The Grand Line — uncharted waters.
Across the vast blue sea, white waves split cleanly as the Going Merry cut forward.
"Whoa!! I see it! A town!!"
Luffy leapt onto the Merry's sheep figurehead, pressing down his straw hat as he squinted ahead.
In the distance—
A lively town built along the slope of a mountain came into view.
"Nice!! This place looks awesome!!"
He was already imagining grilled meat sizzling in local restaurants.
"Yeah… it kinda feels like a vacation spot."
Usopp raised his telescope, scanning the shoreline lined with palm trees and brightly colored buildings.
For the first time in days—
His nerves loosened.
Nami leaned against the railing, nodding in approval.
"Totally. Feels like a place where people just… slow down and enjoy life."
"It does look nice."
Ronan's eyes lingered on the scenery—
But his Observation Haki had already spread out like a web toward the town.
"Still… beautiful places often hide danger."
"The aura here… doesn't match its appearance."
"Wait—hold on!!"
Usopp suddenly shouted.
"Look at the harbor… those ships… are those… pirate flags?!"
Everyone focused.
The once-clean dock—
Was packed with over a dozen pirate ships.
"You're seeing things, Usopp."
Nami waved it off.
"No way pirates would just casually park like that in a commercial port—unless the Marines here are—"
BOOM—!!
A loud commotion erupted from the docks.
A burly pirate burst out laughing—
Kicking another pirate straight into the sea—
Then swaggered into a tavern.
The townspeople?
Unfazed.
They simply stepped aside.
Cold.
Indifferent.
The air reeked of lawlessness.
"What is this place?!"
Chopper instantly hid behind Ronan's leg, trembling.
"This feels worse than war-torn Alabasta!!"
The Merry docked.
And the crew stepped onto the land—
Mock Town.
Behind them, Wapol followed miserably, head lowered.
Once a king—
Now reduced to a walking tool and material generator.
He didn't even dare look at the surrounding pirates.
As Ronan, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji walked side by side into the main street—
The noisy town…
Fell silent.
The Straw Hats now—
Were overwhelming.
After forging their bodies through "Indestructible Physique," their sheer presence had changed.
Luffy and Ronan stood over two meters tall.
Zoro was built like a towering beast.
Sanji's long legs carried explosive power.
They weren't even trying—
Yet the air around them felt heavy.
Oppressive.
Around them stood pirates with bounties in the millions—
Some even tens of millions.
They wanted to whistle.
To provoke.
But when their eyes met Luffy's calm gaze—
Or the killing intent radiating from Ronan's spear—
Their throats locked.
"Hey… you've gotta be kidding…"
A pirate dropped his bottle, liquor spilling unnoticed.
"Just their presence… they're monsters…"
"Look at that straw hat!!"
Someone pulled out a stack of freshly printed bounty posters.
Hands trembling.
"That's… Monkey D. Luffy!!"
"What?! That rookie from the East Blue?!"
"Rookie? Look at the updated bounty!!"
The crowd gathered.
Then—
Silence.
Followed by gasps.
"Straw Hat Luffy… 200 MILLION BERRIES!!"
"Ronan the Tyrant Spear… 100 MILLION!!"
"Pirate Hunter Zoro… 120 MILLION!!"
"Black Leg Sanji… 80 MILLION!!"
"My god…"
"Four people… THREE over 100 million?!"
"That's not a rookie crew…"
"Their total bounty… exceeds 500 MILLION?!"
The atmosphere flipped instantly.
Weapons were lowered.
Some pirates even bowed their heads—
Too afraid to make eye contact.
In a lawless place like this—
Strength was everything.
And now—
A 500 million storm had arrived.
"Hehehe! Ronan! Zoro! Sanji! Nami! Did you hear that?!"
Luffy grinned, holding a bounty poster he picked up.
"My bounty hit 200 million!!"
"IDIOT!! Why are you happy about that?!"
Nami snatched it, sweating.
"Ronan, Zoro, Sanji—this is your first bounty!!"
"And it's already over 100 million!!"
"Do you even understand what that means?!"
She pointed at the surrounding figures—
Now fearful…
But still greedy.
"That kind of bounty attracts monsters!!"
"The Marines… bounty hunters… insane pirates…"
"They'll ALL come after us!"
"Didn't that smoke guy say he wouldn't report what happened in Alabasta?"
Zoro frowned.
"Are the Marines just full of crap?"
Robin, who had been quietly walking behind them, closed her book.
Her calm voice cut through the tension.
"Smoker did hide the details."
"But… the scale of Alabasta's incident was too large."
"The Marines have their own evaluation systems."
"A war involving two million people… suddenly stopped."
"A Warlord defeated."
"Even if the official report says 'attempted coup'…"
"Anyone can tell something big intervened."
Her gaze shifted—
From Ronan's spear—
To Luffy's unmoving back.
"The Marines concluded…"
"That each of you possesses power at—or beyond—your current bounty."
"Especially Ronan, Zoro, and Sanji."
"Defeating Baroque Works agents with overwhelming force…"
"That alone is enough to justify your numbers."
"A bounty of 100 million… 200 million…"
"That's not just a price."
"It's… respect."
Ronan tilted his head slightly, feeling the weight of the Adam-wood spear on his back.
"…So the Marines do have smart people."
He smirked faintly.
"This isn't just a bounty."
"It's a warning."
"A red alert sent across the seas—"
"Telling the world…"
"That a group of monsters…"
"Has just broken out of the East Blue."
To Read60+ AHEAD advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146