Chapter 58

A few days later.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

The towering fortress stood quietly, facing the magnificent and vast square in front, and the huge harbor shaped like a crescent moon.

And on the right side of the fortress, in a Japanese-style building like a castle tower.

In a conference room laid with tatami mats, more than a dozen figures wearing justice coats sat in two rows, with sake and grilled fish placed on the low tables in front of them.

But no one moved, and the atmosphere in the conference room was quite oppressive and dull.

Amidst the smoke, only the sound of puffing on cigars could be heard.

"It seems everyone has already heard the wind."

Senior Staff Officer Brandnew stepped into the conference room and came to the whiteboard, scratching his messy, grass-green bird's nest hair.

"That's right, over in the East Blue, a nest of vicious pirates suddenly popped up a few days ago, very tricky."

"Vicious?"

A white-haired Rear Admiral sneered, "Are you really embarrassed to use this word? I feel ashamed just hearing it. The internal investigation report is written clearly—wasn't it caused by that guy Onigumo going crazy and shelling Loguetown?"

"Watch your words."

A young Commodore said indifferently: "It has nothing to do with Mr. Onigumo. It was an order given by Altay, who has Celestial Dragon bloodline. A soldier's duty is to obey orders, what else could he do."

"He's not even a pure-blooded Celestial Dragon. If he really didn't want to comply, there are plenty of ways to disobey while appearing to comply. Could that Altay really do anything to a dignified Headquarters Vice Admiral?"

The white-haired Rear Admiral was furious, his voice suddenly raising a pitch.

"What excuses are you looking for! It's clearly that this guy's old problem has flared up again! Seeing pirates gathered, he wanted to go over and slaughter them for fun, not caring about the safety of the civilians, and as a result, he provoked a tough nut! Thinking that I share the same rank as such a person, I feel deeply ashamed!!!"

"Don't get excited, Mr. Fahn."

Brandnew rubbed his temples with a headache, helplessly persuading:

"I won't judge Onigumo's behavior for now, and this isn't the theme of our meeting today. Can you put it aside and argue about it privately after the meeting?"

Hmph!

Rear Admiral Fahn turned his head away, snorting a rough breath from his nostrils, which counted as a reluctant response.

Brandnew shook his head. As one of the most senior staff officers at Headquarters, he was long used to this.

Vice Admiral Onigumo, who is a Headquarters Vice Admiral, is considered the most extreme among the hawks in the entire Marine Headquarters and has always been disliked by the doves.

Since the "Loguetown Incident" occurred, various departments at Headquarters have had many arguments about the role Onigumo played in it.

This scene in the staff meeting today is just a microcosm.

"In short, Headquarters Vice Admiral Onigumo was publicly 'executed'—I don't want to use this word, but it's the most accurate description of the scene at the time."

Brandnew continued, "And the King of the Pease Kingdom, Altay, whom he was responsible for protecting, also died on the warship."

"The Pease Kingdom royal family has sent multiple urgent letters urging an investigation, with intense wording, even threatening to take it to the Holy Land. The impact of this incident can be described as extremely bad."

"So, as I just said, no matter what position or view everyone holds toward Mr. Onigumo, it's not important. The attitude of the higher-ups toward the Loguetown incident itself is clear: we must focus on this group of people and nip them in the bud as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he took out a large stack of wanted posters and pasted them on the whiteboard one by one.

"First is this one!"

SNAP, the thin stick in Brandnew's hand pointed to the old man with a braided beard in the wanted poster on the right.

"Red-Leg Zeff! Former captain of the Cook Pirates, bounty 50 million Berries. Several years ago, he took his crew to the Grand Line for a year before returning to the East Blue, and has since disappeared."

"The staff department had been paying continuous attention to him for a while, and later generally believed that he was too old and had retired. But no one expected that he would lower his status and go back to sea as an ordinary cook on someone else's ship."

"It is worth noting that this person's right leg was replaced by a prosthetic limb made of unknown metal for some reason, showing the ability to control fire and lightning, and can fly directly in the air."

"At the same time, he has also mastered several Six Powers physical arts, and his strength has greatly improved compared to before. In the Loguetown incident, he was even able to fight the outstanding Rear Admiral Hound to a standstill."

"Rear Admiral Hound?"

Everyone's expression was heavy. Some of them were from the same period as Hound in the Headquarters Elite Training Camp and knew his background; he could be described as outstanding among the Headquarters Rear Admirals.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely be a priority candidate for promotion to the new generation of Headquarters Vice Admirals.

And such a powerful old man, in this newly emerged pirate crew, his position is actually just a cook?

"Based on this information, after discussion by the staff, the final bounty is set at 80 million Berries! Nickname: 'Steel Red-Leg'!"

Brandnew finished saying in a deep voice, and moved the stick to the left by one position, "Let's look at this one!"

In the photo, a black-haired girl with a high ponytail is standing sideways to the camera, watching the front quietly in the heavy rain. Her clothing and the Wado Ichimonji at her waist are as simple and unadorned as she is.

"Kuina, a girl of mysterious origin. Several years ago, she won the local swordsmanship championship on Shallow Cherry Island in the East Blue, and then disappeared for several years. This time, as soon as she went to sea, she showed the powerful strength of a swordsman level at a young age!"

"And this time, it's her first bounty, 75 million Berries! Nickname: 'Rain-Slicing Swordsman'!"

A first bounty of 75 million Berries.

This is an incredible amount for a pirate from the East Blue.

But the people present weren't too surprised. The swordsman realm is rare even in the first half of the Grand Line, and it's worthy of this bounty level.

"The next two, 'Iron Fist' Nojiko and 'Orange-Hair' Nami, according to the investigation, are both younger sisters of the man named Siano."

Brandnew pointed to the sisters with completely different styles on the whiteboard:

"Among them, Nojiko possesses considerable combat power, is proficient in several fist techniques and Six Powers physical arts. Although her battle with Rear Admiral Yachi was slightly at a disadvantage, she successfully shattered Rear Admiral Yachi's intention to support with her own strength."

"Therefore, the bounty is set at 40 million Berries!"

"As for this underage girl named Nami..." Brandnew frowned slightly, "She didn't participate in the frontal battle in the Loguetown incident. After research and judgment, it should be that she was just brought on board because of her blood relationship with the Captain, and basically possesses no combat power. But because she also participated in this incident, the bounty still can't be avoided."

"Tentative bounty, 8000 Berries!"

(End of chapter)