WANTED
DEAD
RORONOA ZORO
200,000,000
Johnny was the first to recover his voice, and he immediately used it to ask the most relevant question in the current situation:
"What the fuck?!!"
It was not that the new bounty on Zoro's head had reached some astronomical sum—not even close—but it had certainly reached the upper range for the first half of the Grand Line. The absolute ceiling usually lay around three hundred million. Still, unlike the Heart Pirates, most of the Straw Hats were not shocked by the amount printed on the poster. In fact, only Usopp, due to his lack of experience, considered Zoro's new bounty impressive. Everyone else knew perfectly well that even such a figure failed to reflect the green-haired swordsman's true value. No, the Straw Hats' shock came not from the price itself, but from the unexpected appearance of the bounty and its doubling. Zoro had absolutely not done anything that justified such an increase.
One had to understand that his years of hunting pirates and the destruction of an entire pirate armada had been valued by the World Government at one hundred million. And that was despite the fact that the strength and will of a single man had effectively changed the situation across an entire sea—one sixth of the world. In reality, Luffy had been behind everything, of course, but the public believed Zoro was the one 'responsible.' Such power and deeds had been valued at only one hundred million, yet now they were offering two hundred for him even though he had done nothing. At the very least, Zoro himself had certainly done nothing to deserve such a sudden and substantial increase in the price on his head.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—their family always contained one person who could be assumed guilty of every sin in advance, if only because in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred he truly was the chief culprit. This time, Luffy did not even deny it. There was also the newspaper, one of whose journalists—an old acquaintance, Riord Draft—had described in detail the young man's latest 'atrocity'—were the quotation marks even necessary?—committed in Zoro's name. It could not be said that the swordsman himself had played no part in creating his current reputation, but dig deeply enough and Luffy still emerged as the main culprit. Meanwhile, the rest of the world did not even know he existed. No, seriously. If he changed his mind about becoming a pirate and decided to join the Marines instead, he would encounter no problems whatsoever. Everyone else in the family, however, would immediately find themselves completely screwed... On the other hand, had it ever been any different? Still, it had to be admitted that this time Luffy had unquestionably surpassed himself.
THE OUTRAGEOUS ARROGANCE OF A ROOKIE!
That headline occupied the front page of the newspaper. Beneath the highly 'expressive' title was an even more 'expressive' photograph of the destroyed execution platform, framed by an enormous Straw Hat Pirates flag and an equally enormous message beneath it: 'The King is dead—long live the King!' The photograph had been taken in Loguetown, which meant the execution platform was the very same one upon which the legendary Pirate King, 'Gold' Roger, had ended his life. In other words, in the eyes of the public, Zoro had made a thunderous declaration that he intended to become the next Pirate King, exactly as the people of Whisky Peak had said. And there could scarcely have been a worse way to make such a declaration than the one Luffy had chosen.
Destroying the platform had already been a bad idea, but the phrase about the king made the situation roughly a hundred times worse. It would be no exaggeration to say that, through his actions, Luffy had managed to spit in the face of every pirate in the world at once. It no longer mattered how anyone specifically felt about Gold Roger. Enemies, friends, or those who were indifferent—given the opportunity, none would pass up the chance to teach an unbearably arrogant rookie a lesson. Riord Draft's article merely poured more oil onto the flames:
"...the former pirate hunter had scarcely raised his own pirate flag before reaching for the throne that has stood empty for twenty-two years—the outrageous arrogance of a rookie! This is a slap in the face to the entire world. However controversial the figure of the late Pirate King may be, no one can deny how profoundly his actions affected the world around us. On the day of his execution, with his words about the Greatest Treasure in the World—the One Piece he concealed on the final island of the Grand Line, Raftel—he began the so-called Great Age of Piracy. During the twenty-two years since, hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of pirate crews and tens of millions of people have set out in search of One Piece. Many claimed that they would be the ones to find it and become the new Pirate King, but never before has anyone done so in such an arrogant and brazen manner. I do not fear to call it what it is: contempt for the former Pirate King of a kind that not even Gold Roger's former enemies ever permitted themselves, many of whom remain alive, healthy, and active as pirates to this day.
"Through his actions, Roronoa Zoro has shown disrespect not only to the late Pirate King, his friends, and his enemies, but to every pirate and every Marine soldier in the world. The new Pirate King? Do not make me laugh. Not when every self-respecting pirate and Marine desires his death. Such an insult cannot go unanswered. The new bounty on Roronoa Zoro is not a measure of his strength, his danger to the World Government, or the threat he poses to ordinary citizens. No, his new bounty is nothing more than a call to every inhabitant of every sea to punish so arrogant a rookie as a lesson to future generations. Even the lowest bastard in the world knows that there is always a line one must not cross. Roronoa Zoro took a running leap over it. And he must answer with his life.
"Article by Riord Draft"
Every Straw Hat, including Tashigi—who had almost been dragged along by force—continued staring unseeingly at the newspapers before them for several minutes after finishing the article. Zoro's face defied description altogether. Had anyone else been in his place, one might reasonably have assumed he had simply soiled himself from terror and was now unable to move. The Heart Pirates' reaction, meanwhile, differed hardly at all from that of the family. At this point, even jokes about friends worse than enemies were no longer appropriate. What enemies? Friendship with people like these already qualified as a suicide attempt. This time Luffy truly had surpassed himself.
After the long silence, Yosaku became the first to sum up the article:
"We are so completely fucked."
Fear and admiration mingled equally in the young man's voice. Not everyone could frame another person so thoroughly. And it would have been one thing if some evil genius obsessed with revenge had accomplished it after months of planning and preparation, but no. Luffy had arranged everything on the fly, solely for his own amusement and laughter. Abilities like that could have been directed toward peaceful ends—or at least used against someone outside his own family.
"War with the World Government would be better!" Johnny declared with feeling.
There was a reason people said that everything was understood through comparison. Compared with Luffy's latest stunt, war with the World Government no longer seemed particularly serious or dangerous. In that case, at least they could find allies. Here, judging by the article, their family—in the person of Zoro—had declared war on the entire world at once. And really, why bother with half measures?
"Did you notice the poster?!" Nami asked in a trembling voice, holding the poster in question. "Instead of 'Dead or Alive,' they left only 'Dead.' That has never happened before. Luffy, have you completely lost your mind?! What were you thinking when you arranged all this?!!"
Of everyone gathered there, only Luffy himself continued wearing his usual idiotic, cheerful expression, with ice cream in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Yet hearing genuine fear in Nami's voice, he finally deigned to become somewhat more serious.
"Calm down. You're dramatizing everything too much again," Luffy advised the badly frightened girl. "If you weren't shaking with fear and gave yourself time to think, you'd immediately notice how strange the whole article looks."
"...Strange?" Usopp and Sanji bent over their newspapers together, and everyone else who had a copy followed their example.
"...You're right," the girl said after a moment, calming almost instantly. "The article really is strange."
"In what way?" Although Usopp asked the question, absolutely everyone wanted the answer, including the other Straw Hats, the Heart Pirates, and the people of Whisky Peak.
"It reads more like propaganda than an article, and what happened does not deserve this much attention," Nami explained.
"And the article was published only two weeks ago," Luffy added.
The events in Loguetown had taken place more than a month earlier.
"...You mean they initially had no intention of printing it?" Johnny asked in confusion.
"More likely, they didn't immediately figure out how to use it for their own purposes," Nami replied. "Look at who wrote the article."
"Riord Draft?" Johnny repeated uncertainly. He had never paid attention to the names of the people who wrote articles about their family.
"Isn't that the bastard who constantly portrayed us as bloodthirsty maniacs while we were still considered pirate hunters?" Yosaku asked. Unlike his friend, he always noticed considerably more detail. "How did one of his articles end up on the front page of the World Herald?"
"They simply reprinted the article directly from the East Blue newspapers," Luffy explained. "It was supposed to come out there the day after we left Loguetown."
"How do you know that?"
"Because while I was in Loguetown, I called Riord myself and told him what I planned to arrange and what reaction I wanted."
"...You mean all this time he has been writing according to your instructions?" Yosaku asked.
"So you were the one constantly making our family look like bloodthirsty maniacs?!" Johnny exclaimed.
"Wasn't that obvious from the very beginning?" Nami could not understand the reason for his surprise.
"I thought he was only responsible for our wanted posters!"
"You thought poorly," the girl cut him off.
"Then why did you keep portraying us as bloodthirsty maniacs?!" Johnny asked again, slightly rephrasing his earlier question.
"Why not?"
"...Fair enough."
At that point, Zoro—who had remained silent until then—offered his weighty opinion.
"I need a drink," he said darkly.
"Agreed!" the inseparable pair of friends immediately answered together.
"Hey, people, is this supposed to be a party or what?" Johnny called to the residents of Whisky Peak gathered around them. "Bring more food and booze. Tonight we drink until we drop!"
Only after Zoro's words did the other Straw Hats realize that this was neither the time nor the place for serious discussions. They might lose the feast altogether. The gathered townspeople were already casting suspicious glances at Luffy, who behaved far too brazenly for a completely unknown crew member. Several remarks had also caused considerable confusion among many residents of Whisky Peak. Luffy himself, however, took responsibility for dispelling their suspicions.
"Don't pay too much attention to what I say," the young man assured everyone cheerfully, turning his head from side to side. "I'm something like a public-relations specialist. The family's personal press attaché, if you like. My job is to flap my tongue and create interesting situations. You don't need to be strong for that, so I stay out of fights, which is why nobody knows anything about me. There was this one time..."
Luffy began doing what he did best: violating the minds of everyone around him. Once he started talking, he did not stop for the next thirty minutes. That was more than enough time for even the smartest hunters to stop seeing him as anything more than an ordinary chatterbox. Entirely predictable. Luffy was no less skilled at pretending to be a harmless boy than he was at muddling people's thoughts, and applying both skills at once produced a synergistic effect. Thus, an hour later, everything had returned to normal. The pirate hunters continued pretending to be peaceful townspeople, and all the Straw Hats continued presenting themselves as sacrificial lambs. Zoro was not especially convincing, but everyone else performed brilliantly. In other words, the celebration was in full swing. Anyone observing the gathering from the outside would never have suspected any deception, so natural did the surrounding merriment appear.
Nevertheless, whatever things might have looked like from the outside, the town remained a haven for bounty hunters. Soon they began revealing their true nature. One of Law's men became drunk and was 'carried to an empty room to sleep it off.' Another went 'to get some air' in the company of a woman. Someone else 'went to take a piss' and never returned. In this fashion, little by little, of the several dozen people in the Heart Pirates, only Law and Bepo remained in the spacious hall. The Straw Hats, in turn, had 'lost' Sanji, Yosaku, and Johnny. Of those still present, Nami slept nestled against Luffy, Tashigi likewise slept beside Zoro, and Usopp snored loudly beneath the table. Thus, of both crews, only Luffy, Zoro, and Law remained awake, since Bepo was asleep beneath the same table as Usopp. Meanwhile, a good hundred 'peaceful townspeople' remained around them, all 'surprisingly' sober.
"Ma~ ma~ ma~! Hasn't it been a wonderful evening?"
Luffy's smile froze for a second, but then he nodded in agreement.
"Absolutely! Much better than we expected!"
Some time earlier, Law had moved closer to Zoro and Luffy. Thus, the three young men and two women now occupied the same table and sofa, while Mr. Eight stood across the table from them. A broad smile, good-natured laughter... and a gaze that constantly drifted toward the sleeping Nami, though he was hardly alone in that. The man did not even suspect how close he was to death. And no, it was not because he was a bounty hunter, a Baroque Works member, or because of his obvious interest in Nami. The reason lay in Igaram's somewhat unique manner of speaking. Whenever his voice grew tired, he cleared it like some opera singer. And he did so rather often—often enough to have begun irritating Luffy several hours earlier. It would be no exaggeration to say that Mr. Eight had already been living on borrowed time for hours. The only things preventing Luffy from instantly disposing of the idiot who had annoyed him so much were his reluctance to end the fun prematurely and the fact that he had questions for the man. After all, who better to ask about Baroque Works than the person in charge of Whisky Peak? And the time had finally come. All the best food and drink had long since been consumed, the musicians were tired, and Johnny, Yosaku, and Sanji had been absent for more than two hours—more than enough time to finish their business.
"Then how about trying our special wine?" Igaram offered with a welcoming smile.
"Pass!" Luffy refused immediately. "The last batch was packed with so much sleeping drug that I don't even want to know what this 'special wine' of yours tastes like." He raised his fingers to form quotation marks.
At those words, deafening silence instantly filled the entire room.
"What's with the strange reaction?" Luffy raised an eyebrow. "Did you seriously think none of us noticed you mixing sleeping drugs into our drinks and increasing their alcohol content? We simply didn't feel like ending the party early. But now we can, since it's over anyway."
"...So you knew," Igaram said, tensing.
As Johnny would have put it, the transvestite with the saxophone did not make a single movement, but every 'peaceful' resident surrounding them lost the word 'peaceful' in an instant. Dozens of gun barrels, katanas, and spears pointed toward the group seated on the sofa.
"Unidentified Corpse Number Seven," Zoro said somewhat irrelevantly, wrapping an arm around the sleeping Tashigi at the same time. If not for her savage exhaustion from training and the sleeping drug in every mug, there was no chance she would have allowed him to hold her. "Ever heard of it?"
"Unidentified Corpse Number Seven?" the tense Igaram repeated.
Before answering, Zoro finished the wine remaining in his mug, showing complete contempt for both its strength and the sleeping drug mixed into it.
"Some time ago, an idiot calling himself Mr. Seven came to us and offered our entire family membership in his organization, Baroque Works."
At the swordsman's words, the tension in the air instantly rose so sharply that space itself seemed to begin crackling.
"Naturally, we refused, and naturally, we killed him," Zoro continued calmly. "Before dying in agony, however, he managed to tell us many interesting things. About trap-towns populated by pirate hunters, about Baroque Works' structure, and most importantly, about a certain Boss... Now I'm giving you a simple choice." Zoro displayed his open palms to everyone. "Your lives"—he raised his right hand—"in exchange for information about your Boss." The young man lifted his left hand. "Choose."
Zoro rarely took on Luffy's role, but it had to be admitted that whenever he did, he was impossibly intimidating. Where Luffy needed various tricks to create the proper impression and atmosphere, Zoro merely had to reveal his less pleasant side. The scent of blood not yet spilled seemed to hang physically in the air. Had Igaram been the only person present, perhaps no blood would have been shed. Unfortunately for the transvestite, dozens of armed idiots stood with him, firmly believing in the superiority of their numbers and never having encountered true monsters in human form. Igaram did not have time to say a word before the surrounding world drowned in the deafening sound of gunfire.
END OF CHAPTER 2
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