Aaron's Bounty Poster

The sun was bright, the air cool, and the sea breeze made it feel especially refreshing.

It was the third day since the Straw Hat Pirates left Cocoyasi Village.

"Aaron, why are your eyes so red? Were you crying?" Usopp sat cross-legged on the ground, fiddling with the toolbox in front of him now and then. After stretching, he noticed Aaron's swollen eyes and asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I cried all night." Aaron rolled his eyes, then secretly glanced behind him. Seeing Nami tending to the orange trees that had been transplanted onto the ship, he let out a long breath.

"Huh? You really cried? Why?" Hearing that Aaron had truly cried, and for an entire night at that, Usopp patted his shoulder with concern.

That night, when Genzo wiped away his tears and saw Bellemere, Nami suddenly realized that she could no longer see Bellemere. That made her realize that Aaron's tears had a time limit...

So, in order to let Nojiko and Genzo see Bellemere when she left as well...

She subjected Aaron to inhumane torture.

Well, she squeezed out an entire vat of tears. That was how brutal she was!

Only Aaron could manage that. If it had been anyone else, draining all the blood from their body still would not have produced that much.

Even Aaron felt somewhat hollowed out after being squeezed dry like that. He slapped Usopp's hand away and said irritably, "It's nothing. I'm going to make burgers." Then he staggered toward the cabin.

He did not want anyone to know about something so embarrassing.

"Seriously, why are you getting mad..." Usopp helplessly watched Aaron's unsteady steps, then turned to Nami. "Hey, Nami, do you know what happened to Aaron? His eyes are really red."

"Uh..." Nami stiffened all over. "Ahaha, maybe he thought of something sad. Ahaha, ahahaha." As she spoke, Nami hurried away.

Even Nami felt a little guilty after squeezing Aaron dry like that.

"Hm?" Usopp looked at Nami in confusion. "Forget it. Maybe Aaron really does have something sad going on. I should get back to making my Pepper Star~"

Meanwhile, Aaron...

"It's been a long time since I felt this weak..." Aaron looked at his hand and clenched it. The weakness coming from his arm made him sigh. "Seriously, I should've jumped into the sea to replenish some water first. Was it really because I cried too much? I wonder if it'll affect my burger-making..." he muttered, taking out some raw meat from beneath Sanji's stove.

Sanji and Aaron now used separate stoves. Sanji's stove was larger and taller, while Aaron's was lower, perfectly suited to his height, and placed beside Sanji's stove.

"Hm?" The moment he started working, Aaron keenly sensed that something was off.

"Why does... the spatula feel easier to use?" Aaron looked doubtfully at the spatula in his hand. "Could it be?" Thinking of a possibility, he sped up his movements.

Very quickly, a burger took shape.

"Nom!" Aaron swallowed the entire burger in one bite and carefully savored it.

It should be mentioned that after that hellish half-month of burgers, aside from Luffy and Sanji, who had not gone through it, Roronoa Zoro and the others now felt like vomiting whenever they saw a burger.

So most of the burgers Aaron made were produced and consumed by himself.

"So it really is..." After finishing it, Aaron looked at the spatula in his hand, unable to conceal the wild joy in his eyes. "It evolved..."

Aaron's Spatula: As long as Aaron makes burgers, deliciousness increases by 0.1%, ease of digestion increases by 0.1%, nutritional value increases by 0.1%, and addictiveness... addictiveness increases by 0.1%. If Aaron makes anything other than burgers, deliciousness increases by 40%, ease of digestion decreases by 40%, nutritional value decreases by 40%, and toxicity increases by 60%.

I never expected the spatula Master gave me to be growth equipment. What a steal!

Aaron grinned from ear to ear, throwing his head back in laughter as he spun in circles around the kitchen. "Ahahahahaha!"

Since the spatula can grow, this will be easy. The increase may be a little small, but as long as I keep leveling it up, I'll never have to worry about making burgers that people can't stop eating! Aaron thought optimistically.

Then what should I... what should I do?

Aaron suddenly realized that he had no idea how the spatula leveled up.

Uh... think carefully about what I did before... made burgers, made burgers, made burgers, made burgers... I didn't do anything else besides making burgers... Could it have been that time I set up a stall?

Aaron thought of his experience running a stall that night.

Could it be that the more people who eat them, the higher the approval, and the faster my spatula levels up...? The more Aaron thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Hm... I'll try it later. Aaron pursed his lips and thought seriously.

"Wow!!" At that moment, the cries of surprise from outside interrupted Aaron's thoughts.

"Huh? What happened outside?"

Aaron stepped out of the cabin and found everyone gathered together. When Luffy saw him come out, he laughed and unfolded a sheet of paper. "Aaron! Look, look! My bounty poster! It's thirty million Beli! Ahahahahaha!"

"Oh?!!" Hearing that, Aaron hurried over and leaned in to examine the bounty poster carefully.

The poster had a picture of Luffy wearing a huge, foolish grin. Beneath it was Luffy's description.

[Straw Hat] Monkey D. Luffy, defeated Buggy the Clown, Pirate Admiral Krieg, and fish-man Arlong. Bounty: 30,000,000 Beli. Dead or alive.

