Chapter 48

*SLAM* "..What?!" Sengoku slammed his fist onto the desk that laid in front of him, creating a dent. His other hand clenched onto the dial of the Den Den Mushi.

"Rowan the 'Grimheart,' his real name being Youchiha Bob. He has three subordinates under him. One man with a black eye-mask on his face with blue hair. One woman with pink hair, identified as Carmen, who ate the Flame Flame fruit. And the last woman with short purple hair... identified as the illegitimate daughter of the previous king of Frauce Kingdom, Ban Decarine." From the Den Den Mushi, Baten's voice was heard as he spoke calmly without any hint of emotion. "Ace the 'Rascal' not sighted. Confirmed that they were merely allies temporarily, and separated once they entered the Grand Line."

Sengoku furiously shouted into the dial, "That's not what I'm asking!!! How can the four pirates, who just entered the Grand Line, annihilate fifteen ships at once?!! And what?! A casualty amounting over few hundreds?!" Unable to contain his anger, Sengoku stood up and walked back and forth rapidly.

The Den Den Mushi calmly closed its eyes as Baten's voice was heard once more, "Fault the others who failed to gather a proper intel. That woman with Flame Flame fruit wasn't a part of my plan."

"You think being Spandine's son will save you?!!" Sengoku roared hearing Baten's reply. His fist clenched hard and the veins popped out, containing Sengoku's anger.

Baten seemed to be offended by Sengoku's outburst, as the Den Den Mushi widened its eyes and gained a tick in the forehead. "Do not mention that bastard in front of me!!!"

Taking a deep breath, Sengoku attempted to calm himself down. "You were technically off duty from the marine base G-11 prior to the assault, but that doesn't excuse you from failing your duty as a Rear Admiral. I hereby state that you are unsuitable for such a responsibility. You are demoted to Ensign until further notice. I won't speak any longer; return immediately."

Placing the dial back onto the Den Den Mushi with a shaking hand, Sengoku massaged his forehead with his other hand.

"'Grimheart' Rowan... can't be left unattended. Wrecked the whole marine base, committed a massacre, and safely escaped." Sengoku grimly thought before lifting up the dial from another Den Den Mushi on his desk, making a call to someone else.

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Breaking news!

Soon, the news regarding the destruction of the marine base G-11 were distributed to all around the Grand Line through the World Economy News Paper. Although the World Government and the Marine tried to control the information, it was too late by the time they interfered; the news has already been distributed all over the world.

A debut of a pirate crew who came from the East Blue, known as the weakest sea! Just the four of them alone, faced off against hundreds of marines and managed to pull out a victory!

This news, in which its title was: 'The Rise of the New Supernova!!' brought fears upon many civilians, and invoked interests in many potent individuals. Within the newspaper, the updated bounty posters of the Grimheart pirates were posted.

Black Mask. Bounty: 10,000,000 Beli. Wanted Dead or Alive.

In the image, Dan was wearing a green jacket and white shirt underneath, along with blue trousers. His hands were holding onto the steering wheel as his gaze was headed up, looking stoic.

Decarine. Bounty: 65,000,000 Beli. Wanted Dead or Alive.

In the image, Carina was wearing a white shirt and long pants with pouches on either side. She was holding onto two daggers, one on each hand, while flashing a wink.

'Flame Empress' Carmen. Bounty: 200,000,000 Beli. Wanted Dead or Alive.

In the image, Carmen was wearing a red-coloured dress with the white frills. She was haughtily looking down with her chin raised and her arms crossed, as some fires were seen at the end of her shoulders.

And finally,

'Grimheart' Rowan. Bounty: 205,000,000 Beli. Wanted Dead or Alive.

In the image, Rowan was seen to be wearing a grey shirt and a black jacket on top. Only his top was shown, where his hand was holding onto the revolver. His hair was ruffled and he seemed to be glaring.

"Huh?" Ace exclaimed his surprise as he held onto the news. He was leaning back into the chair with an empty mug on his other hand. Around him, there were piles of pirates, who were beaten down to unconsciousness. Blinking his eyes for few moments, Ace suddenly broke a grin.

"Yo, bartender, bring me an another one! Haha, to think they had so much fun without me... whatever, this calls for a celebration!!" Ace made an order excitedly, before suddenly falling asleep on the spot, causing the bartender to sweatdrop.

