"What?"
"Wano Country is a land of lawless barbarians—why on earth would they ever join the World Government?"
Sengoku replied with a heavy tone, "Whether he accepts or not... you two need to go and make the offer first."
Hearing this, Kizaru felt a migraine coming on. He gave a slow, reluctant nod and drawled, "Tsk, tsk... Very well then~ I'll call Akainu and set sail."
Reaching the doorway, Kizaru paused, turning his head back slowly to look at Sengoku. "By the way, Fleet Admiral... what if he refuses to join?"
"Simple..." Sengoku replied, making a deliberate slicing gesture across his neck. "Erase him entirely."
"Understood~"
Kizaru dissolved into a beam of light, vanishing instantly from the Fleet Admiral's office.
Garp frowned, letting out a quiet sigh. "Sengoku... is this really necessary?"
"Hmph... forcing Wano Country to join the World Government is the only way to keep them under control," Sengoku stated coldly. "If he steps out of line, we'll have a legal reason to strike. Ryuma's sudden emergence severely disrupts the global balance. Eliminating him brings nothing but absolute benefit to the World Government."
Garp paused, speaking deliberate word by word, "Your logic isn't wrong... But think about it—what if a far more dangerous monster takes his place once Ryuma dies?"
Sengoku scoffed as if he had just heard an internationally absurd joke. "WAHAHA! Old man, are you pulled into a comedy act? Look at the state of the world—how could an even greater threat magically appear out of nowhere? And even if one does, we'll simply erase them too!"
Sengoku's eyes flashed with uncompromising resolve.
Meanwhile, in Wano Country.
Under Ryuma's direct supervision over the past few days, civic order was steadily returning to the land.
Following Kaidou's demise, the citizens of Wano couldn't contain their joy, celebrating wildly for three days and nights straight.
Although the Kozuki Clan had lost its governing authority, Ryuma taking charge added a tremendous sense of security. With a warrior like Ryuma standing guard, no faction would dare stir up trouble in Wano easily.
Wano was vast; the Flower Capital alone represented only a small portion of its territory. Beyond the city lay vast, neglected countrysides and barren lands, which Ryuma planned to restore completely.
It was originally a breathtaking land, but Kaidou's tyrannical rule had ruined its beauty in a heartbeat.
However, after restoring just a few ruined villages, Ryuma ran face-first into an embarrassing problem...
He was running out of money!
At this rate, forget rebuilding the entire country—they wouldn't even be able to finish basic infrastructure!
Kaidou's bounty payout of over four billion Berries had seemed like a fortune at first. But when applied to nation-wide reconstruction—accounting for equipment, raw materials, and labor—it drained away at a terrifying speed, giving Ryuma a massive headache.
Frowning, Ryuma called out to the system internally, Hey System, can I exchange my gacha chances or spare Devil Fruits directly for Berries?
Naturally, the system's response didn't fail to "disappoint" him.
"Ding! Apologies, Host. Devil Fruits cannot be converted into Berries directly. However, the system can unlock the Bounty Hunter System for you free of charge."
Ryuma blinked, asking curiously, What's the Bounty Hunter System?
"Ding! As the name implies, the Host can act as a Bounty Hunter. When you capture or eliminate wanted pirates and deliver them to the system, you will receive double the Berry amount listed on their official World Government bounty poster!"
The moment the words registered, Ryuma felt a sudden jolt, as if struck by a thunderbolt out of a clear blue sky!
Are you kidding me?!
Ryuma cursed internally—if the system possessed a physical body, he would have slapped it to death on the spot!
If the system had mentioned this Bounty Hunter mechanic earlier... killing Kaidou wouldn't have awarded him a mere four-plus billion Berries, but a staggering eight to nine billion!
Of course... dwelling on spilled milk served no purpose now.
Whatever, Ryuma thought, trying to console himself. Better late than never. At least the system is active now.
With this mechanic unlocked, it meant he could set sail and go hunting across the seas!
He pondered his options. Catching low-level fugitives in the East Blue, West Blue, South Blue, or North Blue would yield high success rates, but the payouts were embarrassingly small!
Recalling his One Piece lore, the highest bounties in the East Blue belonged to Arlong and Don Krieg.
Don Krieg was worth seventeen million Berries, while Arlong sat at twenty million. Even if he caught both and doubled the reward, the sum wouldn't equal a fraction of Kaidou's toenail.
Besides... at this point in time, Arlong was likely still a slave in Mariejois, and Don Krieg was probably still crying for milk in his mother's arms.
If he wanted real cash, he had to target high-value prey!
The Grand Line was a chaotic mixing pot of powerful figures, housing pirates with massive bounties as well as skilled individuals he could potentially recruit to Wano.
That seemed like a win-win scenario.
