Chapter 186: The Whale Country
The newspapers distributed across the world gave Maude and his crew, who had just entered the Grand Line, a wave of instant notoriety.
Their "entry ticket"—a decisive slaughter of the pirates around Twin Island—was truly unprecedented.
Because of this feat, most pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, often referred to as the "Paradise," began paying attention to the Maude Pirates.
As for the Marines, their interest was even greater.
New pirate crews with such a dramatic entrance always attracted heightened scrutiny from the Navy.
At the same time, the underworld issued a new assassination bounty targeting Maude.
The client was from the Kingdom of Nandekar, and the motives behind the request were self-explanatory.
The reward for the assassination was a staggering 300 million Berries.
When combined with the Marine-issued bounty of 100 million, the total reward soared to 400 million.
Such an astronomical sum instantly set the underworld's professional assassins ablaze with excitement.
In no time, Maude became a prime target for many assassins.
For these killers, successfully completing such a high-paying job would mean they could retire on the spot.
The Grand Line.
In a dimly lit and eerily quiet tavern hidden in the underworld, two brothers of vastly different statures sat in a shadowy corner.
The brothers were Vanqu Kelly, the diminutive elder brother, and Vanqu Bobby, the burly younger sibling.
In the underworld, this assassin duo was notorious.
It was said that the two had once teamed up to take down a pirate with a bounty exceeding 100 million Berries.
Their abilities ranked them among the elite of professional assassins.
"Three hundred million... It's rare to see an assassination bounty that high," said Kelly, slicking back his oiled hair with his left hand while holding the assassination order bearing Maude's photo. In his right hand was Maude's Marine-issued bounty poster.
"With the Marine bounty added, it's 400 million in total."
Kelly's gaze lingered on the numbers on the bounty poster, greed glinting in his eyes.
"Big Brother, this guy seems pretty strong. Can we handle him?" Bobby, wearing small tinted sunglasses and sporting a braided mustache, asked anxiously from across the table.
Kelly frowned at his brother's hesitation. "What's there to be afraid of? With my Jacket-Jacket Fruit powers combined with your bulletproof body, taking down a rookie pirate with a 100-million bounty should be a piece of cake."
"But this Bacardi Maude guy... He didn't just take out three high-bounty pirate crews single-handedly. He also destroyed two Navy ships and a ship from Nandekar Kingdom in the East Blue," Bobby replied nervously.
"So what? He's just another rookie pirate crew. If we work together, he's no match for us."
Kelly glared at his timid younger brother, frustrated by his cowardice. Bobby possessed an extraordinary physique with unmatched toughness, yet he was timid and faint-hearted.
If not for Kelly's chance acquisition of the Jacket-Jacket Fruit, which allowed him to fully harness Bobby's physical capabilities, their infamous reputation in the underworld would never have been achieved.
"Bobby," Kelly said, jabbing his finger forcefully at Maude's photo, "this is 400 million we're talking about. Once we land this job, we can live carefree for years! All the booze you want, all the women you desire!"
"But, Big Brother—"
"Shut up!" Kelly cut him off.
Bobby shrank back, cowed by his brother's anger, and hung his head in unease.
Looking at Bobby's spineless demeanor, Kelly sighed deeply. Sometimes, he wished he had Bobby's gifted physique instead.
His gaze shifted from his trembling brother to the assassination and bounty posters on the table.
With such a hefty reward, he knew other assassins would also be gunning for Maude.
"We can't let anyone beat us to it..." Kelly thought grimly.
Indeed, many other assassins shared the same idea.
Four hundred million.
A sum capable of driving them all mad.
...
A week later.
The Maude Pirates' mast ship navigated through the territory of the Ironhead Fish.
As expected, they were relentlessly attacked by schools of Ironhead Fish but avoided the misfortune of being sunk outright.
Even so, the ship suffered severe damage from the mindless assaults of the fish, making it inevitable that they'd need a new vessel.
Although mentally prepared for such challenges, Maude still felt a pang of frustration upon seeing the ship's battered state.
"Those Ironhead Fish should just be called Nailhead Fish," Maude muttered. "If I didn't know better, I'd think they were tools from the Leviathan Island shipyard."
After finally escaping the Ironhead Fish's territory, their damaged mast ship, barely holding together thanks to Lafitte's repairs, managed to carry them to Leviathan Island.
What greeted them upon arrival was the sight of a massive "whale" floating on the sea.
"Is that Leviathan Island?"
Standing at the ship's bow, Maude gazed at the "whale" in the distance—the destination they had sailed toward for the past two weeks.
"Hohoho," Lafitte chuckled, stroking his chin. "Leviathan Island has several nicknames, one of which is 'The Whale Country.' Seeing it in person, it certainly lives up to the name."
"Fascinating."
Maude scrutinized Leviathan Island carefully.
The island, also known as the Whale Country or Daylight City, was truly unique.
Its exterior resembled a massive whale lying horizontally on the sea, its head slightly tilted upward.
Such a description was no exaggeration.
To those unfamiliar with Leviathan Island, the distant view might easily be mistaken for a colossal whale surfacing for air, its mouth wide open.
But what made Leviathan Island extraordinary wasn't just its whale-like appearance—it was the peculiar structures within its gaping mouth and the kingdom of Ahab perched atop the "whale's head."
Within the wide-open "mouth" of Leviathan Island was a bustling town, while the submerged "lower jaw" served as an enormous harbor for ships.
The rest of the island's surface, covering the "whale's head" and "back," was overrun by sprawling, spiked plant-like roots.
Each root was at least five meters in diameter, massive and thick, covered with toxic thorns.
These thorny roots intertwined like brambles, covering every visible part of the land.
Among these brambles, the "whale's head" rose into an umbrella-shaped mountain, resembling a fountain of water spouting from the whale's head.
The Kingdom of Ahab, along with the nobles' estates, sat atop this umbrella-shaped mountain, towering high above.
This starkly illustrated the island's stark division between the "upper" and "lower" classes.
As the mast ship drew closer to Leviathan Island, Maude caught sight of the royal city of Ahab atop the "whale's head."
What a remarkable island and nation.
Maude couldn't help but marvel.
His crewmates shared the same sentiment.
The mast ship sailed into the "mouth" of Leviathan Island, where the interior glowed as brightly as daylight.
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