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The New World — on some uninhabited island.
As usual, the Red-Haired Pirates were holding a feast.
It was their tradition: whenever they passed a new island, they threw a party. Simple as that.
But today, an unexpected guest had joined them.
"Three billion berries?!" Mihawk stared at Logan's bounty poster, genuinely stunned.
It hadn't even been that long. Logan went from thirty million… to five hundred million… and now straight to three billion.
Even Roger back in the day — or Rocks, the so-called king of the seas — never skyrocketed this fast.
Did this brat basically turn on cheat mode or something?!
"Hahahahaha! Mihawk, feeling a little jealous?" Shanks slapped Mihawk on the shoulder, grinning. "Relax. If you weren't one of the Seven Warlords, your bounty would definitely be higher than his."
"That's right! As the world's greatest swordsman, you gotta have some confidence," Lucky Rou chimed in through a mouthful of chicken.
Mihawk cast both of them a cold side-glance.
…He really appreciated their "comfort."
"Logan's guts are insane though. He even attacked Enies Lobby. Does he not know the meaning of consequences?" sharpshooter Yasopp muttered, frowning.
He was skeptical, but without knowing the real story, all he could do was think along with what the newspapers reported.
"Things probably aren't that simple." Benn Beckman lowered the paper slightly, eyes gleaming with calm intelligence.
The Navy's report was clearly vague. There were definitely hidden details.
No one responded.
They didn't have any conflict with Logan — checking his bounty was just casual gossip.
No one was interested in digging deeper.
"Shanks, I came to find you today because I want to talk about Logan." Mihawk set down his roasted meat and wiped his hands.
It was honestly embarrassing.
Since he'd parted ways with Logan at Baratie in the East Blue, the kid's bounty had been updated twice and his name was now echoing across the seas.
And him?
He'd only just finished rowing from the East Blue to the New World.
Mihawk was already considering whether he needed a new boat.
Rowing across half the world with Yoru, his black blade, was ridiculous.
He spent all his time traveling, always late to the big events.
"Huh?" Shanks blinked. "You know him?"
Mihawk gave a small nod. "We crossed swords in the East Blue."
He picked up the bounty poster again, looking at the glaring number. "In my opinion… three billion is fitting."
The entire Red-Haired crew froze mid-movement.
Every gaze locked onto Mihawk.
Somewhere else on the Grand Line — a dog-headed Navy warship sped across the sea.
At the bow, Garp stared darkly at the newspaper in his hands.
Only he knew how "deserved" that three-billion bounty really was.
Damn it!!!
Where the hell was that brat Luffy? Not a single sign of him lately.
He was basically flying blind across the Grand Line trying to track him down.
If Logan learned about his connection to Luffy and found him first, everything would go to hell.
Garp, growing more anxious by the second, barked an order: "Search every island! I want Straw Hat Luffy found!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral!!"
Banaro Island.
"Zehahaha! Destroying Enies Lobby — not bad at all." Blackbeard's rough laugh filled the tavern. Missing several front teeth, he handed the newspaper around to his crew. "Take a good look! This is how a real pirate acts!"
"Captain, let's not get that crazy…" Lafitte twirled his cane, smiling lightly."Wahahaha! Lafitte, when did you get so timid?!" Burgess flexed his massive muscles proudly.
Cough cough cough…"Burgess… how about you stop bragging and survive Ace's hunt first…" Poison-Q rasped from his half-dead slump.
He looked like he might keel over any second.
At Ace's name, Blackbeard's smile soured instantly.
All this because he killed Thatch?
Because he betrayed Whitebeard?
Because he stole a Devil Fruit?
Was that such a big deal?
Did Ace really have to chase him all the way from the New World across the Grand Line?!
Unforgivable.
Give him a few more days to develop the Dark-Dark Fruit… next time he sees Ace, he'll kill him for real.
The Florian Triangle.
"Heeheeheehee… has money inflated this badly? Even a rookie gets a bounty this big?" Moria snickered, staring at the newspaper, his bizarrely disproportionate body casting long shadows.
"Lord Moria, Logan did kill Crocodile," came an eerie voice from nowhere. Moria scowled. "Shut up, Absalom."
"Killing Crocodile is hard? Please. He's just some nobody. If I took him on, it'd be like squashing an ant."
"It's nothing worth bragging about. Don't forget — I once challenged Kaido."
Remembering the 'glorious days,' Moria raised his chin proudly.
Not everyone had the guts to challenge a Yonko.
Absalom fell silent — though inwardly complaining.
You still lost though.
And Crocodile also challenged Whitebeard, didn't he?
Floating in the air, Perona politely clapped, eyes shining with worship. "Lord Moria, you're the strongest. Crocodile is no match for you, and neither is Logan."
"Of course!" Moria replied matter-of-factly. "If that brat Logan dares step foot in my Triangle, I'll beat him until he screams."
Ten thousand meters above the sea.
After leaving Enies Lobby, the ship switched to auto-pilot.
Their next destination: the Florian Triangle.
Once they were back, Nami handed Logan the four items she'd collected from the island:
— The Bubble-Bubble Fruit— The Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Giraffe— A Golden Den Den Mushi— Funkfreed, the elephant sword
Logan tossed the two Devil Fruits straight into his system storage.
The Bubble Fruit was too weak offensively.
As for the Giraffe Zoan… well, anyone who knew, knew.He'd rather throw it away than feed it to one of his girls.
He handed Funkfreed to Tashigi — not a famed blade, but unique enough to be interesting.
He kept the golden Den Den Mushi. Who knew when it might be useful.
Inside the airship's luxurious lounge, most of the girls were gathered, busy with their own hobbies. Life had returned to its usual rhythm.
