Chapter 92: In The East Blue, There Can Only Be One Ralph!
Ralph's feat of hijacking three Navy warships quickly spread throughout the East Blue's naval system, thanks to the enthusiastic promotion by the bearded Navy soldier who admired him.
Moreover, to fulfill Mr. Ralph's wish for fame, that soldier even bypassed his direct superior, the 8th Branch Commander Nelson Royal, and sent a detailed report directly to the Navy Headquarters.
The report vividly described the entire process of how Ralph descended from the sky, snapped weapons with his bare hands, threatened Navy personnel, hijacked the warships, and took away the important figure Apis.
The writing was so lively and rich in detail that it read almost like an adventure novel.
Thus, the very next day, Ralph's wanted poster was issued.
The Headquarters' efficiency was astonishingly high.
The photo used on the poster was a deliberately posed 45-degree side profile of Ralph on the warship's deck.
He looked quite handsome.
It was even somewhat overly artistic—less like a wanted poster and more like the cover of a fashion magazine.
His basic information was also disclosed:
[Name: Ralph]
[Affiliation: Straw Hat Pirates (Vice-Captain)]
[Crimes: Attacking the Navy, hijacking warships, abducting an important figure, threatening civilians]
[Bounty: 15,000,000 Berry]
[Remarks: Extremely dangerous, recommended for handling by branch-level units or higher]
15,000,000.
In the East Blue, this amount already qualified as "great pirate" level.
After all, the East Blue was known as the "Weakest Sea," where pirates with bounties exceeding ten million were few and far between.
When the Navy Headquarters assigned this figure, they had considered multiple factors.
First, they didn't fully believe the rumor about "defeating Hawk Eye."
Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, losing to an unknown young man from the East Blue? And publicly admitting he "lost a move"?
It sounded like a fabricated rumor meant for hype.
As for the legend of the "Sennenryu," that was even more absurd.
An elixir of immortality? Dragon bones that could let someone live a thousand years? If such a thing truly existed, the World Government would have seized it long ago—would it still be around now?
Therefore, this 15,000,000 Berry bounty was primarily based on the "hijacking of three warships."
Even so, during the approval process at the Navy Headquarters, some higher-ups raised objections:
"Hijacking isn't the same as destruction. This shows he had no intent to destroy the warships themselves—he only needed the ships or hostages. This level of threat doesn't reflect his fundamental danger as a pirate to the World Government and its people."
"Besides... do the warships in the East Blue even qualify as 'warships'? Aren't they just small sailboats?"
The disdain in their tone was unmistakable.
In short, the Navy Headquarters looked down on Ralph.
But there was someone who loathed him to the core.
Navy 8th Branch, Commander's Office.
"Bastard—!!!"
A furious roar nearly blew the roof off.
Commander Nelson Royal, a portly middle-aged man wearing an ornate uniform with a small mustache on his face, slammed the wanted poster in his hand onto the desk.
The desk groaned under the strain.
"Who told you to report this to Headquarters?!"
Nelson glared at his trembling adjutant, spraying spit all over the man's face.
"Now the matter of the Sennenryu will become common knowledge! If Headquarters sends investigators, or even if the Cipher Pols get involved, what will be left for us?!"
The adjutant kept his head down, not daring to speak.
"Useless! All of you, useless!"
Nelson paced back and forth in his office.
"After finally finding that little girl who knows the whereabouts of the Sennenryu, just when we were about to get the information... we were intercepted by some random Pirate?!"
The fat on his face trembled with anger.
"That bastard is actually named Ralph? A filthy Pirate, how dare he call himself Ralph? How dare he be named Ralph?!!"
He suddenly stopped walking and looked toward a man who had been silently standing in the corner of the office.
The man was tall and thin, wearing a light-colored uniform and a pair of goggles on his face.
Most striking was his hairstyle, which resembled a curved horn.
"Eric."
Nelson's voice turned grim.
"I can only rely on you."
The man called Eric raised his head, his eyes gleaming coldly behind the goggles.
"Kill that interfering Pirate and find the whereabouts of the Sennenryu."
Nelson said viciously, "The dragon bone... I must have it. As long as I can make the elixir of immortality, I can regain my youth, even obtain eternal life! By then, forget being a branch admiral, even the position of Navy Admiral..."
His eyes flickered with greed and madness.
Eric remained silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Understood."
Nelson smiled with satisfaction.
He turned and ordered his adjutant:
"Pass on my command! All warships of the Eighth Branch, mobilize immediately! Surround Warship Island! Block all sea routes! Not even a single seagull is allowed to fly out!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
The adjutant scrambled out to relay the order.
Nelson watched the warships beginning to move in the harbor, a sinister curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Ralph... is it?"
