Chapter 94

"That's the original words Sengoku asked me to pass on."

Garp rubbed his chin. "Wait, no, it seems those were the original words from the Five Elders, and he was just passing them on."

"Then they seem to have gotten one thing wrong."

Siano said lightly: "When have I not been sailing openly and honestly on this sea?"

The boy pointed to the *Rakumu* behind him, where the white flag was fluttering in the wind.

"See that, old man?"

"What's this." Garp laughed. "So you never flew a pirate flag at all!"

"Stop playing dumb."

Siano grinned. "If I really did pirate deeds, would you still talk to me like this? If I signed the Seven Warlords agreement, I wouldn't be able to explain myself even with a hundred mouths, and I'd really become a so-called 'Great Pirate'."

Seven Warlords?

What good would it do him to be a Seven Warlord?

Just to cancel the bounty, just for that legal looting right that countless pirates dream of?

Screw that!

To be a dog for the World Government for something as foul-smelling as the Heavenly Tribute, to be at their beck and call, and even have to contribute his own blood?

He might as well have joined the army with Garp back in the Goa Kingdom!

He would at least be a Marine Vice Admiral by now!

"Speaking of which, old man."

The boy looked up, staring into Garp's eyes:

"I'm curious about one thing. Do Sengoku and the other Marine Headquarters higher-ups know that I'm not a pirate at all?"

Garp was silent for a while before sighing:

"For the big shots, sometimes, face is more important than the truth."

"Is that so?"

Siano laughed and threw the document back. "Then take this waste paper back. Also, please help me pass a message to them: if they want to deprive me of the right to 'sail openly and honestly' on the sea, then just try it!"

"Sigh..."

Garp took the document and rubbed his face. "What a headache. How am I supposed to report back? Although I expected you'd say that..."

He didn't give up and glanced at Siano:

"Really not signing?"

"No."

"What if I brought some top-quality tea leaves and shared two bags with you?"

"..." Three black lines appeared on Siano's forehead.

"I know, just kidding, Pwahahaha!"

Garp stood up laughing, tore the document into pieces, and the paper scraps like snowflakes drifted in the sea breeze:

"Then keep sailing on this sea! Kid! Let me see how far you can go on this road!"

He strode toward his dog-headed warship, and Bogard immediately came over to put a new Justice cloak on him.

Siano still sat in place, quietly watching Garp's receding back through the paper scraps drifting in the sky.

"Oh, right."

Garp suddenly turned back and scratched his head. "Almost forgot, Sengoku's order to me was to arrest you on the spot if the negotiation failed."

"I'm out of energy."

Siano spread his hands. "But if you still want to continue, I can accompany you to the end."

"Pwahahaha!!!"

Garp laughed and waved his hand. "What are you talking about? I even used Conqueror's Infusion just now, and I still couldn't take you down, right?"

He turned and strode toward the warship, waving at Siano with his back turned:

"That's it! I'll just say I didn't find anyone when I get back! Anyway, this sea is so big, it's normal to get lost!"

The dog-headed warship sailed away slowly, and the Marine soldiers on the deck still looked at the fragmented ice field with lingering fear.

Bogard stood beside Garp, worried, and asked in a low voice:

"Mr. Garp, is it really okay to go back like this?"

"What could be the problem?"

Garp took out a bag of senbei indifferently. "The kid is right, he's not a pirate to begin with, why should he sign some bullshit Seven Warlords agreement?"

"But the Five Elders..."

"Screw them!"

Garp stuffed a handful of senbei into his mouth and said vaguely, "I don't have the ability anyway, if those old geezers have the ability, they can come and catch him themselves!"

Hmm?

Wait.

Garp suddenly realized something was wrong and touched his bald head.

Where's my dog-head hat?

Garp looked blank, searching his body back and forth. He clearly remembered that when he was fighting heartily before, he felt the dog-head hat was blocking his vision, so he pulled it off and stuffed it into his pants pocket.

This scene seemed very familiar...

Bogard's heart tightened, and he subconsciously touched his own head.

Phew, good thing.

His hat wasn't lost.

Meanwhile, on the *Rakumu*.