As for the New World... it was dominated by the remaining Four Emperors and intricate networks of influence, far beyond what he could quietly navigate right now.
Killing Kaidou was already guaranteed to bring countless vengeful factions to his doorstep, which Ryuma was confident he could manage.
However, the main issue wasn't defending himself.
The real danger lay in completely pissing off every power in the New World—his current strength wasn't enough to guarantee the absolute safety of every corner of Wano Country against a full-scale invasion.
Therefore, Ryuma decided against hunting in the New World for the time being.
Suddenly, a stroke of brilliance hit Ryuma!
This era was roughly thirty to forty years before Luffy set sail—meaning Luffy hadn't even been born yet.
Ryuma's eyes lit up as realization struck!
That's it!
What year was it currently?
Ryuma quickly snatched today's newspaper, searching frantically for key temporal markers.
Skimming through the pages while referencing his memories, he confirmed a crucial fact... Gol D. Roger hadn't been publicly executed yet!
Gol D. Roger, captain of the Roger Pirates—the legendary figure who conquered the Grand Line and earned the title of "Pirate King."
His dying declaration before his execution would trigger the Great Pirate Era.
His official bounty stood at an absurd 5,564,800,000 Berries—significantly higher than Kaidou's!
If he could capture Roger and claim double the reward through the system, he'd get over eleven billion Berries, easily funding Wano's complete restoration!
Ryuma chuckled darkly, thrilled at the prospect. Now that's a real opportunity!
Then again... Roger was a titan of history. Slaying him outright felt a bit harsh; perhaps trying to recruit Roger under his banner first was an option?
Still, Roger was the legendary Pirate King. Would a figure like him ever agree to serve under someone else?
Shaking his head, Ryuma put the thought aside. No point overthinking it now!
Since Roger hadn't been executed yet, there was still time to intervene, and Ryuma was determined to crash the party.
Just then, Jack walked into the room without knocking.
Turning around, Ryuma quickly wiped a stray line of drool from his mouth, clearing his throat to assume a dignified posture. "What is it? Did something happen?"
"The Marines... Marine Admirals have arrived," Jack reported, a subtle flicker of panic in his voice.
Even a hardened brute like Jack couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine when dealing with Marine Headquarters Admirals.
"Oh?" Ryuma raised an eyebrow. "Which Admirals?"
Ryuma pondered for a second. In this era, the previous generation of Admirals should have already stepped down—most notably "Black Arm" Zephyr.
With Zephyr having resigned to instruct new recruits, the active Admirals dispatched today had to be from the current roster!
"Akainu and Kizaru," Jack replied.
Ryuma let out a cold chuckle. "My, my... Marine Headquarters sure treats me with respect, sending two Admirals at once. I'm almost touched... How many warships did they bring?"
"Three."
Three warships?
Ryuma considered the number.
For a small, defenseless island, three Marine warships represented apocalyptic firepower.
Against Wano Country, however, three ships posed virtually zero tactical threat!
After all, Wano sat atop massive natural cliffs, surrounded by treacherous waterfalls. Just reaching the mainland safely required risking one's life, let alone launching a military assault.
To the Admirals, those three warships were merely transport vessels to ensure their own survival on the high seas.
Besides, even as Admirals, both were Devil Fruit wielders, meaning falling into seawater remained a fatal weakness.
Ryuma nodded slowly. "Let them in."
Jack asked, "Boss... should the three of us prepare for battle? The Lead Performers aren't pushovers, and with your strength, we could make sure those two Admirals never leave Wano alive."
"No need. They didn't come here looking for a fight," Ryuma replied, shaking his head. "Are you losing your mind? If we slaughter two active Marine Admirals right here, Headquarters will mobilize its entire force to flatten Wano Country to the ground."
Jack nodded, his expression somewhat bewildered. "Right... Boss truly sees the bigger picture."
"Of course. Foresight prevents immediate disaster. Stop standing around and bring them up."
Nodding, Jack turned and walked out without further delay.
Ryuma adjusted his attire slightly before stepping outside.
His outfit didn't resemble that of a traditional ruler of Wano; he wore a simple, plain white samurai gi—unpretentious, practical, and remarkably down-to-earth.
Yet, as soon as Ryuma stepped out, the first figure to catch his eye wasn't Akainu or Kizaru, but a giant bird.
Morgans!
It was a giant Albatross wearing a sharp tuxedo and top hat, attempting to look every bit the gentleman.
However, he appeared somewhat listless at the moment.
Morgans—one of the major figures controlling the Underworld, wielder of the Tweet-Tweet Fruit, Model: Albatross, and President of the World Economy Newspaper!
His primary business involved hunting down major news stories to publish worldwide headlines.
At this point in time, Morgans looked quite young, resembling an energetic youth.
To put it bluntly... he looked like a scrawny, featherless chick standing before a dragon...
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