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Chapter 165: All Bounties Raised!
🕑 Added 2025-09-02 13:56:24 +0000 UTCChapter 165: All Bounties Raised!
New World, a secret island.
In the largest office of the World Economic Journal, Morgans sat on a sofa, a large bucket of caramel popcorn in his lap, enjoying the show on the screen as if he were watching a movie, occasionally tossing a few kernels into his mouth.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
At the climax, Morgans couldn't help but flap his wings and laugh with excitement, the popcorn scattering on the floor, forgotten. "This is a real super big news story! No, I should say the best news story of the year! That man, he really didn't disappoint me!"
Squeak~
"President, I just received some bad news. There was a major incident in Sabaody,"
Just then, his new young assistant pushed open the door, a grim expression on his face. "But all the firsthand information, including photos and the details of the scene, have been monopolized by the Sabaody newspaper… hmm?"
The assistant suddenly froze, a look of utter disbelief on his face as he stared at the large screen.
The image on the screen was of Shane fighting the Dark King, Rayleigh.
"Surprised?"
Morgans looked at him with a grin and then pointed to the large stack of photos and documents under the screen. "You didn't expect that I'd already have all of this in my hands, did you?"
"This…"
The young assistant flipped through the photos, his jaw dropping further and further. "So detailed… is this all firsthand information, President? How did you get it?"
"Of course it's all firsthand! Even this Transponder Snail is the one that was responsible for the live broadcast! The recording is stored inside it!"
Morgans laughed heartily. "You fool! You rookie! I am the king of news on this sea! Those small newspapers have long since been infiltrated by me! They can have the scraps, but they'll never be able to snatch the meat from my mouth!"
As the industry leader, the absolute monopoly, of course he had his methods!
"As expected of you," the young assistant said, his voice full of genuine admiration. He suddenly came to a photo that was marked "Front Page Cover" and, after a moment's hesitation, he said, "President, are you really going to use this photo as the cover? Isn't that a little too provocative?"
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Morgans chuckled. "Anyway, the people in the Holy Land only warned me not to publish Shane's crazy ramblings. They didn't say anything on Kizaru's behalf."
He was in partnership with the World Government. The only ones who could restrict his news were the higher-ups in the Holy Land, not even Marine Headquarters!
As for the Admirals themselves, they were all busier than the other. Would they really go out of their way to come after him for something so trivial?
"Go, tell the printing press not to clock out yet. We're going to be busy tonight," he said, waving a wing and looking out the window with a grin. "Now, all is ready. All we have to do is wait for Marine Headquarters to issue the new wanted posters…"
————
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The imposing fortress stood silent.
In a Wano-style meeting room with tatami mat floors, the doors were tightly closed, and the room was dimly lit, the air filled with a musty smell, as if it hadn't been used in a while.
Suddenly, the doors were pushed open, and a gust of wind blew in, making the wanted posters on the whiteboard flap and flutter.
Those were the wanted posters from the last discussion meeting, which hadn't been taken down yet.
In the center was a man with a captain's hat, an exaggerated clown makeup, and a conspicuous big nose. Beside it was a note from the meeting:
[BUGGY THE GENIUS JESTER, FORMER CREW MEMBER OF THE ROGER PIRATES, FORMER BOUNTY: 80 MILLION BERRIES]
[AFTER BEING FORCED INTO THE GRAND LINE SEVERAL YEARS AGO, HE HAS KEPT A LOW PROFILE, SEEMINGLY OBSESSED WITH TREASURE HUNTING, AND RARELY APPEARS IN PUBLIC. THEREFORE, HEADQUARTERS' INTEREST IN HIM HAS DECLINED.]
[WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT, THINKING THE COAST WAS CLEAR, HE WOULD START TO ACT UP AGAIN, AND, IN THE CITY OF SPRING, HE WOULD ATTACK A CP9 UNIT, SERIOUSLY INJURING THREE AGENTS AND STEALING TWO PRECIOUS DEVIL FRUITS FROM THE WORLD GOVERNMENT.]
[THEREFORE, THE MEETING HAS DECIDED TO RESUME THE PURSUIT AND RAISE HIS BOUNTY TO 130 MILLION BERRIES!]
Next to it was another wanted poster, of a lion with a purple mane.
[RICHIE THE LION, FORMER BOUNTY: 200,000 BERRIES]
[DEFEATED THE ACE AGENT OF CP9, JABRA, AND DEMONSTRATED A SPECIAL ABILITY TO SUPPRESS ZOAN-TYPE USERS. THEREFORE, BOUNTY INCREASED TO 70 MILLION BERRIES!]
Below were two other wanted posters, with very low amounts and only a few words in the notes.
[VICE-CAPTAIN MOHJI, CHIEF OF STAFF CABaji, ASSESSED AS LOW STRENGTH, NO BOUNTY INCREASE NECESSARY]
SWISH!
In the next moment, a large hand reached out.
It tore the wanted posters from the board, crumpled them into a ball, and tossed them into the trash can beside it. Then, it turned on the chandelier.
The lights came on, revealing the grim face of a man with green hair and black sunglasses.
—It was the Senior Staff Officer of Headquarters, Brannew.
"Gentlemen, you may enter," he said, turning to the door.
With his words, a dozen or so figures in white greatcoats entered the meeting room one by one. Servants also hurried in, bringing them sake and food.
Their faces were all a little grim, and they were all burly and imposing.
From their epaulets, the lowest rank among them was Rear Admiral, and Vice Admirals made up the majority.
And sitting at the head of the table on the right was an old, stooped woman with a wrinkled face—the Chief of Staff of Headquarters, Tsuru!
Under the watchful gaze of so many big shots, even Brannew, who was used to hosting meetings, was a little nervous. He cleared his throat and began, "Thank you all for taking the time to attend this meeting. I'm sure you've all heard why this meeting is being held at such a high level…"
"Let's skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point, Brannew,"
Tsuru said, rubbing her temples, her voice a little weary. "I've just come back from a meeting at the Holy Land. I have no desire to hear again how Marine Headquarters has been greatly disgraced in the Sabaody Archipelago."
"..."
The other high-ranking officers in the room were all puffing on their cigars, their faces grim, saying nothing.
That incident, as the old senior had said, was better left unmentioned…
An Admiral candidate had been killed on the spot, a combined fleet of Headquarters' elite and the Sabaody Archipelago branch had been swept aside, and in the end, even two active Admirals had been unable to stop them from escaping…
Disgraced was an understatement!
It had been a severe blow to the morale of the entire Marineford.
It could be said that since the era of the Four Emperors had stabilized, Marine Headquarters had never been so utterly humiliated.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Tsuru!"
Brannew quickly saluted.
He skipped the introduction and the incident report and, from the large stack of wanted posters that his assistant was holding, he pulled out three and pinned them to the whiteboard.
"In any case, the topic of this meeting is to re-evaluate the bounties of the infamous Curtain Call Pirates! Let's start with those with the lowest former bounties!"
"First up is this guy!"
Slap!
Brannew's right hand slapped the middle of the screen, at a tall, muscular Fish-Man youth.
"Saddle-spotted Grouper Fish-Man, Jack!"
"This man's origin is unknown. He was a nobody, and he probably joined the Curtain Call Pirates around the time of the Enies Lobby incident. In the recent Sabaody incident, he displayed incredible strength!"
"First, at the port, he instantly defeated one of the most prominent Supernovas of this generation, Sasaki. And then, in the encirclement and killing of Mr. Gion, he also played a major controlling role. It can be said that Mr. Gion's tragic death is inseparable from this man!"
"The intelligence department has confirmed that he is a user of the Elephant-Elephant Fruit, Ancient Model: Mammoth, and he is also proficient in both types of Haki, with an extremely high physical strength!"
"And according to our supplementary intel, this guy also fought Kaido in Water 7. Although we don't know the details, the fact that he was able to survive an encounter with Kaido is proof of his strength."
"In conclusion!"
Brannew said in a low voice, "After several rounds of discussion, the staff office has decided that the bounty for 'Jack the Mammoth' will be set at—500 million Berries!"
"500 million Berries?!"
As expected, a murmur went through the room at this number.
"Isn't that a little too high? For a first bounty, is it really necessary to take him so seriously?"
"But his record is indeed impressive. A guy who can instantly defeat a Supernova can't be given the same rank as a Supernova, can he…"
"Quiet,"
Tsuru suddenly said.
Her voice was not loud, and it was a little weak, but it instantly silenced the somewhat noisy meeting room.
"One of the main culprits in Gion's death, no amount of caution is too much. I have no objection to this," Tsuru said with a sigh. "Continue, Brannew."
"Yes, Vice Admiral Tsuru."
Brannew then pointed to the wanted poster on the right. "Please focus, everyone. This girl I'm pointing to… no! This she-devil!"
In the photo was a beautiful, orange-haired young woman.
Whether it was the angle of the photo or the lighting, she was grinning, a savage, grotesque smile on her face, and she was taking a large bite out of a soft, white, fluffy object.
"What is she eating?"
"I can't see clearly. It looks like a cloud."
"Wait, could it be…" Vice Admiral Momonga frowned.
"That's right!"
Brannew's expression was grim. He took an old wanted poster and placed it beside the new one.
On it was "Flame White Ball" Mochi, with a bounty of 100 million Berries, but the photo was grayed out, and there was a large red X over it, indicating that the wanted poster had been voided.
