Chapter 98: News Across the Seas, Reactions of Roger Pirates and Rocks D. Xebec

[Unprecedented Bounty! The Pirate with a 2 Billion Bounty!]

[Tragedy Strikes: The Death of a Noble Descendant of the Creator!]

[Admiral Defeated! The Fallen Admiral – "Iron Claw" Hark!]

[The 17-Year-Old Lunarian Monster – Fallen Angel El!]

[The Dreadful Passing! Admiral "Iron Claw" Hark Loses to Fallen Angel El and Heroically Dies!]

[The Bold Pirate! The Villainous Fallen Angel Pirates Attack the Descendants of the Creator!]

[World Government Outraged! Declares a Merciless Pursuit of the Entire Fallen Angel Crew to the Ends of Hell!]

[Sky-High Bounty! Anyone with Information on the Fallen Angel Pirates Will Receive a Huge Reward for Reporting to the World Government.]

…

The following day, across the seas, newsbirds delivered freshly printed papers, their headlines still smelling of ink. The explosive news hit like a thunderous bomb, sparking a tidal wave of shock and amazement across the oceans.

The Four Blues trembled! The Grand Line shook!

"Fallen Angel Pirates?"

"Whoa! Could this be real?"

"Someone actually dared to kidnap and kill a Celestial Dragon?"

"Not only that, but they attacked two Marine fortresses in the New World?"

"And even with a top Navy Admiral leading the charge, they managed to kill him in battle?"

"Are they seriously challenging the colossal World Government?"

"Two billion berries? This El, the 'Ash Gray-Haired Guy'—he's only seventeen?"

"Yes! Those damned Celestial Dragons finally got what they deserved!"

"A villain? More like a hero to all of us!"

…

The seas buzzed with countless voices, disbelief evident in their eyes as they read and reread the paper, thinking they might have misinterpreted it. Who could have imagined that someone would dare to defy the heavens and go after the highest nobility?

No one anticipated that in the span of a day, events of such an unprecedented scale would unfold. First, El attacked the massive G-5 and G-1 fortresses, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Then, his Fallen Angel Pirates kidnapped members of the World Nobility, even killing a Celestial Dragon. In the ensuing chaos, the revered Admiral "Iron Claw" Hark fell in battle, his head taken by El himself. The fleet guarding the islands suffered near-total annihilation.

"Fallen Angel El?"

"Wait—are you joking?"

"The same Lunarian remnant who joined the Giants in destroying that Marine fortress?"

"And the legendary Admiral Hark? Defeated?"

"Admirals rarely lose, let alone die in action…"

"This El is a monster beyond measure!"

…

On a certain stretch of the Grand Line, the Roger Pirates had just finished coating their ship and were preparing to head toward Fish-Men Island. Reading the news they'd purchased from a newsbird, they stood slack-jawed, taken aback.

They knew that the Celestial Dragons' abductions and killings would provoke a major storm, but they hadn't expected the mastermind behind it all to be the young Lunarian with a six-hundred-million bounty by age nine—El, the Fallen Angel. To top it off, he'd assaulted two prominent Marine fortresses in the New World and beheaded the infamous Admiral Hark.

"Unbelievable…"

Roger, standing at the ship's bow, looked at the newspaper image of El—his towering figure, cold expression, and wings on his back—a youthfully defiant stare. "After hundreds of years, someone is finally challenging the colossal World Government?"

"What a terrifying individual…" muttered Silver Rayleigh in awe. "Seventeen years old and already worth two billion. This is unprecedented!"

"Pssht, the World Government must be losing their minds," added Scopper Gaban in amazement.

"Maybe I should have stayed at the auction…" mumbled Fish-Men slave Sunbell, scratching his head. Seeing the news about how the Fallen Angel Pirates had freed other slaves and offered them sanctuary, he couldn't help but feel like he might have missed out on something.

"Haha! That would've been wild, but hey!" Roger, grinning widely, pulled his new Fish-Men crewmate close. "You're a member of the Roger Pirates now. No backing out!"

"I wouldn't dream of it…" Sunbell smiled, seeing Roger's unabashed acceptance—no hint of revulsion or scorn in his eyes, only genuine camaraderie.

Roger, pushing down his straw hat, turned to his crew with a beaming smile: "Alright, everyone! When we reach Fish-Men Island, let's have one heck of a feast!"

"Yeah!"

…

Meanwhile, in the New World, on an island held by pirates, many lay strewn about, passed out from a wild feast. A tall figure, rugged and scruffy, with a mane of wild, unkempt hair, lay half-dressed, snoring loudly with an empty bottle in his hand.

"Captain Rocks! Big news!" A crew member rushed into the cavernous hall and shouted, barely able to catch his breath.

"Ugh...?" the wild figure groaned, pushing away the woman lying beside him and pulling on his pants with one hand, chugging the last of the bottle with the other. "You've got my attention—what is it?"

The crewmate handed him a newspaper and a fresh bounty poster. Rocks D. Xebec, squinting at the headline and rubbing his bleary eyes, suddenly focused. "El, the Fallen Angel? Didn't that kid vanish for years?"

"Two hundred million? Why did his bounty get smaller?"

He vaguely remembered hearing about the young Lunarian who'd already had a six-hundred-million bounty by age nine, sparking quite a commotion across the seas. He'd even once thought about recruiting El into the Rocks Pirates, but the kid had simply vanished.

"Captain, it's two billion," the crewman corrected, pointing to the bounty poster. "Not only did he assault two massive Marine bases, but his Fallen Angel Pirates kidnapped and killed Celestial Dragons on Sabaody. He also killed Admiral Hark."

The man continued, "You remember 'Iron Claw' Hark—the one who nearly split you open when he chased us down. They say he fell in battle while trying to rescue the Celestial Dragons, his head taken by El…"

"What!?" Rocks stared at the bounty poster, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looked back at the bold print in the paper. Then, after a long pause, he grinned with wild laughter.

"Hahaha! What a hell of a commotion he's caused…" Rocks laughed with unrestrained enthusiasm, baring his teeth. "He's something, all right—madder than me, even!"

He tipped his head back, his laughter echoing through the cavern. "But damn, he really did pull it off. Well done!"