Just like the previous distribution of Whitebeard Jr.'s bounty poster, this time, the World Government once again sent Golden Lion II's bounty notice via fax to every corner of the sea.
The Four Outer Seas, Paradise, the New World…
Countless organizations and forces affiliated with the World Government, especially every member nation, received this bounty notice for Golden Lion II.
As a current member of the World Government, the Germa Kingdom naturally obtained this bounty poster as well.
The giant snail's sailing speed was average.
By the time Golden Lion II's bounty notice reached the Germa Kingdom, the giant snail was still within the East Blue, not even having arrived at the Red Line yet.
And even if it did reach the Red Line, the giant snail would still take several weeks, if not an entire month, to successfully make it to the North Blue.
The Germa Kingdom received Golden Lion II's bounty notice.
The members of the Storm Pirates, who were still staying within the Germa Kingdom at the time, naturally saw this bounty as well.
Inside a small castle that Vinsmoke Judge had specifically allocated to the Storm Pirates, the crew members marveled at Golden Lion II's bounty notice.
"Mr. Edward's bounty is 1,999,000,000 Belly.
"Mr. Lion's bounty is 1,832,000,000 Belly.
"And our captain's bounty is 95,000,000 Belly."
Robin examined the new bounty notices in front of her, listing the figures with familiarity.
"Calculating it this way, the difference between Mr. Edward and Mr. Lion is roughly… two captains?"
"Robin, that doesn't sound very nice, does it?"
Nami stared at the bounty notices, her eyes practically sparkling with greed.
"But wow, that's so much money! If we could just hand over Mr. Edward or Mr. Lion to the Marines… slurp!"
"Nami."
Robin gave her an amused look.
"What you just said sounds way 'less nice' than what I did, don't you think?"
"Don't mind the details…"
Nami reluctantly tore her gaze away from the astronomical bounties—each in the tens of billions—and suddenly fantasized about her own potential bounty.
"If one day, the World Government puts a bounty on me too, do you think mine would exceed 100,000,000 Belly?"
A hundred million Belly was Nami's obsession.
"Probably not."
Robin rested her chin on her hand and answered softly.
"We're the captain's people, and the captain is one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Under his protection, the World Government and Marine Headquarters won't issue bounties for us.
"Unless one day, the captain stops being a Warlord…"
"Eh? Is that how it works?"
Nami didn't know much about the specifics of the Warlord system.
"But then why were Mr. Edward and Mr. Lion given bounties?"
"Well, that's probably because…"
Robin tilted her head, sounding uncertain.
"The World Government and Marine Headquarters don't actually know that we're affiliated with Mr. Edward and Mr. Lion?"
"Actually…"
Nami thought for a moment, then couldn't help but shrink her neck slightly.
"Honestly, I don't really feel like Mr. Edward and Mr. Lion are our companions either…"
Hearing this, Robin gave an almost imperceptible nod, agreeing with Nami's perspective.
Storm's strength and reputation were indeed formidable.
However, compared to Whitebeard Jr. and Golden Lion II, he didn't seem to be on the same level...
In Robin's view, rather than calling Whitebeard Jr. and Golden Lion II "companions" of the Storm Pirates, it would be more accurate to describe them as "allies."
Just as Robin and Nami were quietly discussing the two bounty posters, a commotion arose from outside the castle.
"Exhausted! Completely exhausted!"
Ace burst into the castle like a ball of fire, shouting as he ran.
"Is there any food or drink?"
"Damn you, Ace!"
Kid followed closely behind Ace, charging into the castle hall with electromagnetic ripples faintly crackling around him, exuding an imposing aura.
"Stop stealing my food!"
"Where do you two even get all this energy?"
Killer was the last of the trio to enter, his hands trembling and his voice weak.
"We underwent roughly the same training intensity..."
After Storm left, Kuma had been diligently overseeing the training regimen for Ace, Kid, and Killer.
Though the training hadn't yet yielded results, the differences in their "potential"—more precisely, their physical potential—were already evident.
Ace was the strongest, Kid came next, and Killer lagged behind.
Often, after a training session, Ace would still be full of energy, Kid would be relatively normal, and Killer would be completely drained.
Robin watched as the three returned to the castle. She was about to gesture toward the food and drinks laid out on the nearby table when, before she could speak, Ace—already catching the scent—dashed to the dining table first, grabbing a piece of roasted meat and stuffing it into his mouth.
Kid followed right behind, squeezing next to Ace and frantically grabbing at the surrounding food and drinks with both hands.
Killer, dragging his heavy feet, finally made it to the table, his arms shaking so much he could barely hold utensils. But seeing the food rapidly disappearing, he mustered his last bit of strength to "snatch food from the jaws of the beasts," fighting for his share against the two ravenous monsters.
"Hey, you two... leave some for me! Don't eat it all!"
The trio devoured everything like a whirlwind. All the food Robin and Nami had prepared in advance was completely wiped out. Soon, three round, bloated "balloons" appeared in the castle hall.
"Alive again... snore..."
"He actually fell asleep? This guy, Ace..."
