The Second Sea Emperor

How should they set the new bounties?

Under ordinary circumstances, if this had been about any other pirate, everyone would have eagerly offered their opinions.

But since this involved Beelzebul, and mainly concerned Sakazuki Vice Admiral and the others who had fought him, the Headquarters officers suddenly found themselves at a loss.

If they set the bounties too high, it would invite controversy within the Navy.

The pirates out there would surely think the Navy was all bluster. If some rookie who'd just set sail could get such a high bounty, why not challenge the Navy ourselves?

That could be... pretty interesting, actually.

They wouldn't even need to go around hunting pirates anymore.

But if they set them too low, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting that Sakazuki Vice Admiral and Kuzan Vice Admiral couldn't even take down pirates with bounties that low?

Word had it that Sakazuki and Kuzan were about to be promoted to Admirals. Their promotion reports had already been submitted, and as soon as they returned from carrying out the Buster Call, they would be promoted.

So if Beelzebul's bounty was set too low, wouldn't that directly offend two Admirals?

The officers silently looked toward Admiral Kizaru: Admiral, we'll leave the job of offending Admirals to you.

Noticing all the eyes on him, Kizaru kept his gaze lowered and his mind blank.

What a hassle. Just give all three of them three billion.

Vice Admiral Tsuru was torn. As Headquarters' staff officer, she had to consider every possible implication. On one hand, the World Government had ordered them to adjust the bounties; on the other, they had to consider whether it would undermine the Navy's deterrent power.

Seeing this, Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked in a low voice,

"Sakazuki, Kuzan, do you two have any suggestions?"

The people involved had the most say. When it came to the bounties, no Navy officers were better qualified to weigh in than Sakazuki and Kuzan.

The Den Den Mushi spoke. "Let's tentatively set it at three billion."

Sengoku furrowed his brows. "Three billion for Beelzebul, and two billion each for the other two?"

Kuzan's voice came through the Den Den Mushi. "I have no objection to Fujitora Issho getting two billion."

Momonga and the others spoke up next. "Dracule Mihawk... let's give him two billion as well. We weren't a match for him, but we held out for quite a while."

"Good." Sengoku slapped the table hard.

"Issue the bounty posters according to these figures and send them to every Marine Base as quickly as possible. If anyone spots the Morning Star Pirates, they must report it to Headquarters."

"As for Nico Robin, whom Beelzebul rescued, set her bounty at one hundred million for now."

"Yes, sir." Brannew saluted.

When word that the Navy had issued the bounty posters reached News King Morgans, he was still fretting over the photos that could send sales soaring.

Morgans had assumed that the World Government and the Navy would suppress the news, just as they had when the Celestial Dragons were kidnapped last time. He'd never imagined they wouldn't.

Morgans froze in place. Then he planted his hands on his hips and threw his head back, laughing uproariously.

"Big news! Now this is truly huge news!"

"The Buster Call! Ohara reduced to ruins! Beelzebul leads the Morning Star Pirates in defeating the Navy's Buster Call fleet and rescuing the Child of the Devil, Nico Robin!"

"Sales! Sales are going to double!"

"Print more! We absolutely have to print more!"

Morgans wrote the article himself, but as he examined the final draft from every angle, something still felt off. Then the newspaper clipping about Whitebeard, the Sea Emperor, caught his eye, and Morgans leaped to his feet.

"The Sea Emperor—the second Sea Emperor!"

After King of the Pirates Roger was executed, Morgans had thought Charlotte Linlin was the most likely candidate to become the second Sea Emperor after Whitebeard.

Who could have imagined Beelzebul would emerge from the pack?

The Morning Star Pirates had only three crew members, but Captain Beelzebul had a bounty of three billion, First Mate Mihawk had two billion, and Fujitora Issho had two billion. Their combined bounties came to a staggering seven billion.

"My goodness, so this is a Sea Emperor!"

Morgans was so excited he was yelping.

"Beelzebul, don't let me down. I'm betting the next twenty years of newspaper sales on you today!"

After revising the final draft, Morgans planted two loud kisses on the article. "I'm going to make a name for myself across the Four Seas, too."

There are six Underground Kings, but only I, the News King, stand above them all!

Morgans went to the printing plant himself and slapped the article hard against the factory manager's face.

"Print this exactly as written. Don't change a single word. Print ten times the usual amount—no, twenty times!"

After reading the final draft, the manager's expression became extraordinarily colorful. Boss, you haven't lost your mind, have you?

"A Pirate Crew with three members? A Sea Emperor? There's got to be a limit to joking around, Boss!"

Morgans gave him a sidelong look. "So what if there are three of them? They can recruit new crew members, can't they? Quit wasting time and do what I told you. If you won't do the job, plenty of people will!"

The factory manager smiled on the outside, but cursed inwardly. "Right away, Boss. I'll start printing!"

It wasn't his money being wasted, anyway. Let the old bastard lose every last cent! The day you go bankrupt, I'll piss right on your head—and right into that bird beak of yours!

The next morning.

When thousands upon thousands of News Birds delivered freshly printed newspapers to every corner of the world, the whole world erupted.

"Extra! Extra! The Buster Call on Ohara!"

"The second Sea Emperor? What a joke! How could there possibly be a Sea Emperor with only three crew members? Has the news agency gone crazy?"

"Three billion? Two billion? Two billion?"

"The Navy's gone crazy too?!"

It wasn't just the billions of ordinary people who were baffled. The nobles of the World Government Member States, the petty pirates of the Four Seas, and the Great Pirates of the Grand Line were just as stunned.

They all agreed: the Navy really had gone crazy.

Grand Line, New World.

Aboard the Moby Dick, which resembled a white whale.

Marco, with his pineapple-shaped hair, wasn't making a fuss like he had the last time. Instead, he stared at the newspaper in his hands, lost in thought and feeling rather depressed.

Seriously, three billion after only two years at sea?

Seven, you're making an old-timer like me, who's been sailing for sixteen years, feel like a complete failure.

When the battle at God Valley ended, Marco had followed his father and joined Whitebeard in founding the Whitebeard Pirates. It had been exactly sixteen years since then.

But Seven had only been at sea for two years. Even counting the five years he'd spent with the Roger Pirates, that was only seven years.

Damn prodigy. How annoying!

Marco's unusual behavior immediately caught the attention of his brothers. Vista called out,

"Marco, what does the newspaper say?"

Marco shook his head and hurried over to Old Man. Without a word, he silently handed him the newspaper, then stood there without saying a thing.

Whitebeard took a closer look.

When he saw the bounties for the three members of the Morning Star Pirates, along with the article portraying Beelzebul as the second Sea Emperor, he burst out laughing.

"Gurararara!"

"He drove back that magma brat, five Headquarters Vice Admirals, and over ten thousand Marines? Excellent!"

"Marco, throw a banquet!"

The Morning Star Pirates' bounties in the newspaper gave Whitebeard yet another excuse to throw a banquet.

"Old Man, what are you laughing about?"

His sons gathered around.

Whitebeard grinned and handed the newspaper to Vista. "Read it aloud. It'd be a waste of time to pass it around one by one, and we still have a banquet to throw."

Vista took the newspaper, glanced at it, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Th-this... this is way too ridiculous!"

How could anyone become a Sea Emperor at seventeen?

A personal bounty of three billion?

A three-man Pirate Crew with a combined bounty of seven billion.

"Read it already, Vista."