He muttered to himself, "Daring to ruin my plans... I'll make you understand, in the East Blue, there can only be one Ralph! And that is me, Navy Admiral Nelson Royal!!"
...
Meanwhile, in a certain sea area near Reverse Mountain.
On the deck of the Going Merry, Nami suddenly let out a gasp.
"Come look at this!"
She held a freshly bought newspaper in her hands, her eyes fixed on one page, her face filled with shock and... joy.
Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Lufia all gathered around.
Nami spread the newspaper open on the deck.
Everyone looked down.
Then, they all froze.
On one page of the newspaper was a huge photograph.
The person in the photo was all too familiar to them.
Black hair, black eyes, an expression calm yet somewhat nonchalant, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned as if mocking the entire world.
Ralph.
Below the photo was a striking headline:
[Rising Star Pirate 'Nameless Swordsman' Ralph, Hijacks Three Warships, Bounty: 15 Million Berry!]
A brief silence.
Then—
"I knew it!"
Zoro was the first to speak, a grin spreading across his face.
"I knew that guy wouldn't die so easily!"
Sanji lit a cigarette.
"To make sure we could find him..."
He said with a smile, "He didn't hesitate to hijack warships and get himself on the wanted list... I'm a little impressed."
Usopp's eyes widened, his finger trembling as he pointed at the bounty column:
"Fifteen million Berry?! As expected of Ralph, that's incredible! Although my bounty won't be any worse than yours when it comes out!"
Lufia didn't speak.
She reached out and gently stroked the photo of Ralph in the newspaper.
Then, she lifted her head.
Beneath the straw hat, her face bloomed with a smile brighter than the sun.
"Hehe."
Lufia said with a laugh,
"Ralph, you really did it."
She stood up, placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, her tone full of pride:
"Though you're still a bit behind me—after all, I'm worth 30 million! But you're a famous Pirate now too!"
She turned, looked toward the bow of the ship, then raised her right hand high, pointing in a certain direction.
"Then—"
Lufia's voice was clear and firm,
"Change course!"
"Destination, Warship Island!"
"Let's go pick up our companion—"
Her smile sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight.
"Then, onward to the Grand Line!"
"Woo-hoo—!!!"
A chorus of cheers erupted across the ship.
The Going Merry carved a graceful arc across the sea, its sails billowing with wind, speeding at full throttle toward their companion.
...
Meanwhile, in a cave on Warship Island.
After a night of "coexistence," the relationship between Ralph and Apis had undergone a subtle change.
Early in the morning, Apis brought food from the village.
It was for the Sennenryu she referred to as "Ryu," and some for Ralph as well.
But as she placed the food before the massive creature deep in the cave, she noticed Ralph crouching beside Ryu, holding the cross pendant he always wore around his neck, slowly swaying it before Ryu's eyes.
The cross reflected the morning light streaming into the cave, glinting intermittently.
Ryu—an ancient-looking, enormous creature with a feathered body and a dragon-like head—lay on the ground, eyes half-open and half-closed, his pupils following the swaying cross as a low, rhythmic rumble echoed in his throat.
As for why the relationship between Ralph and Apis had eased?
It was actually quite simple.
When Ralph followed Apis to the cave where Ryu was hiding, he didn't launch an attack.
Instead, he made it clear that he had no intention of harming the Sennenryu—his true goal was to find the legendary Lost Island.
Apis was skeptical at first, but she had no power to stop Ralph from doing anything.
So after Ralph tied her up, he performed Hypnosis on Ryu right in front of her.
Sure enough, Ryu, who had lived for a thousand years and suffered from senility, had forgotten many things. But under hypnosis, memories buried deep in his mind slowly surfaced.
In Ryu's hypnotized cries, Apis heard much information about the lost island.
Lost Island.
That was the place Ryu had always wanted to return to.
It was also the place Apis had always wanted to help Ryu find.
"R-Ralph..."
Apis's voice trembled slightly,
"Do you really want to help Ryu return home?"
"I've said," Ralph replied, "My goal isn't to harm him. I just want to find Lost Island."
"Why?" Apis asked, "What's there?"
Ralph fell silent; he hadn't thought about how to answer that question.
After a few seconds, he slowly spoke:
"There is... an answer there."
He didn't specify what question the answer was for.
But as Apis looked into his eyes, she suddenly felt that this man might... not be so bad after all.
He was gentle with Ryu.
And from start to finish, he hadn't harmed her.
Thus, starting from that morning, the tension between them eased.
Apis brought food from the village—for Ryu, and for Ralph as well.
Although, as a form of retaliation, the portion given to Ralph was always the worst—such as hard black bread or strangely flavored wild vegetable soup.
But Ralph didn't mind; he accepted it all without complaint.
What Apis didn't know was this:
Ralph never did anything without benefit. His actions always had at least two layers of purpose.
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