Chapter 78: Omake: Bounty Reactions

You all wanted it, so here it is: some of the reactions to the Straw Hats' raid of Enies Lobby and their bounties.

Hometown Happenings:

Cocoyashi Village

It was a beautiful morning in the small village of Cocoyashi of the Conami Islands. There wasn't a cloud in the sky to be seen against the early morning sunlight, but a light breeze tickled the buildings as it blew through the town, just strong enough to make the pirate flag proudly flying in the village center flutter. The symbol of the Straw Hat Pirates danced in the wind, its mere presence a constant warning to any on the seas with ill will toward the island's inhabitants. From the far west came a flock of News Coo, the intelligent carrier birds swooping low to drop their cargo to the people of the village before curving back the way they'd come.

Trying to rub the weariness from his eyes, an old man covered in scars was the first one out that morning. The breeze spun the pinwheel stuck into his old, maroon, military hat, but the man took no notice as he yawned. Stretching his arms over his head, he bent down to scoop up the closest newspaper, a headline larger than any he'd seen before covering the front page. Simply glancing at the words shocked the man, ridding him of any leftover lingerings of sleep.

STRAW HAT PIRATES DECLARE WAR ON ENIES LOBBY, WIN

"Everybody get the Hell out here now!" Genzo yelled at the top of his voice, everyone in the village responding immediately to the order of their de facto mayor.

"It's seven in the morning," a random villager complained, rubbing his eyes. "What's so important you couldn't let us sleep ten more minutes?"

"Nami and the others just pulled off something big!" Genzo answered in a yell. "They made the front page!"

"The Straw Hat Pirates," a woman read aloud from a newspaper, "are an extremely dangerous pirate group last confirmed to number 11 people and are under the command of 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy. Two days ago, they and approximately 75 others led a raid on the Judicial Island of Enies Lobby. All civilians that had been on the island had been evacuated prior to the attack due to security reasons, so there were no civilian casualties. However, casualties among the Marines number several thousand and the entire island was destroyed. Complete statistics are still being calculated."

"'This is one of the darkest days in the history of the Marines,' said Fleet Admiral Sengoku," another villager took over. "'To think a single pirate group of that size could do this much damage alone is impossible. The destruction of Enies Lobby is not the result of military action, but the insufficient quality of Ciper Pole #9 and the reckless behaviour of the agents and their superior. While the agents could not be found in the wreckage and are presumed dead, their commander is being disciplined at Marineford despite his broken back. Nothing like this will ever happen again, I assure you.' The reason for the pirates' attack is unknown at this time. Current suspicions deem this attack to have been unprovoked."

"I call bullshit on that!" a man shouted.

"More details on the attack and the pirates in question can be found inside," the reader finished.

"There are wanted posters," an elderly woman commented, taking the small stack from a paper her son was holding. The top poster showed the smiling face of the village's saviour, a nine-digit number sitting beneath his name.

"Their doctor is adorable!" a woman gushed, holding up Chopper's wanted poster. "Look at how cute this guy is!"

"That Coby brat sure has grown up a lot," the town's doctor blinked. "Good for him."

"Luffy recruited the infamous Nico Robin," another man commented with a smirk. "First the Demon Butcher Roranoa Zoro, then the Man-Demon Gin, and now the Devil Child."

"Check again," the man's wife corrected, holding up another poster. "Gin's the 'Electric Devil' now."

"What's with all the commotion?" Nojiko yawned, the blue-haired sister of Nami wandering into the impromptu village meeting. A newspaper was shoved into her face, the woman scanning it quickly.

"Uh, Genzo?" a teen boy asked. "You may want to see this."

"What is it?" the man demanded, snatching the page out of the boy's shaking hand. He took one look at the poster and promptly froze. There, for all the world to see, was the pride of Cocoyashi on her own poster.

But that couldn't be right. They got the name wrong!