Califa, surprisingly, fit right in with the all-girl crew.At this point, everyone was used to the process.
Once Logan fancied a woman, none of them escaped. They lived together, trained together, and at night… well, teamwork was teamwork.
"Logan, aren't we going a little too fast?" Nami stepped off the treadmill, face scrunched with frustration.
"What?" Logan asked, enjoying freshly cut fruit being fed to him.
He had no idea what she meant by fast.But she definitely wasn't criticizing him.
Nami wiped her sweat and pouted. "I mean… since we left the East Blue, it's only been a little over a month, and we're already about to reach Sabaody, the end of the first half of the Grand Line. It feels like we haven't gained anything along the way."
Makino, Kaya, and the other East Blue girls nodded in agreement.
Logan protested, "That's not fair. Haven't your strengths improved a ton? Even Vice Admiral Onigumo can't beat you now."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Nami planted her fists on her hips, eyes fierce. "With all these women on board, did you forget my dream?!"
"I told you from the start!"
The girls all covered their mouths, trying not to laugh, watching Logan expectantly.
Logan surrendered immediately. "I didn't forget. Really."
"You want to draw a map of the entire world. Once I finish collecting the remaining beauties, we'll travel everywhere. You'll have all the time you need."
Nami's smile returned like sunshine. "Good."
"Logan… we already have so many girls on board. Do you really need more?" Vivi asked, troubled.
There were just too many. She could barely remember everyone's names.
Sometimes she even called people by the wrong one — super embarrassing.
"Captain, we've met so many gorgeous women on our journey, and you ignored every one of them. Yet you insist on going to specific places for more girls. Is there some secret behind that?" Robin asked gently, resting her chin in her hands, eyes gleaming with mischief.
They had landed for fresh air during their travels.
One island had groups of stunning women — some no less beautiful than Nami or Vivi.
Logan didn't spare them a glance.
Suspicious.
Kaya closed her medical book and scooted in, curious. "Logan, I want to know too!"
Conis fluttered her wings, leaning forward with bright, eager eyes.
One by one, the rest of the girls abandoned their activities and surrounded Logan.
Their captain was way too mysterious.
Being smothered in so many different fragrances, Logan almost felt dizzy.
Under the slave mark's influence, Doya and Kalifa instantly became the boldest.
Their auras shifted, clothes dissolving into fragments as they leaned in seductively."Captain… tell us…"
The other girls stared wide-eyed — then all blushed at once.
What the hell?!
Everyone was just teasing Logan — and suddenly these two started going full-on seductive scene?!
"Pff—"Logan choked on his drink and sprayed water everywhere. That escalated fast.
Was the slave mark always this extreme?!
Kalifa was one thing, but even Vice Admiral Doya — serious, disciplined Doya — had turned into this?!
"Captain, your new bounty poster is here." Right then, the ever-sultry Sara walked in with a newspaper.
She froze at the sight.
Every girl turned to look at her.Including the very bare Doya and Kalifa.
"Uh…" Sara flushed bright red. "Did… did I interrupt something?"
"They're just messing around," Logan waved dismissively. He'd barely left his room; there was no way he had energy for that right now. "You two, go put something on."
Doya and Kalifa pouted but obeyed, pulling on black stockings from the drawer.
"Logan… three billion! How many zeros is that?!" Kaya stared in disbelief.
"Captain, that's amazing. Most pirates never reach that amount in their entire lives," Nojiko added, thumbs up.
Back in Cocoyasi, Arlong's 20 million had seemed astronomical.
Looking back… he was a total clown.
"Logan, why doesn't the newspaper mention Kizaru or Garp?" Nami flipped through several pages. The news only talked about Enies Lobby's destruction and all sorts of slander against Logan.
Kizaru and Garp were basically erased.
"Robin, tell them." Logan gestured.
Robin smiled softly. "The Navy can't afford to lose face. If people found out an Admiral got beaten so badly by our captain, who would believe the Navy can protect them?"
The girls finally understood.
"Ugh, they're so fake," Conis puffed her cheeks.
Report what benefits them and hide everything else?
"From their perspective, it makes sense," Logan said, tossing the newspaper in the trash. "Anyway, enough about them. We'll reach the Florian Triangle tomorrow. You'll get to meet Brook."
"Brook? Laboon's friend?!" The girls lit up immediately, remembering the whale from Twin Cape.
"Get ready though. Brook's a walking skeleton right now. Don't freak out and break him by accident."With their current strength, it was a real concern.
"Captain, if I recall correctly… isn't the Triangle Moria's territory?" Robin asked.
"Yep."
"Another Warlord?" Makino blinked. They'd already met three — Mihawk, Crocodile, and now Moria.Maybe the crew was destined to run into them.
"Nami, once we get there, Moria's yours."
"Tashigi, there's a Great Grade sword in the Triangle — a black blade too. Whether you get it depends on you."
A black blade?!
Tashigi's eyes lit up. As far as she knew, only Mihawk's Yoru was a black blade.
There was another one?
"Captain, I'll do my best," Tashigi said seriously. No matter who stood in her way tomorrow, she'd defeat them and take the sword.
"Robin, Doya, Kalifa — you three handle support. Don't let anyone interrupt."
All three nodded obediently.
The rest would just watch the show.
As for him? His target was the pink twin-tailed ghost girl, Perona.
The Florian Triangle.
This place was perpetually covered in thick fog, visibility nearly zero.
In the past, plenty of pirate crews had navigated through it — aside from getting a bit lost, most made it out safely.
There were rarely any real dangers.
But ten years ago, everything changed.
Since then… almost no pirate crew that entered the fog ever came out again.
Over time, the place became a sea of terror.
"....."