Chapter 767: I Have Claustrophobia
Chapter 767: I Have Claustrophobia
The photo on the Wanted Poster was of Monkey D. Luffy.
The bounty amount was 1.5 billion.
The newspaper’s content detailed how he had defeated Donquixote Doflamingo, infiltrated Totto Land, bested Charlotte Katakuri, thwarted the Whole Cake Island alliance, and escaped safely.
The owner of this newspaper appeared to be the white bird from the Moer Gangs. Its sensationalist reporting methods even made Kuro blush faintly.
They were blowing things out of proportion.
Claiming Luffy had defeated Charlotte Big Mom and dubbing him the "fifth emperor of the seas" was going too far.
Not that Kuro underestimated Luffy—his current power level would need twenty more years of growth to possibly reach that tier. Right now, it was utterly impossible.
Togeko glanced at the Wanted Poster, astonished. "Is this real? Could he really have beaten Charlotte Big Mom?"
"Impossible", Aokiji dismissed firmly. He turned to Kuro. "I heard you slashed him on Shabondy. It didn’t seem to slow him down much. Did you actually miss?"
As one of the current pillars of the Navy and a candidate for Admiral, Aokiji had full confidence in Kuro’s strength.
He’d heard Kuro had nearly wiped out Luffy’s entire crew on Shabondy, handling the situation with effortless ease. That kind of mastery meant Luffy couldn’t possibly possess the combat power to defeat Charlotte Big Mom. Otherwise, Kuro wouldn’t have emerged so easily.
There had also been Garp’s presence on Shabondy, but such things were mutually understood among Navy forces—no need to dwell on them. The incident was history.
Both Aokiji and Togeko agreed implicitly that Garp had indirectly handed over G-3 to Kuro.
"I’m not a god. Accidents happen", Kuro replied coolly. "He must’ve been rescued by Law later. That’s why he reappeared so quickly. Back in Dressrosa, I saw him myself, but since Doflamingo had invoked his Seven Warlords of the Sea rights, I didn’t interfere. Turns out even Doflamingo failed on his own."
"Still, calling it a victory over Charlotte Big Mom is nonsense. The news bird probably misread the situation. He likely just escaped safely from Whole Cake Island."
Kuro kept reading, frowning. "What’s this about the Grand Fleet? How did he form it? At Dressrosa, I wiped out all the pirates there. There shouldn’t have been anyone left…"
"Who evaluated this bounty? The Navy?"
He shook the Wanted Poster. "How did such a ridiculous bounty get approved? It gave the Moer Gangs a chance to hype up pirate presence so much!"
At this, Sakazuki clenched his fist, crimson energy flickering across it.
The table faintly smoldered.
You really should stop setting the furniture on fire every time you get angry. How many tables do you think you’ve ruined?
"It was the World Government", Sakazuki said darkly. "They reassessed Luffy’s threat level. His recent actions in the Kolf Kingdom have raised alarms."
"Kolf?" Kuro asked.
"A pirate-controlled nation, not a World Government member state."
Tina interjected, "It’s a militarized regime. Their king enslaves defeated pirates for labor. Luffy infiltrated there, defeated the king, and freed them."
Kuro shook his head. "Fate’s threads are unchangeable?"
More accurately, it was probably inevitable given Luffy’s nature. That troublemaking personality would’ve caused chaos in any kingdom—whether Dressrosa, Falles Rother, or Inres Rosario.
He wasn’t surprised.
"But this evaluation is extreme. Marshall D. Teach’s bounty only hit 2.5 billion recently. Luffy becoming the ‘fifth emperor’? He’s nowhere near that level. If it were just hype, fine. But this newspaper…"
Kuro dropped the paper. "The Moer Gangs are asking for death."
A rising young pirate inevitably inspires copycats—especially now, during the World Meeting. Defeating a king? That would create a dangerous domino effect.
"Even Big Mom got humiliated. Rare indeed."
Still, he could already imagine Charlotte Big Mom’s furious face upon seeing this newspaper.
As expected, the Four Emperors were now collectively fuming over this troublemaker.
Their attention would shift away from other threats.
Let him stir things up. See what comes of it.
By the time Luffy reached the New World pirate territories, it would no longer be the Navy’s jurisdiction.
If Luffy somehow did topple a Four Emperor, the Navy wouldn’t mind. They’d gladly applaud.
Not that it mattered much. As long as they survived, pirates remained threats.
Whether Kaido, Charlotte Big Mom, Shanks, or the newly emerged Marshall D. Teach, their danger persisted if they lived.
At best, this chaos bought the Navy more time to prepare.
"Monkey D. Luffy has grown into a formidable menace", Sakazuki said grimly. "But calling him the fifth emperor is absurd! The pirate era should’ve ended when we defeated Whitebeard! We must never let such pirates thrive!"
"Oooh, scary", Lucius Kro said, reading the newspaper with a pout. "The Moer Gangs’ stunt has made things dangerous for us. With the World Meeting ongoing, other pirates might try imitating Luffy—defeating a king to gain influence."
Sakazuki nodded. "Exactly. Our World Government will escort fifty qualified nations to the World Meeting. Each delegation must be personally protected—ranked from Vice Admiral down to Commander. We’ve summoned you all here for this mission."
"Kuro", Sakazuki turned to him. "Fishman Island will attend this year—their first time participating in a world summit. The World Government prioritizes their security. I want you to take charge of this mission."
"Eh?" Kuro recoiled, shaking his head like a rattled tambourine. "Underwater? No way! I’m not going!"
"Why not?" Sakazuki frowned.
"Look, I… I have claustrophobia. I physically can’t!"
What a load of nonsense. I just hate underwater missions.
Fishman Island was a nation 10,000 meters below sea level. He wasn’t a fishman. If their ship sank, could he swim? Sure. But as a Devil Fruit user, if that happened, he’d become waterlogged meat at the ocean’s bottom.
The sheer unpredictability of it was his biggest nightmare.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
