Bounty

The ice giant that had just formed on the sea was merely the most basic application of Locke's awakened Fruit ability.

As for why it was an ice giant rather than something of another element, that was simply because ice had the greatest buoyancy on the sea. He could have controlled an illusion to fly over, but there was no need to waste his stamina.

Locke waved at the miniature Deathwing in the distance. The creature had originally been terrifying, but after shrinking down, it looked rather adorable as it carried Annie over to Locke.

"Big brother, what is it?" Annie asked Locke curiously as she rode over on Deathwing.

"Alright, Annie. You've played long enough. It's time to go read," Locke said to her.

"Oh! Fine!" Annie reluctantly climbed down from Little Black's back, then slowly flew toward her room.

Little Black was the name Annie had given Deathwing.

After leaving Tomb Island, when Locke had been assigning tasks to everyone aboard the ship, Annie said she wanted to help him and insisted that he give her something to do as well. Having no choice, Locke asked her what she could do.

Annie then told him that she could predict the weather in advance. So Locke gave her the books on navigation that he had originally brought aboard and told her to study them properly. From then on, she would be the ship's navigator.

At first, Annie had been very diligent. She read during the day and went into Locke's dreams to play at night. But she was still a child and could not possibly focus on one thing forever. So although Annie still read for a while every day, she was no longer as self-disciplined as before.

If the time Annie had spent sleeping was included, she was actually the oldest of everyone on the ship. Even if everyone else's ages were added together, they would not surpass hers. But in terms of temperament, Annie was the youngest, only around ten years old.

So whenever Locke saw Annie, he thought that if he had not transmigrated, he should have had children in that other world by now. That was why Locke treated Annie exactly like an old father treated his own child.

That was also why Annie and Locke got along best out of everyone aboard the ship.

Watching Annie slowly fly back to her room, Locke smiled and shook his head. He also returned to his room and continued cultivating the nameless technique Yun Zhinnan had given him. This nameless technique was truly remarkable. While cultivating it, not only did the true qi in his body slowly increase, but his stamina also continued to grow. Although the growth was relatively slow, it was still far faster than the gains Locke made through training.

When Locke had trained with Zoro in Shimotsuki Village, he discovered that although they trained at the same intensity, his stamina and strength increased far more slowly than Zoro's.

By the time Locke left Shimotsuki Village, Zoro's stamina was already no worse than his. It was only because Locke had greater comprehension than the not-yet-fully-grown Zoro that he had not been defeated by him.

Locke had also discovered that awakening was not the endpoint of Fruit abilities as written in the anime. He guessed that there was another realm beyond awakening, but he had no idea what it was.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku was handling official business as usual when a knock suddenly sounded outside.

"Report!"

"Come in," Sengoku said without even raising his head.

"Go on. What is it?" Sengoku asked the messenger who had entered while feeding documents to the goat beside him.

"Report, Fleet Admiral! We have just received a report from the East Blue's 16th Branch. A pirate crew has recently appeared in the East Blue and slaughtered the residents of an island. During the Marines' attempt to capture them, they have already lost four warships. All Marines aboard one of those ships were killed. The branch is requesting a bounty."

"Let me see their photos."

The messenger immediately placed a photograph on the desk before Sengoku.

"What is this? I asked for photos of the people aboard the ship. Why did you give me a photo of their ship?" Sengoku roared angrily at the photograph before him.

"Report! According to the branch's report, their warships were sunk before they could get close enough to the ship, so they were unable to take any photos," the messenger hurriedly explained upon seeing Sengoku's anger.

"Useless! All of you are useless! You can't even take a single photograph, and you still have the nerve to request a bounty?"

"Then... I'll immediately inform them that the bounty request has been denied." Seeing Sengoku like this, the messenger grabbed the photograph and prepared to leave.

"Wait. Issue a wanted notice for them. Place a bounty on everyone aboard that ship, dead or alive. Let them see the consequences of challenging the Marines."

"What should the bounty amount be?"

"For the East Blue, set it at fifty million Beli for now. Also, send word to Smoker. Before he goes to Loguetown, have him visit the 16th Branch first and report back to me on exactly what kind of pirate crew this is."

"Yes, Fleet Admiral!" The messenger saluted and left the room.

"Hmph. These pirates are becoming more and more arrogant," Sengoku muttered after the messenger left.

Three days had passed since Locke dealt with those three warships. The Phantom was now only two days away from the Marine 16th Branch.

During this time, whenever Locke and the others saw merchant ships or pirate ships, they went around them. They did not want anyone else to know their destination, nor did they want the Marines to be prepared.

Locke and the others were not afraid of the Marines, but what if the Marines prepared in advance and damaged their ship? It was best to avoid unnecessary losses whenever possible.

"Captain, Captain..." Big Bear rushed excitedly into Locke's room.

"What is it?"

Locke slowly finished his cultivation, then opened his eyes and looked at Big Bear.

"Captain, there's a bounty on us." Big Bear handed a wanted poster to Locke.

"A bounty?" Locke asked in confusion.

None of them had ever shown their faces in public, so how could they have been wanted?

Although the Marines on Bisi Island had seen them, they had all been dealt with. There was no way anyone could have casually taken photos of them.

Could it have been the Marine reinforcements they encountered afterward? But he had sunk them from a great distance away. They should not have been able to see anyone aboard his ship, so why had a wanted notice been issued directly?

After picking up the wanted poster, Locke finally understood. It was a bounty notice for their pirate crew, but it only contained a picture of their ship. A few people aboard could still be seen in the photo, but they were too far away for their faces to be clear. The only thing visible clearly in the entire photograph was the word "Phantom" on the Phantom.

What was laughable was that the bounty below it was as high as fifty million Beli. Were they not afraid that someone would disguise a ship like this and claim the reward?