Seeing Carrot suddenly appear, Wanda was startled and quickly asked,
"Carrot? Why did you follow me!?"
Carrot pursed her lips and said,
"Our homeland and our people have already been devastated by that villain. I don't want to stay here any longer!"
"But you're still too young. The outside world is dangerous for you…"
"I'm not a child anymore, Wanda! Besides, I've always wanted to go out and see the world. Please take me with you!"
Wanda's expression grew complicated upon hearing this, and she said,
"Carrot, I'm not just going out to explore this time, I am—"
Before she could finish, a calm voice interrupted,
"What a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you two here."
Wanda and Carrot turned toward the source of the voice, only to see Joy Boy walking toward them at a leisurely pace.
Upon seeing him, Carrot's face instantly showed unconcealed disgust as she snapped,
"Just my luck! Why do I keep running into you, you damn villain!?"
Wanda let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief before straightening her posture and saying seriously,
"Are you here to take us back?"
Carrot immediately assumed a combat stance, eyeing Joy Boy warily.
Joy Boy waved his hand dismissively and said indifferently,
"Don't misunderstand. I have no interest in taking you back. In fact, I'd be happy to see you two leave. After all, we are not on the same path."
As he spoke, Joy Boy's figure flickered, and in an instant, he appeared behind Wanda, gazing down at the sea of clouds below. He then said,
"I just happen to be leaving for a while. So? Do you need me to take you down?"
Before Wanda could respond, Carrot immediately shouted,
"We don't need you to pretend to be a good guy! If you really want to help, then just don't come back!"
Joy Boy chuckled slightly. In his eyes, Wanda and Carrot no longer posed any threat to his position among the Mink Tribe, so he wasn't bothered by Carrot's outburst. Instead, he simply smiled and said,
"That's impossible. I'll be back soon. And when that happens, no matter where in the world you are, you'll hear tales of my legend!"
Carrot, being the sharp-tongued rabbit Mink she was, retorted without hesitation,
"Forget your stupid legend! I'd rather hear news of your death!"
Joy Boy was momentarily taken aback by Carrot's harsh words. After a brief pause, he snorted coldly and said,
"I'll let you off the hook this time since you're still young. Take care."
With that, Joy Boy didn't linger any longer. He suddenly kicked off the ground with immense force, shooting like a white meteor into the sea of clouds below.
By the time Wanda and Carrot reacted, Joy Boy's figure had already disappeared without a trace.
Wanda stared blankly at the spot where he had vanished and muttered,
"Did he just jump? This place is 13,500 meters above the sea! Even if his abilities protect him from the fall, doesn't he fear the seawater?"
Carrot, on the other hand, clapped her hands in excitement and cheered,
"Great! That idiot is dead for sure! Wanda, are we still leaving?"
Wanda pondered for a moment before replying,
"No, that guy won't die so easily…"
Just as she finished speaking, the clouds below suddenly began to churn and swirl, forming into Joy Boy's smirking face. That mocking smile made it clear he was taunting them.
Carrot was so enraged that she nearly jumped down after him, but Wanda quickly grabbed her and held her back. Letting out a sigh, Wanda said,
"Carrot, let's go."
"Alright! Where are we going?"
"I'll tell you once we're down there. Just know that we're not going on a sightseeing trip."
...
After redeploying forces across the Four Seas, Carl led part of the fleet back to Marineford.
The expedition had successfully annihilated the remaining forces of the Revolutionary Army and purged most pirate factions in the Four Seas. The only regret was failing to completely eliminate Joy Boy—he had escaped once again to an unknown location.
Upon returning to Marineford, Carl immediately issued orders for the CP organizations and the Navy's intelligence division to intensify the global hunt for Straw Hat Luffy. The bounty poster for Luffy was also updated.
The latest bounty poster featured a rather unique design—split diagonally, with the top half showing Luffy's normal face and the bottom half depicting his Nika form.
Beneath the name "Monkey D. Luffy," there was now a bracketed alias: "Joy Boy."
In addition, his bounty had been raised to 5 billion Belly, matching the historic value of the Op-Op Fruit.
It was a sum large enough to drive people insane. The moment the new bounty was issued, the world erupted into a frenzy over the search for Straw Hat Luffy.
Surprisingly, the ones most eager to act weren't bounty hunters—but pirates!
According to the Navy's announcement, capturing Luffy wasn't even necessary. Simply providing useful intel about him would earn a generous reward.
Even pirates were eligible to claim the bounty. Not only that, but those without heinous crimes could receive a Celestial Dragon pardon! With a fortune in hand, they could retire and live as upstanding citizens.
After all, Luffy had escaped from the Fleet Admiral's grasp, proving that his strength had already surpassed the level of a Yonko—perhaps even exceeding them.
Even Red-Haired Shanks wasn't on that level!
Back in the day, legendary Yonko like Kaido, Whitebeard, and Big Mom had all fallen tragically. None had managed such a feat.
Now, with the Navy's overwhelming dominance, the so-called Great Pirate Era was coming to an end. The pirate forces were in steep decline compared to the past.
These days, pirates lived cautiously, fearing the Navy's wrath. Forget about pursuing the One Piece—just surviving another day was a challenge for many.
Most of them had long wanted to leave piracy behind, but their names had already been logged in the Navy's system. It wasn't as simple as just walking away.
So, it was no surprise that Luffy's new bounty poster was incredibly tempting to them.
...
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office,
Carl flipped through the documents on his desk. These contained intelligence reports from across the world regarding Joy Boy's whereabouts.
After reviewing the final document, Carl's hand was suddenly engulfed in dark flames, consuming all the files entirely.
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+200 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg