Chapter 115: New Bounties, Breaking Records!

"If we go to find a doctor..."

Robin frowned slightly, information about nearby islands flashing rapidly through her mind.

She quickly locked onto a target, pulling out one needle from the pile of Eternal Poses in her bag.

"Let's go there; it's not far from here, reachable within two or three days—that great medical nation covered year-round in pristine white snow..."

"Understood."

Under the moonlight, the turtle puffed on its pipe with a clacking sound, slicing through the calm sea surface as it sped toward the distant horizon.

In the New World, on some unnamed island.

Inside the temporary base of the World Economic News Company, the sound of the Fax Den Den Mushi spitting out paper and the clatter of typewriters rose and fell in turns.

President Morgans, cigar dangling from his beak, held a stack of freshly developed photos in his wings—could these really be called photos, or were they merely sketches of extremely high simulation?

Regardless, the image clearly showed Akainu's disheveled state: his marine cap missing, the flesh and blood around his neck a mess.

On the wall before him hung a large screen.

On the screen, a black vulture stood trembling, while beside it stood a sea otter in pajamas, arms crossed and looking thoroughly displeased.

"You messed up, yet you still stare at me with your neck stiff like that? Huh? You pair of bad omens!"

The deputy scolded from the side, "Don't forget, after Baroque Works collapsed, it was you two who voluntarily pledged allegiance to Lord Morgans, thus becoming the World Economic News Company's invited war correspondents."

"Since you are now our formal employees, you must follow our rules! We equipped you with the most advanced cameras, so what is the meaning of insisting on using sketches? No matter how realistic the drawing, can it possess the credibility of a photograph!"

The pajama-clad sea otter turned its face away, snorting disdainfully through its nose.

"Choo, choo-choo!" The black vulture hurriedly flapped its wings, defending its partner.

"You say he is an old-fashioned conservative?"

The deputy flew into a rage, "Reporters do not need such nonsensical persistence! You had such good luck, a chance to capture a scene that would shock the world, yet you squandered it so wastefully; are you trying to anger me and the President to death before..."

"Eh, don't include me in that."

Morgans suddenly spoke, waving a wing to interrupt the argument as he carefully examined this set of sketches, the curve of his smile growing wider the more he looked.

A close-up of the wound on Akainu's neck, the battlefield where magma fists intertwined with black lightning, the female Vice Admiral with her neck twisted broken, and the dark silhouette of the Curtain-Call sailing away in the distance—

This series of sketch scenes presented the entire battle like a comic, with storyboarding and visual details that were utterly flawless!

"Although no photos were taken."

The News King suddenly grinned, blowing a ring of cigar smoke into the deputy's face, "But this is far more exciting than photos, isn't it!"

"Pr-President?" The deputy froze.

"Immediately print an extra edition!"

Morgans slammed the table fiercely, excitement and fervor flashing in his eyes, "Color these sketches and put them all in; claim that the reporters' photos were destroyed by the aftermath of the battle, and these are hand-drawn perfect restorations made afterward."

"As for the headline... forget it, any headline will do; this is big news! This is huge news! Just placing it in the newspaper will naturally attract the world's attention and sell out instantly!"

"But, President."

The deputy looked troubled, "Didn't the World Government previously ask us not to disclose the matter of the Warlord being killed? If this incident is exposed, wouldn't that be..."

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

Morgans bared his teeth in a grin, "Half a month has already passed, you Bai Chi! An Admiral personally went out and still failed to catch the culprit; that is their own incompetence, what does it have to do with me!"

"Suppressing me once was already extremely annoying, and now you want to suppress me a second time? What I want is sales volume, I want the entire world to be so shocked by our news that they are rendered speechless, understand?!!"

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

He picked up the coffee on the table and chuckled, "It cannot be covered; just wait and see, in my opinion, the new bounties for these pirates are already on their way..."

To cause such a huge commotion immediately upon entering the Grand Line?

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

————

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

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

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

Lingering smoke hung in the room for a long time without dispersing as the man with grass-green hair approached the whiteboard, his expression grave.

"Everyone."

Brannew's low voice broke the silence; he raised his hand and pinned a stack of wanted posters onto the whiteboard, six in total, arranged in a row.

"The Battle of Tor Island has become the biggest topic of recent discussion at Headquarters; I believe that with your respective ranks, you have all already seen the detailed battle reports."

