Chapter 372: Ending the Great Pirate Era

As the Renhai Army's propaganda system exerted its power, the impact of the "Undercover Pirate King" incident grew larger and larger.

Luffy, who was originally a fire that boosted pirate ambition, had now become a bucket of ice water that extinguished their enthusiasm.

How should I put it?

In the eyes of pirates, Luffy was an out-and-out traitor, a turncoat; he wasn't called the Pirate King at all, just a running dog of the Renhai Army.

But in the eyes of the general public, Luffy's reputation was quite good.

In order to complete a great cause, he didn't hesitate to become a notorious pirate, step by step reached the pinnacle of pirates with the help of the Renhai Army, and finally turned against them in a high-profile manner, telling everyone that there was no future in being a pirate.

Of course, this was limited to those who were not familiar with the Straw Hat crew. Anyone who had had contact with the Straw Hat crew had a strange look on their face when they saw this news—no, they doubted their lives.

For example...

"Wahahahaha, Shanks, this is the person you took a fancy to? You're killing me! I was wondering why this kid could always escape from the Renhai Army! It turns out he's an undercover agent! Your eye for people isn't that great either, is it?"

Shanks looked at Buggy helplessly: "Others are stupid, are you stupid too? I know Luffy better than anyone. All of this is a trick by the Renhai Army."

"Sigh~ It seems he failed after all."

In fact, Shanks had long thought that this day would come. Ever since he saw the news of Luffy becoming the Pirate King, he felt that the Renhai Army would definitely not let the Straw Hat crew go.

After all, the title of Pirate King was too heavy.

"Pirates are heading toward their end..."

Shanks's sigh was not unreasonable. Seeing that the propaganda was about enough, he decisively released a new plan—the Great Pirate Era Annihilation Plan.

The Renhai Army would unite with the Adventurers' Guild, mobilize all forces, and clear out all pirate crews still wandering the seas. They didn't seek to kill all pirates, only to eliminate the majority of the pirates' vital strength, laying the foundation for the rise of adventurers.

The Vice Admirals and Admirals who had only rested for a few days became busy again, running around the world to suppress pirates.

Renhai Army Headquarters, Marineford.

"Luffy, you lost the duel a few days ago. You won't go back on what you promised, will you?"

Luffy sighed. Looking at his grandfather in front of him, although he was very unhappy, he still said seriously: "Of course, I won't go back on my word. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Karl chuckled and looked at the Straw Hat crew in front of him: "Pirates have become the past; now is the era of adventurers. My request is that you and your crew join the Adventurers' Guild."

"Adventurers' Guild? What is that?"

Nami covered her face and said helplessly: "Luffy, didn't Robin tell you that the other day?"

"Did she?"

Karl didn't mind. After thinking for two seconds, he said directly: "The Adventurers' Guild is a subordinate institution of the Renhai Army, but adventurers are not managed by the Renhai Army."

"Except for not being allowed to harm civilians and not being allowed to do bad things, it's no different from your previous state. You can still take your companions and your ship to adventure on the seas."

Luffy's eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt that joining the Adventurers' Guild wasn't something unacceptable.

"Then can we still be called the Straw Hat Pirate Crew?"

Karl smiled without saying a word.

Garp, standing beside Karl, stared and said: "Of course not! Pirates are pirates, and adventurers are adventurers; they cannot be confused."

Luffy said "Oh" listlessly, touched his somewhat empty stomach, and asked: "Then does joining the Adventurers' Guild provide meals?"

"Of course... not. But you can obtain rewards and fame by taking on adventure commissions. As for the specific situation, you will naturally understand after joining. How about it?"

Luffy was silent for a long time, then turned to look at his crew: "What do you think?"

"We listen to you, Luffy!" "Yeah! You're the captain!"

Luffy showed a smile and turned to look at Karl: "I've decided. I'll join the Adventurers' Guild and become an adventurer!"

"Hahahaha, a wise choice. When the time comes, you will be glad you made this decision."

After Karl finished speaking, he gave his position to Sakazuki.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the Adventurers' General Guild..."

Sabaody Archipelago, Adventurers' General Guild.

"Look, isn't that the Straw Hat crew? Why are they here?"

"My God, Admiral Akainu, he's the president of the Adventurers' Guild! Could it be that the Straw Hat crew is going to join the Adventurers' Guild?"

"Hiss~ I was wondering why the Straw Hat crew's bounty commissions were canceled a few days ago! So they are also going to become adventurers!"

The adventurers on the Sabaody Archipelago were discussing and pointing, making the Straw Hat crew feel a bit uncomfortable. You know, when they were pirates, this group of adventurers looked at them Move Move Like wolves that had been hungry for days, their eyes glowing green.

"Everyone, you have all seen the newspaper reports. The Straw Hat crew's identity is clean, but considering the influence, the Straw Hat crew has decided to join the Adventurers' Guild and become one of us."

After a simple announcement, Sakazuki took the Straw Hat crew to his office.

"Straw Hat Luffy, this is your adventurer identity certificate. Pirate Hunter Zoro, this is yours..."

Luffy took the certificate and found that an 'S' was written on it. He looked at Zoro's (A-rank) and Franky's (B-rank), and asked curiously: "What does S mean? Why is mine different from theirs?"

"That is your adventurer rank. Adventurer ranks range from F to EX. The higher the rank, the stronger the adventurer naturally is. Currently, the strongest adventurer in the Adventurers' Guild is only S-rank."

Hearing this, Luffy's interest was piqued: "Then can this rank be improved?"

"Correct. Completing bounty commissions, in addition to obtaining large rewards, can also earn fame. When fame accumulates to a certain level, you can apply for promotion. After completing the promotion mission, your adventurer rank can be improved."

"But those are very difficult missions. Ordinary people might only be C-rank adventurers for their whole lives. Your strength is obvious to all, so I have re-divided your ranks based on your strength."

Nami asked hurriedly: "How much reward can we get?"

"F-rank is under 10,000 Berries, E-rank is about 50,000 Berries, D-rank is about 100,000 Berries, C-rank is about 500,000 Berries, B-rank is about 1,000,000 Berries, A-rank is about 3,000,000 Berries, S-rank... 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 Berries."

Every time Sakazuki said a number, Nami's breathing became heavier, as if countless Berries were beckoning to her.

"Great!!! Luffy, let's go do bounty missions quickly!"