Nojiko looked at the departing warship and couldn't help but ask: "Brother, what do we do next?"

Although she had expected it.

But the scene of her brother refusing the Seven Warlords so decisively was still too cool!

This was a position that could make countless people jealous!

Looking at the entire Grand Line, how many people could do it?

Truly worthy of being my brother!

It's just that, in this way, the World Government, having been slapped in the face, will definitely be angry and ashamed, and the future retaliation will definitely be more violent than before...

However, her question didn't get a response.

Because at this time, Siano, who seemed to be changing clothes with Nami's help, was actually focusing on the system panel in front of him.

[You sacrificed Garp's dog-head hat, gained 3800 points]

[Remaining points: 27000]

How much was the dog-head hat sacrificed in the Goa Kingdom worth back then? If he remembered correctly, it seemed to be 4000?

Why was this one two hundred less?

Thinking about it, the only explanation was that the previous dog-head hat had spent more time with Garp and had a deeper bond.

That made sense.

Siano shrugged, closed the system panel, and didn't realize he had forgotten that he could also fleece Bogard.

It couldn't be helped.

When they first met in the Goa Kingdom.

The faint aura of a swordsman emanating from Bogard was as sharp as a blade, making him not dare to underestimate him, and he had a curiosity in his heart, so he borrowed the other's hat on the spot to see how many points it had.

And now.

Times had changed, and the strength of the two was already worlds apart.

Although Siano had sensed Garp's warship with Observation Haki, Bogard, who hadn't appeared much, was directly classified by him as a level with no threat at all, and he didn't even think of this person throughout the whole process.

"Brother? Brother!" Nojiko increased her volume.

"Ha?"

Siano was startled and turned to look at her.

"What do we do? Of course, eat lunch, I'm starving."

He touched his empty stomach and smiled: "After eating, do whatever we want, continue our adventure!"

He took the lead and strode toward the dining room, and the other crew members smiled at each other and followed.

"Why do you seem extra happy, Nami?" Smoker walked at the end with a cigar in his mouth and looked at the front right in confusion.

"Nonsense!"

Nami rolled her eyes at him, stretched, and looked relieved:

"I was most afraid that brother would agree to sign the agreement. If he became a Seven Warlord, wouldn't my bounty be stuck at 80,000 Berries forever?"

"It won't necessarily rise if he doesn't become one." Smoker said softly.

Nami's movements stiffened, and she was suddenly furious:

"Waaaaah, Smoker, you bastard! I'm going to kill you!"

"Don't even think about it, you don't even know Armament Haki, you can't touch me at all."

"I don't need Haki! I can burn you to death with fire!"

"I've never heard of such a thing, but smoke can suppress flames, right?"

"Fart, fire suppresses smoke!"

"Smoke suppresses fire."

The corridor became noisy again, and the group of people played and fought all the way, and the originally tense atmosphere faded away.

Only Mochi followed at the end, jumping constantly, trying to attract everyone's attention—

Hey! Look at me, look at me, I've completed my first evolution because I couldn't wait to become stronger and help my master!

Now I'm a Meow-Meow Beast!

Pity, it was really too short.

Even after evolution, it was only thirty or forty centimeters tall, and it wasn't even as high as Nami's knees when it jumped.

For a while, no one noticed it.

—————

Holy Land, Mary Geoise.

In Pangea Castle, a CP0 member in a white coat was kneeling on the ground, reporting with sweat on his face.

Inside the conference room, the atmosphere was heavy.

"Refused?"

The blonde Five Elder Shepherd crushed the teacup in his hand, his expression gloomy:

"This is a Seven Warlords invitation letter that other pirates would kill for, and the treatment we offered was even more superior than usual. He still refused to sign the alliance?"

"Doesn't he look down on the position of Seven Warlord?"

Nasjuro, holding the cursed sword, said indifferently: "It seems we still underestimated this brat's ambition."

"What about Garp?"

Marcus Mars, with white hair and a long beard, spoke, "Since the other party is unwilling to sign the agreement, why not take him down on the spot?"

"They did fight, but the brat still got away."