His gaze swept over everyone present, "However, the Staff Department believes certain details require focused analysis."

"The cause of this battle traces back to the major incident at Loguetown; facing ruthless villains, Vice Admiral Onigumo refused to yield even in death and heroically perished, which also led to the Curtain-Call Pirates receiving their first bounties."

"Next was the incident where Warlord Crocodile was ruthlessly killed at Whiskey Shanfeng."

"Our Marine Headquarters thereby lost a trustworthy ally on the same front line, which also caused the gang of Curtain-Call Pirates, led by Siano, to become even more rampant!"

"According to post-battle intelligence analysis, this fight did not last long; it can be said that the strength of the Great Swordsman Siano has completely surpassed the average level of the Warlords!"

"Senior Headquarters officials have thus determined that the opponent has reached a level that Vice Admirals cannot handle; therefore, with Fleet Admiral Sengoku's approval, Admiral Akainu personally went out, determined to annihilate this group entirely!"

"The result... everyone knows it already; what greeted us was the Battle of Tor Island, which shocked the entire Headquarters."

Brannew sighed.

"Vice Admiral Dalmatian was seriously injured, Vice Admiral Brumaa heroically perished, multiple Rear Admirals and field-grade officers suffered heavy casualties, and even Mr. Sakazuki sustained a minor injury..."

"And what did we gain in exchange?"

"It was the Curtain-Call Pirates escaping in their entirety! Not a single one was captured!"

"But this is absolutely not the fault of the two Vice Admirals, nor is it Mr. Sakazuki's fault!"

"It is ours!"

Brannew's voice was heavy with grief:

"This operation failed for two main reasons. First, according to Vice Admiral Dalmeccia's battle report, the Curtain Fall Pirates have a mysterious accomplice providing covert assistance, who sabotaged key parts of the warship; second—"

"And this is the most critical error: our intelligence agency and staff department severely underestimated the overall strength of this pirate crew!"

"Such a fatal mistake will not happen again!"

He suddenly thrust out his hand, slamming it heavily onto the whiteboard, and shouted sternly:

"Since the Crocodile incident can no longer be covered up, let us simply expose it, settle the accounts from last time together, and use bare bounty numbers to proclaim to the world just how dangerous and vicious this pirate crew truly is!!!"

"First place!"

"'Rain-Slaying Swordmaster' Sister Sister Guyina!"

"Previously, we only knew she had entered the realm of Swordmaster, but regarding her specific strength, we always underestimated her due to her youthful, girlish appearance; however, in this battle at Toru Island's docks, she displayed astonishing swordsmanship."

"Facing Dalmeccia, an elite Vice Admiral with deep seniority at Headquarters, she fell only slightly behind on her own, and with allies providing restraint and support, she served as the main frontline force, fighting Vice Admiral Dalmeccia to a standstill!"

"There is also a crucial piece of intelligence..."

"In this battle, since Captain Siano was blocked on the other side by Mr. Sakazuki, all battlefield command and arrangements were directed solely by this swordmaster girl; from this, we can conclude that within the Curtain Fall Pirates, Sister Sister Guyina essentially bears the responsibilities of Vice Captain!"

"With such strength and status within the ship, her original bounty no longer matches her at all!"

Brannew continued in a deep voice:

"Therefore, after deliberation, the staff department unanimously passed a resolution to raise her bounty to—140 million Berries!"

One hundred and forty million?

The officers present bit their cigars, continuing to exhale clouds of smoke without speaking.

The vast majority of them, even though they were also Vice Admirals, were simply no match for Dalmeccia.

If the battle report was accurate, then the danger posed by this young swordmaster girl indeed warranted this bounty figure.

"Next are the following two: Red Leg Zeff and the renegade hunter Smoker!"

"The two of them, also fighting in tandem, engaged Vice Admiral Bumaya; after a fierce battle lasting over ten minutes, they defeated Bumaya. While this was partly due to Vice Admiral Bumaya having recently been promoted and ranking near the... bottom among Headquarters Vice Admirals in terms of strength, everyone can also see from this that the strength of these two is extremely formidable!"

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

"As for Smoker, considering he was formerly a marine and the prized disciple of Mr. Zephyr, his fame as a pirate will inevitably bring even more detrimental effects to the Marines' reputation; thus, his bounty receives an additional increase, raised to 118 million Berries!"

