"Wha… a bounty notice? A five–hundred–million Beli pirate?"
Momousagi had only just woken up. Her head was still foggy, and she thought she must have misheard.
Only when Rakuya slid the newspaper into her hands did she realize this was not a dream.
"What is this?"
"Your wanted poster. You are a big–shot pirate now. Terrifying, right?" Rakuya smiled, eyes dancing with mischief.
"A big–shot pirate? How could that be? I did not do anything." Momousagi was still bewildered. How could she possibly be worth five hundred million Beli? She had done nothing these past few days but sleep. What, had she sleepwalked out, chopped down some Celestial Dragons, and earned herself a bounty?
After puzzling for a bit, she gave up and lowered her gaze to the print.
Lines of tight text flickered past her eyes. Then she saw the two portraits.
Her pretty face went slack with shock. She blinked and her cherry lips rounded into an O.
"I… I am actually a five–hundred–million Beli pirate…"
She knew exactly what that meant. A few days ago, she had only stood and watched while Rakuya toppled the World Government and razed the Holy Land. She had not even thrown a punch.
She never imagined the Government would list her too.
"Heathen wolf. This is your fault. I am a five–hundred–million Beli pirate because of you." Momousagi bared her teeth at him, all puffed up.
This was all on Rakuya.
"Blame me why? Sure, I did flatten the World Government, but you did contribute." He looked perfectly calm, not the least bit guilty.
"Me? Contribute how?" She stared blankly. She had just stood off to the side.
"With a beauty like you present, how could I pass up a once–in–a–lifetime chance to act cool? Without you there, I would not have made the entrance so grand. I would not have put in that much effort. Much of this credit goes to you." Rakuya's tone turned playful.
A blush rose across Momousagi's cheeks.
"Bah. Lecher. Who would believe you?"
"Think about it, Momousagi. From a faceless cog in Marine Headquarters to a pirate worth five hundred million, that is a meteoric rise. Shouldn't you thank me?"
"Thank you? I am being hunted by the Marines because of you and you want thanks? Idiot. Did seawater leak into your head?"
"Seawater? We are ten thousand meters under the sea on Fish–Man Island. Do you think my head is not full of water? Getting you down here took serious effort. Do you know how many gulps I swallowed hauling you along? I worked my fingers to the bone, and you do not even feel a little grateful. Oh, my heart. I need comfort."
Rakuya flipped into clown mode in a heartbeat.
"Pfft."
Watching him clown around, Momousagi burst into giggles.
"Hey, lecher, you usually act all cheap and shameless, but when it matters you are ridiculous. You really destroyed the World Government. The Five Elders surviving is a loss, sure, but you acted so sharp and decisive." She had turned into a little fangirl without realizing it.
"Ahem. That was nothing. I can be even more ridiculous. Want to try?" His voice dropped, wicked.
Momousagi might have been sheltered, but she was not dense. She saw exactly where that look was going and flushed scarlet. "Pervert. Degenerate. You have no shame."
"What use is shame in front of a girl? Especially a beautiful one. The less shame the better." He kept needling her until her ears burned.
For a twenty–first–century flirt like him, winning over Momousagi felt like swatting a fly.
"Dead man walking. The Government has Flowing Cloud at two billion Beli, and you slapped a one–billion bounty of your own on Zephyr, Sengoku and the others. That makes you a three–billion–Beli pirate. That is above Whitebeard and Roger."
"Only three billion. So what."
He waved it off.
Three billion. Was that a lot? To Rakuya, whatever number the Government printed meant nothing. Bounties were just paper. Beyond scaring the world, what else did they do?
He did not want fame. He wanted Devil Fruits. If someone offered him ten of them in exchange for his notoriety, he would hand his reputation over without hesitation, if such a thing could be traded. If ten was too many, five hundred million for one fruit worked too. Even a single fruit would be fine.
Compared to a number on a poster, fruits were real.
"Only three billion?" Momousagi's eyes went wide. "Do you know what three billion means?"
"What, that I am unbeatable? I know very well whether I am or not. I do not need the Government to tell me." His reply was bland, but unanswerable.
She opened her mouth to argue and found nothing to say.
Just then, something tugged in Rakuya's chest. The charm in his clothes cracked.
He had exchanged ten points with the System for two linked talismans. If one broke, the other would shatter in sympathy. Two days earlier, Ufole had begged to be his disciple. Rakuya had set him a near–impossible test and handed him a charm. If Ufole succeeded, he was to crush it.
Now the one in Rakuya's hand had crumbled.
Which meant Ufole had crushed his.
"Could he really have found Devil Fruits in two days?" Rakuya murmured, frowning in doubt.
"What is wrong?" Momousagi asked, seeing the look on his face.
"Nothing. A small errand. Want to come?"
She had been asleep for two days. Some fresh air would do her good.
"Mhm."
She nodded.
Rakuya did not bother with more talk. He sent her into the System space, swapped her into a fresh outfit and handed her a mask. Once she was ready, he activated his Waterlord ability.
A phantom map unfolded in his mind. One point glowed like a beacon. The charm's location lay on an island in the New World.
"So here you are."
He pulled on the red–cloud black cloak, set the mask over his face and vanished.
He slipped through space and crossed a thousand li in an instant.
New World.
A certain island.
Ufole lay in the dirt, battered to a pulp. His clothes were in tatters, his face streaked with blood, his chest caved in. He was panting in ragged gasps, every breath a knife.
"What happened?"
Rakuya stepped from thin air and looked down at the broken young man.
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