Sans Polcha was a man of enormous ambition.
Born into the nobility of the Ophira Kingdom in the North Blue, when the Gray Kingdom first launched its attack on Ophira, he had loudly clamored that Jack and the others who dared invade Ophira would be made to pay.
Unfortunately, Jack's overwhelming strength made Sans immediately realize the vast gap between them. Without hesitation, he went into hiding.
When Jack attacked the Ophira Kingdom for the second time, Sans knew that Ophira stood absolutely no chance of resisting Jack's assault. Without a word of protest, he directly joined the Gray Kingdom's First Division, turning around and attacking his own homeland instead.
Moreover, as a noble of the Ophira Kingdom, he did not join alone. He brought an entire group of followers with him into the First Division.
With the help of these people, he quickly secured his footing within the First Division.
However, after joining the Gray Kingdom's First Division, Sans deeply realized just how important personal strength was there.
Even with a group of retainers supporting him, without strong individual power, he was unable to obtain much authority or status within the First Division. In the Gray Kingdom, officer positions were earned purely through strength. Even if he used despicable means to seize a seat, it would soon be challenged and taken away by someone else.
After much consideration, Sans sold off all of his assets, exhausted every connection he had, and finally purchased a Devil Fruit from the black market.
And his luck was good.
He obtained a fairly powerful Devil Fruit.
Zoan Type, Elephant Elephant Fruit, Giant Elephant Form.
Although this Giant Elephant Fruit was not an Ancient Zoan, its massive size was no weaker than Jack's Mammoth Fruit, and it granted terrifying physical power.
After consuming the Elephant Fruit, Sans's strength skyrocketed uncontrollably. Relying on the sheer might of the Giant Elephant Fruit, there were few in the division who could match him. He quickly defeated the other officers and seized the position of Third Seat of the First Division.
On top of that, his temperament was extremely brutal. Anyone in the division who displeased him would be targeted for revenge. Over time, the entire division grew afraid of crossing him.
Because Jack was a Mammoth Fruit user and Sans was a Giant Elephant Fruit user, Sans often referred to himself as "Little Jack," seeing himself as Jack's successor.
Since joining the Gray Kingdom, Sans had never once seen Rosinante.
Rosinante's long absence caused unease to spread through the Gray Kingdom's divisions, and at this moment, Sans saw his opportunity.
As mentioned before, Sans was a man consumed by ambition. A mere officer seat was far from satisfying him.
But within the Gray Kingdom's divisions, the Third Seat was already the highest attainable rank. Above that were only the Vice Division Commander and the Division Commander.
If Sans wanted to climb higher, he would need to eliminate Division Commander Jack and Vice Commander Sol.
Yet Sans knew very well that even with the Giant Elephant Fruit and his formidable strength, he was no match for the monstrous Jack. Even compared to Vice Commander Sol, there was still a considerable gap.
Originally, he believed there was no chance for him to advance further in the short term.
But Rosinante's prolonged absence made him see hope.
He began subtly instigating Jack from time to time, encouraging him to break away from the Gray Kingdom and establish the Mammoth Pirates.
In Sans's view, the First Division was already a colossal force in the West Blue.
Over the years, under Jack's leadership, the First Division had conquered more than a dozen countries in the West Blue, forcing them all to submit to the Gray Kingdom. They were practically the overlords of the West Blue.
Sans believed that such a powerful First Division had no need to remain subordinate to the Gray Kingdom. They could absolutely stand on their own and become a dominant force.
And once Jack established the Mammoth Pirates, Sans, as the Third Seat of the First Division, would immediately rise in status and naturally become the prime candidate for the position of First Division Commander of the Mammoth Pirates.
Yet for reasons unknown, Jack neither opposed nor agreed with his proposal.
This made Sans believe that Jack also harbored thoughts of breaking away from the Gray Kingdom, but was restrained by the sealing injury on his body and Rosinante's lingering threat, preventing him from making it explicit.
However, as Rosinante continued to remain absent for longer and longer, Sans convinced himself that those threats no longer existed.
Thus, he constantly fanned the flames beside Jack. He even secretly gathered a group of people on his own, preparing in advance for the future establishment of the Mammoth First Division.
But today, he saw news of Rosinante's reappearance in the newspaper.
This news made him feel that if he did not act immediately, all his previous efforts would be reduced to nothing.
So he hurriedly led his people to Jack's location. Even if Jack refused to betray the Gray Kingdom and form the Mammoth Pirates, Sans intended to force the issue, wrap Jack in a metaphorical imperial robe, and coerce him into rebellion.
Yet just as they arrived at Jack's base, they sensed that something was wrong.
...
It was as if Jack had known he would come.
Jack was already waiting in front of the base. When he saw Sans and his group appear, a savage grin spread across his face.
"C Captain Jack?" Sans said hesitantly. He felt that Jack seemed different today.
"You're here. Then let the cleanup begin," Jack sneered coldly. Without another word, he charged forward and threw a punch straight at Sans.
The punch was ferociously powerful. Sans barely managed to raise his guard before it struck him head on.
A tremendous force erupted from the fist, sending Sans flying backward. He crashed heavily into the ground.
"Captain Jack, why?"
The Zoan Giant Elephant Fruit granted Sans incredible physical strength and defense. After taking Jack's punch, he was only slightly injured.
"That's right, Captain Jack. Why attack Lord Sans all of a sudden?"
"Exactly. Lord Sans is so loyal to you!" the subordinates Sans brought along cried out in disbelief.
"You should be grateful that I let you scum jump around for so long," Jack said with a cold laugh. "Trash like you actually dared to betray the Gray Kingdom. You really don't know your place. Loyal to me? If you can betray the captain today, you'll betray me tomorrow. And you dare talk about loyalty. Don't you find that ridiculous?"
"Why? Why does a captain who disappeared for three years, who didn't care about the crew's survival for three whole years, make you this afraid?" Sans screamed hysterically, hoping to provoke Jack into changing his mind. "Just because he showed his face once, you're in such a hurry to get rid of me. Is he really that terrifying to you?"
Sans knew that if Jack did not change his mind, he was as good as dead today. With Jack's strength and the Gray Kingdom's power in the West Blue, he had absolutely no way out.
"There's no need to explain anything to a traitor," Jack said coldly. "But I'll tell you one thing so you can die with some understanding. The reason you were able to jump around until now is because the captain said to let everyone come out first, then clean them up together. It's more convenient that way."
When they heard Jack's words, Sans and his accomplices were completely stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Kill," Jack said coldly.
He stomped the ground, cracking it apart as he charged once more toward Sans.
At the same time, countless figures appeared from all directions, rushing toward Sans's followers.
Meanwhile, the other divisions of the Gray Kingdom were carrying out the same brutal purge.