"Holy shit, is he cheating!?"
"How did he do that!?"
"Did some Tier 4 or 5 bigshot sneak in!?"
The three explorers on the ship exclaimed in disbelief, unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
After all, to reach the upper echelons of Tier 2, they were considered somewhat seasoned within the space, and had a decent understanding of the rules for deploying explorers.
A massive derivative world like One Piece only gets fully reset after a long interval. The general rule is: if no one clears it, it resets at the end of the story.
This time, it was a freshly reset One Piece world, and they were the first batch of explorers to enter. The world was in a pure, unpolluted state.
In this situation, the space wouldn't throw in high-tier explorers to sweep the field. The first batch would only be drawn from Tiers 1 to 3—no exceptions for powerhouses.
It was mostly Tier 2 explorers, with only a few from Tiers 1 and 3.
But even Tier 3 explorers were just bigger fish in the new world, unable to stir up real waves. At best, they could earn some respect in the Beasts Pirates.
So what was up with this Gusion!?
He was a Lead Performer—a Calamity, no less, and as the fourth Calamity, even got the title "The Thunderstorm", which left the explorers truly shaken.
A bounty nearing 800 million—how are the rest of us supposed to compete?
After fighting tooth and nail in the North Blue, they'd only managed around 30 million. Now, there was already an explorer with a hundred-million-level bounty, who'd become the Beasts Pirates' fourth Calamity.
"Is he from our side, or the End Space?"
An explorer from the Divine Space asked worriedly.
"Who cares. We're not heading to the New World. Let the monsters kill each other. Anyone who wants to play with a cheater like that can go for it."
The leader rolled his eyes.
He thought, isn't this basically cheating? No matter Gusion's actual strength, as the fourth Calamity of the Beasts Pirates, who dares mess with him?
If a fight breaks out, he won't fight fair—he'll just call the whole crew for a brawl.
Meanwhile, explorers all around the world also received updates to their bounty lists. When they saw Gusion's wanted poster, they were equally shocked.
Those Tier 3 explorers who'd just found some success in the New World fell silent, and several elite Tier 2 explorers who'd just entered the New World started to reconsider after seeing Gusion's face.
Everyone had similar thoughts: How are you supposed to play with this?
Better not get involved—just avoid him.
…
On an autumn island in the New World.
"Wait! I can give you my inheritance…"
A Divine Space explorer with a third eye on his forehead begged for mercy, but before he could finish, black spots crawled over his body, turning him pitch-black.
When his last breath faded, he collapsed in terror, leaving only a treasure chest behind.
A petite woman stood under a red maple tree, her body wrapped in black bandages, giving her a strange look.
After the explorer died, she calmly walked over and picked up the chest.
This was the fifth Divine explorer she'd hunted in this world—not out of hatred, but purely for profit and position.
Soon, there'd be a battle for the world between the End Space and Divine Space. The vice-captain of the Botanical Garden had ordered them to hunt down as many Divine Space experts as possible.
But as soon as Black Lily picked up the treasure chest, her danger sense went wild. Her enhanced combat reflexes saved her life as she dodged an attack from above and behind.
Turning, she stared grimly at a man crouched on a tree branch, smiling at her.
He wore a white suit, gold earrings, dazzling blond hair, and a third eye on his forehead—a trait unique to Divine Space's race.
"Even Tier 3s aren't your match. Looks like you're worth hunting."
He smiled, raising a gloved hand, sending a chill down Black Lily's spine.
Boom—
After a brief clash, the dust settled and blood dotted the ground.
The man in the white suit fixed his hair. "You're pretty good at running—not bad for a special type. Should I chase her, or continue collecting bloodlines?"
Already far away and sailing out to sea, Black Lily tended to her wounds, eyes grave.
She saw the man at the port, smiling and waving. She responded with a middle finger.
Only when the ship sailed far away did she relax a bit. "Looks like the other side's thinking the same. Trouble figures, huh…"
She knew who he was—Body Killer, a rising Tier 2 explorer from Divine Space, whose power had grown since entering this world.
Most of the Tier 3 explorers here had just reached that level, but Body Killer might be the strongest explorer in this world.
Even so, she was puzzled—why was he so strong!?
She'd gained many benefits since entering, her stats surpassing Tier 2 limits, but Body Killer was even more ridiculous.
According to her intel, he shouldn't be this strong. Even eating a Devil Fruit in the One Piece world shouldn't boost you this much—he was defying logic.
As she frowned in thought, a news-delivering seagull flew by. Black Lily raised her hand, and for some unknown reason, the seagull stopped flying and fell.
