34 Chapter 034

The Going Merry sailed smoothly through calm seas as seagulls flocked overhead. Just a typical morning in the life of the Straw Hat Pirates. Of course, the Straw Hats themselves would be bored out of their minds if they had to sit through what was considered typical by anyone else's standards. Sanji was kicking Luffy in the face, Usopp was running around like a chicken without its head due to the Tabasco sauce in his eyes, Nami was complaining to an apologetic News Coo about the price of the paper, Zoro was experimenting, seeing if he could speed up the ship by sending blunt winds at the back of the sail with his sword, and Luffy was…well, getting kicked in the face by Sanji.

"Come on, Sanji! Let me have one! They look so good," Luffy complained as his stomach growled.

"Absolutely not! These are Nami-san's tangerine groves, and it is my sacred duty to defend them at any cost!"

"Thanks a lot, Sanji-kun!" Nami called. Luffy turned to Nami.

"What's your problem, Nami? Just one?" he whined.

"No way. That's what you get for trying to steal them," she said, without looking up from her newspaper.

"Oh, come on, Nami," Luffy said with a devious smile. "If I really wanted to steal one, do you honestly think Sanji could stop me?"

Sanji was indignant at this, and Nami looked at him curiously. Suddenly, he disappeared from his seated position before their eyes. Sanji blinked before Luffy called out to them from behind the tangerine grove.

Nami let out a resigned sigh, realizing he could probably have stolen every single one without getting caught, and relented. "I guess you have a point," she said.

"How so?" Sanji asked. His head was sagged and he was visibly sulking.

"But just one!" Nami called out. Luffy nodded his agreement and dashed back over before digging into the tangerine, peel and all. That was when the wind blew loose flyers out of the newspaper, and they landed on the deck. Everyone stared down at them with mixed expressions: Luffy in excitement, Nami in horror, Usopp in surprise, and Sanji in indifferent acknowledgement.

"Zoro!" Luffy called out eagerly.

It was a peaceful day in Marineford…well, as peaceful as the Headquarters of the World Government's military branch could get, anyway. Incessant mutterings broke out among the high-ranking Marines in the conference room before Brannew broke them off with a polite clearing of his throat.

"We apologize, Commodore," one Marine said. "But do you really think that our Marine branches in East Blue will be unable to deal with this threat?"

Brannew nodded. "To be blunt, they won't even come close," he said regretfully. He turned to three bounty posters that hung on the wall. "Buggy the Clown, 15 million Belly, Pirate Fleet Admiral Don Krieg, 17 million Belly, and Saw-Tooth Arlong, 20 million Belly. Taking into account that the average bounty in East Blue is 3 million, the fact that his crew crushed them all can't be ignored. These three had the highest active bounties in the eastern seas."

Brannew's audience processed this information as he continued, "It is not just their captain that has caught our attention, however. It was his first mate, former Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, that ended Captain Morgan's…um…suspicious activity in Branch 153." A few Marines shifted uncomfortably at this. "Furthermore, Buggy the Clown unwittingly let slip during his interrogation that it was Roronoa Zoro that incapacitated him. Taking into account the nature of his Devil Fruit and the fact that Roronoa Zoro is a swordsman, this is an impressive feat."

Brannew rubbed his chin in thought. "Our sources suggest that Don Krieg, although not captured like the other two, was defeated by their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, rather easily, and Commander Chodo…or rather, Captain Chodo," he corrected absently, thinking back on the strange circumstances of the man's recent promotion, "confirmed that Arlong was taken out by the same man. Although they have yet to challenge the Marines or the World Government directly, Captain Nezumi and Lieutenant Fullbody have both readily suggested that bounties be placed on their heads.

"If I may interrupt, Commodore," one Marine said politely. Brannew nodded at him. "What of the strange gossip regarding Pirate Hunter Zoro's alleged clash with the Royal Warlord, Dracule Mihawk?" More mutterings broke out among the Marines in the room. Brannew grimaced.

"These rumors were no doubt brought on by Mihawk's spontaneous appearance in the weakest of the eight seas. It is not surprising that gossip of this nature would start. Roronoa Zoro is the most famed swordsman in East Blue, after all," Brannew speculated. "Nevertheless, we will not humor such nonsense." He looked down at the posters in his hand. "Still, the ease with which they defeated these threats, and the threat that they themselves pose, cannot go unnoticed. It is for these reasons that we have placed record-setting bounties on their heads," he finished.

The Straw Hats continued to stare at the two wanted posters. Zoro walked up and whistled at the sight.

"Straw Hat Luffy, bounty 45 million Belly," Usopp whispered.

"Demon Wind Zoro, bounty 28 million Belly," Nami added in dismay.

Luffy laughed happily. "45 million! How about that?"

"28 million," Zoro repeated. "I must say I'm a little disappointed," he said with a smile that suggested he was not at all disappointed. I wonder what caused the change in title…oh, well, I never called myself a pirate hunter anyway.

"As usual, you fail to understand the gravity of the situation," Nami said with her head in her hand. "With this, Marines and bounty hunters will be actively seeking us out."

Luffy stopped laughing. "Yeah, you're right. Really weak Marines and bounty hunters," he said with a pout.

Zoro frowned. "Didn't think of that. Now a bunch of nobodies will be coming after us. What an insult."

"You're missing the point!" Nami shouted in frustration. Then she sighed. "I don't think we'll be able to lounge around in East Blue any longer."

"Well, that works out perfectly. Because I was planning on heading to the Grand Line after one last stop," Luffy said with a grin. Nami, Usopp, and Sanji looked at him curiously.

"One last stop? Where did you want to go?" Nami asked.

Luffy pointed to the horizon. "It's that island right there," he stated. They all looked to where he was pointing in surprise.

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