Baron's massive mouth, began to curl inwards. The forests, grasslands, and lakes, all covered in delectable food, folded in on themselves.
Before the crew's utterly shocked eyes, the massive island slowly closed into a giant flower bud. Countless creatures—dead, alive, and of all strange and wonderful kinds—that had been lured by the scent of food were swallowed whole in the cataclysmic transformation.
The scene was simply too staggering. The island, which stretched as far as the eye could see, had actually come alive. Even a hundred-meter-tall giant would be nothing more than a tiny insect compared to this colossal island. In the world of One Piece, apart from Zunesha and a few other massive creatures, there was no living thing larger than the Stomach Baron. To put it in perspective, the largest Sea Kings in the world were only about five thousand meters long. In front of the Stomach Baron, a Sea King was truly just another meal.
"What in the world is happening here?" Drake and the others stared, their mouths agape, unable to believe what they were witnessing.
Besides Bellamy, no one present had any idea what was going on. In truth, this was just the giant plant's ordinary feeding process. The Stomach Baron would feed like this periodically. At all other times, the miraculous island known as the Boin Archipelago behaved just like a normal, inactive island.
"Don't panic," Bellamy said calmly. "This is a good thing."
The Stomach Baron had begun to feed the moment they arrived. This was indeed fortunate. It meant that its next feeding would be a long time from now. For the foreseeable future, they could relax and make themselves at home on the island.
"Captain," Drake said, his curiosity finally getting the better of him. "You seem to be very familiar with this place."
Bellamy always seemed to possess knowledge of incredibly secret information. For instance, even with Drake's background, he had never heard of this miraculous island. Though Drake had long since grown used to his captain's mysterious knowledge, this time he couldn't help but ask.
"It's called the Stomach Baron," Bellamy explained. "It's an ancient plant. Its roots are anchored tens of thousands of meters deep in the seabed. This island is just its mouth, sticking out of the water."
The Stomach Baron was quite possibly the largest living organism in the world.
"It produces countless foods with alluring scents to attract prey from across the sea, and then it swallows them in one gulp." The scene they had just witnessed was the entire feeding process of the Stomach Baron. "Just think of it as a carnivorous plant."
Except for its immense size, the characteristics of the Stomach Baron were a perfect match for a carnivorous plant.
"Everyone, get ready," Bellamy announced, his voice taking on a serious tone.
"From now on, we begin our hellish training on this island."