Calamity's First Bounty: 1.5 Billion!

"Eat it all?"

Sengoku froze.

"My Yasakani Sacred Jewel hit him, and it didn't even make a ripple."

"Instead, it made him more energetic."

"It felt like light had become his food."

"And his body was ridiculously tough."

"There were no traces of Haki, nor had he used Iron Body."

"It was purely physical defense."

"Even specially made Seastone bullets couldn't so much as scrape his skin."

The conference room fell silent once more.

All the admirals and vice admirals were processing this information.

Flight.

Heat Vision.

Devouring light energy.

An invincible body.

Put together, those words sounded like something out of a made-up story.

But this had come straight from an admiral's mouth.

No one noticed.

That Garp, seated in the farthest corner and crunching away at rice crackers, suddenly froze.

The half-eaten rice cracker in his hand stopped awkwardly at his lips.

Fine beads of sweat began to form on Garp's forehead.

His old, somewhat clouded eyes trembled violently.

Flight?

That brat had known how to do that since he was three.

Garp had seen it with his own eyes by the cliff back then.

Heat Vision?

The last time he went back, that bandit hag Dadan had wailed to him about it.

She said the brat thought roasting meat was too slow, so he had stared a wild boar cooked with his eyes.

An invincible body?

Bullshit!

Over the past few days in the back mountain, even Conqueror's Coating hadn't managed to break that brat's bones.

As for devouring light energy...

"Sunlight is the best supplement, old man. Want to bask in it too?"

Kahn's infuriating voice suddenly echoed through Garp's mind.

Clatter.

The half-eaten rice cracker in Garp's hand fell to the floor.

The sound was especially piercing in the quiet conference room.

Every gaze instantly focused on the Hero of the Marines.

Veins bulged on Sengoku's forehead.

"Garp!"

"Do you know what time this is?!"

"You actually still have the mood to eat rice crackers?!"

"Did dogs eat your sense of justice?!"

Garp snapped back to his senses.

He hurriedly bent down to pick up the rice cracker, using the motion to hide the panic on his face.

"Ahahahaha..."

"Sorry, sorry. My hand slipped."

Garp stuffed the rice cracker into his mouth and chewed it a few times at random.

Inside, though, he was already cursing furiously.

That damned brat!

He had actually gone to Mary Geoise!

And he had fucking set the Holy Land on fire!

He had even beaten up that monkey Kizaru!

Was he trying to make his grandpa die early?!

If this got exposed...

Garp felt a chill run down the back of his neck.

Roger's bloodline.

Combined with the monstrous crime of attacking the Holy Land.

If the Five Elders found out it had been a nine-year-old child, and that Garp had raised him...

Then it would not be as simple as Marine Headquarters being blown flat.

The entire East Blue would be buried with them!

"Vice Admiral Garp, you seem rather nervous?"

Akainu suddenly turned his head and stared hard at Garp.

His eyes held a probing look.

"Your head is covered in sweat."

"The air conditioning in this conference room is quite strong."

Garp's heart skipped a beat.

That mad dog Sakazuki's nose was still as sharp as ever.

"Cough, cough!"

Garp coughed sharply twice and slapped his thigh.

"Nervous, my ass!"

"I'm hot!"

"I just ate fifty packs of extra-spicy rice crackers in one go. Want a taste?"

As he spoke, Garp pulled a bright red pack of rice crackers from his clothes and shoved it right in front of Akainu.

Akainu leaned back in distaste.

"I have no interest in that kind of junk food."

Sengoku did not suspect anything either.

After all, Garp was always causing some sort of trouble during meetings.

"Enough!"

"Now is not the time to discuss snacks!"

Sengoku tapped the blackboard.

A crude portrait hung on it.

It had been drawn based on Kizaru's description.

A blurry humanoid mosaic, with only two glowing red eyes.

Beside it were several large words:

Codename: Unknown.

Threat Level: Extremely High.

"Tsuru, what do you think?"

Sengoku looked toward his chief strategist.

Vice Admiral Tsuru set down the cards in her hand.

"Judging by his behavioral pattern, this person is not affiliated with Fisher Tiger."

"Tiger acted to free slaves."

"But this person..."

Tsuru pointed at Kizaru's injuries.

"Seems more like he was looking for amusement."

"Or trying to establish his authority."

"He did not kill all the Marines, nor did he attack ordinary soldiers."

"His target was very clear: CP0 and the violent institutions of the Celestial Dragons."

"This sort of personality..."

"Extremely arrogant. Extremely confident."

"And completely without reverence for the World Government."

"If left unchecked, he may become an even greater problem than the Four Emperors in the future."

Sengoku nodded.

"That's what I think as well."

