500 Million.
That was Maude's current bounty.
As the Moria incident continued to make waves, Maude, with his newly increased bounty, once again captured the attention of countless pirates.
Not just in the first half of the Grand Line, known as "Paradise," but even in the tumultuous waters of the New World, many pirates had begun to take notice of him.
The Red-Haired Pirates had always been keeping tabs on Maude.
Among the other Four Emperors, aside from Big Mom, both Kaido and Whitebeard had a habit of observing rookies who had yet to enter the New World but had already made a name for themselves.
In fact, whether it was the Red-Haired Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates, or Kaido's Beasts Pirates, they all had a tradition of recruiting promising new pirates into their crews.
Thus, they would always pay close attention to those newcomers who roamed freely through the first half of the Grand Line.
However, once those newcomers finally set foot in the New World, they would inevitably face an insurmountable wall known as the Four Emperors.
Before that wall, these up-and-coming pirate crews had only two choices: either stop advancing altogether or submit and become part of the Four Emperors' forces.
When it came to recruiting, the Red-Haired Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates were relatively relaxed about the process.
In contrast, Kaido's Beasts Pirates operated on a strict philosophy of strength above all.
Any promising new pirate that caught Kaido's eye would be met with brute force—beaten into submission first and recruited later.
Using this method, Kaido had gathered a significant number of formidable subordinates under his banner.
When Maude's bounty skyrocketed to 500 million, and word spread that he had taken down a Warlord of the Sea, Kaido finally took notice of his name.
A rookie with such limitless potential would undoubtedly become a valuable officer if brought into the fold.
If they ever crossed paths, Kaido would not go out of his way to recruit Maude, but he certainly wouldn't let him go free either.
Any fresh blood that came before him was given only two options:
Either be worked to death as expendable labor or surrender in both body and soul.
While the Four Emperors took some interest in Maude, the nine other pirates who were also considered this year's "Supernovas"—all sharing the title with him—were paying even closer attention.
Among Supernovas, comparisons were inevitable.
Initially, when they were still celebrating the milestone of surpassing 100 million in bounty, they were shocked to discover that Maude had already exceeded 300 million.
Then, as they struggled to push their own bounties past 200 million, they were left stunned as Maude surged past 500 million, leaving them far behind in his wake.
On a certain spring island in the Grand Line, a gaunt man with long hair covering his eyes let out a sinister cackle.
"500 million… That's 300 million more than me. Kekeke…"
The man's eerie laughter echoed as he muttered to himself.
"A bounty doesn't define strength. Bacardi Maude, huh? I'd like to see for myself… just how special you really are. Kekeke…"
As he finished speaking, he raised his right hand and stuck out a long tongue, habitually licking the hidden blade that extended from his sleeve.
Thud!
Barely three seconds after licking the blade, his body stiffened and collapsed onto the grass.
Not far away, his crew, hearing the commotion, rushed over in alarm.
"Captain poisoned himself again…"
"Where's the doctor?!"
"Get the doctor over here, now!!!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Though they had seen this happen countless times before, his crew still scrambled in panic, like ants on a hot pan.
...
Water 7, Grand Line.
Inside a modest tavern.
A burly, bald man with no eyebrows sat at the bar. His face was covered with thick muscle, yet his skin was eerily fair, almost translucent, giving him an unsettling appearance.
"Bacardi Maude."
He studied the bounty poster in his hand, his eyes cold and piercing, his voice deep and resonant like rolling thunder.
Beside him, a man wearing a green horned helmet, with red vertical stripes painted across his face, chuckled.
"Captain, his bounty may have jumped to 500 million, but I doubt he's that much stronger than you."
The pale-skinned man continued to stare at Maude's photo, his expression unreadable.
"Anyone who can take down a Warlord of the Sea is no ordinary pirate."
His tone carried a weight of caution.
The man with the striped face glanced at the log pose on his wrist and grinned.
"Our log pose is set. If we leave soon, we might just run into him at Sabaody Archipelago."
The burly man drained the rest of his liquor in one gulp and stood up.
"Then we set sail."
The striped-faced man smirked, grabbed his half-full bottle of liquor, and followed after him.
Behind the bar, the bartender—dressed in formal attire with hair styled like bull horns—watched the two men leave.
"Gentlemen, you haven't paid for your drinks."
The striped-faced man turned, a sneer curling his lips as his hand rested on his sword hilt.
"You're asking pirates to pay? Are you stupid, or did you get dropped on your head as a kid?"
The bartender's expression twitched slightly, feigning fear as he lowered his head, avoiding the man's defiant gaze.
"That's more like it."
The striped-faced man spat on the floor and strutted out of the bar, following his captain.
As the two men disappeared, a few remaining patrons in the tavern muttered curses under their breath.
The bartender, Blueno, slowly lifted his head and expressionlessly pulled out two bounty posters from a stack, precisely matching the two men who had just left.
Their bounties were 190 million and 120 million—both Supernovas of the year.
Blueno scanned their photos coldly, suppressing a flicker of anger.
If it weren't for his mission, he would have gladly used "Shigan" to put a few holes in that striped-faced bastard.
...
Sabaody Archipelago, Grand Line.
Located near Marine Headquarters, Sabaody was known as both the "Island of Failure" and the "Island of New Beginnings." It was also the final stop before entering the New World.
The entire archipelago consisted of 79 giant Yarukiman Mangrove trees, each numbered to designate various zones.
Zones 1-29 were notorious lawless territories, filled with slavers.
Although the Marines were stationed on the island, they rarely ventured into these areas, focusing instead on maintaining order in the other regions.
Thus, most pirates who arrived at Sabaody would inevitably find themselves in the lawless zones.
And there, they would have to contend with slavers who hunted for captains to sell at human auctions.
On a bloodstained street, Cavendish stood atop an unconscious slaver, gripping Maude's bounty poster tightly, muttering in disbelief.
"500 million… 500 million… 500 million…!"
Surrounding him, over a hundred fallen slavers lay motionless.
His crew hesitated before cautiously speaking.
"Captain… are you okay?"
"500 million… 500 million…"
Cavendish suddenly tore the bounty poster apart, ranting like a scorned noblewoman.
"How is his bounty 500 million?! How is his bounty 500 million?!"
...
Meanwhile, Maude remained aboard the Thriller Bark.
"Why do I have to do this?!"
Perona's wails echoed across the massive ship.
She was currently carrying a heavy iron ball, forced to train against her will.
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