A few days later.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The towering fortress stood silently, facing the grand and vast square ahead and the massive crescent-shaped harbor.
Inside a Japanese-style building resembling a castle tower, located to the right of the fortress.
In a tatami-floored conference room, over a dozen figures cloaked in justice sat in two rows, with sake and grilled fish placed on the low tables before them.
Yet, no one touched them. The atmosphere in the room was heavy and oppressive.
Amidst the swirling smoke, only the sound of cigars being puffed could be heard.
"It seems everyone has already heard the rumors," said Senior Staff Officer Brannew as he entered the conference room and approached the whiteboard, scratching his messy, grass-green mop of hair.
"That's right. A group of extremely vicious pirates has suddenly emerged in the East Sea recently, and they are quite troublesome."
"Extremely vicious?" A white-haired Rear Admiral sneered. "Do you really have the nerve to use that term? I feel ashamed just hearing it. The internal investigation report clearly states that it was Vice Admiral Onigumo who went berserk and bombarded Loguetown, wasn't it?"
"Watch your words," a young Commodore said indifferently. "This has nothing to do with Mr. Onigumo. It was His Majesty Altai, who has Celestial Dragon bloodline, who gave the order. A soldier's duty is to obey orders. What else could he have done?"
"He's not a pure-blooded Celestial Dragon. If he really didn't want to comply, there are plenty of ways to feign obedience. What could that Altai possibly do to a Vice Admiral of the Headquarters?"
The white-haired Rear Admiral was furious, his voice suddenly rising a pitch.
"Stop making excuses! It's clearly that guy's old habit acting up again! Whenever he sees pirates gathering, he wants to go and slaughter them for fun, disregarding the safety of civilians. But this time, he bit off more than he could chew! Just thinking about sharing the same uniform as someone like him fills me with shame!!!"
"Calm down, Mr. Farn," Brannew said, rubbing his temples in frustration as he tried to mediate.
"I won't judge Vice Admiral Onigumo's actions for now. That's not the main topic of today's meeting. Let's set it aside for the moment. You can argue about it privately after the meeting, alright?"
"Hmph!" Rear Admiral Farn turned his head away, letting out a loud snort as a reluctant response.
Brannew shook his head. As one of the most senior staff officers at Headquarters, he was already accustomed to this.
Vice Admiral Onigumo, a member of the Headquarters' hawkish faction, was one of the most extreme figures and had always been disliked by the dovish faction.
After the "Loguetown Incident," various departments within the Headquarters had already engaged in numerous arguments over Onigumo's role in the event.
The scene in today's staff meeting was merely a microcosm of the ongoing disputes.
"In any case, Vice Admiral Onigumo was publicly 'executed.' I don't want to use that term, but it best describes the scene at the time," Brannew continued.
"And His Majesty Altai, the King of Pith Kingdom, whom Onigumo was responsible for protecting, was also killed on the warship."
"The Pith Kingdom royal family has repeatedly sent urgent letters demanding an investigation, using harsh language and even threatening to take the matter to the Holy Land. The impact of this incident has been extremely severe."
"So, as I mentioned earlier, regardless of everyone's stance or views on Mr. Onigumo, it doesn't matter. The higher-ups' attitude towards the Loguetown incident is clear: this group must be closely monitored and eradicated as soon as possible."
As he spoke, he pulled out a thick stack of wanted posters and began sticking them one by one onto the whiteboard.
"First up, this one!"
Snap, the slender pointer in Brannew's hand pointed to the rightmost poster, which featured an old man with braided beard.
"Red-Leg Zeff! Former captain of the Cook Pirates, with a bounty of 50 million Berry. Several years ago, he led his crew through the Grand Line for a year before returning to the East Blue, where he seemingly vanished."
"The intelligence department had been keeping an eye on him for a while, but the general consensus was that he had retired due to old age. However, no one expected him to lower his status and set sail again as a mere cook on someone else's ship."
"Notably, his right leg has been replaced with an unknown metal prosthetic, granting him the ability to manipulate flames and lightning, as well as the power to fly directly through the air."
"Additionally, he has mastered several of the Six Styles Martial Arts, and his strength has significantly improved compared to before. During the Loguetown incident, he even managed to fight evenly with the exceptionally skilled Rear Admiral Hound."
"Rear Admiral Hound?"
The room fell into a solemn silence. Some of them had graduated from the Naval Headquarters' elite training camp in the same batch as Hound and knew his capabilities well. Among the rear admirals, he was truly outstanding.
If nothing unexpected happened, he was undoubtedly a top candidate for promotion to the next generation of vice admirals.
And yet, such a powerful old man was merely a cook in this newly emerged pirate crew?
"Based on this information and after discussions among the strategists, his new bounty has been set at 80 million Berry! Nickname: Steel Red-Leg!"
After delivering this announcement, Brannew moved the pointer to the left. "Next up, this one!"
In the photo, a black-haired girl with a high ponytail stood sideways to the camera, gazing calmly ahead in the pouring rain. Her attire was as simple and unadorned as the Wado Ichimonji sword at her waist.
"Kuina, a mysterious girl who won the local swordsmanship tournament on Asakura Island in the East Blue several years ago. After that, she too vanished for years. Now, at such a young age, she has already demonstrated the formidable strength of a Master Swordsman!"
"This is her first bounty, set at 75 million Berry! Nickname: Rain-Slicing Master Swordsman!"
A first bounty of 75 million Berry.
For a pirate from the East Blue, this was an unimaginable amount.
But those present weren't particularly surprised. The realm of a Master Swordsman was rare even in the first half of the Grand Line, and this bounty was well-deserved.
"Next, two sisters: 'Iron Fist' Nojiko and 'Orange Hair' Nami. According to our investigations, both are sisters of a man named Xiano."
Brannew pointed to the two sisters on the whiteboard, who had strikingly different styles:
"Among them, Nojiko possesses considerable combat prowess, excelling in several fist techniques and Six Styles Martial Arts. Although she was slightly at a disadvantage in her fight with Rear Admiral Yaki, she single-handedly thwarted Yaki's attempt to provide reinforcements."
"Therefore, her bounty has been set at 40 million Berry!"
"As for this underage girl named Nami..." Brannew slightly furrowed his brow. "During the major incident in Loguetown, she did not participate in direct combat. After careful consideration, it is judged that she was likely brought aboard merely due to her Bloodline connection with the Captain. She possesses virtually no combat ability, but since she was involved
in this incident, a bounty is unavoidable."
"Provisional bounty: 8,000 Berry!"