"A wanted poster must be issued."

"Though we don't know what he looks like, that unique attack method will definitely identify him if he appears again."

"How much should the bounty be?"

Brannew, the brigadier general in charge of bounties, stood up, trembling slightly.

"Given that he infiltrated Mary Geoise, killed multiple CP0 agents, and seriously injured an admiral..."

"The initial proposal is... one billion Beli?"

"Too low!"

Akainu slammed his fist onto the table.

"This is a provocation against justice!"

"1.5 billion!"

"And it must be dead or alive!"

Sengoku rubbed his temples.

"A first bounty of 1.5 billion would be unprecedented on the seas."

"However, considering the severity of this incident..."

"Make it 1.5 billion."

"What about his codename?"

"We can't call him the 'Mosaic Man,' can we?"

Aokiji lazily raised his hand.

"Since he likes light and can eat light..."

"How about 'Sun Devourer'?"

"That sounds awful." Kizaru curled his lip.

"Those eyes left quite an impression."

"How about 'Red Eyes'?"

Garp listened nearby, his heart pounding.

Red Eyes?

Sun Devourer?

If they called him that, wouldn't that expose all the brat's traits?

No.

He had to muddy the waters.

"I think we should just call him 'That Guy'!"

Garp suddenly shouted.

"No one saw his face anyway. Who knows if it was some Devil Fruit ability?"

"Maybe some kind of Mythical Zoan or something."

"If you give him a name that's too specific, wouldn't it be embarrassing if you caught the wrong person?"

Sengoku glared at Garp.

"Shut up!"

"'That Guy'? If that name gets printed on a wanted poster, the Marines will be laughed into a disgrace!"

In the end, after a round of discussion.

The wanted poster was finalized.

There was no photograph.

Only a blurry black silhouette, along with those scarlet eyes.

Codename: [Calamity].

Bounty: 1.5 billion Beli.

Crimes: Infiltrating the Holy Land, killing government officials, attacking an admiral, and disrupting world order.

"Meeting adjourned!"

Sengoku waved a large hand.

"Borsalino, go recover from your injuries."

"Sakazuki, take charge of the New World's defenses. Don't let the Four Emperors take advantage of the chaos."

"Kuzan, make a trip to Fish-Man Island."

"Make sure you find out where Fisher Tiger is. While you're at it, see if you can uncover any leads on that Calamity."

Everyone rose and left.

Garp was the fastest to flee.

He did not even take his unfinished bag of rice crackers.

In a flash, he bolted out of the meeting room.

He was moving three times faster than he usually did when chasing pirates.

"Is that old bastard in a hurry to reincarnate?"

Sengoku frowned as he watched Garp's retreating back.

But his mind was full of the mess at Mary Geoise, and he had no time to look into it further.

In the corridor.

Garp grabbed Bogart, who had already been waiting outside the door, and charged straight for the harbor.

"Quick!"

"Prepare a ship!"

"Pick the fastest warship we have!"

Bogart stumbled as he was dragged along.

"Vice Admiral, where are we going?"

"Didn't we just get back from the East Blue two days ago?"

"Back to the East Blue!"

Garp lowered his voice, as if he were up to no good.

His old face was covered in cold sweat.

"That brat has caused a huge disaster!"

"I need to get back and see whether he left any loose ends!"

"If Sengoku finds out that he's my grandson..."

Garp made a throat-slitting gesture.

"My retirement pension will be gone for good!"

Bogart froze.

Then, an expression of utter shock appeared on the face of this perpetually stone-faced adjutant.

Though Garp had not said it outright.

As a trusted subordinate who had followed Garp for decades.

Bogart understood in an instant.

That monster at Mary Geoise who had pinned an admiral to the ground and hammered him...

Was actually nine-year-old Kahn?!

Bogart's hands even began to tremble.

He remembered the last time he had seen that child, when Kahn had still been practicing Moonwalk so he would not fall to his death.

How many years had it been?

And he was already treating the Red Line like his own backyard?

"What are you standing around for?!"

Garp kicked Bogart in the rear.

"Get moving!"

"And prepare the best meat for me!"

"If that damn brat dares disobey me, this time I'll beat him until he's crawling for his teeth with the Love Fist!"

Though his words were fierce.

Garp was actually scared out of his wits.

Beat him?

Remembering their evenly matched duel in the woods.

Garp suddenly felt that he might truly be unable to beat that grandson of his anymore.

One and a half billion Beli...

Roger.

What kind of monster did you bastard give birth to?

The warship departed from Marineford's harbor.

It sped at full speed toward the East Blue.

The sea breeze lifted Garp's cape of justice.

The word "Justice" on its back looked somewhat unsteady beneath the setting sun.