This time, nothing went wrong. It was Kuina's wanted poster for sure. In this newly taken photo, the camera perfectly captured the moment th
This time, nothing went wrong.
It was Kuina's wanted poster for sure.
In this newly taken photo, the camera perfectly captured the moment the black-haired, high-ponytail female swordsman drew her blade.
The sword glinted like snow, her black hair billowed, and the sharp sword intent in her eyes almost pierced through the picture.
Brannew spoke with a solemn tone:
"Kuina, proficient in both forms of Haki and possessing extraordinary swordsmanship, stopped Mr. Kake on her own and fought him for over an hour without falling behind."
"Everyone here knows that Mr. Kake is an admiral candidate! What terrifying strength!"
"Considering the new swordsmanship she demonstrated, with every move like a fierce gust of wind, the staff has recommended changing her nickname to 'Wind Swordsman!'"
"And her new bounty is finalized at—777 million Berries!"
A bounty nearing 800 million.
That number was terrifying.
Even among the highest-ranking officers under the Four Emperors, more than half didn't have such high bounties.
But… being able to go toe-to-toe with an admiral candidate more than justified it.
The room filled with a smoky haze, and for a while, no one raised objections. So Brannew proceeded directly to the final subject:
"Lastly, the core topic of this meeting!"
"—That man! A true madman, an ambitious figure! Captain of the End Pirates, the swordsman Shano, whose previous bounty was 1 billion Berries!"
Brannew took out the final wanted poster and slapped it onto the whiteboard!
The photo was a close-up of Shano drawing his katana and slicing off Rayleigh's arm.
In the pouring rain, the black-haired youth approached with a mocking expression, cold and condescending, like a god looking down on mortals.
"He severed Pluto Rayleigh's arm and repelled Admiral Borsalino. This brutal man has repeatedly challenged the balance of the sea and made his arrogance known to the world. His current strength is indisputable! He's already close to the pinnacle!"
"And Donquixote Doflamingo, a former Celestial Dragon and one of the Seven Warlords, was also killed by his blade not long ago!"
"The title of 'katana swordsman' no longer fits this man. After multiple discussions by the staff, Vice Admiral Tsuru made the most suitable suggestion. His new nickname is—"
"The World's Number One Swordsman, Shano!"
At this moment, Brannew glanced at Tsuru with admiration.
The other senior officers quickly reacted, whispering excitedly. The more they discussed it, the more perfect this nickname seemed.
It was an open trap.
Among all weapons, the sword is king.
Countless powerful swordsmen on the seas dream of claiming the title of "World's Number One Swordsman."
Now, just as this man had escaped Paradise and was about to enter the New World, handing him that title was a deliberate provocation.
It was certain that many swordsmen would now see him as their sworn enemy.
Perhaps even Dracule Mihawk, the real "World's Number One Swordsman," would be stirred...
That man, nominally a Shichibukai and ally of the Navy, had never participated in any Warlord meetings and was practically uncontactable.
If a mere nickname could stir Mihawk into action and drive him to personally hunt Shano… then that would be a huge gain.
Under everyone's admiring gaze, Tsuru remained calm and simply took a sip of sake.
"Since there are no objections, the nickname is confirmed. As for the bounty, the preliminary amount is—"
Brannew drew in a deep breath and slammed his palms on the table:
"1.98 billion Berries!"
Wano Country, Onigashima.
"What do you mean there's something I 'have to see' in this newspaper?"
A massive figure, freshly awakened, rubbed his red eyes irritably as he looked toward the throne.
"Is there such a thing? Hey! Quinn! You know what it costs to wake me up!"
"It's just a club to the face!"
Quinn grinned, holding out the paper. "Boss Kaido, you'll understand when you see it."
Kaido yawned as he opened it casually… then suddenly, his pupils shrank and his drunken haze vanished.
"Ura ra ra ra ra!!!"
He jumped to his feet and burst into wild laughter that shook the whole castle. "That guy's still alive? What a pleasant surprise! And the Navy lost face again… double happiness! Hey, Quinn! What're you waiting for? Throw a party! I'm gonna drink my fill tonight!"
…Was that really the reaction?
Tsk.
Last time, Kaido had gone berserk over Shano and chased him across thousands of miles.
This time, he was so overjoyed that he wanted to throw a party just because the guy was still alive?
Quinn shook his head.
That's just how Kaido is—always fixated on something odd.
Still, what caught his own attention more was the bounty change.
"The World's Number One Swordsman, bounty of 1.98 billion..."
Such a terrifying title.
That bounty was already higher than his own, and even higher than Jin's.
Among the Whitebeard and Big Mom crews, few (if any) commanders reached this level.
Quinn stroked his fat chin thoughtfully.
Leaving aside the ancient figures forgotten by time, this kid's bounty might now be the highest below the Four Emperors.
Somewhere in an unknown sea, on a remote island.
A band of unremarkable pirates rummaged across the island. Two apprentices with 100 million bounty were on lookout at high ground.
On a massive boulder, a red-haired middle-aged man read a newspaper with amusement.
"The world's greatest swordsman? Looks like that guy really ticked off the Navy… they even stooped to this level."
Shanks laughed. "I wonder how Mihawk reacted when he saw it!"
He thoroughly enjoyed the report, especially the close-up of Kizaru's distorted face on the cover—it nearly killed him with laughter when he first saw it.
As for Rayleigh…
Why did he fight with Shano?
It was strange. Was he betting on the new era?
