"Are we trying to kill him with praise?"
"The plan isn't bad. Let's go with what you said. However, this matter has had a very negative impact on the Celestial Dragons. They are demanding that an Admiral be specifically dispatched to hunt down Ren Kurogane."
"Mhm. They also claim the Navy failed in its duty to protect the 'Gods' and are planning to slash the military budget by half."
Sengoku clenched his fists, his teeth gritted. "This whole thing was an accident! Our Navy lost an Admiral in the process!"
"Enough, Sengoku. Telling us this is useless. The Celestial Dragons originally intended to abolish the Navy entirely; reducing the budget by half is already the result of our mediation! Now, be on your way."
Fuming with suppressed rage, Sengoku returned to Marine Headquarters with a dark expression. In his office, Garp—the usually unreliable old man—was actually refraining from his usual antics. Seeing Sengoku's thunderous face, Garp chuckled. "How about I go and arrest Ren myself?"
"I was planning on that whether you volunteered or not," Sengoku snapped at his old friend. "But what's truly bothering me is the budget. Cutting it by half... our future days are going to be very difficult."
That afternoon, a piece of news ignited the entire ocean!
"SHOCKING! The Demon Ren Kurogane's Audacity: Kills a Celestial Dragon, Heavily Wounds a Marine Admiral, and Departs Safely!"
"Strongest of the Worst Generation? The True Strength of Demon Ren!"
"The Only Emperor of the New Era: Ren Kurogane, the Man Most Likely to Become Pirate King."
Looking at the exaggerated headlines and the new 5 Billion Berry bounty poster, Ren actually burst out laughing.
"The Navy really loves these boring little games. If you've got the guts, come fight me one-on-one!"
Ren knew exactly what the Navy was doing. They were trying to build "hype" around him to bait other pirates into challenging him. If someone killed him, great. If not, it didn't matter, because with Ren's personality, any pirate who provoked him wouldn't be left alive.
In short, whether Ren won or lost, the Navy wouldn't lose. Even if Ren actually grew too powerful, he'd eventually have to enter the New World. The New World was already divided among the Four Emperors; they wouldn't welcome a massive new power entering their turf. When they eventually clashed, the Navy could sit back and reap the rewards.
Ren casually tossed the paper aside, sat back in his chair, and sipped his drink while eating meat. Life was good.
Others, however, did not share his nonchalance.
Murdering a Celestial Dragon and incapacitating an Admiral was a feat so explosive it sent shockwaves through the pirate world.
On a small island in the first half of the Grand Line (Paradise), Eustass Kid crushed a piece of scrap metal with his mechanical arm, killing a subordinate who had mocked him. His eyes were fixed on Ren's photo in the paper. Seeing that staggering bounty, Kid grinned savagely. "The man most likely to become Pirate King? Only I will be the Pirate King!"
Clatter—
The metal floating behind him hit the ground. Kid turned to his crew. "Full speed ahead to the Sabaody Archipelago! I'm going to take Ren Kurogane's head there!"
Meanwhile, other pirates of the "Worst Generation" mostly dismissed the news as the Navy losing its mind, not taking it to heart.
At the same time, Luffy's crew, having recently defeated Crocodile, set sail once more. Looking at the news, Nami and the others didn't have much of a reaction. Having never seen the true power of an Admiral, they assumed an Admiral was probably on the same level as Crocodile.
However, Nico Robin, who had recently joined the Straw Hats, turned pale. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Robin, what's wrong?" Luffy asked, sensing her distress.
The others turned to look at her. Sanji, who had just come out with fruit juice, ran to her side in concern. "Is Robin-chan feeling unwell? Should I have Chopper look at you? Chopper! Get the first aid kit!"
Before Chopper could run off, Robin stopped him. "I'm fine. It's just... this news is too shocking."
Under the confused gazes of the crew, Robin gave a deadly serious warning: "If you ever encounter the Demon Ren Kurogane in the future, you must avoid him!"
Luffy looked dissatisfied. "Why? I don't want to run away!"
"Luffy!" Robin looked at them sternly. "Don't think that defeating a Warlord makes you invincible. To be honest, Crocodile was among the weakest of the Warlords. Ten Crocodiles together wouldn't be a match for an Admiral. And this Ren Kurogane was able to depart after heavily wounding an Admiral. That means his strength is above that level! If we see them, we run!"
Seeing Robin so grave, the crew turned serious. Nami nodded. "Don't worry, Robin. If we see Ren, we're turning around and bolted!" She then glared at Luffy, who nodded back, albeit with a disgruntled look. Robin could only sigh and pray they never crossed paths. She didn't want to have to find a new ship so soon.
In the New World.
Whitebeard listened to Marco read the paper and laughed heroically. "Gurarara! Killing a Celestial Dragon and mauling that brat Kuzan... this kid's strength is terrifying!"
Ace and the others surrounding him smiled. "But no matter how strong he is, the seat of Pirate King belongs to Pops!" Ace declared. Whitebeard just laughed it off; he had no interest in the throne.
In Totto Land, Big Mom ate her sweets and decided she wanted to send a daughter to marry Ren...
In Wano, Kaido looked at the bounty poster with excitement. "Kid, come to the New World and have a fight with me!"
In the furthest reaches of the New World, Red-Haired Shanks rubbed his temples. "The world is getting even more chaotic."
Ren and his crew finally arrived at the next island. After docking, they split up. Gray took Blue as muscle to buy ingredients. Klin saw the two "lovebirds" (Ren and Hill) snuggled together and decided to wander off on his own.
"Don't get lost, you guys!" Ren called out. "We won't get lost!"
The island had no extreme weather, and the people on the streets seemed happy enough. Ren and the others wore slight disguises and blended into the capital.
"The Kingdom of Niril. No special exports, no weird weather. In this bizarre Grand Line, a country this normal is actually a bit creepy," Hill whispered into Ren's ear.
Feeling his ear tingle, Ren replied, "Based on my years of experience, islands like this usually hide some dark secret. Should we investigate?"
Seeing Ren's eager expression, Hill facepalmed.