High Bounties!

At this moment.

At a Marine base.

Numerous Marine officers sat solemnly on either side, listening intently to the speech of a fellow high-ranking Marine officer on the platform while eyeing the pirate bounty posters pasted to the wall.

Upon closer inspection, the posters all featured enemies Luffy and the others had once defeated: Buggy the Clown, worth 15 million; the pirate admiral Krieg, worth 17 million; and the fish-man Arlong, worth 20 million.

"In the East Blue, where the average bounty is only three million, Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy's ability to defeat these great pirates is more than enough to prove that he poses a threat to world security. Therefore, a bounty of 30 million is more than justified!"

The Marines below nodded in agreement, but when the officer produced another bounty poster, they all cried out in alarm.

"No way, 50 million Beli!"

"50 million Beli? How can it be that high?!"

"..."

Faced with the chorus of doubts, the Marine officer said nothing. He merely pressed his hand down, then slowly spoke once the room had quieted. "Zero, code name Executioner, member of the Straw Hat Pirates. One reason he has been designated a pirate worth 50 million is that he once fought Mihawk of the Shichibukai, and the two ended in a draw!"

Before the crowd could react, he added, "More importantly, this man may possess the rare—Conqueror's Haki!"

The instant his words fell, the room sank into an eerie silence. Only after a long while did it erupt once more.

"What did you say? Conqueror's Haki?!"

"He fought Mihawk to a draw and possesses Conqueror's Haki? Just who is he?"

"I heard that Red-Haired Shanks of the Four Emperors also possesses Conqueror's Haki. We must keep a close eye on this man! I'll go print more bounty posters right away!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

"..."

Since they had not been there, they did not know under what circumstances Hawk-Eye Mihawk had fought him to a draw. Their attention remained focused on Zero's Conqueror's Haki. After all, this was the disposition of a king that only one person in a million had a chance of awakening!

While they continued arguing, the neighboring room was far quieter by comparison.

One Marine was reviewing documents. He wore frog-shaped glasses, his beard was braided into twists beneath his chin, and a seagull symbolizing the Marines even perched atop his cap.

Not far from him, another man kept eating snacks from a bag. The gray in his hair and his sturdy physique both spoke of his considerable seniority.

These two were the Marines' current top-tier forces—Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha and Vice Admiral Garp, who had once pursued the Pirate King!

"Garp, don't you have a mission today?"

In response to Sengoku's jab, Garp burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Pirates can never be caught them all. Catching them early or late makes no difference!"

"Hmph. I heard your grandson has gone off to become a pirate too. No one in your family knows how to behave. You're a Marine hero, for crying out loud!"

At the mention of his grandson, Garp's hand paused slightly as he ate, and his expression darkened. "That little brat... he still became a pirate?"

"Yes, and it seems one of his crew members is quite extraordinary. He has yet to become much of a threat, but a pirate is still a pirate. Sooner or later, he will affect the World Government!"

Garp fell silent and continued eating the snacks before him, his gaze vacant as though he were lost in thought.

Sengoku looked up at him and found it difficult to say anything about Garp's family. After all, Garp himself represented the Marines, his son had joined the Revolutionary Army, and now his grandson had become a pirate. No one would have an easy time with that!

As their conversation came to an end, the room fell silent once again.

Aboard the Going Merry.

The group had also received the latest bounty posters. When they saw Zero's bounty, every one of them was shocked.

"Executioner Zero, bounty: 50 million Beli!"

"No way! That's 20 million higher than Luffy's! Zero, you're amazing!"

"Ah, I'm so annoyed! I'm the captain, you know! Zero, I'll definitely surpass your bounty next time!"

Zoro, who was sitting on the deck sunbathing, also noticed Luffy and Zero's bounty posters. He immediately grumbled indignantly, "Hey, why do you all have bounties while I don't?"

"Don't I not have one either? If I don't have one, why would a moss-head like you have one?"

"What did you say? Say that again, shitty cook!"

"What did you say?"

Seeing the two start arguing, Zero spread his hands, indicating that there was nothing he could do about the bounty the Marines had assigned him.

But that code name did bother him. What did they mean by Executioner? Didn't he just like using Conqueror's Haki to clear out fodder? That did not seem to have anything to do with being an executioner. Wouldn't something like Master of Musou sound much better?

Despite grumbling inwardly, Zero spoke to everyone seriously. "Everyone, Luffy and I both have bounty posters now. That means we've entered the Marines' sights. We'll need to be careful of them hunting us down on the sea from now on!"

Usopp and Nami screamed in fear after hearing that, while Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro were unconcerned about being pursued by the Marines.

To make them take it seriously, Zero thought for a moment before saying, "The Marines we've encountered so far are not very strong, but that is only because there aren't many high-ranking Marine officers stationed in the East Blue. On the Grand Line, the three Admirals are figures even the Shichibukai fear. And above them are even stronger Marines!"

Only then did the three put away their carefree attitudes.

Luffy's face was filled with fighting spirit, while Sanji lit a cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

Zoro tightened his grip on Wado Ichimonji. He was already calculating that he had to buy swords the next time they landed on an island. After all, two of his blades had broken during his battle with Mihawk, and it had significantly affected his strength.

At that moment, Sanji suddenly spoke. "Zero, you mentioned this thing called Haki before, right? I'm interested. Can you teach me?"

Seeing the eager expressions on everyone's faces—even Nami, lying in the nearby deck chair, had perked up her ears—Zero nodded and replied with a smile, "Of course. If you want to learn, I can teach you!"

"Really? That's great!"

Usopp also asked uncertainly, "Zero, can I learn too?"

"You can. Your ammunition, like Zoro's swords, is also a kind of weapon. Coating it with Haki can deal greater damage, though it will be more difficult to learn."

Usopp recalled how, when he faced the fish-man officer, luck had played a huge role despite his eventual victory. If he could learn Haki, perhaps winning would not be so difficult next time.

He did not hesitate and declared firmly, "I want to learn! Please teach me Haki too, Teacher Zero!"

And so, under Zero's deliberate yet subtle influence, the future enemies of the Straw Hat Pirates had no idea that their opponents had already set out early on the path to awakening Haki!