Chapter 79

"If we're looking for a doctor..."

Robin frowned slightly, and the information about nearby islands flashed rapidly in her mind.

She quickly locked onto a target and took one out from a pile of Eternal Poses in her bag.

"Let's go there. It's not far from here, we can arrive within two or three days, that great medical country covered in white snow all year round..."

"Understood."

Under the moonlight, the turtle puffed on its pipe, parted the calm sea, and galloped toward the end of the distant horizon.

New World, on an unknown island.

Inside the temporary stronghold of the World Economic News Agency, the sound of the fax Den Den Mushi spitting out paper and the sound of typewriters tapping were one after another.

President Morgans bit his cigar, his wings pinching a stack of freshly developed photos—can these really be called photos, or rather, just sketches with a high degree of simulation?

Regardless, the disheveled look of Akainu with his Marine cap lost and his neck bloody was clearly visible.

On the wall in front of him, there was a big screen.

On the screen, the black vulture stood there trembling, and next to it was the pajama-wearing sea otter, looking unhappy with its arms crossed.

"Even though you did something wrong, are you still looking at me with your necks stiff like this? Huh? The unlucky duo!"

The deputy scolded from the side, "Don't forget, after Baroque Works collapsed, you took the initiative to defect to President Morgans, and only then did you become special war correspondents for the World Economic News Agency."

"Since you are our official employees, you must follow our rules! We clearly equipped you with the most advanced cameras, so what's the meaning of insisting on using sketches? Even if they are drawn realistically, can they have the credibility of photos!"

The pajama-wearing sea otter turned its face away and snorted disdainfully from its nostrils.

"Chirp, chirp!" The black vulture hurriedly flapped its wings to defend its partner.

"You say he's a conservative?"

The deputy was furious, "Reporters don't need that kind of inexplicable persistence! You guys are so lucky to have the opportunity to take photos of big scenes that shock the world, yet you waste it so much. Are you trying to piss me and the President to death..."

"Eh, that doesn't include me."

Morgans suddenly spoke, waving his wings to interrupt the quarrel. He carefully examined this set of sketches, and the more he looked, the wider the arc of his mouth curled.

A close-up of Akainu's neck wound, the battlefield where magma fist peaks and black lightning intertwined, the female Vice Admiral with her neck twisted, and the black shadow of the *Rakumu* sailing away in the distance—

A series of sketch scenes, like a manga, presented the entire battle scene, and the framing and details were impeccable!

"Although I didn't take photos."

The News King suddenly grinned, and the cigar smoke ring sprayed onto the deputy's face, "But this is much more exciting than photos, isn't it!"

"Pre, President?" The deputy was stunned.

"Print an extra edition immediately!"

Morgans slapped the table suddenly, his eyes flashing with excitement, "After coloring these sketches, put them all up, and just say the reporter's photos were destroyed by the aftermath of the battle, and they were perfectly restored by hand afterward."

"For the headline, just write... forget it, the headline doesn't matter, big news! This is big news! Just put it on the newspaper, and it will naturally attract the world's attention and sell out directly!"

"But President."

The deputy looked troubled, "Didn't the World Government tell us not to disclose the killing of the Warlord of the Sea before? If this event is exposed, wouldn't it..."

"The World Government's request was to let me suppress the news for half a month to give them time to catch the criminals!"

Morgans grinned, "Half a month has passed now, you idiot! An Admiral went out personally and failed to catch the criminal. That's their own incompetence, what does it have to do with me!"

"Suppressing me once was already very annoying, and they still want to suppress me a second time? What I want is sales, what I want is for the whole world to be shocked speechless by our news, understand?!!!"

"And, do you think Marine Headquarters can really continue to cover it up this time?"

He picked up the coffee on the table and giggled, "They can't cover it up. Just wait, in my opinion, the new bounty for these pirates is already on the way..."

Can they stir up such a big commotion just after entering the Grand Line?

The future of this sea is really worth looking forward to.

————

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

In the Japanese-style conference room, more Marine generals and officers were seated on the wide tatami mats than last time, and the atmosphere was even more dull and oppressive.

The heavy sandalwood doors were tightly closed, isolating the outside light, with only a few dim wall lamps casting flickering light and shadows.

