Under Red's guidance, the Straw Hat crew moved with decisive efficiency. Together with the members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, they quickly erected a temporary settlement in a clearing within the Sea Forest.
And these people, who harbored deep hatred toward the World Government, did not disappoint Red.
Almost the moment the living quarters were completed, the disbanded members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet headed straight to the training grounds. Following the two secret manuals Red had provided—The Dual-Color Haki Training Manual and Six Powers: From Beginner to Master—they immediately threw themselves into rigorous training.
"They're really a bunch of hot-blooded maniacs,"
On the deck of the Going Merry, Zoro stepped out of the cabin after dinner, a toothpick clenched between his teeth and his arms folded across his chest.
Watching the fervent scene at the training grounds, he couldn't help but mutter in admiration.
At that moment, a faint scent of tobacco drifted in beside him.
Sanji had appeared without a sound, a cigarette already lit as he leaned against the railing, his expression calm as still water.
"Hatred really is the fastest ladder to growth."
"Oi, moss-head…"
"Come to think of it," Sanji continued, "it's been a long time since we trained alone like they are now, hasn't it?"
"Yeah~" Zoro chuckled softly.
"Red keeps arranging sparring matches between you and me, and in the end, it's just made you stronger, you bastard…"
"Thinking about it now, I really got the short end of the stick—becoming your whetstone for no reason at all!"
"Hmph," Sanji snorted. "That's my line!"
"So…" He turned his head to look at Zoro. "For the next stretch of time, we train separately."
"When everything's over, we'll see which bastard was dragging the other down!"
"Sounds good to me," Zoro replied without hesitation.
Even though it was already evening, the two of them were suddenly fired up. They jumped off the Going Merry in opposite directions and headed deeper into the Sea Forest.
"Did Zoro and Sanji just sound like they were arguing again?"
On another part of the deck, Chopper—who was analyzing the formula for the Fish-Man Island Energy Steroids—tilted his head curiously, watching their departing figures.
Across from him, Usopp, who was pulling the required medicinal ingredients out of his bodily storage, grinned broadly.
"Isn't that normal?!"
"If those two ever got along peacefully, that's when the world would really be ending!"
"Alright…" After taking out the last herb, Usopp brushed the dirt from his hands and said to Chopper, "All the ingredients for the Energy Steroids are here."
"Good thing Red had the foresight to sweep through the Sabaody Archipelago's supply markets beforehand. Otherwise, some of these deep-sea-only ingredients would've been a real pain to find."
"Thank you, Usopp!" Little Chopper carefully gathered the herbs from the ground and thanked him politely.
Compared to the other men of the Straw Hat crew, Chopper's unusually courteous behavior almost felt abnormally normal.
"No need to be so formal~" Usopp replied with a laugh.
"Next, you're going to research combining the Energy Steroids with the Rumble Ball, right?"
"As for me, I should find a place to continue working on my Four Heavenly Kings Plan."
"Oh, right…" Usopp stretched lazily. "Since we're focusing on helping Nami master her Devil Fruit ability as soon as possible, it looks like we won't be entering the Pokémon world for a while."
"Guess we really need to plan things carefully."
With that, both of them prepared to go their separate ways to get busy.
But just then—
"Wait, everyone of the Straw Hat Pirates!!!"
A bright yet urgent voice suddenly rang out from the air at the edge of the Sea Forest.
"Huh?!"
Usopp and Chopper looked up in surprise.
The next instant, they saw the eldest prince of Fish-Man Island—a shark Fish-Man—riding atop his personal sea beast, rapidly heading toward the Going Merry.
Clutched tightly in his hand was a stack of freshly printed—
Bounty Posters!!!
...
...
"This… this has got to be a joke, right?!"
Twelve hours earlier.
Above Fish-Man Island, on the sun-drenched surface of the New World.
From the bow of a ship flying a horse-headed pirate flag came a thunderous shout.
In an instant, all the pirates busy on deck froze and turned their gazes toward their captain at the bow—Cavendish.
They were long used to this kind of outburst.
No need to guess—it was definitely because someone else had stolen the headlines again.
Their captain was excellent in every way.
Handsome, loyal, caring toward his companions…
Except for one fatal flaw: an incurable case of narcissism.
Next, without fail, he would draw his slender rapier and shred the newspaper that had denied him the spotlight.
Nothing new.
After a brief exchange of glances, the pirates resumed their work as if they hadn't heard Cavendish at all.
However, just as they assumed the scene would unfold as usual—
A trembling voice suddenly came from the bow.
That voice was weak and unsteady, carrying an unmistakable hint of disbelief and shock.
Most importantly…
When they looked at Cavendish, they saw something unthinkable in the eyes of a captain who feared nothing—
Fear.
"Huh?!"
The vice-captain of the Beautiful Pirates immediately sensed something was wrong.
He stepped forward to Cavendish's side.
Just as he was about to ask what had happened, a bounty poster slipped from Cavendish's hand and fluttered to the deck.
The moment he saw its contents, Suleiman's expression shifted—from calm, to confusion, to astonishment, and finally to wide-eyed shock.
The next second, he shouted in the same stunned voice as Cavendish:
"Th-This has got to be a joke, right?!"
...
...
"Ones… tens… hundreds… thousands… ten-thousands…"
"One hundred thousand… one million… ten million… one hundred million… one billion…"
"Gulp~"
In the New World, on a certain island under reconstruction.
Buggy and Bartolomeo each held up two fingers, pinning a bounty poster in the center of their vision like a sacred relic, counting the digits one by one.
When they reached the final digit, the two captains—and the officers of their pirate crews behind them—collectively swallowed hard.
Buggy and Bartolomeo exchanged glances, seeing identical shock in each other's eyes.
But neither found it strange.
Because the bounty poster in their hands…
Was simply too unbelievable.
"I can't take it anymore… I think my eyes are spinning…"
"Galdino, you make the final announcement!"
"Huh?! Me?!" Mr. 3, Galdino, froze.
As Buggy's white-gloved hand passed him the bounty poster, an inexplicable tension seized him.
After swallowing softly, he took the poster, cleared his throat twice, and began reading aloud, word by word:
"Bounty Notice…"
"Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy, colluded with heinous pirates and attacked the World Government's Holy Land, Mary Geoise."
"His crimes are unforgivable. He is hereby offered a bounty of…"
"Five Billion, Five Hundred Million Beli!!!"
"Dead or alive!!!!!!"
"..."
"..."
After Galdino's voice fell silent, the entire island seemed to be enveloped in absolute stillness—as if someone had activated an awakened Silence-Silence Fruit.
Rustle~
A light breeze passed through, leaves swaying and brushing together with natural sounds.
The next second—
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!!!!!!!"
"5.5 billion Beli?! They even got the name wrong—did the World Government mess this up?!"
"What are you talking about?! That's clearly our Straw Hat boss in the photo! How could they get it wrong?!"
"Exactly! That's the man even Captain Buggy chose to follow—being worth ten billion Beli would still make perfect sense!"
"Right! Speaking of which, the highest bounty before this was Whitebeard, wasn't it?! How much was his again?!"
"I remember… just a bit over 5.1 billion Beli."
"Eh?! Then doesn't that mean Straw Hat boss has already surpassed Whitebeard and become number one in the world?!"
"Number one in the world?! Hahaha! That's basic stuff for Straw Hat boss and his crew! Sit down, don't make a fuss!"
"Hahahaha! Men, start the banquet!!!!"
"Let us celebrate the birth of the world's most evil man…"
"The man we follow!!!"
"MONKEY D. LUFFY!!!!"
(End of Chapter)