Luffy's face took up more than half the newspaper's front page.
The number beside his bounty was exactly double what it had been before. "Wahahaha!" Luffy laughed as he held the newspaper over his head. "I'm worth even more now!"
"That's not the point!" Nami gritted her teeth in frustration. "The point is that you'll be recognized wherever you go now. It'll be hard for us to do anything!"
"What does it matter?" Luffy tilted his head. "I wasn't planning to hide from anyone anyway."
Sanji came over from the campfire carrying a pot of soup. "Stop talking about Luffy. All of you went up too. Let me see mine—"
"What's there to see?" Zoro cut him off. "You looking for a fight again?"
"Anytime."
"Alright, alright..." Chopper trembled as he hid behind Usopp. "You two, don't just..."
Before he could finish, a huge boom came from the distant sea.
Everyone turned around at once.
Flames shot into the sky.
It was the sound of **, and it had come from very far away.
Robin frowned. "That direction... is Whitebeard Pirates territory."
The meat in Luffy's hand fell to the ground.
His expression changed. "Ace..."
"Contact them, now!" Nami shouted at Franky.
Franky was already adjusting the Den Den Mushi, but the static was so bad that they could not make out what was being said on the other end.
The image flickered in and out, showing nothing but chaos.
Someone was shouting.
Blades flashed.
Fire burned.
Then a voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
It was calm, so calm that it sent a chill down their spines. "Fire Fist Ace has been captured."
Luffy froze where he stood.
The sea wind poured into his collar, but he could not feel the cold.
All he felt was the blood