"Lord Vic! Luffy..."
As the group was formulating their cultivation plans, a gentle, lingering voice drifted over. They looked in the direction of the voice and saw two large Orochi pulling a pirate ship with an ancient, rustic feel as it approached. A tall, beautiful figure stood at the bow, beckoning to them.
No, she should have greeted Vic and Luffy. The other two were completely ignored, as if they didn't exist. The person who came was Boa Hancock, who was aboard the Perfume Yuda. I don't know where she got the information that Vic Vic were here. They hadn't been here long before she came looking for them.
Luffy: " Hancock! Haha!"
Ace: "It's that Shichibukai Empress!"
Rayleigh: "He's also the emperor of Amazon Lily. Amazon Lily isn't far from here."
Vic: "Why is she here?"
The group stopped talking and stood there waiting for the pirate ship to dock. Unlike in the original story, Vic really didn't want to disturb Hancock, and even though they were very close to Amazon Lily, he didn't go to say hello or anything.
However, it was no use for him not to greet them. This place was indeed not far from Amazon Lily. When they passed by, the female soldiers patrolling the island spotted the warship. After being reported up the chain of command, it ended up in Hancock's hands. In such a tense period right after the Paramount War, she naturally had to come and take a look.
Upon approaching, she spotted Vic and the others. Hancock was naturally overjoyed, but seeing Vic and Luffy together, she hesitated for a moment before finally calling out to them.
"You don't need to come along. Go back and pack some food, the more meat the better, and also bring some wine."
"Yes, Snake Princess!"
The Perfume Yuda didn't dock; instead, it turned around some distance from the shore. This was because Hancock, after instructing her subordinates, leaped and landed beside Vic and the others. She had come to check on the situation on short notice, unlike in the original story where she knew Rayleigh and Luffy were there and immediately brought them food.
" Hancock! What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to... I've come to deliver your and Luffy's bounty posters. Your Shichibukai title has been revoked by the World Government, and your bounty has increased significantly, so you must be careful that others don't become greedy and try to harm you!"
Hearing Vic's questioning tone, Hancock knew that Vic was somewhat unhappy about her arrival. She quickly wanted to reveal her purpose, but then her mind suddenly shifted, and she said something else entirely, hoping that Vic wouldn't blame her anymore. Although she didn't know what was wrong with Vic, she didn't dare to contradict Vic.
Vic was indeed somewhat displeased with Hancock's arrival. Women would only interfere with Luffy's training, and he didn't want Hancock to keep bothering Luffy after he left.
The saying "a hero's grave in a gentle land" is not just a figure of speech. Even a blockhead like Luffy would be affected to some extent. In the original work, Rayleigh prevented Hancock from coming to see Luffy for this very reason, which made Hancock feel extremely stifled and she hated Rayleigh to death.
"Oh! We already knew that this morning. You've made a wasted trip, but thank you anyway for letting us know."
Vic took the wanted poster from Hancock's pocket, which was still slightly warm from her body, and looked at it. His tone softened considerably. They had read the newspaper that morning before setting off, and naturally, they had seen the wanted poster that came with the newspaper.
Vic's betrayal during the Paramount War did indeed anger the World Government and the Navy. Therefore, after discussions among the Five Elders, Vic's title of Shichibukai was unilaterally revoked, and his bounty of 2 billion Beli was increased by 1.5 billion!
In other words, Vic's bounty has now reached 3.5 billion Beli, which is not much less than Red-Haired Shanks ' 3.5575 billion Beli.
The World Government's sinister intentions are obvious. With the fall of Whitebeard, the Emperor of the Sea, a position among the Four Emperors has become vacant. Now that Vic has such a high bounty and has returned to his pirate identity, isn't he the strongest contender for the title of Four Emperors?
Ordinary people who see the news will think this way, and pirates who see the news will think this way too: Is the World Government intentionally pushing Vic to become one of the Four Emperors?
Once the news and the bounty were released, it became a consensus. Those great pirates who wanted to compete for the position of Four Emperors were definitely dissatisfied, and there would be quite a few who would come to cause trouble for Vic and try to step on Vic to take his place.
As for Shanks, whose bounty is similar and who has already become an Emperor, they certainly won't consider him for the time being. He truly is one of the Four Emperors Four Emperors, having fought his way up to the position, unlike Vic, who currently only has a higher bounty.
