Chapter 206: World Shaken, 10 Billion Berries Bounty
Of course, Garp knew none of this. He could only guess, saying, "There must be some techniques we don't know about."
"Regardless, his strength has grown again. That much is undeniable," Kong concluded.
"Yeah," Garp sighed. "That guy's strength seems to have no ceiling—it just keeps rising."
"Looks like I'll have to go back, smash a few mountains, and temper my Haki if I want to drag that guy to Impel Down myself!"
True to his words, Garp turned to Kong with urgency. "Since that Luo Han guy's gotten away, I'm heading back to train. It's all yours now, Kong."
Before Kong could reply, Garp used Moonwalk and vanished on the spot.
"..."
Kong's face darkened, but he could only accept it. As a Marine Admiral, it was his job to remain behind and keep listening to CP0's endless speculations.
But it was all nonsense. Everyone knew that Blue Demon had returned to the New World. They should've gone after him directly.
Still, they had to put in a show—after all, the Celestial Dragons were watching.
…
In the Five Elders' office, some time had passed since Luo Han and Cole's attack on Mary Geoise, yet the five elders were still in session.
"Understood." Click—the blond elder hung up the Den Den Mushi and turned to the others coldly. "It's confirmed. The attack was carried out by Blue Demon and the beastman Cole. They've already left Sabaody. Neither the Navy nor CP0 caught them."
…
Silence followed until the sword-bearing elder finally spoke. "Didn't expect beastman Cole to have that kind of strength. But clearly, Blue Demon led the assault. We need to revise our strategy."
"Indeed. Our previous passive approach has failed."
The long-bearded elder nodded, then added, "Someone like Blue Demon needs something to hold him back. Otherwise, more insane attacks like the one on Mary Geoise will follow."
"What do you mean?" the others asked, confused.
"Think about it," the long-bearded elder said. "Ever since that girl named Toki sent Blue Demon's family into the future, he's had no more attachments. He's acted without restraint—toward both us and Rocks."
Everyone reflected. Luo Han's change did seem to start after the destruction of Ring Tree Island.
"If I remember correctly, after that, Blue Demon no longer obeyed Rocks' orders."
"He left Battleship Island on his own, returned of his own accord, and remained there. During the God Valley incident, it was he who killed Rocks' own allies first."
"Judging by these actions, once Blue Demon has no ties to hold him back, he becomes utterly reckless!"
Having summarized it all, the long-bearded elder made his point.
"We need to give Blue Demon a tie, or perhaps, a leash—to bind him down. Something that keeps him cautious and prevents him from throwing everything away so easily."
"You mean…?" The others had some guesses now.
The long-bearded elder smiled. "Our earlier plan was to isolate him, so he had no allies or forces to rely on, making him easier to eliminate later. But his strength is growing too fast. With no restraints, he'll continue to act destructively—and that's bad for our rule."
"My proposal: give Blue Demon fame. Give him influence. Anchor him in the New World. After all, in fifty years, he'll grow old. His strength will fade. We won't even need to act—he'll fade away on his own."
"As long as he doesn't threaten the World Government's rule, let him be. Time is his greatest enemy. We don't need a direct confrontation."
He paused. "What do you think?"
The four others fell into thought. Then the blond elder raised the most critical issue.
"What about the Infinite Fruit? If we don't suppress Blue Demon now and he gains more power, it'll backfire on us."
He looked around solemnly. "Don't forget—that's a Devil Fruit Lord Imu is interested in. In 29 years, we must have full knowledge of it."
The others grew grim as they turned to the long-bearded elder, waiting for his thoughts.
After a moment, he responded, "Let Viper confirm the Infinite Fruit's status with Luo Han first. After 29 years together, Viper should've extracted some info by now."
"If not, when Luo Han's family returns in 29 years, we can act then—once Viper confirms whether the fruit was eaten or hidden."
"If we make another move too soon, it'll alert Luo Han again. If the fruit hasn't been consumed, they might hide it where we'll never find it."
"And then we'll walk away with nothing."
After that, the other elders sat in silence, then nodded in agreement. They had no rebuttals.
"So what's the plan, exactly?" asked the sword-bearing elder.
