After the Whitebeard Pirates set sail, Sabo also left. The Straw Hat crew stayed behind in Water 7, where everyone was gathered in their hotel room, looking at blueprints of large ships from the Galley-La Company. They were trying to decide on a new ship to replace the Going Merry.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and Franky rushed in.
"Super!" he yelled, striking his signature pose. "Luffy! Everyone! Listen up! I've got some amazing news!"
The crew barely looked up, their eyes still glued to the blueprints. "Oh, Franky? You can look at these, too," Nami said without looking up. "You're a shipwright, so you know more about this stuff. Come help us pick a ship."
"Alright, listen closely!" Franky said, his expression turning serious. "There's a legend about a precious tree that never falls, no matter what. It stands tall and strong, even after cities and people around it have been completely destroyed by war.
People call it the Precious Tree Adam! The Pirate King Gol D. Roger's ship, the Oro Jackson, was made from a piece of that very tree, and my master, Tom-san, built it himself!"
At the mention of the Pirate King, everyone perked up, their interest piqued.
Franky grinned. "I found out that a branch of the Precious Tree Adam was up for auction. I went to Nami and asked for 300 million berries..."
"No way!" everyone exclaimed, getting excited.
"That's right! I bought the branch! I'm going to use this strongest wood in the world to build the strongest ship for the Straw Hats! Just like the Pirate King Roger's ship, it'll be a ship that can sail across the entire sea!"
"Wow! That's incredible!"
This was a huge surprise. Just a moment ago, they were worried about what kind of ship to get, and Franky had come through with an unbelievable solution.
Franky pulled out his design sketches and asked the crew for their specific requirements, immediately making adjustments to the drawings on the spot. As the disciple of the world's best shipwright, designing a new ship was effortless for him.
Once he had everyone's input, Franky wasted no time and immediately began construction. Kaku was also roped in to help, and even Iceburg, the mayor of Water 7, along with the other foremen from the Galley-La Company, offered to lend a hand. A large group of people got to work on the coast near Franky's workshop.
It was during this time that newspapers carrying the full report of the Summit War were published and distributed all over the world by News Coo.
Although the Marines had ordered Morgans to simplify the details and hide certain facts, the final outcome could not be changed. When people learned that the Marines had failed to execute Ace and that the Whitebeard Pirates had escaped, their fear of the Whitebeard Pirates grew even more.
No matter how much the newspapers tried to save face, they couldn't hide the fact that the Marines had suffered a defeat, and public trust in them plummeted.
At the same time, the world learned about the involvement of the Straw Hat Pirates, the Revolutionary Army, and the Blackbeard Pirates.
It was no surprise that the Straw Hats, who had already been named one of the Five Emperors, would join the fight since Luffy and Ace were sworn brothers.
What was more shocking was the participation of the Revolutionary Army, which had caught the Marines completely off guard. The news that Blackbeard had acquired three Devil Fruit abilities was also terrifying.
With all of these powerful forces clashing, many people actually felt a bit of sympathy for the Marines, thinking it was only natural that they would lose. However, many also realized that the world was no longer in a state of calm.
Carl bought a newspaper, too. Seeing the heavily edited battle report and the obvious attempts at damage control, he couldn't help but acknowledge how shameless the Marines were.
But he also knew there was a reason for it. Instead of explaining the full, disastrous truth and causing a worldwide panic, it was better to give a sanitized version and let people continue to live in peace.
Of course, the Marines' defeat had a lot of negative consequences. Many pirates became bolder, and more and more young people decided to become pirates.
While Whitebeard hadn't shouted that "One Piece is real" as he did in the original story, the desire to go to sea and become a pirate had still grown, making the world even more chaotic. At the same time, Supernovas with bounties over 100 million berries also entered the New World, and new storms were brewing.
The Straw Hats, by comparison, were in a more relaxed situation. Since their new ship was still being built, they were moving slower than the other Supernovas.
However, sailing wasn't a race, and being the first to enter the New World didn't guarantee success. Strength was all that mattered. Carl was confident that with their current strength, the Straw Hats would have a smooth journey.
"Huh? A new bounty list is out? The Marines are surprisingly efficient this time!" Carl smiled and took the newspaper back to the hotel to show everyone.
Captain, Monkey D. Luffy: 2.5 Billion Berries
Lightning Swordsman, Carl: 2.3 Billion Berries
Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro: 700 Million Berries
Black Leg, Sanji: 680 Million Berries
Lion King, Trafalgar Law: 300 Million Berries
Devil Child, Nico Robin: 200 Million Berries
God, Usopp: 170 Million Berries
Hypnotist, Jango: 79 Million Berries
Cat Burglar, Nami: 70 Million Berries
Psychotic Painter, Marion: 55 Million Berries
Mr. 3, Galdino: 50 Million Berries
Iron Man, Franky: 44 Million Berries
Marine Traitor, Tashigi: 30 Million Berries
Cotton Candy Lover, Tony Tony Chopper: 20 Million Berries
Sea Beast, Moo Moo: 5 Million Berries
The bounties for all 15 members, both human and non-human, totaled a staggering 7.23 billion berries, putting them on par with the old Four Emperors. For example, Kaido's bounty was around 4 billion, and his three top commanders were each around 1 billion. Adding the rest of his crew's bounties, it would also total over 7 billion.
The newspaper didn't hesitate to label the Straw Hats as one of the Five Emperors. Both their power and their bounties showed they were worthy of the title.
The Heart Pirates also got new bounties. Trafalgar Law's was now 660 million berries. Shachi and Penguin both reached 30 million, Bepo's was 25 million, and Kaku's was 30 million berries.
Kaku's bounty was surprisingly high, which left Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin a little unhappy. Law was also annoyed that he was now officially associated with an Emperor crew and would never be able to shake that reputation.
However, this was exactly what he expected after deciding to join the Summit War with the Straw Hats. He wasn't really upset; he was just annoyed. There was nothing wrong with being backed by an Emperor, and he was more than happy to see that Doflamingo would now be very afraid.
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