The World Government can't stand to see Vic do well. They want to use the pirates to eliminate Vic, this major threat, and the Five Elders will be watching closely. They will step in to help whenever they get the chance!
As expected of an old monster who has lived for hundreds of years, his ability to use someone else's strength against them is truly masterful, making it impossible for Vic to defend against him!
Vic guessed the Five Elders ' purpose right away, after all, the two sides had a huge grudge, but he didn't care. Let those who weren't afraid of death come!
Not only did Vic's bounty increase, but Luffy's bounty also increased by 100 million from 300 million, and Ace's bounty increased to a little over 1 billion Beli. As for the captains of the Whitebeard Pirates, their bounties all increased to some extent.
Besides Vic, Blackbeard's bounty has risen the most. The Navy and the World Government were severely humiliated by Blackbeard this time. In addition, with the criminals brought out from Impel Down Level 6, Blackbeard's bounty has naturally been climbing steadily.
However, the person the Five Elders most wanted to deal with was Vic, so Blackbeard naturally had to rank second. But because Vic's base bounty was very high, he still far surpassed Blackbeard.
Vic and Rayleigh had finished their discussion. After the Perfume Yuda delivered a large amount of food, the group had a big meal together. Then Vic took Ace and left the island. Before leaving, he told Hancock not to bother Luffy if she didn't come here. Ignoring Hancock's resentful look, Vic turned around and boarded the warship.
Makino Bar, East Blue Foosha Village
"Hahaha! Garp! He finally made the right choice this time. Vic is really good, this photo looks quite nice!"
Dadan sat at the bar, a cigarette between her left index and middle fingers, the other three fingers gripping a glass on the bar. In her other hand, she held the bounty posters for Vic, Luffy, and Ace, reading them with great interest. In front of her, today's newspaper was spread out on the counter, its creases clearly showing that it had been read many times.
The Paramount War was broadcast live worldwide, but a small, economically backward fishing village like Foosha Village couldn't possibly have those expensive Den Den Mushi). At most, they could only have those small Den Den Mushi that you could hear the sound of.
Finally, the Navy shut down the live broadcast, leaving only the last Den Den Mushi in Buggy's possession. How much was heard was entirely up to chance. All we know is that Luffy later got involved, and the final outcome of the war is completely unknown. At that time, Whitebeard went berserk, and Buggy's subordinates dropped their only Den Den Mushi. There was a lot of footage, but the sound was too noisy to hear anything clearly.
Because the Navy had published the execution notice in the newspapers in advance, Dadan arrived at Foosha Village early with a few of her men. She was very worried about Ace's safety, and with Luffy joining them, she became even more worried!
Only Makino shared her feelings. As for the village chief and the other villagers, they were most concerned about Luffy. They weren't very familiar with Ace and didn't have much of a bond with him, but they had watched Luffy grow up, so their feelings for him were naturally much deeper.
"Yes! Vic was originally a Marine under Mr. Garp, but he left the Marines because he made a mistake. However, his heart has not changed. Ace is a kind-hearted child, and I'm sure Vic has felt that!"
While wiping the empty wine glass, Makino chimed in, saying that she was the one who gave the newspaper to Dadan, and that she knew a little about the relationship between Dadan, Luffy, and Ace.
Although Luffy has gone up the mountain, he still occasionally goes back to the village to visit acquaintances. With Luffy's intelligence, he naturally reveals a lot of things, but Makino is not a talkative person and just knows what's going on in her heart.
Makino lowered her eyes and glanced at the photo in the newspaper, or more accurately, at Vic in the photo. Looking at Vic's increasingly mature, composed, and charming face, Makino's eyes were filled with complex emotions!
Vic was the first man to enter her heart. At that time, she was a young girl, and Vic was a handsome young man. She fell in love at first sight that day, and they never officially met again after that!
Every time she saw him, it was in a newspaper photo. The next time she saw him in person, she would steal a glance. That time, Vic wanted to find Mr. Garp, and the village chief told her. But by then, she no longer dared to hope for anything. A person like Vic was destined not to belong here, not to her. She only stole a glance from afar before she made up her mind to sever the ties of love in her heart!