The lingering smoke did not dissipate in the room for a long time, and the man with grass-green hair came to the whiteboard, his face heavy.

"Gentlemen."

Brandnew's low voice broke the silence. He raised his hand and nailed a stack of bounty posters to the whiteboard, six in total, lined up.

"The Battle of Thor Island has become the biggest topic of recent discussion at Headquarters. I believe you have all read the detailed battle reports with your ranks."

His gaze swept over everyone present, "But the Staff Department believes that some details need to be analyzed emphatically."

"The cause of this battle can be traced back to the Loguetown incident. Facing the vicious criminals, Vice Admiral Onigumo died heroically without yielding, and the Rakumu Pirates were put on bounty for the first time because of this."

"After that was the killing of the Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile, at Whiskey Peak."

"Our Marine Headquarters has since lost a trusted friend on the same front, and this has made the Rakumu Pirates, led by Siano, even more rampant!"

"According to post-war intelligence analysis, this battle did not last long. It can be said that the strength of the Swordmaster Siano has completely exceeded the average level of the Warlords of the Sea!"

"Headquarters high-level officials have determined that the opponent has reached a level that Headquarters Vice Admirals cannot handle. Therefore, with the approval of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Admiral Akainu went out personally, determined to wipe out this group of people!"

"The result... everyone knows it. What followed was the Battle of Thor Island, which shocked the entire Headquarters."

Brandnew sighed.

"Vice Admiral Dalmatian was seriously injured, Vice Admiral Bumaia died heroically, several Rear Admirals and field-grade officers were severely injured, and even Mr. Sakazuki suffered a minor injury..."

"And what was exchanged for it?"

"It was the Rakumu Pirates, all escaped! Not a single one could be left behind!"

"But this is definitely not the fault of the two Vice Admirals, and even less the fault of Mr. Sakazuki!"

"It's ours!"

Brandnew's tone was painful:

"The failure of this operation is mainly due to two reasons. First, according to Vice Admiral Dalmatian's battle report, the Rakumu Pirates had a mysterious accomplice assisting in secret, who sabotaged key parts of the warship; second—"

"And the most critical mistake lies in the fact that our intelligence agencies and staff departments seriously underestimated the overall strength of this pirate crew!"

"This kind of fatal mistake will not happen again!"

He suddenly reached out, slapped the whiteboard heavily, and shouted sharply:

"Since the Crocodile incident can no longer be covered up, then just uncover it, settle the previous account together, and use the naked bounty numbers to announce to the world just how dangerous and fierce these pirates are!!!"

"First one!"

""Rain-Cutting Swordmaster" Kuina!"

"Previously, we only knew that the opponent had stepped into the realm of a Swordmaster, but we had always underestimated her specific strength because of her young girl's appearance. But in this battle at the Thor Island pier, she showed astonishing swordsmanship strength."

"Facing the experienced elite Vice Admiral Dalmatian from Headquarters alone, she only fell slightly behind, and after having accomplices to contain and assist, she even fought to a draw with Vice Admiral Dalmatian as the main front-line force!"

"And there is another key piece of intelligence..."

"In this battle, because Captain Siano was blocked on the other side by Mr. Sakazuki, all the battlefield scheduling arrangements were directed by this Swordmaster girl alone. Based on this, we can conclude that within the Rakumu Pirates, Kuina basically assumes the duties of Vice Captain!"

"With such strength and status within the ship, the original bounty is completely unmatched!"

Brandnew continued in a deep voice:

"Therefore, after research, the staff department unanimously passed a resolution to increase her bounty to—140 million berries!"

The generals and officers present bit their cigars and continued to puff smoke, saying nothing.

Most of them, even as Vice Admirals, were not Dalmatian's opponents at all.

If the battle situation was true, then the danger of this girl Swordmaster was indeed worthy of this bounty number.

"The next two, Red-Leg Zeff and the defector hunter Smoker!"

"The two also fought Bumaia while working together. After more than ten minutes of fierce fighting, they defeated Bumaia. Although this is certainly because Vice Admiral Bumaia had only recently been promoted and her strength ranked at the bottom... among the Headquarters Vice Admirals, everyone can also see from this that the strength of these two is also extremely extraordinary!"

"Therefore, Zeff's bounty is increased by 20 million, set at 100 million berries!"

