The New World.
This terrifying sea, ruled by the Yonko, was currently being whipped into a frenzy by the morning's freshly printed headlines.
"Pops, a terrifyingly loud brat has appeared in the Paradise half of the Grand Line."
First Division Commander Marco the Phoenix walked up to Whitebeard, newspaper in hand. His tone carried a hint of genuine amazement. "Portgas D. Ace. Initial bounty of 770 million. He robbed the Heavenly Gold and put old man Zephyr in the infirmary."
"Gurararara!"
Edward Newgate, the man known as the Strongest in the World, glanced at the photo. His laugh was a physical force, causing the surrounding seawater to ripple in rhythmic circles.
"Kids these days are getting bolder, daring to touch the Celestial Dragons' pockets." Whitebeard lifted a massive sake bowl, taking a thunderous gulp. "That old stick-in-the-mud Zephyr finally met his match, eh? But this sea belongs to the young. Let them make their noise."
For Whitebeard, as long as his "Family" remained untouched, the storms of the outside world were merely background noise.
"MAMA! MAMA!"
Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, was frantically shoving caramelized cream puffs into her mouth, her eyes glazed with sugar-lust. She didn't even look at the report her eldest son, Perospero, tried to show her.
"I don't care about rookies or bounties! Unless this boy can bring me the most delicious dessert in the world, don't bother me with such boring trifles!"
In stark contrast, Kaido of the Beasts had a much more violent reaction.
"Hic... Mythical Zoan? Model: Suzaku?"
Kaido, his face flushed a deep crimson from heavy drinking, let out an alcohol-laden hiccup. He snatched the paper from King the Wildfire, staring intensely at the blurry photo of Ace's hybrid form—his crimson-gold wings unfurled amidst the smoke of the fortress.
"High-temperature wings... abnormal regeneration..."
A fanatical, predatory light erupted in Kaido's eyes. As the commander of a Zoan-type army, his obsession with Mythical types was borderline pathological.
"Worororo! Amazing! This brat's fruit is a masterpiece!" Kaido slammed the paper onto the table, his massive frame looming over his subordinates. "King! Send our scouts to the first half of the Grand Line! The moment these brats cross the Red Line, I want Ace brought to me! I'll break his spirit and make him a Lead Performer of the Beasts Pirates!"
The Red Hair Pirates were holding a routine outdoor banquet in the snow.
"Captain, big news." First Mate Benn Beckman, chewing on a cigar, handed the paper to Red-Haired Shanks, who was currently arm-in-arm with his crew, singing.
"Oh? What news could make you look that serious, Benn?" Shanks took the paper with a grin.
PFFFT!
The moment his eyes hit the bounty posters, the sake he'd just sipped sprayed directly onto Lucky Roux's meat-filled face.
"BUGGY?! 200 MILLION?!" Shanks's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "That coward actually went to work as a butler for a rookie? And he got 200 million for it?!"
Shanks rubbed his eyes, wheezing with laughter. But as his gaze shifted to the primary target at the top—the 770 million bounty—his movements froze.
The black-haired youth's piercing eyes and sharp silhouette instantly overlapped in Shanks's mind with a certain imposing back that had led them across the world twenty years ago.
Portgas D. Ace.
As one of the few who knew Roger's true past, Shanks's intuition was a razor. He realized the truth in an instant.
"So... it really is him." A flash of shock crossed his face, followed quickly by a smile of profound nostalgia and pride.
"HEY! EVERYONE!" Shanks hoisted the newspaper high, drawing his saber, Gryphon, and pointing it toward the swirling snow. "We have a reason to celebrate! Bring out the best barrels! To the brand new storm rising on the horizon—CHEERS!"
"AAAAAAAAAAH—!!!"
A tragic, piercing scream shattered the morning peace.
Carina stared at the wanted poster tucked inside the news—her own face, stamped with 23,000,000 Berries. She collapsed onto the deck in despair.
"It's over... my career as a 'Low-Profile Phantom Thief' is dead! I'm a high-value criminal! I can't even go for a stroll without being chased by a battleship!"
"What are you crying about for twenty million?! LOOK AT ME!!" Buggy held his own 200 million poster, his knees knocking together so hard they sounded like castanets. "Two hundred million! The Marines think I'm a world-class terrorist! An Admiral is going to come for me personally! I don't want to go back to Impel Down!"
Leona, meanwhile, looked at her 89 million poster with a stony face. She reached out, grabbed a rag, and went back to polishing her black steel cleaver. As long as she could hunt, the price on her head didn't change the flavor of the meat.
Jeno grinned wildly at his 76 million tag. "It seems the Marines enjoyed my hammer. Next time, I'll make sure they double it."
"530 million," Sabo murmured, folding his poster into his pocket with a composed smile. "But the Captain is in a league of his own."
Sabo looked at the poster in Ace's hand, stamped with the red warning: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
Carina leaned in to look and gasped, her voice jumping an octave. "7... 770 million?! On your second bounty? Ace, the Marines are treating you like a Yonko candidate!"
Buggy slumped onto the deck, realizing he was on a one-way trip to the center of the world's most dangerous storm.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Ace let out a hearty, unrestrained laugh. He walked into the center of the crew, his ambition radiating like a physical heat.
"Well done, Marines! At least they didn't underestimate us!" Ace looked at his crew, his voice resonant and full of fire. "This is just the start! Since the name of the Eclipse Pirates is officially out there, we can't let that flag down! Get stronger! Next time, I want every single one of you in the hundreds of millions!"
"OHH! The Captain is right! Next time, I'm hitting a billion!" Buggy shouted, desperately trying to save face.
Ace patted Buggy on the shoulder and turned toward the sea.
"The deeper parts of the Grand Line will have to wait a few days," Ace said, watching the News Coos circle above. "The Eclipse isn't finished. Carina, your 'Sky-Eyes' need time to calibrate the shared vision."
"Until then, we train and we rest! When our ship is fitted with a steel skeleton and a real power system—when our intelligence net covers the sky—then we set off for the next stop in perfect form!"
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