Chapter 8: Soaring Bounty

"The bounty for this time will be drafted directly by Headquarters."

"After all, the threat posed by these two is on an entirely different level from the other pirates in the East Blue."

"You must know that the East Blue is known as the world's most peaceful sea; the average pirate bounty is less than five million. Even Arlong, the greatest threat, had a bounty of only twenty million."

"But it is foreseeable that the bounties for Fire Fist Ace and Knight Gao Wen will surely exceed this figure!"

"This is an insult to the East Blue, and a denial of the abilities of everyone present!"

As Branue's words fell, the faces of the base officers and commanders grew dark.

For Branue's words were practically slapping them in the face, yet since the problem arose in the sea area under their responsibility, even if they wanted to refute, they lacked the confidence.

But someone simply could not swallow this indignity.

To Branue's left, the Colonel of Base 016, whose face resembled a rat, spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"Indeed, an officer from Headquarters speaks and acts so directly."

The rat's words caused those around to frequently turn their heads. Branue glanced at him, his brows furrowing slightly, but he was too lazy to explain anything.

Branue turned his head and continued:

"The higher-ups at Headquarters, especially the one from the East Blue, will be watching this matter closely. Everyone, be mindful of what you say and do."

"From the East Blue... Vice Admiral Garp?"

The rat blurted it out, his pupils shrinking suddenly.

Everyone present suddenly straightened their bodies, looking at Branue with Solemn expressions.

If this news were true, it would mean that Hero Garp might have plans to return to the East Blue to suppress the pirates.

And every suppression of pirates also means a purge of the East Blue Marines, from top to bottom, from inside out, removing the parasites embedded in the flesh and blood of the Marines and replacing them with new blood.

It is visibly foreseeable that countless people will fall because of this.

"If it is really like this, then we must prepare in advance!"

"The pirates around the base need to be cleaned up, and the parasites within must be thoroughly investigated!"

Everyone's hearts grew cold.

The rat had already broken out in a cold sweat; by the time this meeting ended, his back was soaked.

East Blue.

On the sea surface.

The wind was light, the waves gentle.

Sea birds swept over the surface, causing sea beasts hidden beneath to leap out of the water, only to sink back into the depths.

Their sizes, often dozens of meters, were filled with a sense of unreality.

It also made Gao Wen realize clearly that he was no longer in the peaceful world of his past life, but in the world of pirates.

Plunder, violence, and chaos are the eternal themes of this vast ocean.

The strong who reach the summit change generation after generation; what remains unchanged is that new people always set sail on ships, and now Gao Wen has become one of them.

To be honest, if there were a choice, the ideal starting point in the world of pirates would be either a Celestial Dragon or a Marine.

Stable promotion channels, where one unlocks the Six Powers of the Marines and even gains access to Devil Fruits simply by following the ranks step by step, are far more abundant than for pirates.

Gao Wen, who had just killed Mokey and whose name was already on the wanted poster, naturally had no possibility of joining the Marines.

Then he could only stick to the path of piracy.

"Only overwhelming power is the capital to stand firm in this world."

Gao Wen murmured.

Just then, a messenger bird wearing a hat flew in from the distance.

After circling the warship a few times,

the messenger bird dropped a newspaper onto the deck and slowly flew away.

The pirate guarding the deck picked up the newspaper; before he could even open it, a stack of wanted posters tucked between the pages scattered onto the ground.

This pirate lowered his head, just about to pick up the wanted posters, when he saw Gao Wen's photo. However, the number marked below the photo was not the eight million he remembered.

Realizing what had happened, the pirate's breath suddenly choked:

"O-one, ten, hundred, thousand... F-four, four, four—!"

"Stuttering?!"

The pirate standing beside him snatched the wanted poster, but he too was stunned by Gao Wen's exaggerated bounty, for the exaggerated number directly shattered the bounty ceiling of the East Blue in recent years.

"Knight Gao Wen, bounty... forty-eight million Berries?!"

"How much?"

Everyone was attracted by his voice and gathered over. Seeing Gao Wen's bounty that had skyrocketed six times, they were all stunned into silence for a moment.

They stood there stunned for over ten seconds before belatedly letting out a burst of exclamations.

"Forty-eight million?!"

"This time, we, no, the Captain will surely make a name for himself throughout the East Blue!"

"You must know that before this, the highest bounty in the East Blue was only twenty million!"

"This... we just defeated Mokey, and next we will face the East Blue Marines?"

Some also turned deathly pale, feeling the future was dark.

For the number on the wanted poster also reflects the level of attention from the Marines.

Forty-eight million is an unprecedented high bounty in the East Blue in nearly a decade; it is not hard to imagine that Gao Wen will inevitably face the Marines' pursuit and interception.

That man felt a moment of trepidation, but was met with merciless mockery from his companions.

"Are you stupid?!"

"We can't turn back anyway; the louder our captain's name rings, the safer we are!"

"Besides, who can say that what happened on the island earlier was the captain's full power?"

Gao Wen naturally noticed the dissent among the crowd.

He pushed aside the pirates crowding the edge; the pirate holding the newspaper sensibly handed over the bounty poster. Seeing the skyrocketing number on the poster, the corners of Gao Wen's mouth curled slightly upward.

In his impression, there should be no higher bounty in the East Blue than this, and the bounty money and title would benefit, not harm, his plans ahead.

Gao Wen glanced at his own bounty poster, then set it aside and turned to flip through the other few posters.

"Xiang Keluo of a Hundred Stratagems, 16 million Berries..."

"Ghost Kuro, 12 million Berries..."

"Fish-man Arlong, 20 million Berries..."

"Hmm?"

Gao Wen's hand paused slightly.

It was because a familiar face appeared before him.

Although the man in the photo looked far more youthful compared to the appearance in his memory.

Whether it was the face full of freckles or the uniquely styled hat, he could recognize at a glance that the man on the bounty poster was the only living bloodline of the Pirate King, Roger.

Portgas D. Ace, nicknamed Fire Fist, bounty 50 million Berries! Even higher than Gao Wen's!

The original bounty cap of the East Blue was directly blown past by the two of them in succession.

Gao Wen, however, thought of something else, raised his hand to stroke his chin, and his eyes shone with light:

"Ace's talent should be far above these ordinary pirates."

"Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to have reached a level sufficient to serve as the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division in just a few short years, or even to contend briefly with a commander-level powerhouse like Kuzan."

"If I can get him to join my ship, my growth rate will make a qualitative leap."

"However..."

"A Logia-type ability is hard to deal with without Haki."

"Zoro has no fixed abode and his whereabouts are hidden and hard to find; then the only choice remaining for me now is the Baratie Sea Restaurant?"

Gao Wen thought thus, and a plan gradually formed in his heart.

Yet at this moment, a system prompt sound rang through his mind again...

"Congratulations on unlocking the badge: Rising Fame!"

"Can view subordinates' potential abilities!"

(End of this chapter)