Aaron looked up happily. "Congratulations, Luffy!"

"Ahahahahaha!" Luffy danced around happily like a two-hundred-pound fool.

"Oh! I got photographed here too!" Usopp studied the bounty poster closely and suddenly exclaimed in delight.

"What? Where?!" Sanji leaned closer in shock. "There's nothing there at all!"

"Here." Usopp pointed to a corner of the picture with his index finger. Sure enough, there was Usopp... or rather, the back of Usopp's head.

"What's the big deal? It's just the back of your head!" Sanji said disdainfully, then sulked off to the side.

"Are you jealous?" Usopp said smugly. "But it's fine. Once you become a big shot, even if you're not the captain, you'll get a bounty poster."

"What? Really?" Sanji turned around in surprise.

"...There's already a big shot on this ship," Nami said stiffly. As everyone turned to look at her, she silently pulled another bounty poster from the newspaper in her hand and unfolded it.

[Devil Muscle Man] Copperfield Aaron, brutally mutilated Nezumi, colonel of Marine Branch 16, with exceptionally cruel methods. Bounty: 30,000,000 Beli. Kill on sight.

The photograph showed Aaron in his berserk state, just as he was about to hammer Nezumi to death.

But... the grotesque muscles, delicate face, violent aura, powerful arms, and... pink underwear that fully displayed his physique created an extremely bizarre overall impression.

So... how exactly had the photographer managed to capture that shot?

Wasn't it an eyesore?

"Huh?! My bounty poster?" Aaron pointed at himself, his shocked expression like a cat that had eaten catnip.

"I didn't expect you to get a bounty too, Aaron! Hahahaha, that's great!" Luffy laughed as he slapped Aaron on the back, nearly knocking him over.

"But this..." Sanji carefully looked at Aaron, then carefully examined the person on the bounty poster.

"Ah, this is actually Aaron's other form. You haven't seen it yet, Sanji," Usopp explained.

"Oh... I see." Sanji nodded. "I thought the photographer had messed up. Good thing that's not it. Otherwise, how would all the beautiful women in the world see me if I got photographed like that?"

Well, disaster really did come from the mouth, Sanji. Your day would come.

"But that nickname is way too awful. Devil Muscle Man? Anyone who didn't know better would think Aaron was some huge brute," Sanji continued. "Even Sponge Man would sound better than that."

"Can't be helped. Aaron killed that colonel in that form. But Aaron, why did you kill that colonel?" Usopp asked curiously.

"Enough, enough! Seriously, do you people have no sense of crisis at all?!" Nami interrupted. "Those are bounty posters! Bounty posters! The Marines and bounty hunters will chase us all over the world!"

"But... if pirates don't have bounties, what kind of pirates are they?" Luffy said, troubled.

"That's true, but you can't just..."

"Besides, weren't the Marines and bounty hunters chasing us before we got bounties too? There's no difference! Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed.

"...You can actually say something like that?" Nami stared at Luffy in disbelief.

"What do you mean, Nami?! I'm very smart!" Luffy said unhappily.

"...Where does that confidence come from?" Nami rubbed her forehead.

"Forget it. Today, we're going to thoroughly clean the ship from top to bottom, inside and out!"

"Yeah!"

At Makino's bar in Foosha Village.

The village chief slapped two bounty posters onto the table in a rage. "Look at what those two brats did! The villagers are all celebrating, even saying the village might produce two great pirates. Seriously, what's so good about producing two great pirates?!"

Makino picked up the bounty posters. When she saw Luffy's smiling face, she smiled as well. "It can't be helped. Wasn't that Luffy's dream?"

"Sigh!" Hearing that, the village chief sighed. He stared ahead, his gaze unusually deep. "Is it a dream... or fate...?"

"Hm? What did you say, Village Chief?" Makino had not heard him clearly.

"Nothing. Aren't you worried about your nephew? He brutally killed a Marine colonel. Is that really all right?"

"Mhm." Makino shook her head. Looking at Aaron's delicate, bun-like face, her eyes were gentle. "I believe in Aaron. He's Athena's son, after all."

Some island on the Grand Line.

This island was covered in dark clouds year-round, yet it never rained. Without sunlight, the plants gradually withered, and amid the dead branches and fallen leaves, the place appeared even more sinister.

The ground had also grown darker and harder. If a beam of light shone down upon it, it could even reflect a gleam.

Everything was so ominous.

But it was not completely devoid of life.

At the center of the island stood an ash-white hemispherical building. A true hemisphere, with not even a door.

On the lowest floor of the building, in a room resembling an observation chamber, a shadow leisurely read today's newspaper.

"Hm? Copperfield Aaron?" Upon seeing the name on the bounty poster clearly, the shadow suddenly paused. His hoarse, calm voice carried a hint of surprise. "Copperfield Aaron... Is he that man's son?"

He recalled the man who had obstructed him years ago, then casually set the newspaper aside. Sitting in his chair, he rhythmically tapped the backrest with his fingers and stared ahead. "...Perhaps he will be a variable."

Before him stood a pane of glass. Beyond it, rows upon rows of neat tombstones stood silently in the darkness.