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"Quack, quack!!" The sound of News Coo crying was heard, as it flew over Prominence. Carina quickly waved her hands while whistling. The news coo recognized Carina and settled down onto the rail, with a bag containing newspaper and a pouch hanged around its neck.

Pulling out a newspaper from the bag, Carina placed 100 Beli inside the pouch of News Coo, who quacked once more before leaving the ship. Carina grimaced as she saw the headline, which showed the destroyed marine base G-11. 'Just as I expected.'

"Everyone, come here for a sec!" Carina shouted out loud. Rowan and Carmen groaned as they slowly got up from their spot and sluggishly walked over to Carina. Dan stopped writing his journal and placed the notebook back into his pocket.

Carmen was seen to be tired, with her eyes half-closed. However, Rowan suffered the worst injuries. Currently, he was wrapped with bandages from head to toe.

"News eh?" Rowan said as he gazed at the News in Carina's hands and muttered to himself. "They sure are fast."

Carina sighed before turning into the next page, revealing their bounty posters.

"Dang it, I should've done more. Maybe try to be more drastic like Carmen?" Dan seemed to be quite annoyed with how his bounty seemed inferior compared to others. "Ugh, it feels as if I am behind you all."

Carmen placed her hands on her waist and posed drastically with one of her leg sticking out. "Behold, the Flame Empress Carmen! Everyone shall fear and cower upon hearing my name!!"

Rowan's jaw opened wide in shock as he saw his own bounty. "205 million?! What?! Just how rich are the marines?!!" Forcibly closing his mouth, Rowan turned to Carina. "This is unbelievable, right Carin—Carina?"

Carina was seen to be glaring at her bounty post. "There it is, that stupid name again. Ha, not even the last name, huh? Purity my ass. Despicable as always." She angrily snarled before sighting Rowan's concerned look.

It was very rare for Rowan to see Carina while angry; he couldn't help but be worried. "Decarine? Your name seems a bit different than what we've been calling you for now." Trying to improve Carina's mood, Rowan asked playfully, while rubbing his back.

Carina broke out a chuckle hearing this, "At least it's relevant, unlike you going from Bob to Rowan."

"Fair enough." Rowan shrugged hearing that. He didn't ask any longer, since Carina didn't seem to want to talk anymore about the matter.

Finishing to read the newspaper, Dan raised his hand. "Uh, captain?"

Rowan turned around to face Dan.

"So we've already accumulated a huge amount of bounty. I think we need to have some sort of plans... the bounty hunters and marines will be chasing us until the end." Dan pointed out the issue, earning a nod from rest of the crew.

Rowan groaned. He could imagine how even more tiring his life will become from now on. Sighing, Rowan spoke, "We need to increase our crew number; too small. There are limits to what we can do with just four of us. Enlarge our forces to face off against our enemies. Prominence is quite huge, and yet only the four of us are on board."

Carmen raised her hand this time, "Prominence shall require a resistance to fire and heat. It's hard to use full extent of my ability in here." Rowan agreed with Carmen's proposition. If her ability can be used on the ship, the mobility and defence of Prominence will be strengthened by many folds.

Rowan turned to Carina, who seemed to be piling up the money from the sac lying next to her and counting. "How much do we have now?"

Carina giddily responded, "More than 50 million!! Hehe, we're on our way to become rich!!"

Rowan couldn't help but think, 'Isn't 50 million already a lot? Never mind, we are talking about Carina here.'

Carina raised her wrist and stared at the Log Pose, where its needle is pointing in particular direction. "And our prior objective achieved. Log Pose successfully acquired... oh yeah, guess what I found!" She suddenly surfed through the sac that was lying next to her, before taking out a particular book.

Rowan tilted his head, "First time I've ever seen you steal a book. Interesting, what must it be for you to take this over some money?"

Grinning, Carina placed the book on top of the table next to them. Dan turned his gaze to the book.

"The Tale of Youchiha Medusa? Youchiha... captain, isn't that your last name?" Dan said in an excitement for a new discovery.

"??" Rowan was left speechless as he too saw the title of the book. 'What a horrendous name!! Bob, Pob, Fob, and now Medusa?! Why, just why?!'