One Piece : Captain, We’ve Arrived at Laugh Tale

Bounty Reactions

The Straw Hats were visibly delighted, but the Heart Pirates were utterly shocked.

For new pirates, a billion-Berry bounty was like hitting the ceiling. Even Whitebeard's and Kaido's subordinates rarely exceeded one billion.

But considering Luffy and Carl's strength, it seemed reasonable.

These two had defeated Marine Admirals, with Carl even humiliating Admiral Akainu. From that perspective, a billion-Berry bounty might even be considered low.

The Marines were contradicting themselves. Initially, they wanted to use extraordinarily high bounties to provoke the Four Emperors' fear of the Straw Hats, but worried that excessive amounts would damage their own prestige. So they settled on bounties that weren't too astronomical.

Little did they know that a billion-Berry bounty wasn't particularly threatening to the Four Emperors. Only the exaggerated claims in the newspaper would make the Emperors take notice.

However, in the first half of the Grand Line, the Straw Hats' bounties were genuinely terrifying.

Tashigi also appeared on the list with a bounty of 10 million Berries.

Including the bounties for the three newest members—Nico Robin at 79 million, Mr. 3 Galdino at 24 million, and Miss Goldenweek Marianne at 29 million—the Straw Hats' combined bounty totaled 1,959,000,050 Berries!

Approaching two billion, the Straw Hats were beginning to rival the forces of the Four Emperors!

The newspaper exaggerated further, claiming the Straw Hats possessed enough strength to replace one of the Four Emperors. If the Emperors weren't vigilant, they would eventually be overthrown by these newcomers.

The inflammatory tone was painfully obvious—treating readers like complete fools.

Tashigi stared blankly at her wanted poster, which labeled her a "Marine Traitor."

At this moment, her emotions were incredibly complex.

Though she was described as an undercover agent, seeing herself with a bounty—knowing she would be regarded as a pirate by the world from now on—filled her with sorrow.

She had genuinely wanted to be a righteous Marine!

"Hey! Richie, why is your bounty suddenly so high? That can't be right—I should be ranked third!" Zoro complained upon seeing Richie's bounty.

"ROAR!" Richie retorted.

"I'm better than Zoro. Richie said so," Chopper translated.

"What?! Richie, you think you can get away with this just because you ate the Mythical Zoan fruit? How about we settle this with a fight and see who's better!"

Zoro refused to accept this!

On this ship, he only acknowledged the strength of Luffy and Carl, naturally placing him third in the hierarchy. But now Richie had climbed above him—how could he possibly accept that?

Carl thought it was understandable, given Richie's impressive performance in Alabasta.

Although Richie hadn't defeated any major opponents, he had protected Vivi and Koza with his lion form, then intimidated 200,000 rebels and tens of thousands of royal guards simultaneously.

His enormous size alone was enough to instill fear.

Moreover, the Marines were likely concerned that Richie would become another Jack—possibly even more fearsome than Jack himself.

After all, a Mythical Zoan wasn't an ordinary fruit—it was the same category Kaido possessed.

Sanji's dissatisfied voice soon joined the chorus: "Hey, this can't be right! Why am I so far behind that moss-head? What are the Marines thinking? I'm obviously better than that idiot!"

Zoro taunted back: "You? Can you even use Haki? The Marines see that I'm superior to you, though they're still underestimating the gap between us if our bounties are this close. Now you understand clearly—this just confirms the difference between us. Though I should have a bounty at least a billion higher than yours to truly reflect reality."

"What?! Moss-head, let's compare right now and see how powerful my Six Powers techniques are!"

"I can use Haki, and you can't!"

Sanji immediately backed down when he heard this. He'd been suppressed by these words for too long—the fact remained that he hadn't awakened Haki yet.

If he couldn't awaken Haki, he'd likely be haunted by this taunt for the rest of his life!

That was absolutely unacceptable!

"Hey! Straw Hat! What's the meaning of this?!"

Law suddenly shouted loudly: "The newspaper claims our Heart Pirates are affiliated with your Straw Hat Pirates. When did this happen? We're merely in a cooperative relationship—the Heart Pirates are not subordinate to the Straw Hats!"

Luffy took the newspaper, glanced at it briefly, then set it aside.

"Hey! Straw Hat, I demand an explanation!" Law was furious.

Although his Heart Pirates weren't as powerful as the Straw Hats, they still had their pride and standing among the rookie crews. Being labeled as subordinates to the Straw Hats—didn't that humiliate the Heart Pirates?

Luffy picked his nose casually: "Why ask me? I don't know anything about it. Someone else wrote that."

All the Straw Hats nodded in agreement. Luffy was right—the newspaper wrote it, so what was the point of demanding an explanation from him?

Luffy continued: "Besides, there's nothing wrong with it! We fought a Shichibukai together and trained with Carl together. We're already friends, aren't we?"

The Straw Hats all mumbled in agreement. Luffy had a point!

As for what each crew member privately thought, opinions likely varied.

For instance, Nami was thinking that since the Heart Pirates had become their partners, they wouldn't need to pay to borrow their submarine for underwater expeditions in the future.

Chopper was excited about the prospect of regularly discussing medical techniques with Law.

Others appreciated Law's convenient ability and thought the Heart Pirates were decent people, so there was nothing wrong with the alliance.

Carl smiled slyly.

Unexpectedly, the Marines had done them a favor. Now the Straw Hats could naturally incorporate the Heart Pirates' medical team!

Law probably wanted to cry but had no tears left. He had merely cooperated with the Straw Hats—how had he become someone else's subordinate? However, thinking logically, such an outcome wasn't entirely surprising.

After all, cooperation required equal strength from both parties, and the Heart Pirates weren't yet at the level to truly cooperate as equals with the Straw Hats.

So it was understandable to be considered an affiliate of the Straw Hats.

Then came the bounty increases:

"Surgeon of Death" Trafalgar Law: 200 Million Berries! Shachi: 10 Million Berries! Penguin: 10 Million Berries! And... Bepo: 500 Berries???

Law looked up in astonishment, then saw the dejected Bepo. For a moment, he didn't know how to comfort his navigator.

Chopper held Bepo with an expression that said "I understand your pain." Chopper had already recovered from his own disappointment, having had time to process it while Luffy and the others were underwater.

Luffy and Usopp laughed heartily. The paltry bounties of 50 and 500 Berries were the Marines' way of mocking them.

"...The Marines have gone too far, making Chopper so sad," Robin comforted Chopper.

"Chopper and Bepo, you poor things," said Marianne with utter insincerity as she nibbled on a biscuit.

Hearing this, Chopper and Bepo became even more depressed.

Seeing their reaction, Carl immediately said: "Chopper, Bepo, don't be sad. I'll teach the Marines a lesson—they've crossed the line!"

As he spoke, he pulled out his Den Den Mushi and began dialing.

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