Chapter 87: The Highest Bounty in History!

"The next one is a bit special."

Brannew glanced behind him, and his tone became somewhat complicated. "I believe everyone present—especially those who were once students of Mr. Zephyr—should be no stranger to this man."

Pa!

Where the tip of the baton pointed, a white-haired man with a cigar in his mouth sat emotionlessly astride a motorcycle, puffing clouds of smoke.

"Once infamous in the Navy for his bad temper—the White Hunter, a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, former Colonel and base commander of Loguetown's branch—Smoker."

Brannew sighed. "Several marines have testified that he fought fiercely with Vice Admiral Onigumo aboard a warship. After being subdued, he harbored resentment and, upon regaining consciousness, took advantage of the ship's thin manpower to cruelly murder the poor Prince Altai before disappearing without a trace. Reliable intelligence indicates he has joined the Dusk Pirates."

"Such heinous acts can already be considered a defection from the Navy! Given that his rank was held back only due to his temper and style, his true strength far exceeds that of a standard HQ colonel. Therefore, his bounty is temporarily set at 70 million berries, with the title: 'The Rogue Hunter'!"

Pa!

The baton then pointed to the final wanted poster—not of a human, but a three-meter-long silver wolf.

It howled at the moon with its head raised, its fur like a waterfall of snow under the moonlight—elegant and beautiful, yet exuding the aura of a king.

"What kind of creature is this?"

Several officers showed interest. "Kinda cool-looking, huh? Way more pleasant to look at than the freaks from the Beasts Pirates..."

"We haven't identified its species yet. But what's certain is that this wolf—named 'Silver'—is actually the second strongest combatant hidden aboard that ship!"

Brannew's expression turned grave. "Another Rear Admiral under Vice Admiral Onigumo was severely injured in just a few minutes of combat with this creature—almost had his throat bitten off. And based on his description, the wolf fought with apparent ease... it didn't even go all out!"

A giant wolf capable of defeating an HQ Rear Admiral without going all out?

The officers narrowed their eyes slightly, while Brannew continued:

"This giant wolf also displayed the ability to manipulate lightning during the battle. Therefore, its provisional title is 'Thunder Wolf Silver', with a bounty of 80 million berries!"

"And now for the highlight of today—the man who personally snapped Vice Admiral Onigumo's neck..."

As he said this, Brannew removed all the wanted posters from the board and placed a new one squarely in the center.

"Captain of the Dusk Pirates: 'Bladesman' Shano!"

"Years ago, he was already well-known in the East Blue. At just fourteen years old, he defeated the Arlong crew, who once served under the Sun Pirates. Since then, he's killed multiple pirates with bounties over ten million. To the locals of the East Blue, he had practically become a symbol of justice—more trusted than the Navy!"

"But make no mistake—all of that was just a façade. In the recent Loguetown Incident, his vicious nature was fully revealed!"

Rear Admiral Farn frowned, about to speak, but Brannew interrupted sharply:

"His public execution of Vice Admiral Onigumo was an egregious abuse of power and a blatant provocation to both the Navy and the World Government! Moreover, according to investigations, he even uprooted and tossed into the sea the very execution platform of Gol D. Roger—our symbol to deter pirates—and declared to the world his intention to end the Great Pirate Era! His arrogance knows no bounds!"

"And it was at that moment that he exhibited the extremely rare Conqueror's Haki!"

"A madman with both ambition and strength like this—though it's his first bounty—it's only appropriate to break protocol and assign him a figure that matches the threat he poses!"

Thud!

Brannew slammed his right hand onto the board.

The corners of the wanted poster fluttered from the impact, and the pitch-black bounty figure beneath the image of the black-haired youth carrying a longsword seemed even more striking:

180 million berries!!!

———

"...How much?"

In the East Blue, somewhere near Reverse Mountain, Shano, who had been relaxing under a parasol and sipping a cocktail prepared by Zeff himself, suddenly spat out his drink.

"Yes, Captain, you heard that right—a full 180 million berries."

Kuina pulled the wanted poster from the newspaper and handed it to him. "It's a new record. No pirate in history has ever received such a high bounty before even entering the Grand Line."

"Looks like Navy HQ really wants me dead."

Looking at his own wanted poster, Shano grinned wryly.

He had expected his bounty to break East Blue records.

But he thought it would be just under 100 million berries—he never imagined it would be this outrageous.

Even compared to the Worst Generation Supernovas who reached Sabaody Archipelago four years later, this bounty would rank near the top.

And he hadn't even entered the Grand Line yet...

"Captain of the Dusk Pirates... Tsk, the intelligence network's impressive. We only finalized that name a few days ago, and they already know."

Behind him, a white flag fluttered atop the mast.

『Dusk Adventuring Crew』—that was the final name Shano decided on for their group. Of course, the World Government would never acknowledge anything called an "adventure crew," so the public, under media influence, would still refer to them as pirates.

Not just the crew name—after leaving Loguetown, Shano finalized all the details: names, flags, everything.

Even the long-delayed ship name was officially decided—it would be called "The Dusk".

A name aligned with "Dusk Adventuring Crew"—symbolizing a vessel that would carry the mission of closing the curtain on the Great Pirate Era.

Their flag also clearly differed from typical pirate flags. No skull motifs—Shano never liked those.

So instead, he took inspiration from Drake's style. On a white background, the design featured two crossed swords piercing through the Navy's iconic seagull and scales emblem.

Looking up at it from below—it was much cooler.

As for whether the Navy would be enraged or mock him for it? Screaming in fury?

Well, that wasn't his problem.

"Speaking of which, the newspaper's report really doesn't do us any favors."

Kuina flipped through the paper and shook her head. "They completely glossed over how Onigumo bombarded civilians and attacked us without provocation—making it seem like we attacked Loguetown first. Onigumo's portrayed like a tragic hero who came to save the people."

"Expected."

Shano didn't care. Who didn't know how the World Government and Navy HQ operated?

But lies would always be lies. The truth had its way of spreading. With so many civilians in Loguetown watching the whole thing, it probably wouldn't be long before the real story spread across the East Blue.

"Even the biggest newspaper—the World Economic Journal—has to cater to the World Government. And we clearly don't have the clout yet to make Morgans defy them."

He casually put down his cocktail and smiled.