The East Blue. Clear skies for a thousand miles.
The massive black sails of the Black Eclipse caught the wind, the hull slicing through the azure waves with predatory grace.
Squawk!
A News Coo wearing a postman's cap spiraled down, dropping a bundle of newspapers and a roll of parchment onto the deck.
"News is here," Sabo said, catching the bundle and flipping a coin to the bird. He cut the twine, and several brand-new Marine wanted posters fluttered onto the deck, dancing in the sea breeze.
Carina, who had been balancing the ledgers in the lounge, and Buggy, who was (unwillingly) polishing the forward cannons, scrambled over with practiced synchronization.
"Let me see! Let me see!" Buggy shouted, lunging at the papers. "I did a lot of heavy lifting at the Baratie! My bounty has to have doubled, right?!"
He grabbed a poster featuring his own red-nosed face. But as he read the numbers, his excitement withered into a look of pure, soul-crushing despair.
"CLOWN" BUGGY. BOUNTY: 15,000,000 BERRIES.
The photo was years old. Not a single Berry had been added. But that wasn't the insult. The real sting was the small print at the bottom: Affiliation: The Eclipse Pirates – Chief Steward.
"WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS?!" Buggy shrieked, stomping on the deck until the wood groaned. "Not a single cent more?! And what do they mean 'Chief Steward'?! I am a legendary pirate! I have dignity! I am not a janitor!"
"Hahaha!"
A hearty, booming laugh erupted from the cabin. Ace stepped out, his skin still steaming from his morning workout. He walked over and slammed a massive palm onto Buggy's back, nearly sending the clown through the floorboards.
"Don't take it so hard, Buggy!" Ace laughed, ruffling Buggy's hair like he was a pet. "A 'Chief Steward' is the heart of the ship! The Marines are just acknowledging that without your logistics, we'd all be starving! Hahahaha!"
"Captain! You're mocking me! I can hear the sarcasm!" Buggy wailed, but under the warmth of Ace's genuine, infectious laughter, his rage deflated into a pout.
"It seems the Marine intelligence network is slipping," Carina noted, crouching down to flip through the remaining posters. She tossed her purple hair with a smug grin. "They didn't even get a shot of me. A true Phantom Thief never leaves a digital footprint. I'm the perfect criminal."
"That's just because you hid behind the bar the moment the glass started flying," Sabo teased, picking up his own poster.
The photo was a masterpiece. It caught Sabo at the exact moment he unleashed his Fire Fist, his silhouette bathed in orange-red flames as he held down his top hat.
"BURNING DRAGON" SABO. BOUNTY: 30,000,000 BERRIES. DEAD OR ALIVE.
"Thirty million for a debut... the World Government must be furious about that royal galleon," Sabo said, a gentle, dangerous smile curling his lips.
"Well done, Sabo! That's exactly what the First Mate of the Eclipse should be worth!" Ace gave him a thumbs-up, then picked up the final poster. It was printed with a striking, blood-red banner: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
The photo had been taken inside the Baratie. Ace was sitting in his armchair, his 2.5-meter frame radiating an aura of absolute dominance. He was glancing at the camera with bored nonchalance, his eyes promising a slow death to anyone who dared move.
"ECLIPSE" PORTGAS D. ACE. BOUNTY: 50,000,000 BERRIES. DEAD OR ALIVE.
"Fifty million... and you didn't even stand up?" Buggy gasped, his jaw hitting the deck. "That... that breaks every record in East Blue history!"
"Hahahaha! Fifty million, eh? It seems that one-eyed swordsman you incinerated was worth more than he looked, Sabo!"
Ace didn't hide his joy. He let out a heroic, booming laugh that echoed across the sea. He turned to the crew, his eyes burning with excitement. "Carina! Today is a holiday! Get the best barrel of sake from the cellar! Buggy, to the galley! Roast the biggest Sea King leg we have! Tonight, we feast!"
"OH! A BANQUET!" Buggy's gloom vanished instantly at the mention of free sake. He scurried off to the kitchen, humming a tune.
Carina shook her head, smiling as she went to find the keys to the cellar.
Ace leaned against the railing, clutching the 50-million-Berry poster. He looked out at the sparkling horizon, his smile sincere and full of a burning, unyielding ambition.
Meanwhile. The Mountains behind Foosha Village.
"WHOAAAAA!"
Fourteen-year-old Luffy was jumping up and down on the roof of Dadan's hut, clutching a crumpled newspaper. His eyes had turned into literal stars.
"ACE! SABO! THEY DID IT! FIFTY MILLION!"
Luffy adjusted his straw hat and let out a roar toward the ocean. "DAMN IT! I have to set sail soon! Just you wait, Ace! I'm going to get a bounty that makes yours look like pocket change! I'M THE MAN WHO WILL BE THE PIRATE KING!"
Below him, Dadan looked at the two posters and promptly fainted, foaming at the mouth. "It's over... Garp is going to kill us all..."
Back on the Black Eclipse.
The scent of roasted meat and premium sake filled the air.
"Now that the bounties are out, every Marine in the East Blue will be hunting us like sharks," Carina said, spreading a chart across a barrel. "Captain, we've done everything we can here. Should we set a direct course for Reverse Mountain?"
Sabo and Buggy looked up, waiting for the command.
Ace, who had been laughing and competing with Buggy for the last piece of meat, went still. The atmosphere on the deck shifted instantly. A heavy, suffocating aura of a true Hegemon radiated from him, cooling the air.
He put down the bone and tapped a specific coordinate on the map.
"Before the Grand Line... we have one stop left."
Ace's finger landed on an island at the edge of the sea.
"Loguetown."
"Loguetown?" Carina blinked. "The Town of Beginnings and Endings? But Captain, that's out of the way. And 'The White Hunter' Smoker is stationed there. He's a Logia user. Going there with the highest bounty in the sea is just asking for a war."
"So what?"
Ace stood up. He wasn't smiling anymore. His eyes were dark, flickering with a golden light that seemed to mirror the setting sun.
"Logia users... Marine fleets... it doesn't matter."
Ace's voice was calm, yet it carried an arrogance that felt like it could crush the very waves.
"If they stand in our way, we dismantle them. We are going to the place where the Ghost of the Old Era died. I'm going to stand on that execution platform and announce the arrival of the New Era to the entire world!"
He turned to Sabo and Buggy, his ambition burning like a wildfire.
"Change course. Target: Loguetown!"