OP: The Flame Pillar Of Justice

Somewhere in the East Blue...

"Eek! Everyone, come here! Something big just happened!!"

After receiving the latest news, Nami skimmed through the contents and gasped in shock.

"What's wrong?"

"What's going on?"

"Ohoho~ Even surprised Nami-swan is sexy~!"

At Nami's cry, the members of the Straw Hat crew gathered closely together on the deck of the Going Merry.

"Y-you guys… have bounties on your heads!"

Nami held out four wanted posters.

"Heh~ So we're finally pirates recognized by the Navy, huh?"

"What are you so happy about?!"

Nami smacked Zoro on the head and slumped to the side in despair.

"Even if we got bounties, how high could they be? It's not like we've done much."

"Haha, yeah, aside from beating up Nezumi, we haven't really clashed with the Navy."

Usopp relaxed a bit and began looking at the wanted posters.

[Straw Hat] Monkey D. Luffy – Bounty: 56,000,000 Berries

[Pirate Hunter] Roronoa Zoro – Bounty: 33,000,000 Berries

[Bad Boy Cook] Sanji – Bounty: 10,000,000 Berries

[Liar] Usopp – Bounty: 1,000,000 Berries

"56 million plus 33 million… 11 million… We're just 1 million short of 100 million in total!"

"Eek! We're doomed!"

"H-hold on! What's with my photo?!"

"Now that you mention it, everyone's photo looks weird—except Zoro."

Luffy, instead of looking like a feared pirate, was grinning like a cheerful lost kid.

Usopp's photo showed him running away, tears and snot everywhere, with the motion blur making his body barely recognizable.

Zoro's was the most normal—an old photo from his bounty hunter days.

Sanji, though…

"Why is my face mostly covered?!"

His wanted poster was taken at the exact moment he was cooking and smoking, and thanks to the rising smoke, half his face was obscured.

Anyone who knew him might recognize him, but strangers would have to really compare it to the real thing to tell.

"My first bounty photo… sob sob..."

...

Luffy's Hometown – Foosha Village

"Village Chief! Look at this! Luffy's got a bounty!"

Makino, known across the neighboring towns as the beautiful barkeep of Foosha Village, came running to the village chief holding up Luffy's wanted poster.

"F-Fifty-six million berries?! That rascal finally made a real mess of things!"

The chief clicked his tongue in disbelief—such a high bounty, typically reserved for the most dangerous pirates, now adorned the face of the boy he'd watched grow up.

"Still, at least he's smiling in the picture… It's kind of nice to see."

"Yeah… It's a relief to see he's healthy. But still—what in the world did he do to already rack up a bounty over 50 million?!"

"'Over 50 million'?"

"Isn't that what the young folks call 'half a hundred mil' these days?"

"Ahaha… I wouldn't know. I'm nearly thirty myself, you know…"

"Either way! When that damn brat Luffy comes back to this village, I'm not letting him off the hook!"

...

Zoro's Hometown – Shimotsuki Village

Isshin Dojo

"Sensei! Sensei! Is it true that the pirate with a 33 million bounty, Zoro, trained here?!"

"Yes, it's true. But listen, all of you—don't go thinking being a pirate is a good thing. Bounties aren't something to be proud of."

Koushirou, the head of the dojo, tried to calm the rising excitement in the kids' eyes as they huddled around, eager to hear about Zoro.

"But why not? It's cool!"

"Yeah! I mean, 33 million?! Wasn't the strongest in East Blue before this Arlong, the fish-man, with 20 million?"

"He got caught by the Navy though! That makes Zoro the strongest now, right?"

"But fish-men are supposed to be way stronger than humans. Maybe Arlong was still stronger?"

"You dummy! What can a 20 million nobody do against a 33 million bounty? Arlong would've been one-shot by Zoro, I'm telling you!"

As the kids broke into loud debates, Koushirou could only smile wryly.

"Haha…"

...

Usopp's Hometown – Syrup Village

"Miss Kaya! Mister Usopp has a bounty!"

Butler Merry burst into Kaya's room, flustered and holding Usopp's wanted poster.

"Huh? A bounty on Usopp? How much is it?"

Kaya's expression was a mix of worry and curiosity upon hearing the news.

"Well… that is…"

Butler Merry scratched his head awkwardly after checking the amount.

"Why? How much is it?"

"It's… 1 million berries."

"Oh my, a whole million berries?"

To Kaya, the fact that any bounty had been placed on Usopp was already quite shocking.

"Perhaps… they assumed he was more dangerous because he's traveling with Luffy and Zoro. Their bounties are 56 million and 33 million respectively."

"My… I wish his bounty was at least in the same range. I hope this doesn't discourage him too much."

"Don't worry, Miss Kaya. We both know just how optimistic Mister Usopp is."

...

Germa Kingdom

"Reiju, take a look at this new bounty poster—this guy, could it be Sanji?"

Asked Vinsmoke Yonji, the green-haired younger brother, holding up a bounty poster labeled "Bad Boy Cook" featuring a hazy image of Sanji.

"Hmm... What did Father say?"

Reiju, the eldest of the Vinsmoke siblings, glanced at the poster and asked for their father's opinion.

"He said he's not entirely sure. The side of the face is covered in cigarette smoke, so he wants to investigate further. Honestly, if it were a drawing, we might be able to tell. Either way, even if it is him, that guy's still useless."

Yonji grumbled, and Reiju followed up with another question.

"What about Ichiji and Niji?"

"Same. Right now, it's a 2-to-2 split. And since this bounty was issued by the Navy's Flame Pillar—Rengoku—even if we tried to apply pressure for a confirmation, we couldn't. Unless we go to the East Blue ourselves, it's a waste of time if it turns out to be someone else."

"Hmm… Honestly, it doesn't really look like him to me. And even if it is Sanji, what could he possibly accomplish in the weakest sea, the East Blue? Wouldn't it be better to wait until he enters the New World? If he's truly Sanji, and he manages to survive that long, maybe by then he'll prove himself worthy of the Vinsmoke name. At the very least, he might finally become useful. I mean, a 10 million bounty barely means anything."

There was an odd persuasiveness in Reiju's words.

Yonji nodded in agreement.

"Alright. I'll pass that along."

After Yonji left the room, Reiju looked up at the ceiling, her expression quiet as she fell into deep thought.

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