The Going Merry sailed smoothly to a new destination, her new engine humming softly beneath the deck. The sky was clear, the waves calm, a perfect day to set sail toward their next adventure.
Luffy sat cross-legged at the bow or merry head, grinning ear to ear. "Alright! Next stop a cook! I want someone who can make meat every day!"
Jack nodded, looking at a star map he had projected using Phastos tech. "There's a floating restaurant not too far from here. Baratie. It's famous across the East Blue and the chef there is exactly the kind of person you want."
"Hmmphh... Are you navigator or I am navigator?" asked Nami.
"You are the one nami, but Im just helping you," replied Jack.
"Thanks, but no need," answered Nami.
Zoro stretched lazily against the mast. "As long as we get good food, I don't care who we pick up."
Jack hearing this just chuckled because he remember the series where Zoro and Sanji always fight each other.
On another part there was a lonely figure, Usopp are still looking at the direction of Syrup Village.
Before they had departed Syrup Village, Jack had insisted on taking a photo of everyone because they need to give it to Kaya, so Kaya can report it to Marine and put it on bounty list.
Luffy had struck a ridiculous pose, grinning with his arms stretched out. Zoro had crossed his arms, looking like he was about to challenge the photographer. Jack, meanwhile, had smirked confidently with one hand in his pocket.
Usopp had been reluctant, insisting he didn't need to be in the picture but when Kaya teased him that he might look like a coward, his pride flared. "I AM NOT A COWARD!" he had shouted, then stood alone trying to look heroic.
Only Nami had refused, staying off to the side with her arms crossed.
"I don't need my face on any picture," she had said coolly.
Now, just a few hours after they sailed, a seagull swooped down, bringing a bundle of papers on the deck. Nami picked one up and pay to the bird.
"…Oh no."
"What is it?" Jack asked.
Nami silently turned the paper around and everyone saw it.
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
Right below the headline was a familiar grinning face: Monkey D. Luffy – 20,000,000 Beli.
Luffy face lit up like the sun. "YESSS! I DID IT! I'M OFFICIALLY A REAL PIRATE NOW!" He grabbed the poster and held it up proudly for everyone to see.
But that wasn't the only paper.
Another fell into Zoro hand. "Huh. They got me too. Roronoa Zoro – 15,000,000 Beli."
Jack picked up his own and smirked. "Jack F Corrie – 15,000,000 Beli. Not bad. I guess blowing up Klahadore plans earned me some attention."
Usopp picked his up and went pale. "U-Usopp – 5,000,000 Beli!? FIVE MILLION!? No way! No way! I didn't even do anything! This must be a mistake!"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "You shot down a Black Cat Pirate during the fight. You saved Villagers. That's more than enough to make you wanted."
"I DON'T WANT TO BE WANTED!" Usopp cried, running in circles. "Bounty hunters will come after me! The Marines will come after me! Do you know how dangerous this is!?"
Nami crossed her arms, frowning. "He's right about one thing. This is going to make things a lot harder. The moment we dock at any island, bounty hunters will be waiting for us. And Marines will start tracking us."
Luffy just laughed, waving his poster around. "GOOD! Let them come! I'll just beat them up!"
"That's not how this works!" Nami snapped.
Jack chuckled softly. "Honestly, this is a good thing. If we're on the radar, it means we're becoming strong enough to be taken seriously."
Zoro smirked. "Exactly. And the bigger the bounty, the stronger the enemies who will come. That just means we get stronger too."
Usopp groaned and dramatically flopped onto the deck. "I'm going to die…"
Luffy patted him on the back. "Don't worry, Usopp. If anyone tries to catch you, I'll just punch them until they fly away."
"That doesn't make me feel better!" Usopp wailed.
Nami sighed, rubbing her temples. "I can't believe I joined this crew…"
Jack grinned and glanced toward the horizon. "Better get used to it. This is just the beginning. Our names will spread across the East Blue, then the Grand Line. Sooner or later, everyone will know the Straw Hat Pirates."
Luffy jumped onto the railing, pointing dramatically toward the open sea. "THAT'S RIGHT! WE'RE GOING TO THE GRAND LINE! AND I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"
Despite the worry, despite the fear, everyone felt a spark of excitement. Their journey had just begun and now, the world knew their names.
Far away from the East Blue, stormy wind swept across a remote island.
A cloaked man stood, staring down at the freshly printed bounty poster in his hand. His stern face was half-hidden beneath his hood, but his piercing eyes gleamed with something between anger and pride.
"Monkey D. Luffy…" he muttered.
The wind around him began to howl, the storm intensifying as if mirroring his emotions.
For a moment, his jaw tightened. Then, slowly, a grin formed on his face.
"…I am ok with whatever path you wanted to follow."
The man is Monkey D. Dragon, the world's most wanted criminal.
"Go on then, Luffy. Shake the world. Make them see you."
He turned away from the cliff, his cloak flaring behind him as the wind calmed. He didn't tell anyone around him that the boy on the poster was his son, he didn't need to. The revolution would soon have its own storm.
On the other side of the world in Marineford, another man sat with the same poster.
His coat was slung casually over his shoulders, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Monkey D. Garp, Hero of the Marines, scratched the back of his head. "Tch. That luffy actually became a pirate."
He crumpled the poster slightly in his fist… then started laughing so hard his entire body shook.
"BAHAHAHAHA! THAT'S MY GRANDSON FOR YA!"
The soldiers standing nearby looked confused but they didn't dare ask why the Hero of the Marines looked so proud of the pirate he was supposed to hunt.
Garp wiped a tear from his eye and grinned widely. "You better get stronger, Luffy. 'Cause when I catch you, I'm gonna beat you until you cry!"
Meanwhile, in the New World, aboard the deck of a massive ship that dwarfed most islands, a different kind of commotion was breaking out.
"Hey, Oyaji! Look at this!"
Portgas D. Ace came running toward the massive man sitting in the center of the deck, holding up a bounty poster with an enormous grin.
Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, glanced at the paper, then back at Ace. "Hmm… Monkey D. Luffy? That your little brother?"
Ace nodded proudly. "Yep! That's him! Twenty million for his first bounty not bad for a rookie, huh?"
The Whitebeard Pirates gathered around, murmuring and whistling.
"Twenty million? Already?"
"He must be one crazy brat."
Ace beamed, puffing out his chest. "He's gonna be big one day. Bigger than me. Mark my words, he's gonna turn this world upside down."
Whitebeard let out a deep, booming laugh. "Gurarara!"
Marco, perched nearby, smirked. "Guess we'll be hearing a lot more about this Straw Hat soon."
Ace looked down at the poster one more time, smiling softly.
"Do your best, little brother. I'll be waiting for you in the Grand Line."
P/S: This chapter is free and powerstone are also free, there is a button to donate powerstone.