Chapter 400: Ten-Time Champion!

"Bounty?"

Britannias.

When Gao Wen learned this news from Xiang Keluo, he was somewhat stunned.

After all.

At this point in time, Gao Wen wore the skin of a Warlord of the Sea; at least on the surface, he was still a pirate authorized by the World Government to rob legally.

The World Government could not, and had no reason to, issue a bounty on him at this time.

But when he saw the bounty poster in Xiang Keluo's hand, so different from the Marine bounty posters, he suddenly realized the truth.

"The Cross Guild?!"

In the original timeline, the Cross Guild would not be established until two years after the Summit War.

The nominal leader was not Crocodile, but Buggy.

However.

Gao Wen could understand such changes.

His arrival had altered the fates of many people.

Golden Lion had not suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Straw Hat, and Whitebeard had died with dignity at the Summit War, exhausted while facing the Marines.

Crocodile, after his defeat, had achieved great enlightenment and rediscovered his original intention.

Though his exact combat strength was unknown, compared to the weakling who lost to the inexperienced Straw Hat in the original timeline, the two were not even in the same league.

This time, after the establishment of the Cross Guild, they had not only issued bounties against the World Government but also against the officers of Gao Wen's crew!

Gao Wen flipped through the Cross Guild's bounty posters with interest.

"Van Augur, five stars..."

"Pirate Hunter-Roronoa-Zoro, one crown..."

"Black Leg-Sanji, one crown..."

Unlike the World Government, which assessed the risk of each individual before issuing a separate bounty amount.

The Cross Guild's bounties targeted Marine positions, using stars and crowns to represent the bounty amounts.

One star corresponded to one hundred million Berries, and one crown corresponded to one billion Berries.

Converted, the bounties for Zoro and Sanji amounted to one billion Berries, a figure between that of a Marine Vice Admiral and an Admiral.

Van Augur was five hundred million Berries, which was the unified bounty amount for Vice Admiral-level Marines.

Simple and crude, yet the intent to target the Marines was almost undisguised.

The bounty on Gao Wen's crew seemed more like an afterthought, mixed with someone's personal grudge.

Gao Wen turned the pages one by one.

The publicly known members of the Round Table Knights almost all had one crown, corresponding to a bounty of one billion.

Only Xiang Keluo had two, meaning a bounty of two billion Berries.

Purely in terms of numbers, Xiang Keluo was nearly catching up to Aokiji from the original timeline after he left the Marines.

However.

If the World Government were to set this bounty, it would likely be even higher!

After all, besides possessing combat strength comparable to an Admiral, Xiang Keluo also had a monstrous intellect; for the World Government, the latter caused far greater destruction than the former.

As for other members, such as Chopper, Bepo, and Nami, their bounties were basically at one star, or in the tens of millions.

Soon.

Gao Wen found his own poster within the stack of bounty notices.

The cover image was taken from the scene at the Summit War where Gao Wen sliced away Whitebeard with a single strike, full of tension and oppression.

And the amount marked below made Xiang Keluo snatch the bounty poster from Gao Wen's hand; after counting carefully, he stared in disbelief and said:

"Ten crowns?!"

"That's one... one hundred billion Berry bounty?!"

"Keep in mind, even the Fleet Admiral only has fifty billion!"

It was not just Xiang Keluo.

At this moment, when countless people saw the Cross Guild's bounty on Gao Wen, they all thought the Cross Guild had gone mad; such a bounty amount had surpassed Roger from back then, towering far above him!

And Gao Wen had not even declared himself King yet!

But there were also those who approved of this.

After all.

The combat strength Gao Wen displayed at the Summit War had almost suppressed all the pirates on the entire sea until they could barely breathe.

Xiang Keluo opened his mouth, then looked at Gao Wen; he wanted to refute that Crocodile had gone mad, but he knew even more clearly that Gao Wen...

Was worth this bounty!

However.

Gao Wen himself did not care much about this.

Whether Crocodile was forming alliances or issuing reverse bounties on the Marines, in the end, it posed no threat to him; the so-called bounty was merely a display of impotent rage.

It was a few days later that a ship departing from the Red Line made Gao Wen frown tightly.

Roubo Luqi had returned.

He had changed into a white suit symbolizing CP0, and that white pigeon, Hattori, perched on Roubo Luqi's shoulder, looking extremely spirited.

But Gao Wen's expression appeared somewhat solemn, and Xiang Keluo beside him was the same.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the worry in each other's hearts.

"Luqi's identity has likely been exposed."

Xiang Keluo made the judgment instantly, and Gao Wen nodded.

Too coincidental.

The World Government's people arrived precisely at this juncture, and the one who came happened to be Luqi.

When several coincidences occur simultaneously, it is absolutely no coincidence.

"When?!"

After pondering for a moment, Gao Wen said:

"It must have been when we previously invaded Impel Down; Luqi was responsible for mopping up and was detected by the World Government."

"So this is a probe from the World Government?"

Xiang Keluo frowned tightly.

Ever since Gao Wen offered the Eternal Pose to Laugh Tale as the prize for the champion of the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament, he had already anticipated that the World Government would not remain unresponsive.

He had even intended to use this opportunity to test the World Government's true strength.

After all, with the World Government currently busy suppressing the increasingly restless world, exactly how much combat power they still have available remains an unknown.

However, the World Government's response was somewhat unexpected to him.

"Things are troublesome now."

Xiang Keluo remained silent, glancing back at the vast inland sea stretching across the center of Britannias, his eyes filled with indescribable wariness:

"Given your personality, you would never directly abandon Britannias and scatter our forces."

"But if we truly engage in all-out war with the World Government at this moment, the Ancient Weapon Uranus is a major problem; aside from you and me, the vast majority of our people would likely face only death."

Gao Wen pondered for a moment, then said:

"Since it is a probe, it means they have no intention of directly starting a war with us yet."

"After all, suppressing the increasing number of pirates around the world has already exhausted the Marines; they even chose to directly abandon their deployments in the New World, which shows just how much pressure they are under."

"Clashing with us at this time would not be a wise move."

"The arrogant Uranus is not without burden for the World Government; the rising sea levels threaten not only the commoners."

"No one fears the world being submerged by seawater more than the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise; the diving suits on their bodies are the best proof."

Xiang Keluo understood immediately:

"You mean they are forcing us to declare our stance?!"

Gao Wen nodded:

"In that case, things become simpler instead."

"Send Luqi back."

Xiang Keluo frowned tightly, raising his eyes to look out the window.

In the Raven Arena, Luqi, having stripped off his upper garments, was currently sparring with Zoro.

The two were evenly matched, locked in a stalemate for the time being.

Clearly, during the two years away from the crew, Luqi had never let up on his own cultivation; the powerful Armament Haki enveloping his body and the jet-black flame clouds on his shoulders symbolizing his Zoan-type Awakening were the best proof.

Although he has not yet stepped into the Legendary realm, he possesses combat power at the Gold rank, nearly surpassing his state during the Future Island arc in the original story.