"Stop talking nonsense," Deuce interrupted, waving his hand to end their playful banter. Looking at Sanji and the other Straw Hat Pirates who were watching from the deck, he switched to more serious matters.
He stroked his chin thoughtfully and asked with a hint of uncertainty, "Are we heading directly to the Sabaody Archipelago now? With our current bounties and at such a sensitive time, is it really safe to land there?"
As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of the latest bounty posters and spread them out for everyone to see.
The bounties for the Black Star Pirates had increased dramatically compared to their previous amounts—in some cases more than doubling.
Among them, Jerry's bounty was particularly eye-catching, rising from 1.5 billion to an astonishing 3.6 billion berries. This astronomical figure seemed to reflect the sensitive nature of recent events. Considering the incredible combat power he'd displayed at Marine Headquarters, his high-profile conflicts with Celestial Dragons, and various other aggravating factors, the authorities had finally settled on such a massive amount.
Cavendish's bounty had soared from 390 million to 1.1 billion berries. Obviously, the combination of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's lightning powers with his already formidable swordsmanship had made his strength skyrocket, and his bounty had risen accordingly.
As for Brook, his reward had increased to 500 million berries. His battles with several Vice Admirals and his unfinished confrontation with Doflamingo of the Seven Warlords, combined with the current high-profile status of the Black Star Pirates, had made the Soul King's head incredibly valuable.
In addition to these three major increases, Deuce's bounty had also reached 200 million berries, with Skull following closely behind at 150 million. Even Carina, who had barely taken any direct action at Marine Headquarters, saw her bounty jump to 120 million berries.
There were also the widely-watched Kotatsu and Carrot, who hadn't even had time to demonstrate their full combat potential. Their bounties had still reached respectable amounts—350,000 berries and 500,000 berries respectively.
Bonney, who hadn't revealed her true combat abilities during the battle, seemed to have her bounty raised to over 500 million berries because of her connection to Kuma and her demonstrated ability to restore Whitebeard's youth—something the World Government found extremely threatening.
The soaring bounty amounts for all crew members fully demonstrated that the Black Star Pirates were now considered a heavyweight threat in the eyes of the World Government.
In Deuce's hands, besides the bounty posters for their own crew, he also held reward information for many other pirates who had participated in the "Great Incident," including updated bounties for Ace and the Straw Hat Pirates.
Ace's bounty had also increased substantially to 1.5 billion berries due to his prominent role in the conflict and his connection to both the Pirate King and Whitebeard.
Noticing that everyone was staring at the bounty posters with great interest—and that Zoro and Sanji were actually starting to argue about the amounts—Jerry scratched his head casually.
"I don't think it'll be a big problem," he said with characteristic nonchalance. "There are plenty of big fish swimming around the Sabaody Archipelago, and the Marines are incredibly busy right now dealing with the aftermath. They probably won't come looking for trouble with us specifically."
Looking around at his companions, Deuce noticed that although Jerry and his friends all bore scars from the recent war and were wrapped in various bandages, he knew that Jerry's medical wrappings were only there because he'd specifically requested them for appearances.
Otherwise, with Jerry's incredible recovery speed, he would have been almost completely healed by now. Besides Cavendish, Zoro, and Sanji—who had sustained serious injuries—and Brook, who had minor wounds, the others had barely been hurt at all. Their fighting strength remained relatively intact.
Considering this assessment, Deuce nodded decisively. "Alright then, let's land there directly and get this done."
During their journey toward the Sabaody Archipelago, Skull took the opportunity to brief everyone—especially the Straw Hat Pirates—about the specific person they were seeking.
Through his explanation, Zoro and the others learned about Rayleigh's incredibly prominent identity as the former vice-captain of the Pirate King's crew. When Robin first heard this information, she seemed hesitant to speak, as if worried about something, but ultimately remained silent about whatever was troubling her.
Shortly after noon, they chose a relatively remote location to make landfall on the Sabaody Archipelago and headed directly toward the interior of the island chain.
The group walked along casually, chatting and joking as they made their way straight toward Shakky's Rip-off Bar on Grove 13. Although they tried their best to maintain a low profile, the Sabaody Archipelago was extremely prosperous, with large populations of both locals and visitors from around the world. This meant they were inevitably recognized by numerous passersby.
Just as Jerry and the others had predicted, even though they were walking through the streets quite openly, very few people dared approach them or cause any disturbance. The recent war had made their reputations abundantly clear to anyone paying attention.
Marines also appeared occasionally throughout their journey. However, rather than attempting to stop Jerry's group, they simply used Den Den Mushi to report the situation to their superiors after letting them pass unmolested.
In this way, Jerry managed to knock on the door and enter the Rip-off Bar without incident, never encountering any foolish individuals who thought it would be wise to cause trouble for them.
When he stepped into the familiar establishment, Jerry raised his hand and called out with practiced ease: "Hey there, Boss Lady! Nice to see you again..."
Before he could finish his greeting, he stopped abruptly as he nearly collided with Rayleigh, who was apparently heading out. The two men found themselves staring at each other in mutual surprise.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Jerry was the first to speak: "Old man Rayleigh, are you heading out to scam some more people?"
Rayleigh responded with obvious distaste: "You're the scammer here. I run my business with complete integrity and never cheat anyone."
Whether it was ship coating services or his occasional work selling himself at slave auctions, Rayleigh genuinely believed his integrity was beyond question and that all transactions between parties were entirely fair and legitimate.
As soon as he finished defending his business practices, Rayleigh looked at the large group of people crowded behind Jerry. A knowing gleam appeared in his eyes as he asked with curiosity, "So what brings you all here today?"
Jerry glanced around the interior of the bar and spotted Shakky cleaning up leftover dishes and glasses from a table. Apparently, some other customers had been there recently.
He nodded toward the group behind him, then gestured with his chin toward Rayleigh. "We need some information. Let's talk about it once we're all inside."
After that invitation, the entire group filed into the bar in an orderly fashion.
Once everyone had found seats and settled in comfortably, they succinctly explained the entire situation to their hosts.
Soon, both Shakky and Rayleigh had developed a clear understanding of the circumstances and the specific purpose of their visit.
"So you want to know the location of Amazon Lily so you can go there to find your captain?" Rayleigh asked, directing his question toward Nami and the other Straw Hat Pirates.
Shakky glanced meaningfully at Sanji, who was practically vibrating with excitement at the mere mention of the legendary island of women. The corners of her mouth curved upward in amusement. "But Amazon Lily doesn't welcome outsiders at all, especially men."
"That's easy enough to solve," Zoro stated with complete seriousness, folding his arms across his chest. "We can just toss this perverted cook into the Calm Belt to feed the Sea Kings, and then Usopp and I will stay on the ship."
Upon hearing this practical suggestion, Sanji immediately rushed over in indignation: "Green moss head, do you want to die?!"
Ignoring the two crewmates who had begun their predictable argument, Nami's face took on a pleading expression as she looked toward their hosts. "There must be some way to make this work, right?"
Seeing her desperation, Rayleigh chuckled knowingly. "There's something else you should know about this situation, isn't there?"
Jerry slowly stretched out his palm, then gradually clenched it into a fist while wearing a distinctly mischievous smile. "Well, you know what they say—if you don't want others to know your secrets, then don't do anything worth keeping secret in the first place."
His grin widened as he continued, "That's right. Everything related to Amazon Lily is completely under my control."