Chapter 642

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

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

How should I put it?

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

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

In order to complete a great cause, he didn't hesitate to become a notorious pirate, stepped his way to the pinnacle of piracy with the Navy's help, and finally high-profilely defected, telling everyone that being a pirate had no future.

Of course, this was limited to those who were unfamiliar with the Straw Hat crew. Anyone who had ever had dealings with the Straw Hat crew had a strange look on their face when they saw this news—no, they were doubting 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 Navy's hands! So he was an undercover agent all along! Your eye for people isn't so great either, huh?"

Shanks looked at Buggy helplessly: "Others are stupid, are you stupid too? I know Luffy better than anyone. This is all a Navy trick."

"Sigh~ It seems he failed after all."

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

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

"Pirates are completely heading toward their end..."

Shanks's sigh was not without reason. Seeing that the propaganda was about enough, he decisively released a new plan—the Great Pirate Era Annihilation Plan.

The Navy would unite with the Adventurers Guild and mobilize all forces to mop up all pirate crews still wandering the seas. They didn't seek to kill every pirate, only to eliminate the majority of the pirates' living 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, rushing around the world to suppress pirates.

Navy Headquarters, Marineford.

"Luffy, you lost the duel a few days ago. You wouldn't go back on your word, would you?"

Luffy sighed. Looking at his grandfather in front of him, although he was very annoyed, 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's 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 agency of the Navy, but adventurers are not managed by the Navy."

"Except for not being allowed to harm civilians and not being allowed to do bad things, there is no difference from your previous state. You can still take your partners and your ship to adventure on the sea."

Luffy's eyes lit up. He suddenly felt that joining the Adventurers Guild wasn't such an unacceptable thing after all.

"Then can we still be called the Straw Hat Pirates?"

Karl smiled without answering.

Garp, standing beside Karl, glared and said: "Of course not. Pirates are pirates, and adventurers are adventurers. They cannot be mentioned in the same breath."

Luffy gave a listless "Oh" and rubbed his somewhat empty stomach: "Then, does joining the Adventurers Guild provide meals?"

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

Luffy was silent for a long while, then looked back 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 joining the Adventurers Guild?"

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

The adventurers on Sabaody Archipelago discussed it heatedly, pointing fingers, which made the Straw Hat crew a bit uncomfortable. You have to know that when they were pirates, this group of adventurers looked at them 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 brief announcement, Sakazuki took the Straw Hat crew to his office.

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

Luffy took the proof and found an "S" written on it. He looked at Zoro's "A" grade and Franky's "B" grade, so he asked curiously: "What does S mean? Why is mine different from theirs?"

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

Hearing this, Luffy became interested: "Then can this grade be improved?"

"Not bad. By completing bounty commissions, besides obtaining a large amount of rewards, you can also gain fame. Once your fame accumulates to a certain level, you can apply for a promotion. After completing the promotion mission, your adventurer grade can be improved."

"But those are very difficult missions. Ordinary people might only be C-grade adventurers for their entire lives. Your strength is obvious to all, so I directly re-divided your grades according to your strength."

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

"F-grade: under 10,000 Berries; E-grade: around 50,000 Berries; D-grade: around 100,000 Berries; C-grade: around 500,000 Berries; B-grade: around 1,000,000 Berries; A-grade: around 3,000,000 Berries; S-grade... 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 Berries."

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

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