"We issue a massive bounty and publicize the Mary Geoise attack. That'll draw countless pirates to seek out Blue Demon—some to kill him, others to join him. Either way, it'll keep him busy and away from disrupting our control."
"The Celestial Dragons want accountability anyway. We just frame Blue Demon and the beastman—no, the 'Beast King' Cole—as the culprits."
The four understood.
A high bounty would show the Celestial Dragons the World Government was taking this seriously.
At the same time, it would give Blue Demon enormous prestige. Once he was forced to gather allies and claim territory, he'd have something to protect. That would keep him from acting recklessly again.
This was the World Government's classic strategy for dealing with rising powers: give them fame, influence, and glory.
Stabilize them. As long as they didn't threaten the World Government's rule, everything was fine. Keep them locked in the New World, and eventually—when time had passed—they'd be forgotten.
The World Government would remain, and those "rulers of an era" would vanish into history.
All traces buried by the World Government.
"Then it's settled."
Yes—two birds with one stone. Not bad.
The Five Elders were pleased, and the plan was put into motion.
…
The next day, the Mary Geoise attack story spread across the globe like a tidal wave.
The headlines read:
"The World Government's sacred, inviolable land—Mary Geoise, home of the Celestial Dragons—was attacked and half-destroyed yesterday by two pirates!"
The paper showed before-and-after photos. What was once a paradise was now a wasteland.
A kilometer-wide trench carved through the Red Line straight into Pangaea Castle. Mary Geoise was split in two.
Dozens of massive craters, still steaming with boiling seawater, covered the ruins like small lakes.
Collapsed buildings, raging fires, thick smoke—it looked more like hell than the once-beautiful Mary Geoise.
Everyone who saw the photos was stunned and horrified. They couldn't believe this was the Holy Land.
And worse was yet to come:
"In the past, the death of even one Celestial Dragon would summon an Admiral's vengeance. Yesterday, in the Mary Geoise assault, a whole group of them died."
That line was followed by pictures—dead Celestial Dragons with bubbles on their heads. Some crushed, others burned or turned to mush. Gruesome images filled the pages.
People stared wide-eyed. Along with fear, a subtle thrill crept into their hearts—though few realized it.
Then came the culprits:
"The ones responsible: Blue Demon—Vincent Luo Han (note: post-surgery, see wanted poster), and the Beast King—Phil Cole."
No photos were shown in the article, but two wanted posters were included with the newspapers.
Luo Han's bounty poster showed a drawing, as no recent photo existed—like Sanji's used to be.
Thankfully, the sketch was handsome. Otherwise, Luo Han might've attacked Mary Geoise again just to get the picture changed.
Cole's image remained the same as before.
But what caught the world's attention wasn't the pictures—it was the string of zeroes after the number "1".
After counting the digits, every bounty hunter went wild.
"10 BILLION BERRIES!!! I didn't miscount!"
"Both of them—10 billion berries each!"
"That's… that's a total of 20 billion berries combined!"
"That's right!!!"
BOOM! The world exploded with excitement. Bounty hunters began forming teams. Desperate outlaws who'd risk anything for money set sail in droves.
The New World called to them—no, the berries called to them.
Countless ambitious men who idolized Blue Demon and the Beast King—who dreamed of defying the system—also headed out to sea.
On one pirate ship in the first half of the Grand Line:
"Hey, big bro! Let's head to the New World!"
"Walde, isn't it too early? Our crew's not strong enough yet."
"Hahaha! Don't worry, big bro. With me here, everyone will grow strong together!"
"Right, guys?!"
"Haha, yeah! Blue Demon, Beast King—against Captain's Momo Fruit power, they'll be crushed in no time!"
"Then it's decided—let's go to the New World!"
And thus, a pirate named Bundy Walde set out on his journey to conquer the New World.
Scenes like this played out across all four seas and the Grand Line.
At a time when the pirate tide had calmed after Rocks' fall, the attack on Mary Geoise reignited the world's hunger for adventure.
A new wave of ambitious youths set sail—just like in Rocks' era.
Under the Five Elders' plan, Luo Han was about to become the new era's rising tyrant.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10