Chapter 35

"Quack quack!!" News coo cried as it landed on the table that is laid outside. The scenery depicted a peaceful view of a small house surrounded by forest and a mikan groove, which seemed to have been tended with care.

"Come on, 100 Beli is a bit too much, don't you think? How about a 20% discount? Don't I, as the loyal customer of World Economy News Paper, deserve this much?" Nami was seen to be negotiating with News coo, who crossed its arms and turned its head around as a sign of refusal.

Nojiko sweatdropped at the scene, before taking out 100 Beli from her wallet. "Here, take it."

News coo happily quacked before hurriedly flying away, wishing no more from Nami.

"Alright. Let's see what's new this time." Grabbing the newspaper in boredom, Nami brought the newspaper close to her eyes. "The destruction of Logue town, and the defeat of the East Blue's White Hunter! Three days ago, Captain Smoker, who has never let any pirate out of Logue town, with the exception of Mad Treasure who managed to escape when he wasn't present, suffered a grievous defeat under... WHAT?!!"

Nami abruptly stood up from her chair, with the newspaper in her hands shaking. Her expression was that of an absolute shock, as she once again saw the face she is very familiar with.

"What?" Watching Nami's outburst, Nojiko couldn't help but ask in curiosity.

Taking a gulp, Nami continued reading. "... The East Blue's highest bounty holder, previously known as the Demon of the East Blue, Grimheart Rowan, also known as Youchiha Bob!"

Nojiko's heart jumped in a surprise hearing that. They had known that Rowan is a strong individual; he defeated Arlong after all, and they knew how terrifying Arlong was, unlike others who's never seen him.

However, defeating the 'White Hunter' was a different story. The formidable marine from the Grand Line, who's known for his incredible strength that caused the crime rate to notably drop ever since his arrival!

"In prior to his arrival in Logue town, the marines identified that a big clash occurred between the Demon and his previous subordinates, the Angel pirates! To our shock, the latter suffered a bloody massacre by the former, with rarely any survivors remaining!"

As Nami kept on reading, she became increasingly nervous. Although Rowan has been a notorious pirate in the East Blue for quite some time by now, he has rarely been described in such a way, due to the 'heroic' behaviours he used to act upon. Now, it seemed that his ways changed around by 180 degrees, befitting of the name 'Demon.'

"A day ago, the marines identified that the East Blue's worst criminal has sailed into the Grand Line! Additionally, it is suspected that he has four subordinates under his command, with one of them being Ace the 'Rascal,' with the previous bounty amounting to 5 million Beli! As such, the marines decided to raised the bounties of these two criminals, with some modifications!"

Nami flipped the newspaper to the next page, and there lied two bounty posters. One showed a freckled man wearing an orange hat, smiling widely. It read: Portagus D. Ace the 'Rascal.' Wanted Dead or Alive, 10 million Beli.

What shocked her, however, was the other poster. It depicted a man with black-colored eyes, staring ferociously with his ruffled black hair. It read: Rowan the 'Grimheart.' Wanted Dead or Alive. 65 million Beli.

"H-how can this be!!" Nojiko, who came next to Nami a moment ago, widened her eyes in shock as she looked at Rowan's new bounty. "65 million?! That's more than double the bounty he used to have previously!!"

Nami seemed exhausted just from reading, as she placed the newspaper down on the table and slouched. "...He'll be okay, right?"

"Bob... I never thought it will go like this. To think he actually dared to enter the Grand Line, known as the Pirate's Graveyard!" Nojiko and Nami knew Rowan for 17 years. He was never a bold individual. He was a cautious individual who was against taking risks in most of the cases, with a hint of obliviousness. They knew that he wished for nothing but a peaceful life.

"Can't you see?" Nami sighed. "Bob decided to use 'Rowan' as his name. He threw away his old 'carefree' self known as Youchiha Bob." Although Rowan insisted on using the name 'Rowan' simply because he recognized the name 'Youchiha Bob' as hideous, Nami interpreted otherwise.

The silence ensued the mikan groove, as the duo ceased to speak and stared at the poster.

"Do you think it's worth it? To sail with a dream, just like how you want to draw the map of the whole world. If even Bob, who was the most disdainful of such idea, has ended up sailing like this, how about me?" Nojiko seemed to be in a deep thought.

Nami stayed silent at this. Ever since Arlong was gone, she felt conflicted about her dream. On one hand, she wanted to set out and begin to explore the world. However, at the same time, she wished to just let go and rest peacefully. Now that Nojiko has spoken up, she, for some reason, felt as if her heart was set on fire.

"Say Nami, why don't we try ourselves? Just like Rowan, set out to the sea and create a story of our own! Just imagine, the Beauty pirates, beautiful and strong at the same time!" Nojiko declared as her fists clenched. Nami laughed at this, although she was leaning towards 'yes.'

"Haha Nojiko, your name sense is absolutely horrible! Beauty pirates, what is that even!"

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[Marineford]

In the office, two huge men, who had the coat with 'Justice' written on the back draped over their shoulders, were seen to be chattering. One man, Sengoku, had a black-coloured Afro hair with round glasses, while the other, Garp, had a short white hair and goofy visage.

"Bwahahaha! that Smoker kid got flattened!!" Garp laughed as he munched onto his rice crackers. He recognized Smoker, who used to be Zephyr's student.

With a frown, Sengoku shook his head. He sighed as he placed his hand on his forehead, "Just who is this Grimheart? Where did he come from? His strength isn't that noteworthy in Grand Line standards, but he somehow managed to change the East Blue single-handedly, before wracking havoc in the East Blue's most secured town! This isn't trivial matter, Garp! He caused the marine's control over the East Blue to weaken by quite an extent!"

Rowan defeated Arlong and Don Krieg, and the latter was responsible for causing people to rely on the marines for their safety. It was for this exact reason, that he was left uncaught; to strengthen the marine's influence over the East Blue. However, Rowan destroyed the system in an instant, by wiping the East Blue clean, with most of the noteworthy pirates caught. Now, with exception of the pirates who are good at hiding themselves, such as Buggy the Clown, there was no particular threat in the East Blue. People no longer had the same reliance they used to have on the marines.

"Bwahahahaha!! The marines failed to protect the hometown of the pirate king!!! Bwahaha, that's the funniest thing I've heard!!" Garp rolled on the ground full of laughter, completely ignoring Sengoku.

"Shut up, Garp!!" Sengoku barked at Garp, before placing the 'East Blue edition' news down.

Eventually Garp sat back up on his seat, with a thoughtful expression.

'Ace, did you really join this man?' Garp couldn't help but think in curiosity, as he stared at Rowan's bounty poster. 'What's so special about him, for the bearer of D to willingly serve under?'

"A rookie with such a potential... this boy must be viewed with a caution." Sengoku muttered as he took one last glance at the bounty poster, before focusing his mind back on much more important matters.

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"...Youchiha, it seems." The Rear Admiral Baten muttered to himself as he grabbed an old-looking, dusty book from his bookshelf. "So that's why it sounded so familiar. It used to be my favourite story after all, along with Liar Noland."

The book on Baten's hands read: 'The Tale of Youchiha Medusa.'