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Chapter 354: The Most Vicious Man
Chapter 354: The Most Vicious Man
Inside the conference room, the Marines sat upright in their seats, their ranks no lower than Rear Admiral.
This meeting was different from the usual discussions about the up-and-coming pirates roaming the seas. Today, they were focusing on those who had already established themselves as the most powerful and influential forces in the vast oceans—the pinnacle of both strength and infamy.
"The world has changed," Admiral Brannew began. "With Whitebeard's death, the New World pirates seem more ferocious than ever. We lost one Emperor, but now two new powers have risen to fill the void, threatening the very peace of the world. These are the pirates we cannot engage lightly; they must be reported and dealt with at the highest level of command."
Behind him, a white screen had been unfurled, and a projection from a Den Den Mushi began to display images.
"Currently, there are five pirates who have solidified their foothold on the high seas. They have been assessed by the World Government to possess extraordinary strength and influence, making it unwise to confront them without careful consideration."
"So, let us take this opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with their bounty statuses."
The first bounty poster to appear on the screen depicted a man with red hair, his eyes narrowed and exuding an aura of dominance.
"First, we have the pirate crew that has officially established themselves as the 'Yonko'—rising above the previous generation of Pirate Emperors. They dominate the Grand Line and are led by the youngest of the Emperors, a man revered by his subordinates. His crew boasts the highest average bounty, making them the most well-rounded and formidable force: the Red Hair Pirates."
"The captain of the Red Hair Pirates, 'Red-Haired' Shanks, has a bounty of 4,048,900,000 berries!"
The sheer magnitude of this bounty left many of the Marine officers in a cold sweat, their eyes wide with shock.
The title of 'Yonko' carried immense weight, and many of the Marines present had never encountered one of these emperors. Even if they did, they were under strict orders not to engage and instead report the sighting to their superiors.
As Marines, they were duty-bound to follow orders without question. They had no authority to initiate battles on their own accord.
Smoker, for instance, would not have remained in the East Blue for so long if he had the freedom to act independently.
Marines were often tasked with missions that did not involve directly confronting pirates. They would let pirates go without so much as firing a shot, as their primary objective was to fulfill their assigned tasks. Only those with a strong sense of justice would go out of their way to fight pirates they encountered.
Even then, there were risks involved. Victory might bring accolades, but defeat would mean failing their mission, leading to reprimands and consequences.
When it came to the Yonko, the orders were clear: engagement was strictly prohibited without express permission from the higher-ups. Even if they came face to face with one of these emperors, they could only stand by and watch.
Over time, some Marines stopped paying attention to the bounties of these seemingly untouchable figures. They focused instead on the pirates right in front of them, the tangible targets within their reach.
After all, the Yonko felt like distant, unattainable foes for the average Marine.
So, it was no wonder that the revelation of Red Hair Shanks' bounty left them stunned.
"Next," Admiral Brannew continued.
But before the shock could fully register, the image on the screen changed. The bounty poster of the red-haired man was replaced by that of a woman wearing a pink captain's hat, her tongue lolling to the side. Unlike Shanks' aura of dominance, this woman exuded pure terror just from her photograph.
"As a child, she attacked one of the villages in Elbaf," Brannew explained. "A natural-born monster, she only trusts those of her bloodline. Along with her 85 children, she created the dictatorial regime of Totto Land, a country of sweets."
"The captain of the Big Mom Pirates, 'Big Mom' Charlotte Linlin, has a bounty of 4,388,000,000 berries!"
"Four billion, three hundred eighty-eight million," a Marine Rear Admiral muttered, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Even higher than Red Hair's bounty."
"And then we have—" Brannew continued as the bounty poster on the screen changed once more.
"Even as a 'rookie' pirate, his sheer strength earned him the respect of brutal pirates. He has since risen to be known as one of the Yonko."
A vicious-looking man with a sinister gaze and eyes full of brutality stared out from the new bounty poster.
"The ruler of the Beast Pirates, 'Hundred Beast' Kaido, has a bounty of 4,611,000,000 berries, making him the highest-bounty Yonko at the moment!"
The Marines in the room fell silent, their eyes grave as they took in the gravity of the situation.
"Aside from these three," Brannew went on, "the next two individuals have, over the past year, risen to a level comparable to the Yonko in terms of strength and status. They are incredibly dangerous and must be treated with the utmost caution!"
The screen changed once more, revealing a man with a gold earring, missing two teeth, his mouth locked in a perpetual laugh, and a hint of Kaido's brutality in his eyes.
"During the Impel Down incident a year ago, he gathered powerful subordinates under his command. Recently, he defeated Wang Zhi and occupied Honeycomb Island. Just a few days ago, he clashed with the remnants of Whitebeard's crew."
"In what we now refer to as the 'Battle of the Fate', he decisively defeated Marco and some of the former division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, causing them to disappear from the public eye."
"He possesses an extremely rare body constitution. During the Summit War, he acquired Whitebeard's ability and is now a dual Devil Fruit user, wielding the powers of the Gura Gura no Mi and Yami Yami no Mi. Like Whitebeard, he possesses the power to destroy everything in his path!"
