Chapter 146

But before Lord Im, they are mere servants, mere dogs.

The Five Elders said in fear:

"We deserve to die! Please, Lord Im, forgive us!"

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Im said: "How should I forgive your sins?"

The Five Elders had already prepared their words and hurriedly said:

"Lord Im, although we were outmaneuvered by the Beast Imperial Son-in-Law Luo Xing and failed to capture him, we have captured another figure whose importance rivals his!"

"Oh?"

Im slightly raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Is it the Beast Kaido himself?"

Of the Beast Crew, only the Viceroy Kaido could match Luo Xing in importance.

The Five Elders wore an embarrassed expression.

Kaido the Beast was in Wano Country—how could they possibly capture him?

The Five Elders bowed low, respectfully saying:

"Lord Im, it is not Kaido the Beast—it is Portgas D. Ace, the son of the Pirate King Luo Jie!"

Im sat upon the great Wang Zuo.

The Five Elders dared not look up at his expression.

No one in this world could know what Im was thinking.

After a long silence, Im murmured:

"D? Again, one of the D Clan? And the Pirate King's bloodline? Truly, utterly wicked beings."

The D Clan is said to be the enemy of the gods.

A prophecy has long circulated across the seas: the one who will ultimately change this world and overthrow the Celestial Dragons will be someone of the D Clan!

This prophecy is, for the Celestial Dragons, a curse!

Therefore,

Im and the Five Elders would never allow any powerful individual bearing the name D to live.

They would find any means to kill that person.

For eight hundred years, only one person bearing the name D had been left untouched by Im and the Five Elders:

That man was Kapi, the naval hero who shattered Lox's ambitions in the Valley of the Gods and protected the Celestial Dragons.

Because of this,

Kapi, despite having a revolutionary leader as a son, a future Pirate King as a grandson, and another adopted grandson who was the former Pirate King's son, still held an unrivaled position within the Navy—no one dared trouble him.

Truly astonishing!

But Kapi is the only one—any other bearing the name D, Im would unhesitatingly erase.

Im issued a death order:

"Instruct the Navy to publicly execute the Pirate King's son in front of the entire world, to intimidate these increasingly lawless pirates!"

"Yes, Lord Im!"

The Five Elders withdrew, relieved.

At last, they had used the Pirate King's son to distract from Luo Xing and the Ancient Weapons.

The Blackbeard who delivered Ace had earned Great Merit; since he wishes to become a Warlord, let him become one.

131. Luo Xing's new bounty: three billion! Bai Huzi's decision! Red Hair's sigh!

The Five Elders returned to the Hall of Power and personally ordered Admiral Sakazuki to publicly execute Fire Fist Ace before the entire world.

Issue a warning to all pirates of the Grand Line!

Declare the Navy's and World Government's authority to the entire sea!

Meanwhile,

The Five Elders raised Luo Xing's bounty again, increasing it by one billion all at once.

Luo Xing's bounty had seemingly already reached the terrifying level of three billion Berries!

Of course, the small line beneath the wanted poster—"Reward fifty billion for Luo Xing alive"—still remained.

The public execution of the Pirate King's son, Fire Fist Ace, and Luo Xing's bounty rising to three billion.

As soon as these two events spread, they caused massive shock across the world!

Blackbeard, near the Navy Headquarters, was the first to see the newspaper.

"Heh heh heh, three billion? What a terrifying sum—it's nearly approaching the true Four Emperors!"

Blackbeard grinned arrogantly, his eyes flickering with madness and excitement.

The Navy had already sent word agreeing to his admission as a Warlord.

With Ace to be publicly executed, Bai Huzi's nature would surely lead him to launch a full-scale rescue.

Then, it would be Blackbeard's moment to shine!

The entire world would witness his grand performance—his name, Blackbeard, would echo across the world, louder than that five-king Luo Xing!

Just imagining it made Blackbeard tremble with excitement—he could hardly wait for that moment!

……

The Calm Belt of the Grand Line.

The Amazon Lily Island, located here, is protected by countless Sea Kings, making it nearly impossible for any outsider to approach.

Yet, pigeons in the sky could still drop newspapers down.

Empress Boa Hancock took the newspaper, and with a casual Kiss-Kiss Fruit shot, turned the messenger pigeon that had stared at her in a daze into a stone pigeon.

Plop~

The stone pigeon fell to the ground, shattering into countless fragments.

Hancock's two younger sisters, Sansa Soronia and Marigold, carefully observed their elder sister's expression.

Previously, the elder sister rarely read newspapers, for the proud elder sister believed there was nothing in this world worth her attention.

But ever since Granny Nyu said the elder sister had fallen in love, the elder sister had begun reading newspapers frequently.

Although the Empress showed no sign of anything unusual, as if she were merely acting on a whim to learn about outside news.

Yet Sansa Soronia and Marigold could see that whenever the newspaper carried news about that Lord Luo Xing, the elder sister's willow eyebrows would arch upward, a sign of joy in her heart.

Look, just like now, the elder sister's eyebrows have arched upward again; the newspaper must surely contain a report on Lord Luo Xing.

After the Empress left, Sansa Soronia and Marigold picked up the newspaper and, without speaking, wore expressions that confirmed their suspicions.

Sansa Soronia said worriedly:

"It seems the elder sister has truly fallen for that Beast Emperor Imperial Son-in-Law, but he already has a wife, and she is Kaido's daughter, one of the Four Emperors."

"So what?" Marigold snorted. "With the elder sister's peerless beauty, could she possibly be inferior to Kaido's daughter?"

"That is true, but you also know the elder sister's pride; she would certainly never deign to do something like stealing a man."

If Luo Xing had no wife, then Sansa Soronia and Marigold would not worry too much.

After all, Luo Xing was handsome, possessed immense strength, and had all sorts of heaven-defying inventions; with their world's most beautiful elder sister, they were truly a match made in heaven.

Unfortunately, Luo Xing already had a wife, and the Empress's pride would absolutely never allow her to humble herself.

Did they not see that the Empress, to this day, had never admitted to suffering from lovesickness?

When Granny Nyu said she had fallen for Luo Xing, the Empress had instead scoffed and dismissed it outright.

But the more she denied it, the more tsundere she acted, the worse the lovesickness would become!

And Granny Nyu had even said that lovesickness could lead to death!

Many acting queens of the All-Female Kingdom had died from this very cause!

No wonder Sansa Soronia and Marigold were so worried.

The New World.

On the Moby Dick.

Ma Erke saw the newspaper in his hand and his body shook violently.

Although Whitebeard lay in his chair with eyes half-closed, he was perfectly aware of Ma Erke's reaction.

Having eaten a Senzu Bean earlier, his physical condition had improved greatly in every aspect, except for that deeply rooted heart disease.

Whitebeard spoke in a deep, resonant voice: