CHATER 83- "Performance Bonus: One Breath, One Crater"

The swirling sandstorm settled, and the massive abandoned dock sank into an eerie silence.

What once stood there—

No, what was now nothing but scorched earth and a shattered crater—

Was completely leveled.

Even the ocean floor, torn open and now flooding with seawater, stunned every onlooker into speechlessness.

Thinking back to the previous moments felt like waking from a dream.

Just moments ago, Sanji and Zoro had been adamant about staying to watch the fight—Now their throats were dry, and their mouths hung open in disbelief.

They finally understood why Bogard had told them,"If you choose to stay, it'll already be too late."

They had never imagined that the pirate they thought so highly of—A pirate with a 270 million bounty—Would be defeated so utterly, without resistance.

Compared to what had just unfolded, the earlier skirmish felt like nothing more than child's play.

A farce.

"Z-Zoro, the ship's here. We should get going!"Nami's voice trembled from behind.

Sure enough, a brand-new pirate ship now floated near the shore.

In sharp contrast to their previous resolve, whatever courage they had left had been completely shattered by that single attack.

As they scrambled aboard, ignoring their injuries entirely, Bogard stood quietly watching.

To him, this may have been a nightmare.

But to these fledgling birds, raised in the cradle of the Four Blues,This moment would serve as the harshest of awakenings.

And perhaps, from this nightmare, they might truly grow stronger.

"Garp! Grab the damn Den Den Mushi—What the hell just happened?! Tell me!"Fleet Admiral Sengoku's voice came roaring through.

As Garp adjusted the Den Den Mushi and turned it toward the scene,The moment Sengoku caught sight of the devastation,He collapsed into his chair.

"…It's gone. Everything's gone."

"Hahaha! Sengoku, so it's gone—then it's gone.At worst, that fool Kaido will just come suicide-bomb our headquarters again.Wouldn't be the first time."Garp burst into hearty laughter, clearly unfazed.

Having battled since the old era and earned the title of Marine Hero,Garp had faced off even against Rocks.

To him, Kaido was nothing but a hot-headed junior.

"No, Garp... I'm more concerned about something else,"Sengoku spoke gravely.

"Remember the proposal the Five Elders shelved a while back?One of them recently brought it up again.If that's reinstated... it could shake the whole world."

A shadow passed over Garp's face.

He instantly understood what Sengoku meant.

If that proposal really was revived,The impact on Marine Headquarters would be catastrophic.

"Whatever happens, Sengoku, we absolutely cannot let that man surface again.You know exactly what that would mean."

"Don't worry. I'll do everything in my power to suppress the proposal,"Sengoku replied firmly."Let's just hope the Five Elders don't let their personal ambition blind them."

"By the way—where's Straw Hat Luffy?"

"He ran."

"He what?!"

Sengoku gripped the Den Den Mushi tighter, his voice turning into a full-throated roar.

"Garp, you bastard! I knew you'd pull some kind of trick!Get after him immediately!And if you fail—don't even bother coming back to HQ!"

"Oh, right—also,"Sengoku added quickly,"The World Government is demanding we assist in the manhunt for the rogue CP9 agents.Tell Luo Yu to get ready."

"Hahaha, yeah yeah—I got it."

Garp laughed it off again.

After all these years, Sengoku knew Garp all too well.

And the same went the other way around.

Sengoku had told Garp, not Luo Yu, to chase down Luffy.That alone meant he was tacitly approving Garp's leniency.

After all, Sengoku wasn't one of the Five Elders—He was the Fleet Admiral of the Marines.

His allegiance lay not with absolute world control,But with the Marine forces themselves.

If the Five Elders pushed through their proposal and cornered even Garp into a dead end—Sengoku knew it would tear Marine Headquarters apart.

Because to the Five Elders,Marineford, Enies Lobby, and even Impel Down—Were nothing more than tools to maintain their illusion of control.

Their real plan…

Lay in the still-developing SSG Program—An army of special units engineered for absolute obedience.

Sengoku sighed deeply and ended the call.

"These damn headaches… Let's just hope nothing worse comes of it."

Back in the ruins, Luo Yu dismissed the glowing figure of the Hundred-Hand Guanyin behind him.

Staring out at the scorched landscape, even he was a little surprised.

That "Zero Form" of the Hundred-Hand Guanyin—Was a technique originally from the Hunter x Hunter world.The ultimate move of Chairman Netero himself.

Thousands of punches per hour…All culminating in one prayer pose…

One final blow that unleashed everything in an instant.

Slowest form, fastest attack.

Netero had used it at the very end of his life—But age had worn him down, and his power was only half of what it once was.

In contrast, Luo Yu's version—Fueled by performance bonus consumption during forced overtime—Had exploded with terrifying effectiveness.

That flying Six Powers user hadn't just been beaten—He'd been erased.

"Whew… 58 seconds,"Luo Yu muttered, glancing at his system display."Still under a minute. If I'd taken any longer, a third of my 7.5 million bonus would've been burned."

The performance points now read:6.5 million Beli left.

As Luo Yu knew, the Marines didn't hand out bounty bonuses for just any pirate.Only the big ones—those who caused international incidents or had ties to world powers.

Random inflated bounty pirates on the Grand Line didn't qualify.

If Luffy hadn't defeated Crocodile, or taken down Enies Lobby,Even his bounty wouldn't qualify for payout.

Still—thinking of that flying Six Powers goon he'd just turned to vapor…

270 million bounty = 13.5 million bonus…

He couldn't help but feel pleased.

"Admiral Luo Yu… there are… scattered remains in the crater."Helmeppo's voice trembled as he walked over, face pale.

Thinking back to the blast, his spine still felt cold.

Thank the heavens he hadn't said anything nice about the Straw Hats—Or there wouldn't have been a body left to identify.

"Bury the bodies?" Luo Yu blinked, then took another swig of liquor.

"No. That's not a body."

"That's bonus money."

"Dead or alive, I want that Flying Six corpse bagged and tagged. We're cashing this in."

Just then, a chime rang in Luo Yu's head—

Ding! Performance task completed. Calculating final bonus...