She picked up the wanted poster and scanned it. Her current bounty was 90 million Berries—not high for a side quest, so she felt she needed to work harder.
While flipping through, she froze at one face. "Gusion?"
…
While the One Piece world was in turmoil, Gusion was oblivious to the outside chaos.
He'd been busy helping build up Wano, enjoying himself.
Of course, he hadn't neglected his training—daily sparring with Yamato, and now, thanks to his higher status, even asking Kaido for pointers when Kaido was in a good mood.
Kaido teaching was no exaggeration.
After a few sessions of tough love from Kaido, Gusion's Armament and Observation Haki had grown rapidly. If he'd eaten a Devil Fruit, he felt his fruit powers might have improved greatly too.
Besides skill growth, his stats had also improved a lot thanks to daily "Soul Devourer," passive meditation methods, and constant physical training.
After lunch, Gusion glanced at his current stats:
[Pioneer No.008, your base stats (with equipment and title bonuses):]
Constitution: 49 (+5)
Strength: 42 (+5)
Agility: 42 (+5)
Spirit: 48 (+8)
Charisma: 5
Luck: 2
[]
In just two months, his stats had transformed dramatically—a result of many factors.
The "Seimei Kikan" eating, spiritual pressure training, daily workouts, and high-pressure sparring.
Now, if he went all out, he could one-shot 99.99% of Tier 2 explorers, and even early Tier 3s.
Even sailing solo, he'd be considered a heavyweight in the New World.
And with the Beasts Pirates backing him, he could basically walk anywhere in the New World.
He could command everyone in the crew except the other Lead Performers—few explorers could stand against him.
For the first time since entering End Space, Gusion truly felt the joy of having a powerful backer. With a Yonko as his boss, and authority in hand, there was little he couldn't do.
Kaido didn't mind that he hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, and even sent people out to find him a stronger Mythical Zoan fruit after Gusion said he wanted one.
Gusion gave a simple reason: he felt the T-Rex fruit didn't suit him, and believed Haki was king. Kaido was delighted—he shared the same view.
Of course, Kaido wasn't stingy. If Gusion didn't eat the fruit, Kaido wouldn't take it back. It was already Gusion's personal property, a reward. If Gusion didn't eat it, it could go to one of his trusted subordinates—Kaido wouldn't interfere.
"Lord Gusion."
Fukurokuju's voice interrupted Gusion's thoughts.
"What is it?"
Gusion put down his bowl, already full.
Fukurokuju respectfully handed over a stack of wanted posters. He'd become more and more obedient lately. "We received these at the port—they have your name."
"From the Navy?"
Gusion was curious. Flipping through, he saw the Beasts Pirates' officers all had their bounties raised.
When he got to his own page, Gusion marveled at the World Government's intel network. He'd never left Wano, and had been in seclusion these past two months.
Kaido hadn't announced the new Lead Performer, but the wanted poster's description of him was spot-on.
Fourth Lead Performer, The Thunderstorm: Gusion.
"Not a bad bounty…"
Gusion smiled. Compared to other Lead Performers with billion-plus bounties, his seemed modest, but this was his first bounty.
In One Piece, first bounties are always conservative. Like how Luffy's real strength at the start of the Grand Line was far above 30 million, but his first bounty was set carefully—making it more meaningful.
The three Calamities of the Beasts Pirates didn't start out with billion-level bounties either; their bounties were raised as their fame and feats grew.
Also, bounty amounts aren't purely based on combat strength.
It's the Navy's assessment of threat. You may not be the strongest, but if you're a huge threat to the world, your bounty will be high.
Like how Nico Robin had a 79 million bounty at age 8—not because she could fight, but because she could read Poneglyphs and threatened the World Government.
The World Government probably thought Gusion was helping Kaido and having a big impact, so they set his first bounty so high.
As soon as he got his wanted poster, Gusion triggered a new side quest.
[Side Quest: Fame at Sea]
Mission: As a pirate, your bounty represents your strength and notoriety—raise it as high as possible and become a legendary pirate! Rewards are given for different bounty tiers.
Difficulty: Easy to Deadly
Rewards:
Under 10 million: 10,000 End Coins
10–30 million: 30,000 End Coins
30–100 million: 1x Medium Legacy Crystal
100–300 million: 3x Medium Legacy Crystal
300–600 million: Special Title, +6 Free Attribute Points
600 million–1 billion: Random Devil Fruit Chest
1–2 billion: Conqueror's Haki Aptitude Awakening
Over 2 billion: Special Return Reward
Failure Penalty: None