Famous Throughout North Blue

A single Wanted Poster stirred up the entire North Blue. Though pirates in the North Blue were as numerous as the stars, with quite a few formidable crews—nothing like the weaklings of the East Blue—a pirate with a bounty as high as 50 million Beli was still exceedingly rare. It was no exaggeration to say that Roy now stood at the pinnacle of the North Blue.

After all, a bounty of 50 million Beli was no small sum even in the first half of the Grand Line. And this was Roy's first bounty. Even his two subordinates carried terrifying bounties of their own, bringing the crew's total bounty to a frightening 100 million Beli. That alone was enough to leave every faction speechless in shock.

Not only were the various Marine branches under immense pressure, constantly praying that such a fiend would not appear near waters under their jurisdiction—after all, the Wanted Poster explicitly stated that the Phantom Sword Pirates had destroyed a Marine branch.

The other pirates were equally terrified, crying that the wolf had come. Quite a few powerful pirates had fallen beneath Roy's sword during this time, and many far-sighted pirates had seen through Roy's ambition. He seemed to want to unify the North Blue, build his momentum to its peak, and then enter the Grand Line with that unstoppable force.

Do not think momentum was some vague and intangible thing. In the Pirate World, one's own bearing could be linked to Conqueror's Haki. Though his previous life had mentioned that Conqueror's Haki was innate, something one was born with.

But after arriving in the Pirate World, Roy had doubts about that claim. In his view, the three types of Haki should be connected to some extent. Why could Observation Haki and Armament Haki both be cultivated after birth, while Conqueror's Haki had to belong only to those chosen by heaven?

In Roy's opinion, it was simply because Conqueror's Haki was tied to one's spirit. Anyone possessing such spirit could absolutely grow into a great figure so long as they did not die prematurely. As for Conqueror's Haki representing the aptitude of a king, that was merely the claim of certain ambitious people.

Take the Marines, for example. They had countless strong individuals, yet not a single one possessed Conqueror's Haki. If it were ordained by heaven, would that not mean the Marines were all fated to be weak? That was far too absurd.

The only reason was that their hearts were bound, conflicting with the nature of Conqueror's Haki. And because pirates revered freedom and strength, acting lawlessly without restraint, they could truly grasp the essence of Conqueror's Haki.

Ahem, that was getting off track.

Following this bounty incident, Roy's reputation in the North Blue had soared to unprecedented heights. Of course, it was definitely not a good reputation.

At the Vinsmoke Family's base, a deathly silence hung in the air.

"That bastard Yonji actually surrendered to them! He is a disgrace to the Vinsmoke Family!" Vinsmoke Judge, his blond hair blazing, roared madly like an enraged lion.

"It seems my idiot little brother really amounted to nothing," Ichiji mocked, showing not the slightest concern for his brother.

"Damn it, who are you calling an idiot, you bastard?!" Niji shouted at Ichiji.

"Ahahaha, my apologies. I just remembered that I seem to have another idiot little brother beside me. I accidentally caught you in the crossfire. How shameful of me." Though he said that, his face was full of mockery, without a hint of remorse.

"Bastard! I'll kill you!"

"Shut up, all of you!" Judge felt like his blood pressure was about to explode. The family was clearly facing a grave crisis, yet these two brothers were still bickering endlessly. He was beginning to wonder whether they truly were successful products of Lineage Factor modification.

Looking at Reiju, who stood to the side as though she only wanted to be a quiet, beautiful girl, he asked, "Reiju, what do you think about this matter?"

"Huh? Me?" Reiju was slightly distracted. Mainly because she, too, had been shocked upon hearing the news. She was not surprised by Yonji's defeat. There were countless strong people on the seas, and no one dared claim they were invincible. But Yonji's surrender had truly stunned her.

She knew better than anyone what her younger brothers were like, and that was precisely why she could not understand Yonji's submission.

The few of them could be called emotionless monsters—cold-blooded, arrogant, cruel. Even in the face of death, they would feel no fear. Only when facing the father who had modified them would they reluctantly restrain themselves somewhat. She simply could not imagine what kind of person could make her monster-like brother submit. For the first time, Roy had piqued her curiosity. She rather wanted to see the person who had made her brother surrender.

Hearing Judge's question, she quickly regained her senses, gathered her thoughts, and replied, "I believe there must be something suspicious about this. Father, you know that we possess the Bloodline of Gods. Even in death, we would never lower our heads. Roy must have deceived Yonji with sweet words. I imagine you also know that Yonji is a little... well... It is not impossible for him to have been fooled."

Hearing Reiju's answer, Judge nodded in satisfaction. This explanation was indeed logical and convincing. To him, even the deaths of his children could not shake his heart in the slightest. What angered him was merely the fear that his greatest creations had developed a weakness, bringing shame upon him. In a sense, his character was even more vile than that of his sons.

"What do you think of that villain, Roy?"

"Mm, well, I believe Yonji only lost because he was careless. Let me go with my two younger brothers this time. Based on the battle report, Roy also had to put in considerable effort to defeat Yonji, which means their strengths should be fairly close. If the three of us go together this time and act cautiously, without giving him any opportunities, we will definitely be able to crush Roy and bring Yonji back."

Judge pondered for a moment, but then shook his head. Under Reiju's astonished gaze, he said, "No. I have already made one mistake. This time, I absolutely cannot make the same mistake again. We must give this brutal villain the highest level of attention. This time, I will go with all of you. No—rather, the entire Vinsmoke Family will mobilize and wipe him out in one stroke, without giving him a second chance."

"Cool. That's exactly what I wanted," Ichiji laughed loudly.

"This will be the highest-level war in the North Blue. Let the North Blue witness the true strength of our Vinsmoke Family!" Niji no longer cared about their earlier unpleasantness. To them, war was the most entertaining game.

"Hehe." Reiju also smiled faintly in agreement, one hand behind her back and the other lightly covering her crimson lips.

"Vinsmoke forces, assemble! Prepare to move out!"