Two more exceeding one hundred million...

Adding the swordmaster girl from before, does that mean there are already three just among the lower-ranking crew members?

The people present grew increasingly silent.

This pirate crew, where every member was a powerhouse with almost no exploitable weaknesses, momentarily reminded them of certain terrifying existences in the New World.

Fortunately.

Brannew's next words pulled them out of this ominous premonition:

"Next, Orange-Haired Nami!"

"Previously, the staff department had been somewhat puzzled: this underage girl possessed no combat capability whatsoever, so why did Captain Siano insist on keeping such a burdensome little sister by his side?"

"But now, based on the battle report showing the Curtain Fall Pirates exerting their utmost effort just to get her aboard the ship first, along with subsequent related analyses, the mystery has been completely solved!"

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

Brannew's expression was solemn:

"The provisional bounty of 8,000 previously set by the staff in haste was indeed inappropriate; we truly underestimated her far too much."

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

"Directly increased tenfold, set at 80,000 Berries!"

"As for her older sister Nojiko, she performed excellently while assisting Vice Captain Sister Sister Guyina in battle, and like the rest of the crew, she has also mastered Armament Haki, which is rare among pirates in Paradise; thus, her bounty has also received a significant leap."

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

"Her new bounty is 65 million Berries!"

Brannew turned his head, looking at the last of the six wanted posters.

It depicted a giant wolf, head thrown back in a roar within the image, its fur white as snow and cascading like a waterfall, exuding a handsome and imposing aura.

"Next is a rather critical point of this meeting."

"Colleagues who attended the previous bounty-setting meeting for the Curtain Fall Pirates should remember that I boldly guessed then that this animal, known as Ah Yin, was the second strongest combatant, second only to Siano."

"And the circumstances of this battle profoundly demonstrate that my previous guess was indeed completely correct!"

"It has been confirmed that this wolf possesses the dual abilities to manipulate lightning and fire; supporting freely on the dock battlefield, it nearly tore open the encirclement formations in most directions, yet no one could restrain it! It can be said to be the greatest contributor to the Curtain Fall Pirates' successful escape!"

"According to post-event assessment, this wolf's strength has fully reached the level of a Headquarters Vice Admiral; it is extremely dangerous!"

The level of a Headquarters Vice Admiral?

Are you kidding me!

This time, a slight uproar erupted in the meeting room.

Just a wolf... and they say it can rival a Headquarters Vice Admiral?

Doesn't that mean that most people here, if they encountered this wolf alone, would have no choice but to flee in disgrace?

"Silence!"

Brannew scanned the entire room; once the whispers and chatter subsided, he continued:

"Taking this into account, this wolf's bounty will be directly raised to second place on the ship."

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

"Furthermore, due to its demonstrated ability to manipulate fire, its title has been changed from 'Thunder Silver Wolf' to 'Thunder-Flame Azure Wolf'!"

"Finally..."

"It is that man!!!"

Whoosh!

The moment his words fell, Brannew suddenly reached out and tore down every wanted poster on the whiteboard!

In their place, a single wanted poster was placed right in the center, depicting a face extremely familiar to all.

That delicate, handsome face, that face which clearly looked harmless and quite approachable...

In these past few days, everyone present had already seen it countless times within various reports and documents!

"The chronic disease of Headquarters, the ringleader of the new generation's evil, the bounty hunter whose extreme danger and terror have once again stirred towering waves across the entire Paradise—"

Brannew's voice suddenly rose several octaves:

"The Great Sword Hero, Siano!!!"

"Having consecutively slain the two Vice Admirals Onigumo and Blumarine, as well as the Warlord of the Sea, Sir Crocodile, and successfully escaped with his life from beneath Admiral Akainu's hand—such a thorny fellow, employing methods so cruel and ferocious to the extreme..."

"Even breaking the rules again for his sake is necessary under the current circumstances!"

"Therefore, the Staff Department has unanimously passed the final resolution to raise his bounty from 180,000,000 Berries, lifting it twofold in one breath—"

"The new bounty: 540,000,000 Berries! The highest record in history for a pirate in the first half of the Grand Line since the start of the Sea Circle Calendar!!!"

(End of Chapter)