Elsewhere.
After Kalifa brought Rob Lucci and the others to safety, she reported the situation to Spandam!
"What!?"
Unsurprisingly, Spandam's expression changed drastically when he heard this utterly unexpected outcome.
Even through the Den Den Mushi, Kalifa could imagine how shocked he looked!
Once Spandam came back to his senses, he immediately recalled Kalifa.
A few days later, Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and the others returned to Enies Lobby.
By then, Rob Lucci and the others had already woken up.
Seeing them covered in bandages and seriously injured, Spandam did not look pleased.
"What the hell happened to you people!?"
"You couldn't even handle one Natsuya!?"
Spandam berated them furiously.
He had not said anything over the Den Den Mushi before only because he had been holding himself back. But now that he was face-to-face with Rob Lucci and the others, he finally could not contain his anger any longer!
He had never imagined that Rob Lucci and the others would actually lose to Natsuya.
That meant his plan to conceal the mission's failure had fallen through.
There was no way this matter could be kept secret anymore.
Once it was reported, who knew what impact it would have on his career!
Rob Lucci and the others remained silent under Spandam's scolding.
Because this time, they really had been defeated.
Even the usually arrogant Rob Lucci silently endured Spandam's reprimand.
After a while, Rob Lucci finally spoke. "Sir, I would like to apply for a long-term assignment."
"A long-term assignment?"
Spandam froze.
Rob Lucci nodded. "Natsuya's strength exceeded my expectations. I want to train properly while carrying out a long-term assignment."
"Next time, I will definitely defeat him."
As he spoke, determination flashed in Rob Lucci's eyes.
This defeat had not completely crushed CP9's greatest prodigy. Instead, it had spurred him to work even harder.
Kaku and Blueno hurriedly echoed him. "Sir, I want a long-term assignment too!"
"Me too."
After hesitating for a moment, Kalifa chimed in as well.
It was not because she wanted to take the opportunity to train. She simply did not want to be sent against Natsuya again.
In her view, although they had failed this time, the World Government would never let the matter rest.
The World Government would never allow someone from the CP Department to run loose outside!
However, Kalifa's worries were clearly unnecessary.
Since even the strongest, Rob Lucci, had lost, Spandam naturally could no longer expect Kalifa and the others to deal with Natsuya.
That was also why he believed the matter could not be concealed.
If they could not handle it themselves, they could only report it to the Five Elders.
And after reporting it to the Five Elders, there was a high chance that Natsuya would be wanted.
Sure enough.
After Spandam reported Natsuya's situation to the Five Elders,
Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, quickly received an order.
The order was to issue a bounty warrant for Natsuya!
"Natsuya?"
Sengoku raised an eyebrow as he looked over the information sent by the Five Elders.
The name vaguely rang a bell.
He seemed to remember a little boy who had been specially recruited into the CP Department from the Marines three years ago.
He had not expected that, after three years, that little boy would have joined CP9—and now betrayed CP9!?
"A Door-Door Fruit ability!?"
When Sengoku saw Natsuya's ability, surprise appeared on his face again.
The report naturally included Natsuya's past mission performances and the outcome of his battle with Rob Lucci and the others.
As a result, Sengoku gained a complete understanding of Natsuya's abilities.
His Rokushiki was nothing special. Even at its peak, it was not particularly impressive.
Compared to Rob Lucci, there was still quite a gap.
But his Devil Fruit ability could not be underestimated.
The report made it abundantly clear that Natsuya had defeated Rob Lucci and the others by relying on that Door-Door Fruit ability!
In such a short time, he had developed multiple uses for this ability.
They included defense, space-related techniques, and even moves that temporarily enhanced his strength.
Seeing this, Sengoku understood why the Five Elders had specifically ordered him to issue a bounty for Natsuya.
First, Natsuya's identity itself was extremely sensitive.
Second, with the Door-Door Fruit, he clearly possessed tremendous potential. If he was not eliminated quickly, he could very well grow into a serious threat!
As for why the Five Elders had chosen to issue a bounty instead of directly sending someone to eliminate him, Sengoku was not surprised.
In truth, bounty posters were more useful than many people imagined.
They did not merely serve as warnings to the public; they also concealed tremendous killing intent.
For example, if someone had a bounty on their head and encountered pirates, those pirates might not have wanted a conflict in the first place. But they could very well attack for the bounty.
Likewise, if they encountered a Marine encirclement, they would likely become a priority target.
After all, the Marines also received a share of the bounty for capturing or killing wanted criminals.
In short, a single bounty poster could turn someone into the enemy of the entire world!
And that was clearly the Five Elders' intention.
Most importantly, the bounty the Five Elders had set for Natsuya this time was extremely generous!
One hundred million!
That was right, one hundred million Beli!
An amount like that could even buy a Devil Fruit on the black market.
Many people would surely go mad when they saw it!
And that was indeed what happened.
When Natsuya's bounty poster was issued, the Grand Line experienced a minor earthquake!
After all, even in the Grand Line, a bounty of one hundred million Beli was no small amount.
Not to mention that Natsuya, the man being wanted this time, was in the East Blue!
The weakest of the Four Seas, the East Blue!
At that very moment, in the East Blue,
the release of Natsuya's bounty poster naturally caused a massive uproar.
"My God, a bounty of one hundred million Beli!"
"This Natsuya is really something else!"
"What did he do to get a bounty of one hundred million Beli!?"
"It doesn't say, and he doesn't even have an epithet!"
Countless pirate crews were astonished.
At that moment, the Beast Pirate Crew operating in the East Blue was also abuzz with discussion about Natsuya.
In a corner, a delicate little girl with orange hair held Natsuya's bounty poster. As she stared at his handsome face, she seemed lost in thought.
More precisely, she was staring at that string of zeros.
"One hundred million Beli."
"When will I ever save up enough?"
Before you continue