"Lord Momonga guessed correctly. What she is eating is the user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, the pet of the Curtain Call Pirates, and one of their important officers, Mochi!"
Brannew took a deep breath, his voice grave.
"Previously, our intelligence department had made a mistake. Simply because this young woman looked young, we had overlooked her evil nature. But now, we must re-evaluate the threat she poses!"
"According to eyewitness reports from the Sabaody Archipelago and our intelligence department's analysis of the video footage."
"This woman, when faced with Mr. Gion's righteous assault, displayed the ability of the Flame-Flame Fruit and, with her elementalization, she managed to escape with her life. And using the invincibility of a Logia-type against an enemy who has not mastered Haki, she easily defeated the Supernova, Galette, at the docks!"
"At the same time, Mochi was nowhere to be found. In its place was an ordinary small dog with no special abilities. And when you compare this to the photo that was submitted, we can be almost certain…"
"…that this young woman named Nami, like her brother Shane, is a vicious, inhuman scumbag!"
"She… very likely, through some extremely cruel method, stole the ability of the Flame-Flame Fruit from Mochi!"
The meeting room was in an uproar!
"You're saying she devoured her own comrade… just to get an ability?!"
A Marine Rear Admiral had a cold sweat on his forehead. "Is that even possible?! I've never heard of such a thing!"
"On the sea, there are many secrets we don't know about. It's rumored that the Dark-Dark Fruit has a similar effect, so we shouldn't be surprised. In comparison, I'm more concerned about the fact that this she-devil was able to do such a thing to a close comrade."
Another Rear Admiral narrowed his eyes and snorted. "How despicable! Even among pirates, a person like that is scorned…"
"The staff office sees it the same way,"
Brannew said with a nod, his voice low. "Considering her vicious and cruel nature, as well as the threat of a Logia-type user, we can hardly give her a bounty lower than Mochi's."
"Therefore, all the staff officers have unanimously decided to change her epithet to 'The Pet-Eater Devil' and to raise her bounty by two thousand times, to 160 million Berries!"
No one questioned this bounty.
Not to mention the fact that she had defeated a Supernova, just the words "Flame-Flame Fruit user" were worth that price.
But some of the officers were puzzled. A two-thousand-fold increase? Then what was this she-devil's original bounty…
"Next, the Devil Child, Nico Robin!"
Brannew looked at the photo on the left, his expression one of disgust. "The last survivor of Ohara, a woman who sank several warships at the age of eight, and who is on the World Government's high-priority list. At some point, she joined up with the Curtain Call crew. Hmph, it seems she-devils are drawn to each other."
"This person also displayed considerable combat strength in this incident, using Armament Haki in conjunction with her Devil Fruit ability to defeat the Supernova, Haruta. Therefore, her original bounty of 79 million Berries is no longer a match for her true strength!"
"After consulting with the World Government, her new bounty has been set at 260 million Berries!"
The last survivor of Ohara…
The expressions on the faces of the high-ranking officers in the room were varied. Tsuru just glanced at Robin's wanted poster and then looked away, silent.
"Next, the other officers. After evaluation, their strength has also improved, but not as much as the previous three."
Brannew had his assistant paste the posters, and he took out a thin wooden pointer and pointed to them one by one.
"Shane's other sister, 'Winter's Fist' Nojiko, also a Logia user, with outstanding close-combat abilities. Her bounty is increased to 200 million Berries!"
"'Red Leg' Zeff, this man is relatively low-key and seems to have completely transitioned to a support role, but as a veteran, his strength is not to be underestimated. His bounty is increased to 150 million Berries!"
"Next is the 'Defector' Smoker. Many of you are familiar with this guy… his mastery of the two types of Haki seems to have improved, so his bounty must also be increased, to 210 million Berries!"
"Then there's the pet, 'Thunder-Fire Wolf' Gin. New bounty, 250 million Berries!"
"The other pet, Mochi, is confirmed to be deceased. The original wanted poster is revoked. The new pet is an ordinary small dog, with a tentative bounty of 1000 Berries. But it probably won't live long…"
"And finally, the vice-captain of the Curtain Call Pirates, the one who shone the brightest in this incident, the master swordswoman, Kuina!"
Brannew had his assistant post the last one. "Please, everyone, focus your attention!"
Slap!
The high-ranking officers all looked up, their faces grim. The image that greeted them was a close-up of Admiral Kizaru's face, twisted in a grimace as he was being kicked.
Tsuru glanced at Brannew.
"I'm sorry! I put up the wrong one!" the assistant bowed hastily in apology.
Under Brannew's murderous glare, he quickly took down the photo and replaced it with a new wanted poster.
