Shocking the Seas! First Bounty of 2.5 Billion!

Sengoku, Zephyr, and Tsuru stood quietly to the side, as if they were part of the air.

They were secretly shocked; the vision and judgment of the Five Elders were truly terrifying. In just a few short sentences, they had bypassed the accountability for the Marine's failure and pointed directly at the fundamental threat: the Rocks Pirates.

They were worthy of being the five people standing at the pinnacle of world power, grasping the core of the issue at a single glance.

The blonde, short-bearded member of the Five Elders looked at the three of them and spoke in a deep voice:

"The Marine is, after all, the face of the World Government, and Sengoku, Zephyr, and Garp are precisely the leaders of the next generation."

"If we were to heap all the blame upon them, the Marine Headquarters would lose its future pillars, which is something we do not wish to see."

These words brought a sense of relief to the hearts of the three.

At the very least, the Five Elders were still willing to give them a chance.

"The Marine's previous decision to gradually shift its focus toward the New World is commendable."

"But it is not enough. Go back and tell Kong to recall the two Admirals, Zhu Yan and Qiong Qi. Let them shine and contribute once more for the Marine and the World Government before they retire."

"As for the new executive of the Rocks Pirates, Luo Tian..."

"Issue a bounty. Set the reward at—2.5 billion Berries!"

Hearing this, the three were shaken; it was exactly as the Fleet Admiral had estimated.

From this, one could see just how much importance the Five Elders placed on Luo Tian.

"Furthermore."

The blonde, short-bearded elder added:

"Notify CP0 to strengthen infiltration and intelligence gathering on the Rocks Pirates."

"Especially regarding Luo Tian. We must know everything about him: his origins, the details of his abilities, his personality flaws, his interpersonal relationships..."

"Understood."

Sengoku bowed in response.

Afterward, the Five Elders gave a few more instructions, mainly regarding the subsequent strategic deployment against the Rocks Pirates and the actions the Marine needed to coordinate, before dismissing them.

As they walked out of the World Government building, the three exchanged glances, seeing both relief and heaviness in each other's eyes.

They were relieved that they had not been severely punished for their failure and had instead been given a chance to redeem themselves through merit.

The heaviness stemmed from the fact that the Five Elders' level of concern regarding the Rocks Pirates far exceeded expectations, which meant that the coming New World would face an even more brutal storm.

And they, the Marine, would have to stand at the very forefront of that storm.

The next day, the Marine Headquarters issued a bounty for Luo Tian, an executive of the Rocks Pirates.

Furthermore, they used the World Economic News Agency to publish a story claiming that "the Heavenly Tribute was plundered by the Rocks Pirates, and the Marine escort fleet resisted heroically but was outnumbered."

This was a helpless move; although it would damage the Marine's prestige, it was still better than letting news spread that "the Marine launched a proactive encirclement only to suffer a crushing defeat."

At the very least, it could preserve the image of the Marine "resisting heroically" and prevent morale from completely collapsing.

The news agency printed the papers with urgency, and news coos delivered them to every corner of the sea.

And so, the sea was shaken.

On the sea, aboard a pirate ship.

The captain was a one-eyed man, currently grumbling as he took a newspaper from the claws of a news coo:

"Tch... It's definitely just some trivial matter again. Can't they come up with some big news for once?"

On the sea, reading the paper was the only way to pass the time and keep up with world trends.

However, when he inadvertently unfolded the paper and his gaze swept across the front page—

His movements froze.

His breathing stalled.

On the front page, a young man with a cold expression firmly captured his gaze.

Below the photo was striking text:

[New Executive of the Rocks Pirates: Luo Tian]

[Bounty: 2,500,000,000 Berries]

"Luo Tian..."

The captain's lips trembled as he muttered the name.

"2.5 billion?!"

He widened his eyes, standing rooted to the spot, thinking something was wrong with his vision.

He rubbed his good right eye vigorously and looked again—

The number remained the same.

2.5 billion.

A young man who had never been heard of before, receiving an initial bounty as high as 2.5 billion Berries?!

"Hiss--"

He drew a sharp breath, feeling a chill crawl from his tailbone up his spine, his scalp tingling.

An initial bounty this shocking... what on earth did this guy do? Did he kill a Celestial Dragon? Or destroy an entire country?

He forced his trembling hands to steady, unable to wait a moment longer as he unfolded the newspaper to read the details.

"Impossible! The Rocks Pirates... actually robbed the Heavenly Tribute?!"

"This young man is the new executive of the Rocks Pirates, Luo Tian?!"

"To become an executive at such a young age... and he heavily wounded the Marine Vice Admiral Tsuru, suppressed the 'Black Arm' Zephyr, and fought the 'Fist' Garp to a draw?!"

The contents of the paper were so unbelievable they felt like a dream.

Similar scenes were playing out all across the ocean.

The news swept across the entire world like a hurricane.

The names of the Rocks Pirates and Luo Tian instantly became the most discussed topics across the seas.

That young man named Luo Tian had gone from an unknown pirate rookie to a world-renowned monster with a 2.5 billion bounty overnight.

New World, Roger Pirates.

After finishing the day's newspaper, Gol D. Roger burst into loud laughter:

"Hahaha... Rayleigh! Come look at this news!"

Rayleigh and Gaban walked over, one after the other.

"What news could make you so happy?"

Rayleigh asked with a smile, taking the newspaper from Gol D. Roger.

Then, his smile froze.

Gaban leaned in to take a look and immediately exclaimed:

"Impossible! How long has it even been?!"

"That kid now has a bounty of 2.5 billion Berries! And he fought Garp to a draw? Is this for real?"

Rayleigh did not speak immediately.

He read every word on the newspaper carefully, his brows gradually furrowing, his voice carrying a rare sense of gravity:

"The Rocks Pirates are getting stronger and stronger..."

"Rocks' ambition has also gradually been revealed; now they have even started robbing the Heavenly Tribute. This is a declaration of war against the World Government."

As the second-in-command and strategist of the Roger Pirates, Rayleigh was not impulsive because of the news about Luo Tian, but instead calmly analyzed the threat posed by the Rocks Pirates:

"This means that Rocks is no longer satisfied with dominating the New World; he wants to challenge the order of the entire world."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere on the ship turned heavy.

Rayleigh frowned and looked at Gol D. Roger:

"The Rocks Pirates are entrenched in the New World like overlords, their sphere of influence is constantly expanding, and they have a multitude of powerhouses under their command.

Gol D. Roger, if you want to become the Pirate King... you must overcome them!"

"Rocks will not allow anyone to claim the title of King in front of him."

As his voice faded, everyone fell silent.

All eyes gathered on their captain, Gol D. Roger, as if waiting for his answer.

Gol D. Roger remained silent for a moment.

Then, he tilted his head back, looking toward the blue sea and sky, and his heroic, unrestrained laughter rang out once more:

"Hahaha... the Rocks Pirates, you say?"

"So what?!"

He turned around abruptly, his crimson cape snapping in the wind, his eyes burning with an indomitable flame:

"Believe me—"

"The title of Pirate King will definitely belong to me!"

"If Rocks wants to block the path, then we'll just fight our way through!"

"On this ocean, no one can stop me, Gol D. Roger—from becoming the Pirate King!!"

His bold words rang out like the beating of war drums.

The fighting spirit ignited in the eyes of everyone on the ship.