"The admiral of the Blackbeard Pirates, 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach, has a bounty of 2,246,000,000 berries!"
"Following our usual practice, this bounty does not fully reflect the danger he currently poses. However, we believe this situation will persist for a significant duration."
"Because of his collaboration with a certain individual, we believe that no one in that sea area can stop them, and they will eventually expand their influence. Hence, we are using this bounty to proclaim his danger to the world."
"While the bounty does not yet match that of the Yonko, this situation is unlikely to last long. After all, he has now made it onto the list of pirates that we must report to the higher-ups."
Admiral Brannew paused, his face solemn and his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, but his disdain and hatred were evident.
The Marines in the room understood the gravity of the situation, their faces grim as they seethed with hatred.
Even Blackbeard, who dared to provoke the Marines, knew his limits.
But this particular individual had trampled on their dignity, rubbing their faces in the dirt without hesitation.
"The next one is someone you are all familiar with," Brannew continued. "Because of this man, we, the Marines, have lost all face, and the countries of the world have lost their trust in us."
Brannew took a deep breath and said in a solemn voice, "Originally from the Western Sea, he is a survivor of the sinful island, Ohara, and made his debut in the Eastern Sea with a bounty of 70 million berries. Wherever he went, he left nothing but ruins in his wake, killing at least three kings and important citizens of the affiliated countries in the Eastern Sea."
"As he entered the Grand Line, he became even more ruthless. He plundered almost every prosperous place in the first half of the Grand Line and destroyed more than half of the towns. Countless important citizens lost their lives, and the death toll among the kings of the affiliated countries reached seven!"
"The direct economic loss caused by his actions amounts to at least 80 billion berries! The indirect economic loss is estimated to be more than 1,500 billion berries!"
"A year ago, he was the first to escape from Impel Down, and he even injured Magellan. In the history of Impel Down, he is the only one who has ever escaped after a direct confrontation with the prison, something that even the Golden Lion failed to achieve."
"During the Summit War, he publicly destroyed our Marine Headquarters, humiliating us in front of the entire world."
Brannew's words filled the room with anger, causing the Marine generals to clench their teeth in fury.
While they may not have known much about the other Pirate Emperors, the man who had publicly humiliated them by trampling on their heads in Marinford was all too familiar!
"Hahaha! Quite a ruckus, isn't it? If you don't list them all out, you wouldn't even realize how much he's done," Karp said, laughing loudly.
"Shut up, Karp!"
Even the retired Sengoku, who had become more relaxed, showed no signs of humor at this moment.
He glared at Karp and said, "This man has caused us a lot of complaints, and our funding has been reduced because of him!"
If it weren't for Karp holding back in the past, he would never have been able to grow to this scale.
But this was something that could not be said.
After all, they couldn't very well blame everything on Karp's restraint, could they? Such irresponsible behavior was not in Sengoku's nature, nor was it something he could bring himself to do.
"Admiral Sengoku, Captain Karp, please refrain from interrupting me," Brannew said, continuing his report.
"After he entered the New World, he went on to conquer a powerful non-affiliated country, one that you may have heard of—the City of Desire, Augustine.
"According to our intelligence, after he occupied the country, he slaughtered all the nobles, regardless of their status. He then killed the local rulers of the territories he occupied and used the output of the territories to support himself and his entire pirate crew."
"He possesses extremely advanced martial arts skills, inheriting and surpassing the powers of the previous user. He is more deserving of the title 'World Destroyer' than Bondi Wald. According to our information, he has recently gained the ability to control storms!"
"He is, without a doubt, the most vicious and cruel pirate in modern times and the one who poses the greatest threat to the world!"
A new photo appeared on the projected bounty poster, replacing the previous one that showed a burning castle, a gun in one hand, and a pile of gold coins in the other. Now, it displayed a close-up portrait.
In the background of the portrait, one could make out dark clouds flashing with lightning.
His fiery white hair was whipped by the violent wind, and three dark battle scars ran down his cheeks. The pouring rain washed over his face, revealing a sinister smile baring a row of pale teeth.
One could almost see the hint of crimson in his eyes as he looked down slightly, exuding an overwhelming sense of madness and a devastating aura in the midst of the raging storm, lightning, and thunder!
The room fell silent as the weight of this man's presence seemed to fill the air.
While the Pirate Emperors were certainly fearsome, they had been around for a long time, and even the youngest, Red Hair, had been active in the seas for quite some time.
But this man was different; he seemed to have appeared out of thin air! There was no record of his activities at sea until his debut in the Eastern Sea, and even then, he had shaken the world with his actions.
In just over a year, he had done too many things that trampled on the faces of the Navy and the World Government, and yet no one could stop him. Now, he had grown to the point where they needed explicit orders to engage him!
"Captain of the Calamity Pirates, 'Calamity' Norton Sage, with a bounty of 2,870,000,000 berries!"
(End of Chapter)
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