The East Blue, beneath clear blue skies.
The Eclipse's enormous black sails billowed in the sea breeze as the ship glided steadily across the azure sea.
"Whoosh!"
A News Coo wearing a postman's cap swooped down from the sky with pinpoint accuracy, dropping a rolled-up newspaper and several sheets onto the Eclipse's deck.
"Oh? Today's paper is here."
Sabo caught the newspaper and casually tossed a coin to the News Coo. As he untied the string, several brand-new Navy wanted posters were swept onto the deck by the sea breeze.
Carina, who was checking the accounts in the cabin, and Buggy, who was polishing a cannon on deck, both perked up their ears and came over in perfect sync.
"Let me see! Let me see! I did my part outside Baratie, so my bounty must've doubled!"
Buggy rushed onto the deck and snatched up one of the posters, which bore a picture of his red nose.
But when he saw the number and the words above it, the anticipation on his face instantly turned to despair.
"Jester" Buggy. Bounty: 15,000,000 Beli.
The photo was still that old picture of him, and his bounty hadn't gone up by a single Beli. But that wasn't even the worst part. Below his name, in glaringly humiliating little letters, it read: Affiliation: Eclipse Pirates—Chief Errand Boy!
"You've got to be kidding me!!!"
Buggy's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Gripping the poster, he stomped around the deck in a furious frenzy. "Why hasn't my bounty gone up by a single Beli?! And where the hell did those Navy bastards get their intel? Chief Errand Boy, my ass! Don't I have any dignity?!"
"Hahahahaha!"
With a hearty, booming laugh, Ace stepped out of the cabin, having just finished his morning workout.
He strode over to Buggy and slapped his broad, solid hand against Buggy's back with such force that he nearly knocked him flat.
"Don't be so upset, Buggy!" Ace laughed so hard his eyes were almost watering. He rubbed Buggy's head with easy familiarity. "What's wrong with being Chief Errand Boy? It's a key position aboard the Eclipse! The Navy clearly recognizes your enormous contributions to our crew's logistics! Hahahaha!"
"Captain! You're definitely making fun of me! You definitely are!" Buggy protested, on the verge of tears. But under the infectious influence of Ace's carefree, unpretentious laughter, most of his frustration faded before he knew it.
"Looks like the Navy's intelligence network isn't all that impressive after all."
Carina crouched down with effortless composure and rummaged through the wanted posters. Then she tossed her long purple hair with a smug smile. "They didn't even catch me paying Baratie's bill. As expected, a top professional thief never lets her face get caught on camera—that's the perfect way to commit a crime~"
"You just ran fast." Sabo chuckled and shook his head, then calmly picked up his own wanted poster.
The photo showed him captured mid-strike as he shattered an Affiliated Nation royal family's sailing ship with Fire Fist. His elegant profile was bathed in orange-red flames, one hand resting on the brim of his hat.
"Flame Claw" Sabo. Bounty: 30,000,000 Beli. Dead or alive.
"A first bounty of thirty million Beli. The Navy Headquarters must be furious about our attack on an Affiliated Nation's royal family." Sabo smiled warmly and folded his poster away.
"Nicely done, Sabo! That's the kind of bounty the Eclipse's first mate deserves!"
Ace laughed and gave Sabo a thumbs-up. Then he picked up the last poster on the deck—the highest bounty of them all, emblazoned with the words EXTREMELY DANGEROUS in bright red.
The photo had been secretly taken in Baratie's dining room. Ace sat at the head of the table, his massive, two-and-a-half-meter frame exuding an oppressive presence. His deep black eyes casually glanced toward the camera, his arrogance and composure practically spilling off the page.
"Eclipse" Portgas D. Ace. Bounty: 50,000,000 Beli! Dead or alive!
"Captain, you got fifty million without even lifting a finger?!"
Seeing the number, Buggy sucked in a sharp breath. A first bounty of fifty million had shattered the East Blue's historical record!
"Hahahahaha! Fifty million, huh? Looks like that royal guard you tossed into the sea was worth something after all!"
Ace looked at the number on his poster, making no effort to hide his delight. He let out a bold, unrestrained laugh, then turned and called excitedly to Carina. "Carina! Today's a good day! Bring out the best sake in the cellar! Buggy, go to the kitchen and roast the biggest Sea King leg! We're having a little party to celebrate!"
"Ohhh! A party! There'll be booze!" The moment Buggy heard the word "party," his frustration vanished into thin air, and he scampered off to the kitchen.
Carina smiled and shook her head, then turned to fetch the sake.
Watching his lively crewmates on deck, Ace casually tucked the fifty-million-bounty poster—enough to shake the entire East Blue—into his pocket. He leaned against the railing and gazed out at the sunlit sea, a sincere, fiery smile on his face.
Meanwhile, in the mountains behind Foosha Village, Goa Kingdom.
"Woooooow!!!"
Fourteen-year-old Luffy clutched Ace and Sabo's wanted posters in his hands. His eyes had turned into enormous, sparkling stars, and he bounced around wildly on the roof of Dadan's cabin.
"That's so cool! Ace and Sabo are the coolest!! Fifty million Beli!!"
Holding down his straw hat, Luffy looked toward the azure sea and shouted, brimming with determination despite his frustration. "Damn it! I've gotta set out to sea soon too! One day, I'll get a bounty higher than Ace's! I'm gonna be the man who becomes Pirate King!!!"
Below him, the bandit Dadan saw the two outrageous wanted posters that had fallen out of the newspaper. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed on the floor, foaming at the mouth.
"We're done for! Vice Admiral Garp's going to tear us all apart when he gets back!"
Back on the Eclipse, in the East Blue.
After the brief celebration, the deck was filled with the aroma of roasted meat and sake.
"Now that the wanted posters are out, the Navy in the East Blue will soon come swarming over like sharks smelling blood."
Carina took a sip of juice and spread out the nautical chart with practiced ease. A thoughtful light glimmered in her purple eyes. "Captain, we've done everything we need to do in the East Blue. Should we set course straight for the entrance to the Grand Line—Reverse Mountain?"
At the mention of Reverse Mountain, Sabo and Buggy both looked toward Ace, who was perched on a barrel, gnawing on a bone-in cut of meat.
Ace, who had just been all smiles and fighting with Buggy over the meat, paused at the question about their next destination.
The next second.
His smile slowly faded.
A deep, imposing aura, like an abyss beneath towering mountains, poured from him without warning. The temperature of the air seemed to drop a few degrees at the subtle shift in his presence.
Ace set down the roasted meat in his hand and calmly fixed his gaze on a point on the chart.
"Before we enter the Grand Line, let's go somewhere else first."
Ace decisively reached out and jabbed a finger down hard on an island marked on the chart.
"Let's go to Loguetown."
"Loguetown?" Carina paused. "The town of beginnings and endings? But it's still a ways from Reverse Mountain, and the Marine captain stationed there, White Hunter Smoker, is a Logia user. Taking the highest bounty in the East Blue straight there will definitely cause a lot of trouble."
"So what?"
Ace slowly stood up. He wasn't laughing, and he wasn't angry.
He simply looked down at the sea before them. Faint golden light shimmered deep in his black eyes, and his confidence alone was enough to move Buggy and Carina.
"Whether it's a Logia user or the Marine fleet stationed there..."
Ace's voice was strangely calm, yet it held an absolute arrogance powerful enough to crush every rule on these seas.
"If they dare stand in the Eclipse's way, we'll crush them all."
Ace turned around, his ambitious eyes fixed on Sabo and Buggy.
"Turn the ship."
"We're going to the place where the ghosts of the old era met their end. I'll announce our arrival to the whole world there!"
Before you continue