A few days later, aboard the Fire Tank Battleship, the Castro.
Capone Bege sat stiffly, his face shifting between disbelief and dread as he watched the man before him tear into meat with a carefree appetite.
Was this guy brainless—or simply arrogant beyond measure?
How could he dare do something like this? How could Souta Kiryuu, of all people, openly declare war on the Celestial Dragons?!
With that single act, he had provoked the World Government and the Navy Headquarters. CP agents and Marine forces would never let them go. Worse yet, it would draw the attention of every bounty hunter on the seas, and even rival pirates would seek to take his head for fame and fortune.
"B-Boss… this is your latest bounty!" Bege's hands trembled slightly as he handed over the wanted poster. His voice wavered. He still couldn't process that the man in front of him was now recognized as a world-class criminal.
"Five hundred million berries?" Souta Kiryuu sneered, glancing only briefly at the poster. "It seems they're still underestimating me. Hmph. At least the photo turned out well—me torching the World Government and Celestial Dragon banners. Bold of the Marines to release that shot."
"Boss… you don't really intend to kill the Celestial Dragons, do you?" Bege's voice was dry, almost cracking. He realized his courage wasn't as strong as he once believed. Kiryuu's very first move had thrown him into the highest stakes imaginable: war with the entire world.
"What's the matter? Losing your nerve?" Souta's bloodthirsty grin sent a chill down Bege's spine. "You'll witness their deaths with your own eyes soon enough."
In just two days, Souta and his crew had already wiped out several pirate bands, looting heavily along the way. Still, he was disappointed not to have run into figures like Bonney or Lafitte, famous in the West Blue. If nothing else, he could've harvested the powers of the Chop-Chop Fruit and the Bird-Bird Fruit as material for Vegapunk's experiments. After all, even the Seraphim modeled after Mihawk had been empowered using replicated Chop-Chop abilities infused with the mysterious 'Green Blood.'
"I won't hide it—I am afraid," Bege admitted openly, his voice quivering. "Afraid that following you means I won't live another two years!" The truth was written plainly on his face: he was panicking, struggling to imagine how they'd possibly evade the World Government and the Navy's pursuit.
"In two days' time, we'll head to the North Blue," Souta said flatly, gazing out across the waves. "Right now, the Government's forces should be shifting toward the West Blue. That's when we move—let's see whose speed wins out."
With Bege's Castle-Castle Fruit to shelter Vegapunk and the others, combined with Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit, their mobility was unmatched. Even at just nine years old, Bartholomew Kuma had once used his powers to fling himself from God Valley in the West Blue all the way to the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue—crossing even the Red Line in the process. Compared to that feat, bouncing from the West Blue to the North Blue, skipping across the Calm Belt and even the New World, was nothing.
The Paw-Paw Fruit—an absurdly broken Paramecia ability.
"Vegapunk says he needs a stable base," Kuma interjected gravely. "Bonney's treatment requires it. And his brain keeps expanding… soon enough, not even Bege's fortress will be able to contain it."
"I know," Souta replied seriously. "Once we recruit a key figure in the North Blue and raid Germa 66 for cloning equipment, we'll carve out our own territory in the Grand Line."
His eyes gleamed with ambition. Trafalgar Law's Ope Ope no Mi was also on his mind; with its power, Vegapunk's oversized brain could be safely separated, even creating independent personalities to further his research. Recruiting Law was non-negotiable.
"Good." Kuma gave a small smile, reassured. Souta's decisiveness reminded him of his father, Dragon—a man whose vision and reliability were unmatched.
Meanwhile, Souta had no idea that his defiance against the Celestial Dragons had already sparked admiration across the seas. Commoners, criminals, and pirates alike began whispering his name with reverence.
On one West Blue island, the "Demon Sheriff" Lafitte cackled madly as he read the news, eyes blazing with excitement. Souta Kiryuu was lawless, audacious—worthy of being his captain. With a smile full of mania, Lafitte set out to find him.
Elsewhere, Daz Bonez, newly recruited as Mr. 1 of Baroque Works, glanced at the same news. He had already thrown in with Crocodile's criminal syndicate, missing his chance to meet the man who might have been his greatest ally—or rival.
In the New World, aboard the Gran Tesoro, the Golden Emperor Gild Tesoro stared blankly at Souta's bounty notice. His hand clenched into a fist as phantom pain flared across the scars on his back. How could he, a man who had cooperated with the Celestial Dragons to secure his empire, have less courage than a mere escapee from their laboratories?
"Kid… don't die too quickly," Tesoro muttered, his cold expression betraying a faint glimmer of hope. Perhaps Souta was the one who could challenge this twisted world.
Meanwhile, on Amazon Lily's royal throne, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock studied the newspaper Gloriosa handed her. For the first time, she read every word carefully.
"Souta Kiryuu… this Empress shall remember you," she murmured. Her gaze lingered on the photograph of him torching the banners of the World Government and Celestial Dragons. At last, she tossed the wanted poster aside, her expression conflicted, lost in thought.
On Onigashima, Queen the Plague flailed his arms dramatically. "Boss Kaido! That guy—he's a Mythical Zoan dragon like you! Different color, though! And he actually declared war on the Celestial Dragons!"
Behind his mask, King's eyes narrowed, emotions hidden. The audacity of that experiment… daring to challenge the World Government head-on.
"Worororo! Then let's recruit him into the Beasts Pirates!" Kaido bellowed, shocked at Souta's crimson dragon form but overjoyed nonetheless. He loved gathering Zoan users, especially those with Ancient and Mythical varieties.
"If he makes it into the New World," King finally said, voice low and steady, "I'll recruit him personally." To see someone else with Lunarian blood openly defy the Celestial Dragons stirred something deep within him. He respected this reckless experiment more than he cared to admit.
News of Souta's transformation and declaration of war spread like wildfire, drawing the attention of Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, the other Emperors, and the Seven Warlords alike. Everyone began watching closely—this man was no ordinary pirate. Souta Kiryuu might rise beyond the ranks of the Warlords and become something far greater.
In Dressrosa, atop the royal palace, Donquixote Doflamingo threw his head back and laughed hysterically. "Fuffuffuffu! The Azure Dragon Fruit… perfect! Virgo, we must break Caesar out of prison. We need his technology—the artificial Devil Fruit is real, and that bastard proved it!"
Doflamingo's laughter echoed through the halls. The existence of Subject 88—Souta Kiryuu—was living proof that Vegapunk's and Caesar's breakthroughs could rewrite the future of piracy itself.
And Doflamingo intended to claim it for himself.