After petting the dog, Xiano turned his gaze to the ground.
Kizaru's severed arm was undoubtedly valuable, but with the one-year cooldown period still in effect, it could only be stored away in cold storage for now.
His main focus, however, was on Enel.
"What a coincidence…"
Muttering to himself, Xiano casually pulled out a scroll from his backpack.
[One-Time Devil Fruit Extraction Technique]
[Description: Within a short time after the death of an ability user, the "Devil Core" can be extracted from their corpse. Placing it into any plant-based fruit will transform it into a Devil Fruit possessing that ability.]
This was an item he had obtained the last time the trading market refreshed.
He had thought it would take a while before he found a use for it.
But who would've guessed that within days, the perfect opportunity would present itself—Enel had delivered himself right to his doorstep.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit this guy possessed was arguably one of the most valuable and stylish Logia-Type Abilities in existence.
Who wouldn't be tempted?
Xiano certainly was. Without hesitation, he unfurled the scroll and, following its instructions, activated the [Extraction Technique] on Enel's body.
Bzzzt!
In an instant, blinding arcs of lightning burst from the corpse, coalescing in the air into a pulsating, deep-blue core.
Was this the so-called Devil Core?
The origins of Devil Fruits remained a mystery to this day. Xiano studied it curiously for a long moment before pulling out a Sunflower Snake Fruit—the most common fruit in Dressrosa, freshly swiped from Bonney's pocket.
Bringing the two together…
The surface of the Sunflower Snake Fruit immediately began shifting to a golden hue, its skin now adorned with jagged, lightning-like patterns.
Within mere seconds…
A brand-new Rumble-Rumble Fruit was born, resting in Xiano's palm.
"Perfect."
Xiano nodded in satisfaction, giving it a light toss.
This was his fourth Logia-Type Fruit—from the Flame-Flame, Snow-Snow, and Sand-Sand to now the Rumble-Rumble, plus Smoker's Smoke-Smoke…
His crew was about to have five Logia-type ability users.
At this point, he might as well call himself a Logia collector.
But… who should get the Rumble-Rumble?
Xiano first glanced at Agin, who immediately turned his head away. Agin already had an innate talent for manipulating lightning and had always looked down on external power-ups like Devil Fruits.
—Besides, if I become a landlubber and you kick me into the sea again, how am I supposed to swim back up?
"No interest, huh?"
Xiano stroked his chin in thought.
Among the remaining crew members, none were particularly suitable at the moment. As for himself…
He wasn't too keen on it either.
Back when he first entered the Grand Line, he had considered eating a Mythical Zoan that perfectly complemented his close-combat style to further boost his strength.
But now…
His combat prowess had already reached the highest tier in this world. He didn't really need the help of a Devil Fruit anymore.
The side effects were too severe.
Setting aside the weakness to Sea Stone, just the idea of becoming a landlubber was unacceptable—it would waste his unparalleled naval combat skills, which even Jinbei had to respect.
Just look at today's results.
If it weren't for catching Kizaru off guard and dragging him underwater, defeating him within a single day would have been impossible, let alone inflicting such heavy losses.
When it came to naval battles, Xiano considered himself the undisputed world's best.
Perhaps he should leave it at that for now and wait until his forces expanded further?
As Xiano pondered this, he failed to notice the subtle tremor in the greatsword "Masamune" strapped to his back—its blade faintly vibrating toward the direction of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, as if yearning for something...
————
The next day.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
At dawn, when the sky was just beginning to brighten, the high-ranking officers of the Marines had already gathered in the conference room.
After a full day and night of rumors spreading, nearly everyone in Marineford had learned of the Marines' crushing defeat in the New World.
Disgrace!
This was, without a doubt, an unacceptable humiliation.
For a time, the vast conference room felt like a city under siege by dark clouds, shrouded in gloom, the tension so thick it could drip.
Looking around, more than half of the attendees were high-ranking officers—Rear Admirals and above—cloaked in the mantle of justice. Yet now, they sat in silence, puffing on cigars with grim expressions.
Moreover...
Word had it that the Holy Land Mariejois was furious over the Marines' reckless offensive. Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Kizaru, the commanding officer of the operation, had been summoned to Mariejois for reprimand.
"Everyone!"