Wanted Dead or Alive:

"Cat Burglar" Monkey D. Nami

30,000,000 Beris

The picture would have been deemed sweet by anyone other than the girl's surrogate father. Nami was the center of the picture, though she was sharing it with her captain. The top of a bikini could be made out at the bottom of the photo, but most of it was covered by the arms of the raven-haired boy hugging her from behind. Luffy's head was turned toward her, his lips pressed into her cheek. Nami was smiling brightly at whatever he'd said before that, a gleam in her cracked eyes. It didn't seem like she knew that the camera was there.

"They're adorable together," Nojiko praised over Genzo's shoulder. "I'm so happy for her. We should send them something to congratulate them. I wish I could have been there for the wedding, though."

"Geiegem," Genzo gurgled.

"Genzo?"

"Emmagitem."

"Hey, Doc! I think we've got a problem!"

The doctor shuffled over, waving his hand in front of the unresponsive man's face. Without warning, Genzo's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he crumpled.

"GENZO!"

Genzo woke up in the doctor's office that evening, Nojiko humming to herself as she sewed something at his bedside. He groaned as consciousness returned, now aware of a painful throb in his chest. Genzo tried to sit up, but Nojiko gently forced him back down.

"You've got strict orders not to move," the blunette told him with no room for argument.

"What happened?" the older man asked, wincing at the pain talking caused.

"You didn't take your blood pressure medicine this morning," the woman answered. "You had a heart attack."

"Damn," he grunted. "It must've messed up my head. I had the worst dream."

"Oh?"

"I dreamt that Nami got her own poster, but it said that she was married to Straw Hat." Genzo shook his head. "Weird, right?"

Nojiko blinked at him. "That wasn't a dream. It was the shock that caused the heart attack."

"...Gerk." Clutching at his heart, Genzo flopped back on the bed.

"Damn it! Not again! Doc, get back in here!"

Fin

Fusha Village

The little town of Fusha Village on Dawn Island was in an uproar,a village-wide party originating from Party's Bar near the center of town. In the midst of this were a certain group of mountain bandits, the leader of which couldn't stop her tears as she guzzled mug after mug of alcohol.

Dadan was a large woman with bushy red hair, her intimidating frame at odds with the way she was acting at the moment as she cried into her drink.

"T-That little brat!" she wailed. "He didn't even bother to sent us a note! How dare he!"

"It is quite surprising that Luffy's married now," Makino, the bartender, responded, sending a bright smile to the redhead that she did not see. "I doubt it's official, though. There isn't a ring on Luffy's hand."

Dadan's tears dried instantly, the woman turning to the two posters on the wall behind the bar. One of them held the grinning face of Monkey D. Luffy while the other was of the teen's navigator. Looking past the family name on the second poster, the bandit focused on the hands shone. Indeed, neither of Luffy's hands in the photo showed any kind of jewellery, rings or otherwise.

"..." Dadan was silent for a moment, blinking slowly. "...THOSE GOVERNMENT BASTARDS! GETTING ME SO RILED UP OVER NOTHING! I'M GONNA GIVE GARP A PIECE OF MY MIND NEXT TIME HE SHOWS UP!"

Threw it all, Makino quietly laughed at Dadan's rage and the town's grumbling mayor in the corner, whining about Luffy ruining Fusha's reputation with a hidden smile.

Fin

(Syrup Village)

"He did it!" three small voices cried as they ran through the usually-quiet town of Syrup Village. "The captain did it! He's a brave warrior of the sea!"

"Would you brats keep it down!" an older woman yelled through her window. "I thought we were free from this when that good-for-nothing liar left, only for you kids to take his place!"

"What what you say about Captain Usopp!" Carrot yelled back.

"Yeah!" Pepper agreed. "The captain's a wanted man now! He's worth 30 million!"

"All the more reason you shouldn't follow in his footsteps!" the woman grumbled.