The CP0 member hurriedly responded respectfully, "According to our intelligence, Garp chased him for a day and a night, but eventually lost his way on the sea, letting the other party escape."

Several Five Elders frowned.

"Useless old man."

Saturn sneered: "Where did the ability to chase Roger all over the place go? Now that he's given the chance, he can't even take down an eighteen-year-old brat."

"Garp's strength has indeed declined due to age, but it should still not be underestimated. In this situation, it can only mean that this kid's strength is even stronger than expected."

Nasjuro narrowed his eyes. "Of course, there is another possibility, which is as Sengoku said, Garp has an old friendship with this kid and doesn't want to kill him, so he's deliberately letting him go."

"That old man..."

Thinking of Garp's repeated refusal to be promoted to Admiral, Saturn's expression became much uglier.

He shook his head, not wanting to mention this matter again, and turned to look at the CP0 kneeling on the ground:

"What is Siano's bounty now?"

"540 million Berries." The CP0 member said quickly.

"Not enough! Defeated... no, killed two Seven Warlords, and escaped from Akainu and Garp one after another."

"This bounty can no longer match his current threat level!"

Saturn stood up and gave a cold order:

"Go, notify Marine Headquarters, tell them to immediately formulate a new bounty, set it high! Also, the candidates for the two vacant Seven Warlords spots should be discussed and submitted early. The balance of the sea must not be broken."

"Yes, Saint Saturn!"

The CP0 member saluted and left in a hurry.

————

Marine Headquarters.

Heavy rain poured down, and thick dark clouds pressed over Marineford, as if to swallow the entire fortress.

Since the news of Siano refusing the Seven Warlords agreement returned to Headquarters, the atmosphere of the entire fortress had been as gloomy and oppressive as the weather.

The Marine soldiers in the corridor walked hurriedly, their expressions heavy, and even their conversations were in low voices.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral, I understand, yes, please rest assured."

Senior Staff Officer Brannew put down the Den Den Mushi, tapped his knuckles on the table twice, and frowned.

He looked up and looked around; several colleagues in the office had already stopped their work, and their eyes were cast on him.

"The situation is worse than expected. The big shots in the Holy Land are furious about this and have ordered us to update the bounty for this group as quickly as possible."

Brannew stood up and said in a deep voice:

"Gather the other colleagues in the staff department and prepare for a meeting! Within an hour, I want to see a complete combat analysis report, and within two hours, a new bounty plan must be formulated!"

———

New World, on an unknown island.

Morgans was holding a cup of coffee, pacing back and forth behind the sofa in frustration.

"The results are out, President!"

The wooden door of the office was slammed open, and his deputy in a suit rushed in, panting, "Siano refused the Seven Warlords, the Marine Headquarters higher-ups are furious, and the new arrest warrant has been sent over!"

"Refused?!"

Morgans snatched the document. "Let me see!"

He browsed through the entire intelligence document at the fastest speed, and his eyes turned to the new bounty number.

Clang!

The coffee cup in Morgans' claw fell to the ground, and brown liquid splashed on his snow-white feathers.

The President of the World Economic News Agency didn't notice, his bird beak grinning exaggeratedly to his ears:

"Eehahaha! Didn't disappoint me, big news! This is a headline news that will shock the entire sea!"

The kind that didn't even need his processing!

The news of Hanafuda being killed could be released, plus the Seven Warlords alliance being rejected, Siano escaping from that famous Marine Hero Garp...

Plus the final blockbuster news—the new bounty for Siano's group!

Morgans couldn't even imagine how well this newspaper would sell across the world!

He grabbed the Den Den Mushi on the table and dialed the printing plant's number:

"It's me, President Morgans!"

"What? The newspaper for tomorrow morning is already being printed? Stop all current printing immediately! Throw those waste papers into the trash heap, I'm going to set tomorrow's front page myself!"

After hanging up, Morgans returned to his desk, humming a little tune, and excitedly took out the quill from the ink bottle.

He hadn't thought about how to write the headline, but he didn't think about it and skillfully wrote the first two words of the headline on the blank paper:

[SHOCKING—]

Next day, early morning.