"Bro, you and Ace are getting along better and better, huh? Fahahaha..."
Robin shook her head at the sight of the three immobile "balloons." Crossing her arms, she activated her Flower-Flower Fruit ability to clear away the stacks of plates by the table.
Meanwhile, Nami walked over to the trio, holding a few bounty posters of Golden Lion II.
"Here. Thought you might find this interesting."
Ace was still fast asleep, a large snot bubble forming on his nose. Kid and Killer, however, were still awake and turned their attention to the bounty posters Nami handed them.
"Golden Lion II? Isn't that the 'companion' the captain mentioned before? That's amazing!"
"Eighteen hundred... no, one hundred eighty million... no, 1.8 billion?"
Kid's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the bounty figure on the wanted poster.
"Speaking of which, what's our captain's bounty again?"
"Kid, I'd advise you not to bring this up in front of the captain in the future."
Robin chuckled softly, offering a kind reminder.
"The captain is quite... 'sensitive' about bounty amounts."
"I'm sensitive too..."
Kid said somewhat gloomily.
"But I don't even have a bounty yet, not even a hundred Belly..."
"Big Sis Robin."
Killer shifted his gaze from the wanted poster to Robin.
"What exactly did Lion do to get such a high bounty all at once?"
Hearing this topic, Kid immediately perked up, looking at Robin expectantly.
If he could do whatever Lion did, maybe he could get an 1.8 billion Belly bounty too?
"It wasn't anything too special."
Robin said quietly.
"He just destroyed one of the World Government's three major institutions—Impel Down."
Kid and Killer didn't fully understand what this meant, but they both said in unison—
"Cool~"
Robin looked at these two blockheads and couldn't help shaking her head internally.
After a moment's thought, she stood up, found a quiet spot, took out a Den Den Mushi, and called her captain.
"Hello, Captain, have you seen today's news? And Mr. Lion's wanted poster..."
...
Calm Belt, ten thousand meters above sea level, Sky Garden.
Storm, who was resting, received Robin's call and was immediately drawn in by the topic.
His current location was too "remote."
Neither the World Government nor the World Economic Journal sent faxes or newspapers here.
Storm was completely unaware of the outside world's reaction.
"What does the news say? Never mind, we'll get to that later!"
Storm asked about the topic that interested him most.
"What's Lion's bounty? Is it at least 100 million Belly?"
There was silence on Robin's end for a moment before her slightly husky mature voice came through the Den Den Mushi's receiver.
"...Mr. Lion's bounty is 1.832 billion Belly... Hello? Captain, are you still there?"
"One point eight billion... haha... ha..."
Storm froze in place, as if turned into a zombie, his reactions stiff and forced.
Whitebeard Jr.'s bounty was twenty times his.
Golden Lion II's bounty was nineteen times his...
Storm was shocked, confused, then understanding, before beginning to reflect and reaching a conclusion.
"This must all be the world's fault!"
"Huh?" Robin didn't quite understand Storm's reaction. "Captain, what are you talking about?"
"I will make this world feel pain!"
Storm said seriously.
"Because this is my 'justice'!"
Robin looked puzzled at the Den Den Mushi—she had definitely called the captain, right?
What was he... talking about?
Click—
Storm's Den Den Mushi disconnected.
Nami, who had quietly slipped over at some point, asked curiously.
"Robin, were you just talking to the captain? What did he say?"
"I'm not sure..."
A rare look of confusion crossed Robin's beautiful face.
"He was saying something about 'the world's fault,' 'making the world feel pain,' 'justice,' and then he hung up the Den Den Mushi."
"I think the captain must be busy?"
...
Storm was indeed busy.
After ending his call with Robin via Den Den Mushi, Storm activated his [Observation Haki].
With his eight-star [Observation Haki], combined with the diffusion sensing effect of his [Rumble-Rumble Fruit], Storm—positioned high in the Sky Garden—could remotely perceive the situation at Impel Down.
Almost immediately, the presence of the Navy Admiral who had been slacking off at Impel Down appeared in Storm's perception.
"Kizaru hasn't left Impel Down yet?"
Storm withdrew his [Observation Haki] with a strange expression.
His original plan had been to make a surprise counterattack—waiting for Kizaru to return to Marine Headquarters before donning the alias of Golden Lion II to re-enter Impel Down and "farm" in Infinite Hell.
But now, Kizaru was still there.
Using the "Golden Lion II" alias to deal with Kizaru would be too much of a challenge.
Storm stood up.
The Edward Teach Construct's clay armor enveloped his body as endless lightning erupted across the Sky Garden.
BOOM!
A deafening thunderclap echoed through the Calm Belt.
Even Kizaru, who had been slacking off, drinking tea, and trimming his nails in Impel Down, heard the thunderous roar.
'No way...'
Kizaru's expression shifted slightly as he transformed into light, instantly appearing on the Maritime First Level of Impel Down.
BOOM!
Another earth-shaking bolt of lightning struck.
Edward Teach descended from the heavens, wreathed in thunder.
"Kizaru... feel pain."