"Oh!" Onion blinked. "Let's go tell Miss Kaya! Merry won't get their mail for another hour." With a trio of nods, the boys dashed through the town, celebrating their captain's achievement. Reaching the mansion, they quieted down and moved around the back, entering through Usopp's old entrance. They scurried across the grounds before shimmying up the tree outside Kaya's window.

"Miss Kaya!" the boys called, stealing the girl's attention from the medical textbook before her. The blonde look much healthier and radiant that when the Straw Hats had left with her significant other so long ago.

"Pepper, Carrot, Onion," she greeted. "What's up?"

"He did it! Usopp got a bounty!" Carrot pushed the poster he was holding through the window and into the girl's hand. She looked down at it with something akin to shock before breaking out into a genuine smile.

"How wonderful! I think I should call later to congratulate him! Would you all like to be there?"

"Yes, please!"

Fin

(Unknown island in the New World)

From the world's viewpoint, the Yonko of the Pirates were four powerful, serious people, each of them having enough strength between them and their crews to destroy entire kingdoms.

"Uuuuggghhhh."

Well, they were sort of right.

As powerful and serious as Kaido, Big Mom, and even Whitebeard can be, "Red Hair" Shanks never fit the norm. The man and his crew of extremely-powerful pirates were currently all passed out throughout a forest, having partied the night before. There wasn't even a lookout as a man calmly walked through the ranks of passed-out pirates.

Moving silently, the man came to a stop before the form of the one-armed pirate captain who was snoring while sleeping on a fallen log, much like how he had been last time the man tracked down Shanks. Sighing heavily, "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk kicked the ginger off the log.

Shanks woke up with a gasp, his Haki-covered arm instantly shooting out to attack whomever had decided to wake him up. Mihawk didn't bat an eye, his own Haki countering the Emperor's fist. Shanks blinked at his friend tiredly, not recognizing him for a moment until his eyes widened.

"Mihawk!" the Yonko yelled, waking some of his crew. "It's been too long! What brings you to our little neck of the woods?"

"Do you recall that child you once told me would succeed your old captain?" Mihawk's voice was calm and quiet, the total opposite of Shanks'.

"Is this about Luffy? I sure hope that anchor didn't go get himself killed."

"Quite the contrary," Mihawk answered. "It seems he and his crew are doing exceedingly well." The man who held the title of World's Greatest Swordsman reached into his robe and pulled out a stack of papers, passing them to the man as his closest friends gathered around him.

"300 million!?" Shanks gasped with a grin. "You sure outdid yourself, Luffy!"

"Hey, Yasopp," Lucky Roo asked. "What was the name of your boy again? The one you left behind in the East Blue?"

"Usopp!" Yasopp answered with a bright smile. "I remember when I left, he told me he wanted to be just like me when he grew up! But if he did, I think I'd have a heart attack at the thought of the dangers he'd face here on the Grand Line!"

"Then go get a doctor, cause you're gonna have that heart attack." The round man shoved one of the papers in the sniper's face, Yasopp snatching it out of his hand.

"'Long-Nose' Usopp?" the boy's father demanded. "How dare those government dogs make a mockery of Brachina's proud nose! I'll fill them with enough holes to make swiss cheese jealous! ...But Godadamn that's a good picture."

"Hey, Cap'n," Ben Beckman called. "You might want to see this. Looks like Luffy went and got himself hitched."

"Well I'll be!" Shanks barked, glancing at the poster of the "Cat Burglar" in his First Mate's hand. "So much for being the Free-est Man in the World! At least she's a looker." Reaching out, the Yonko grabbed a flagon and filled it with beer from a nearby barrel. "This calls for a celebration!"

"Were you not hungover from the party you obviously just finished?" Mihawk quirked an eyebrow, barely shifting as the pirate captain threw his lone arm around his shoulder.

"But now we've got an even better reason to party! To Luffy's lost innocence and his lost freedom!"

"CHEERS!"

Fin