Chapter 29: Extremely Dangerous! A Headache for the World Government, the Bounty Skyrockets
Grand Line, Marine Headquarters, the island at the center of the world, Marineford.
In the meeting room, aside from the high-ranking officers on missions, almost all officers of Vice Admiral rank and above were present.
Not only that, but in the center of the vast meeting room, a Projection Den Den Mushi was placed.
The image displayed by the Den Den Mushi was of the five old men sitting in the Hall of Power in the Holy Land.
"The Five Elders..."
Some of the Vice Admirals present swallowed nervously.
Apart from the Fleet Admiral and the Admirals, this was the first time many of them had seen the Five Elders.
These five men represent the highest authority in the world!
Even through the screen, they were overwhelmed by their imposing aura.
"Saint Charlos is dead, 'Steel Bone' Kong! You'd better give us an explanation!"
The Five Elders immediately berated Kong, their anger palpable even through the screen.
"It's not what you think!" 'Steel Bone' Kong began to explain the situation.
The Five Elders did not interrupt, listening quietly as Kong recounted the events.
With every key detail Kong mentioned, the faces of the Five Elders grew darker.
"Kong, is what you're saying true?"
After listening, the faces of the Five Elders turned ashen as they asked in disbelief.
"Every word is true. Garp experienced it all firsthand!" 'Steel Bone' Kong assured them, patting his chest.
"He possesses an incredible talent, able to learn anything just by seeing it once!"
"Swordsmanship, Haki, and physical combat—he's an all-rounder, at the highest level in all three!"
"And he has the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit!"
"If that's the case, it's no wonder Saint Charlos died at his hands."
"What's more terrifying is that Rono is only 17 years old!"
The Five Elders carefully mulled over Kong's words.
Every sentence gave them a massive headache!
The most crucial point is that after joining the Rocks Pirates, Rono's growth will become even more terrifying!
"Damn it! Rono already hated the Celestial Dragons, and now he's joined the Rocks Pirates!" The more the Five Elders thought about it, the worse their headache became.
When those two meet, it's like a long drought meeting rain, or dry tinder meeting a flame.
The seas are going to be turbulent again.
"Getting headaches won't solve anything. At this point, all we can do is hasten the strengthening of our own forces!"
Another one of the Five Elders chose to face reality.
"That's our only option. Marine Headquarters has already begun recruiting talent from all over the world!"
"I hear they've recently recruited three very promising prospects!"
"Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino!"
"All three are Logia-type Devil Fruit users. One has the Ice-Ice Fruit, one has the Glint-Glint Fruit, and the other has the Magma-Magma Fruit!"
"They are all very powerful Logia types. And of course, all three of them possess a strong sense of justice!"
'Steel Bone' Kong nodded, choosing to share some good news.
As expected, upon hearing this good news, the expressions of the Five Elders softened considerably.
While the Rocks Pirates may have gained a monstrous genius, the Marines haven't come up empty-handed!
Three powerful Logia users with limitless potential!
If trained properly, the strength of the Marines will increase significantly.
"Zephyr, you are to immediately begin training these three, along with Garp's son, Dragon. Ensure they grow at the fastest possible rate."
"Sengoku, you will also train the new recruits with Zephyr. We urgently need new blood to bolster the Marines' strength."
'Steel Bone' Kong then began to assign tasks to everyone.
Sengoku and Zephyr nodded in agreement.
Their own strength had already surpassed the Admiral level and had reached a plateau.
Powerhouses at the Admiral and Emperor level are considered among the ceiling of this world's combat power!
To break through further depends on one's own talent and fortuitous opportunities.
In short, it's nearly impossible to improve their strength any further in a short period.
At a time like this, training new recruits and developing those with potential is a very cost-effective course of action.
"By the way, where's Garp?"
As he said this, Kong realized an important figure was missing from the meeting room.
"Garp? Ever since he was provoked by Rono, he's been training relentlessly for days on end!" Sengoku then opened a window.
The first thing everyone noticed was a booming, rumbling sound.
It seemed both distant and near.
"That is..."
Everyone looked out the window and was utterly stunned!
On a mountain peak not far from Marineford, a figure was relentlessly striking the mountain with his fists!
With every punch, the mountain shook, and huge boulders tumbled down its slopes!
The mountain was shrinking at a visible rate!
What made their scalps tingle was that soon, the entire mountain was leveled!
Immediately after, the figure moved to another nearby mountain and continued his pummelling!
That guy is using mountains as punching bags!
"That Garp..." 'Steel Bone' Kong watched and nodded in satisfaction.
In the entire Marine Headquarters, Garp was probably the only one capable of using a mountain as a training bag!
Although he had already reached the Admiral level, Kong knew that with Garp's potential, he could still break through to greater heights!
"Finally, issue the new bounty poster to the entire world!"
"Remind people just how dangerous this man is!"
...
"Hey, hey, did you hear? 'The Heinous' Rono killed a Celestial Dragon!"
"What, killed a Celestial Dragon? That's insane! Didn't the Marines send an Admiral?"
"Of course they did! 'Iron Fist' Garp arrived on the scene immediately!"
"What? 'Iron Fist' Garp was there? He's the most famous Marine right now!"
"It wasn't just 'Iron Fist' Garp! 'Steel Bone' Kong, 'Sengoku the Buddha', and 'Black Arm' Zephyr were all there too!"
"What! So many powerful figures went?"
"Of course! But Rono still managed to escape and kill the Celestial Dragon!"
"My god, he still killed a Celestial Dragon with all those powerhouses there! The World Government and the Marines must despise him now, right?"
"Definitely! His bounty has skyrocketed. It's reached one and a half billion!"
"One and a half billion?!! My god, this is only his second bounty, isn't it?!"
In the bars of the Sabaody Archipelago, nearly ninety percent of the people were discussing today's newspaper!
Everyone was deeply shocked by the events reported in the paper.
People talked amongst themselves, afraid of missing any detail.
This scene was not limited to the Sabaody Archipelago; bars all over the world looked much the same.
"Hahahaha! I didn't expect this, Rono. You've gotten ahead of me again!"
At that moment, in the New World of the Grand Line.
On an ordinary sailboat, Roger held a newspaper and laughed heartily.
Behind Roger now stood the figures of five or six people.
Clearly, after parting ways with Rono, Roger had recruited a number of reliable crewmates.
"'The Heinous' Rono? Captain, do you know this guy?"
Rayleigh, Gaban, and a few other crew members gathered around, asking with great curiosity.
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