Shanks scratched his head, then subconsciously glanced over his shoulder.
Totland, Whole Cake Island.
"MMMMMMM!!!"
The giant, obese figure on the sofa tossed aside the newspaper. "Just do as I say, Katakuri! We must win over such an exceptional young man!"
"MMMMMM, and he's good-looking too. I'm almost tempted to go myself..."
"Katakuri, help me pick one of my precious daughters to marry him! Forget the ugly ones. That would shame the family and they'll be rejected for sure!"
"Hmm... Castard? She's a bit old, but some boys like mature women. Let's put her down as an alternate…"
"Smoothie is good too. That girl is willful, but talk to her—see if she's willing."
The giant woman continued mumbling cheerfully.
Meanwhile below—
Katakuri narrowed his eyes, silent.
Using his sisters as marriage tools again...
It was annoying to keep seeing this happen.
But this time...
He didn't want to object.
That man was truly powerful—someone capable of changing the balance of the New World.
Besides, anyone who could keep his sisters at his side at all times was at least trustworthy.
"I'll talk to Smoothie. Don't worry, Mom."
He finally nodded and spoke in a deep voice.
"That's my good boy, Katakuri! Ma ma ma ma ma!!!"
Shimotsuki Village.
Atop the highest mountain, two youths sat on the grass, surrounded by newspapers scattered on the ground.
"It's only been a bit over half a year…"
The green-haired boy clenched his fists, his eyes filled with frustration.
"That Kuina girl can go toe-to-toe with an admiral now? It's only been months, and she's already so famous. I'm so jealous!"
"Damn it! Back at the dojo, we were evenly matched… but now the gap's huge! Waaah! I'm so pissed!"
He kicked the tree beside him, splitting it in half.
"She's an admiral-in-training, you stupid moss-head. And you lost to her over 5,000 times—how could you have been evenly matched?"
Sanji cleaned his saber and mocked him.
"Shut up, you damn curly brow! I'll kick you to death!"
"Like your three-legged-cat technique could manage that? My swordsmanship isn't to be trifled with!"
The two bickered again. Both trained in swordsmanship and leg techniques and constantly belittled each other's skills.
Though honestly, Zoro still focused on dual swords, while Sanji prioritized kicking.
After the squabble, they sat on the ground, panting as the sun began to set.
"Hey, Zoro," Sanji suddenly said, watching the setting sun.
"Hmm?"
"Let's set out to sea early. At the start of next year—after the snow stops."
"Huh?" Zoro blinked. "Are you serious?"
"No joke! Don't you want to catch up to Boss Shano?"
Sanji crumpled the newspaper and tossed it into the sea. "It's fine with Kuina, but Nami and Nokiko… their gap with us is just getting wider. They could probably beat us down with one punch now. How can we accept that?!"
"I'm not waiting until I 'come of age' to go to sea. By then, we might not even see their shadows!"
Zoro was silent for a moment, then grinned madly.
"That's what I want!"
"Then it's settled! We'll head out at the start of next year, form our own crew, and head to the Grand Line—the New World!"
"I want the whole world to know—"
"The world's number one swordsman will be me, Roronoa Zoro—AARGH! Why'd you hit me, curly brow!"
"What pirate crew?! Are you gonna be one of those looting thugs? Call it an adventure crew, dummy!"
"Right... adventure crew."
Fishman Island.
Directly below the Holy Land Marijoa, ten thousand meters under the sea.
If not crossing the Red Line, diving into the New World required passing here.
Roughly eight to nine thousand meters beneath the surface—
The End, having reached this point, continued its descent.
The bubble coating wrapped around the hull was warping slightly under the pressure, but it still held strong.
"Wow! Is that Fishman Island? It's so beautiful!"
Nami leaned over the side, eyes sparkling at the dreamlike island within a double bubble layer.
At such depths, light shouldn't reach.
But Fishman Island had the Sunlight Tree Eve, which absorbed sunlight through its massive trunk and transmitted it to the island's base, providing both light and air.
This gave Fishman Island a full ecological cycle, with alternating day and night and a pleasant climate that even humans could live in comfortably.
In addition to the sun tree, countless luminous corals and glowing fish swam near the beach, reflecting like a dream.
Several girls stood watching in awe.
Shano sat cross-legged on the open-air training deck on the second floor, casually playing with a purple devil fruit.
It was covered in snail-shell spirals and looked a bit like a pineapple.
He had found it during the slave rescue mission at the auction—picked up via radar detection.
It had rolled under the host's platform and was blocked on three sides. If not for a dwarf slave, who forced Shano to crouch down to unfasten a collar, he might never have noticed it.
Call it luck or karma.
But was it really a "reward"?
Shano glanced at Robin.
At first, he'd mistaken it for the rare Logia Dark-Dark Fruit.
But with Robin's help, he learned it was a rarely recorded Zoan fruit—the Fly-Fly Fruit.
Its pattern was almost identical to the Dark-Dark Fruit, but just slightly off. Only experts could tell the difference.
Would it turn the user into a fly…?
Red-eyed? Green-eyed? Larva? Adult?
It was gross either way.
No wonder it didn't appear in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia and had no place in historical records.
Anyone who ate this would probably hide their ability out of shame.
"What the hell do I even use this for…"
Shano shook his head and was just about to put the fruit away when Smoker's voice came from beside him:
"Hey, boss—look over there. That flag on that ship... isn't that Whitebeard's flag?"