Brannew, the newly promoted Major and Headquarters strategist, stood rigidly straight with his hands clasped behind his back. His grave voice drew all eyes toward the whiteboard.
"Since most of the necessary attendees are here, I'll skip the formalities. This meeting begins now!"
"As for the agenda—it's straightforward. We're here to discuss the updated bounties for Xiano and his crew, the Curtain Closers!"
He snapped his fingers, and an assistant promptly placed a projection Den Den Mushi on the table.
The lethargic snail turned its gaze forward, projecting footage onto the whiteboard—
Garp descended from the sky, his fist colliding violently with Xiano's, the resulting hemispherical shockwave shattering the frozen sea.
As the dust settled, Marine elites limped toward their warships, supporting one another—some despondent, others gritting their teeth in frustration, many casting fearful glances backward.
The footage froze on Kizaru—a lone, ragged figure, missing his right arm, standing at the edge of the frame, staring desolately at the sky, lost in thought.
"..."
The room remained silent, save for the heavier exhales of cigar smoke.
Through the haze, many eyes lingered on Kizaru's image, expressions complicated.
"This footage was obtained through Headquarters' influence from the World Economic Journal. That cunning old fox Morgans actually risked recording it himself on-site—quite unexpected..."
Brannew sighed as he scanned the room.
"Judging by your reactions, it seems you're all aware of the situation."
"Indeed, the Holy Land has ordered us to cease hostilities with the Curtain Closers for now. We are not to act against them recklessly. Whatever those higher-ups are planning is beyond our speculation—and shouldn't be speculated upon!"
"But no matter what, we, the Marines, will never abandon our pursuit of justice, nor will we ever lower our guard against these ruthless criminals!"
Brannew took a deep breath and continued:
"In this battle, Admiral Kizaru was severely wounded and lost an arm, Warlord of the Sea Enel was killed in action, Vice Admirals Doberman and Dalmatian along with several other high-ranking combatants were incapacitated, and our fleet suffered heavy losses."
"Meanwhile, the Curtain Closers sustained only minor injuries among some of their officers, with not a single casualty on their side."
"This is no mere setback—it is a complete and utter defeat! And what does this crushing defeat tell us?"
Brannew slammed the table, his grave voice cutting sharply through the silent conference room:
"It's telling us, everyone—whether it's Mr. Borsalino's severed arm or those sunken warships—they're all screaming at us! That the Curtain Closer, in just over two months since entering the New World, has truly grown into a formidable force, completely different from before!"
Snap!
The whiteboard flickered as the projection Den Den Mushi switched to display the slides Brannew had prepared in advance.
First, the bounty posters of Whitebeard, BIGMOM, Kaido, and Red Hair flashed across the entire screen.
Then came the photos of King, Queen, Marco, Katakuri... and other high-ranking officers, appearing in rapid succession.
"These are the current Four Emperors—all of whom you are undoubtedly familiar with."
"These Sea Emperors not only possess terrifying combat power themselves but have also gathered formidable followers under their banners, collectively known as 'Emperor Crews'!"
"Though the Curtain Closers remain small in number, the quality of their officers undoubtedly shows the makings of what we call an 'Emperor Crew'!"
"Captain Xiano himself has already reached a combat level nearly on par with the Four Emperors!!"
"Given this situation, after several months, we must conduct a comprehensive reassessment and adjust their bounty amounts based on the current threat level of the Curtain Closers!"
Brannew gestured to his assistant, who immediately adjusted the projection Den Den Mushi.
In the blink of an eye, a series of fresh bounty posters appeared in a row on the whiteboard screen.
Compared to the old method of manually pasting them one by one, technological advancements certainly made things more convenient.
"First, everyone should take note."
Brannew pointed at the bounty posters and said solemnly:
"Compared to their time in Paradise, the Curtain Closers have gained new members, and based on observations, the hierarchy of strength aboard their ship has become increasingly distinct, now clearly divided into three tiers."
"Let's start with the lowest tier!"
"Though it's called the lowest tier... as I mentioned earlier, the Curtain Closers are an elite, iron-walled Pirate Crew. Even their lowest-ranked members have bounties approaching 200 million berries!"
"Take these three, for example!"
"'Defecting Hunter' Smoker, 'Winter Fist' Nojiko, and 'Pet-Eating Demon' Nami!"