"As for Smoker, considering that he was once a Marine and a proud disciple of Mr. Zephyr, becoming famous as a pirate will inevitably bring worse influence to the Marine's reputation, so the bounty is extra added, increased to 118 million berries!"

Two more over 100 million...

Plus the previous Swordmaster girl, there were three just among the crew members below?"

Everyone present became increasingly silent.

Such a pirate crew where everyone was a powerhouse and there were almost no flaws or weaknesses made them feel a bit like some terrifying existences in the New World for a while.

Fortunately.

Brandnew's next paragraph pulled them out of this bad premonition:

"Next, Orange-Haired Nami!"

"Previously, the staff department had some doubts. This underage girl had no combat power at all. Why did Siano, as Captain, have to keep such a burdensome sister by his side?"

"And now, according to the battle report that the Rakumu Pirates tried their best to send her to the ship first, and subsequent related analysis, the mystery has been completely solved!"

"This underage girl has outstanding navigation talent and is an indispensable professional navigator on the ship!"

Brandnew's face was solemn:

"The 8000 bounty previously set by the staff in a hurry was indeed a bit inappropriate, and it was really too underestimated."

"So this time, her bounty will be significantly increased!"

"Increased tenfold directly, set at 80,000 berries!"

"As for her sister Nojiko, she performed well in the battle assisting Vice Captain Kuina, and like the rest of the crew, she also mastered Armament Haki, which is rare among pirates in Paradise, so her bounty also got a leap."

"Of course, the magnitude of the increase is far less than her sister, Nami."

"The new bounty is, 65 million berries!"

Brandnew turned his head and looked at the last one of the six bounty posters.

That giant wolf that was roaring with its head up in the picture, with hair like snow and waterfalls, handsome and compelling.

"Next is a key point of this meeting."

"Colleagues who participated in the last Rakumu Pirates bounty setting meeting should remember that I previously boldly guessed that this animal called Gin was the second-strongest combat power after Siano."

"And this battle situation deeply indicates that my previous guess was not a problem at all!"

"Confirmed, this wolf possesses the dual ability to manipulate lightning and fire. It supported and roamed on the pier battlefield, almost tearing open the encirclement in most directions, yet no one could restrain it! It can be said to be the greatest contributor to the Rakumu Pirates' successful escape!"

"According to post-battle evaluation, the strength of this wolf has completely reached the level of a Headquarters Vice Admiral, extremely dangerous!"

The level of a Headquarters Vice Admiral?

Are you kidding!

This time, there was a slight uproar in the conference room.

Just a wolf... actually said it could rival a Headquarters Vice Admiral?

Doesn't this mean that most of the people present, if they met this wolf alone, would only have the fate of fleeing in a sorry state?

"Quiet!"

Brandnew looked around the audience, and after the private conversation died down, he continued:

"Considering this point, the bounty of this wolf will be directly increased to second on the ship."

"The new bounty is set at 150 million berries!"

"And the title, because of the fire manipulation ability it showed, is changed from 'Thunder Silver Wolf' to 'Thunder-Fire Azure Wolf'!"

"Finally..."

"It's that man!!!"

*Swish!*

As soon as the words fell, Brandnew suddenly reached out and tore down all the bounty posters on the whiteboard!

Replacing it was a bounty poster placed in the center, with a very familiar appearance.

This delicate and handsome face, this face that clearly looked harmless and quite friendly...

In these few days, everyone present didn't know how many times they had seen it in various report documents!

"The stubborn disease of Headquarters, the head of the crimes of the new generation, the bounty criminal who has set off huge waves in the entire Paradise and is extremely dangerous and terrifying—"

Brandnew's voice suddenly raised several keys:

"Swordmaster Siano!!!"

"Consecutively killing two Vice Admirals, Onigumo and Bumaia, and the Warlord of the Sea, Sand Crocodile, and successfully escaping from Admiral Akainu. Such a thorny guy, such cruel and fierce means to the extreme..."

"Even if it breaks the rules for him again, it is necessary under the current situation!!!"

"Therefore, the staff department unanimously passed the final resolution to increase his bounty from 180 million berries by two times—"

"New bounty, 540 million berries! It is the highest record for pirates in the first half of the Grand Line in Marine history!!!"