NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: Skyrocketing Bounty
"This time, the bounty will be drawn up directly by the headquarters."
"After all, the threat these two people display is not at the same level as the other pirates in the East Blue."
"You have to know that the East Blue is known as the most peaceful sea in the world. The average bounty for pirates is less than five million. Even the most threatening Arlong Pirates, their captain, only have a bounty of twenty million Belly."
"But it is foreseeable that the new bounties on Fire Fist Ace and White Knight Gawain will definitely be higher than this number!"
"This is an insult to the East Blue, and it is also a denial of the abilities of everyone present here!"
As Brannew's voice fell, the faces of all the officers in the room became gloomy.
It was because Brannew's words were almost a slap in their faces, but after all, the problem occurred in the sea area under their responsibility, so even if they wanted to refute, they didn't have the confidence.
But someone couldn't swallow this.
To the left of Brannew, the commander of the 16th branch, who looked like a mouse, said in a weird tone: "After all, he is an experienced marine from headquarters, so he is straightforward in what he says and does."
His words attracted the attention of the people around him.
Brannew glanced at him and frowned slightly but was too lazy to explain anything.
Brannew turned around and continued:
"The people in headquarters, especially the one from the East Blue, will pay close attention to this matter. Please be careful in what you say and do."
"From the East Blue... Vice-Admiral Garp?"
Nezumi blurted out, and then his pupils shrunk sharply.
Everyone present suddenly sat up straight and looked at Brannew with serious faces.
If this news is true, it means that Vice-Admiral Garp may be planning to return to the East Blue to suppress the pirates.
And every suppression of pirates also means cleansing the East Blue Marines, from top to bottom, from inside to outside, to eliminate the insects that parasite the flesh and blood of the Marines and replace them with new blood.
It is foreseeable that countless people will fall because of this.
"If this is true, then we must prepare in advance!"
"The pirates around in the sea need to be cleared out, and the pests inside also need to be thoroughly investigated!"
Everyone was filled with awe.
Nezumi was already sweating profusely at this point, and by the time the meeting was over, his vest was already wet.
… … ...
East Blue, on the sea.
The wind is light, and the waves are slow.
Seabirds flew over the sea, causing sea beasts hiding under the water to jump out of the water and then sink back into the sea.
The size of the buildings, which are often tens of meters long, gives off a sense of unreality.
It also made Gawain realize that he was no longer in the peaceful world of his previous life but in the world of One Piece.
Plunder, violence, and chaos are the eternal themes of this ocean.
The strong men who reached the top kept changing, but there were always new people sailing out to sea, and now Gawain became one of them.
To be honest, if there is a choice, the most ideal start in the world of One Piece would be to be one of the Celestial Dragons or the Marines.
There are stable promotion channels, and he can unlock the Six Styles of the Marines by following the routine promotions.
Even the channels to obtain devil fruits are far more numerous than those of pirates.
Gawain, who had just killed Morgan and whose name was on the wanted list, naturally had no chance of joining the Marines.
Then, the only option is to stick to the path of being a pirate.
"Only powerful strength can give you a foothold in this world."
Gawain murmured.
But at this moment, a News Coo wearing a hat flew from a distance.
After circling the warship several times, the News Coo dropped a newspaper on the deck and slowly flew away.
The pirate guarding the deck picked up the newspaper, but before he opened it, a stack of bounty sandwiched between the newspapers fell to the ground.
The pirate was about to pick up the bounty when he saw Gawain's photo. However, the number marked below the photo was not the eight million he remembered.
The pirate realized what was happening and suddenly took a breath:
"One, ten, hundred, thousand... Four, four, four!"
"Why are you stuttering?!"
The pirate standing next to him snatched the bounty but was also shocked by Gawain's exaggerated bounty because the number directly broke the bounty ceiling of the East Blue in recent years.
"White Knight Gawain, bounty... 48 million Belly?!"
"How much?"
Everyone was attracted by his voice and gathered around. Seeing the bounty on Gawain increase sixfold, they were so shocked that they turned completely speechless for a moment.
They were stunned for more than ten seconds before they realized what was happening and exclaimed in surprise.
"Forty-eight million?!"
"Now we, no, the captain is going to become famous in the East Blue!"
"You should know that before this, the highest bounty in the East Blue was only 20 million Belly!"
"This... We just defeated Morgan, and the next one we have to face is the East Blue's entire Marines?"
Some people looked pale and felt that the future was dark.
The amount of the bounty also reflects the importance the Marines attach to it.
Forty-eight million is the highest bounty ever offered in the East Blue in the past decade or so. It is not difficult to imagine that Gawain will face pursuit and interception by the Marines next.
The man was a little timid for a moment but was mercilessly ridiculed by his companions.
"Are you stupid?!"
"We can't turn back now. The more famous the captain is, the safer we will be!"
"Besides, who can say that was the captain's full strength on the island before?"
… … ...
Gawain naturally noticed the different opinions of the crowd.
He pushed away the pirates who were surrounding the edge, and the pirate holding the newspaper handed over the bounty sensibly. Looking at the skyrocketing number on the bounty, Gawain's mouth curled up slightly.
In his opinion, there should be no higher bounty than him in the East Blue, and the bounty and the title would be beneficial to his future plans.
Gawain looked at his own bounty, then put it aside and turned to look through several other bounty warrants.
"Kuro of a Hundred Plans, 14 million Belly..."
"Gin the Man-Demon, 11 million Belly..."
"Saw-Tooth Arlong, 20 million Belly..."
"Um?"
Gawain's hand paused slightly.
Just because a familiar face appeared in front of him.
Although the man in the photo looked much younger than he remembered.
But he could recognize him at a glance, whether it was the freckles on his face or the uniquely shaped hat.
The man on the bounty was the only living descendant of the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger.
Portgas D. Ace, nicknamed Fire Fist, has a bounty of 50 million Belly!
Even higher than Gawain!
The original limit on bounty at the East Blue was exceeded by the two of them one after another.
Gawain, however, remembered something else. He raised his hand and touched his chin, his eyes shining:
"Ace's talent should be far above these ordinary pirates."
"Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to reach the level of being the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' second division in just a few years and even be able to compete with an Admiral-level marine like Aokiji for a short period of time."
"If I can get him on board, my growth rate will have a qualitative leap."
"But..."
"Logia users are hard to deal with without Armament Haki."
"Zoro has no fixed place to stay, and his whereabouts are secretive and hard to find. So my only choice now is Baratie, the ocean-going restaurant."
As Gawain thought about this, he gradually came up with a plan in his mind.
But at this moment, a system prompt sounded in his mind again…
"Congratulations on unlocking the badge: Rising Fame!"
"You can check the potential ability of your crew!"