Dozens of scrutinizing gazes turned toward the bounty posters Brannew indicated.
When they saw Smoker and the blue-haired girl, the high-ranking Marine officers remained expressionless;
But when their gaze fell upon the last orange-haired girl, many couldn't help but narrow their eyes, cold sweat beading on their temples as they recalled some deeply unsettling rumors.
"These three are among the lower tiers of the Curtain Closers' internal power hierarchy, yet simultaneously, they're all rare Logia-type Devil Fruit Ability Users!"
"From this alone, you can see just how formidable the Curtain Closers' foundation truly is!"
"During the Dressrosa War, their Logia abilities for large-scale destruction and battlefield control were executed to perfection."
"Among them, Nojiko employed methods strikingly similar to Admiral Aokiji, freezing the entire sea to immobilize warships and neutralize their firepower suppression. She later single-handedly defeated a Marine Vice Admiral in subsequent battles."
"Nami, coordinating with her sister, dominated from high ground using Ice and Fire Dual Cultivation to crush all Marines attempting to occupy Dressrosa's high points. Her mastery of Devil Fruit abilities is already remarkably proficient."
"As for Smoker, needless to say—beyond his Smoke-Smoke Fruit powers, he's mastered Two-Color Haki and excels in all aspects. After all, this guy is the beloved protégé of Teacher Zefa, familiar to many of us present as our junior..."
"Those who only know how to hold meetings should stick to their conferences. Teacher Zefa already has enough troubles lately—don't drag him into this for no reason."
A veteran Marine Vice Admiral snorted coldly, speaking with a darkened expression.
"My apologies."
Brannew cleared his throat:
"I merely mentioned it in passing, with no disrespect intended toward Mr. Zefa. Anyway... let's return to the main agenda. The updated bounties for these three are as follows—"
"「Winter Fist」 Nojiko: original bounty 200 million Berry, now increased to 330 million Berry!"
"「Defecting Hunter」 Smoker: original bounty 210 million Berry, now increased to 365 million Berry!"
"「Pet-Eating Demon」 Nami: original bounty 160 million Berry, now increased to 228 million Berry!"
When mentioning Nami, Brannew hesitated slightly:
"Oh, by the way, it's worth noting that the white dog pet which previously had a symbolic 1,000 Berry bounty after recently joining the Curtain Closers has gone missing, clearly..."
"In any case, its bounty has been removed. The Curtain Closers have since acquired a new cat-like pet, though who knows how long it'll survive. We won't assign a bounty—it's rather pointless..."
"Utterly inhuman."
A female Rear Admiral couldn't help muttering under her breath.
Everyone knew whom she meant, and many nodded subconsciously in clear agreement.
Being cruel to enemies is normal, but repeatedly harming—even consuming—one's own comrades? Such horrifying acts remain rare even among Pirates...
"As for the remaining lowest-tier members listed below, they've all demonstrated progress in strength during this war. We'll skip lengthy introductions and quickly move through them."
Brannew turned to the other wanted posters on the whiteboard screen, pointing them out one by one:
"Demon Child Robin, the last survivor of Ohara, after gaining the protection of the Curtain Closer, has finally stopped hiding as she once did, now brazenly basking in the sunlight..."
"Since entering the New World, her Haki has shown significant improvement. Considering her unique status and threat level, her bounty has been increased from 260 million Berry to 300 million Berry!"
"Red Leg Zeff, a veteran who has largely retired from the frontlines, seems more devoted to his culinary arts than combat. During this war, his primary duty was guarding the Sunset, never taking the initiative to attack."
"However, when a newly promoted Marine Vice Admiral attempted to approach the Sunset, he was effortlessly repelled, proving his formidable strength remains undeniable. Temporary bounty set at 220 million Berry!"
"Thunder Wolf Agin, when the Falling Stars Adventure Pirates first entered the Grand Line, this wolf was considered the most formidable threat within their ranks aside from Xiano himself."
"But that was nearly a year ago. Times have changed, and his standing has been surpassed by other crew members. Thus, he's placed in this tier with a bounty of 300 million Berry!"
At this point, Brannew paused to take a sip of water from his cup, while his assistant promptly advanced to the next slide.
This time, only three wanted posters appeared on screen.
On either side stood exceptionally burly men, while in the center was a cold-eyed Master Swordsman girl with a high ponytail.