In the office, Morgans was lying on the desk, his bird beak slightly open, feathers scattered messily on the desk, clearly having fallen into a deep sleep after working all night to rush the manuscript.

Beside his claw was a quill with wet ink.

And on the desk, it was piled with draft paper, densely written with headlines that had been repeatedly revised.

As a news worker who loved his job very much, Morgans always had high requirements for his writing.

The final front page of the newspaper had been carefully taken away by his deputy and sent to the printing plant.

The pungent smell of ink permeated the factory.

Brand new newspapers flew out from the assembly line like snowflakes, were quickly bundled by workers, and loaded into the news birds' mailbags.

"The first batch of newspapers is ready!"

"Release the birds! Release the birds immediately!"

With an order, countless news birds wearing mailbags and flapping their wings rushed into the sky, flying toward the four seas against the morning sun.

Spreading these heavy big news to every corner of the world...

————

New World.

On the *Moby Dick*, a grand banquet was being held.

It was to celebrate the end of their war with the Beasts Pirates.

Although the Four Emperors basically maintained a balance in the overall situation, it wasn't always calm.

There were always some frictions and collisions.

This small-scale war was a microcosm.

The main generals of both sides didn't go out in person, and only a small number of officers led their subordinates to participate in the war.

The Whitebeard Pirates finally achieved victory, cut off the claws and teeth extended by the Beasts from Wano, and successfully expanded their territory a little bit.

The bonfire on the deck was burning, and the wine barrels were piled up like mountains.

Marco raised his wine glass and jumped onto the main mast crossbar.

"Little ones!" He grinned. "For the new territory, for our great victory—cheers!"

"Ooooooh—!!!"

The crew responded loudly, the sound of wine glasses colliding and hearty laughter intertwined.

"Gurararara!"

Whitebeard's laughter sounded like thunder, he sat on his exclusive giant chair, the Murakumogiri leaning on his shoulder, and drank a whole barrel of strong wine:

"The little brats Kaido raised are still too green! How can they compare to my sons!"

"Hey, Pops! It's too foul to drink a whole barrel in one breath!"

Fourth Division Commander Thatch appeared from behind and took away the remaining wine barrel in dissatisfaction, "For your health, drink less wine!"

"Thatch!" Whitebeard was furious. "You killjoy, give the wine back to me!"

"No, no, just no!"

Thatch hid the wine barrel behind him, Whitebeard reached out to grab it, and the two fought for it, making the surrounding pirates laugh.

Just then, a news bird flapped its wings and landed on the side of the ship, with the latest newspaper in its mouth.

"Hey, Teach!"

Thatch shouted to the crew member next to him, "I'm busy, go get the newspaper and see what big news there is today!"

"No problem, Commander!"

Blackbeard Teach grinned, revealing a mouth missing a few teeth:

"Zehahaha! Little white bird, you came at such a good time. In my opinion, the newspaper office must have learned the result of this war and reported it urgently overnight to announce the victory of our Whitebeard Pirates to the world!"

He walked over quickly, took the newspaper from the news bird's mouth, and threw a few coins over.

He also touched the news bird's head with a smile and watched it leave.

However.

When Teach unfolded the newspaper, the smile on his face instantly froze.

No Whitebeard, no Beasts, the front page headline had nothing to do with them.

Occupying the layout was a huge arrest warrant, and the black-haired boy carrying a sword was laughing wantonly in the lens.

And above, was the bolded extra-large headline!

—《Shocking the Grand Line! Killing two Seven Warlords in a row, the most arrogant pirate, Sword Master Siano refuses the Seven Warlords invitation, World Government is furious, emergency bounty increase!》

"Zehahaha... this is really..." Blackbeard narrowed his eyes, staring at this headline, muttering in a low voice, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"Hey, Teach!"

Marco noticed his strangeness, jumped down from the mast, and grabbed the newspaper: "What's wrong? What news makes you so surprised?"

When he saw the content clearly, his pupils also shrank suddenly, and he screamed:

"One billion?! A whole one billion Berries? This guy's bounty actually doubled all at once?!"