Bounty: 500 Million Beli

"Recognized by the Will of the Overlord, you bravely and fearlessly attacked the 'god' of this world, rebuked him as a country bumpkin, terrified him into kneeling and submitting, and made him completely obedient to you in mind."

"At the same time, you made two guards who disobeyed the god's orders carry out the god's command, burning themselves into fertilizer to nourish the world."

"You have obtained the elder-level bloodline of the Uzumaki clan. You have obtained the Lightning chakra nature, Lightning Release: Cell Activation."

Brando was now aboard a small boat he had bought on the sea, only slightly larger than the one Luffy had used when he first set sail.

But he did not care about that. After all, he did not know how to sail, much less control a ship, so this was only for temporary use. Once he reached a new island, he could simply slip aboard a passenger ship or take control of a pirate ship and continue sailing.

He could not suppress the smile on his face now. Although using the Mangekyo Sharingan had left his body's cells stinging with pain,

power was now continuously surging forth within him!

The bloodline of the Uzumaki clan!

The greatest vitality monsters in the Shinobi World, possessing massive amounts of chakra and powerful life recovery, equivalent to a weakened version of Creation Rebirth.

As the system reward entered his body, the stinging pain in Brando's cells rapidly weakened, while his body grew stronger. Moreover, there was none of the pain he had felt when activating the Mangekyo. Instead, his entire body felt warm and comfortable.

"Have the Mangekyo's cellular defects been filled in?"

Brando closed his eyes and tried to call upon the Mangekyo.

But he soon opened them again, revealing a helpless expression. They had not been filled in; only some of the side effects had been weakened. Continued use would still lead to blindness.

The only things that could truly cure the Mangekyo's bloodline disease were Mangekyo ocular power from a biological brother, or cells possessing Asura's chakra.

A brother's ocular power could evolve the Mangekyo, while cells containing Asura's chakra—the First-Generation Cells—could eliminate the Mangekyo's defects. Both were ways to resolve the Mangekyo's bloodline disease. The Uzumaki clan's bloodline was not among them and could only alleviate some side effects.

It was like Nagato's Rinnegan, which could still drain him dry. The same applied to the Mangekyo; he could not completely adapt to it, though the side effects could be eased.

Still, occasional use would not affect his eyesight as much. As long as he did not use it like Sasuke had right after awakening his Mangekyo, tossing Amaterasu around as if even dogs deserved a hit, Brando felt he could use it in battle for about three years without much trouble.

"I'll be back, Foosha Village!"

Brando looked toward the land of the Goa Kingdom and gave his farewell declaration.

"Brando really left."

Luffy looked at the place where Brando used to train, where there was no longer any sign of him, and said sadly.

"As long as we set sail, we'll meet again eventually."

Ace said with determined eyes.

No matter what, he was going to sea and leaving this place. He wanted to witness the vastness of the ocean.

"Then we need to save money faster."

As the group's steward, Sabo calculated their savings and found that they were still far from their goal.

When they returned to Gray Terminal together, they found many soldiers gathered nearby, each of them wearing sharp looks as though they wanted to kill someone.

They soon learned what had happened.

"Brando actually attacked a Celestial Dragon!"

Sabo, a noble himself, said with a face full of shock.

Clearly, he knew this was a catastrophe so great it was practically as if the sky had fallen, equivalent to a god being destroyed.

"What's a Celestial Dragon? Can you eat it?"

Luffy asked in confusion.

Ace knew somewhat more about the rules and also wore a deeply shocked expression.

He had not expected Brando to make such a huge move immediately after setting sail.

At the same time, he made the Celestial Dragons his own target. He had to do it too... no, he had to surpass Brando!

That annoying guy—he could not lose to him.

A day later.

"Have you finished investigating?"

"Are you certain he was just an ordinary person before this?"

The voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was imposing. It was a call from the Five Elders.

On the other end was the East Blue director of the intelligence organization, who was reporting the matter in great fear and trepidation.

East Blue could be called the safest sea. The pirates were weak, the countries were relatively prosperous, and both the Marines and intelligence agencies had an easy time. Yet an enormous incident had occurred today.

A Celestial Dragon had been attacked and had his brain destroyed, turning him into a vegetable. Was that not the same as killing a Celestial Dragon?

"Yes. We heard that after he fell into the sea and choked on water, his personality changed drastically, and he became extremely aggressive."

"He attacked everyone in the village, whether old people or children."

"Afterward, he repeatedly attacked the nobles and even the king of the Goa Kingdom. The Goa king even died at this man's hands."

The East Blue director continued his report.

They had thought there might be some great secret, but it turned out he was simply someone whose brain had gone bad. Yet after breaking, his strength had become extremely powerful.

"Could he have eaten some Devil Fruit in the sea?"

"A Mimic Fruit that lets him transform?"

The Five Elders discussed it among themselves.

They did not care in the slightest whether an ordinary Celestial Dragon lived or died. What they cared about was that a Celestial Dragon could not die at the hands of an ordinary person. In Mary Geoise, they could die however they wanted, but they could not die in the lower world. That would threaten their rule and shatter the inviolable image of the so-called 'gods.'

At that moment, the intelligence organization delivered new information.

"Five Elders, we have received new information. Members of the Revolutionary Army have appeared near the Goa Kingdom."

The East Blue director immediately reported the news.

"Could it be connected to those disgusting insects?!"

"Arrange personnel to hunt down that arrogant fool with all their strength. Issue a bounty as well, and conceal this matter as much as possible."

"If this man is found, authorization may be requested to mobilize an admiral."

With a sentence from each of them, the Five Elders settled the matter.

At the same time, Brando's bounty rose directly from ten million to 300 million Beli. The increase was astonishingly fast, though the reason listed was the assassination of a king, with no mention whatsoever of the Celestial Dragons.

However, the discussion that had been about to end came to an abrupt halt, because both sides received new information.

It was a newspaper, the World Economy News Paper, which had the widest circulation across the seas.

The front page featured a huge photograph of Brando holding a kunai to the neck of a kneeling Celestial Dragon, Pulming Charlos.

This photograph had been taken by Brando's Shadow Clone, which had used the Transformation Technique to blend in with the people aboard the ship at the time.

The people around it had assumed it was gathering information on Brando, so no one paid it any attention. Besides, everyone's attention had been drawn to what was happening at the center. Who would notice an unfamiliar person appearing nearby?

After Brando found a new place to go ashore, he directly sold the photo negative on the black market, making a huge profit.

"Bounty: 500 million Beli!"