"One Piece:The True Codex"Chapter 352: The Major
For pirates, a bounty is a crucial measure of their danger and threat level.
A pirate's bounty is determined by a combination of their strength and the extent of their crimes. A highly skilled pirate who keeps a low profile might have a very low bounty—or even none at all.
Conversely, a pirate of average strength who commits heinous crimes and causes significant harm may have a bounty far exceeding that of a stronger but less troublesome pirate.
When Karslana mentioned the figure of one billion Beli, it left Brook, who himself carried a bounty of thirty million and had some understanding of the meaning behind bounty amounts, utterly speechless.
Even on the Grand Line, a stage teeming with powerful individuals and where only the strong are deemed worthy of recognition, there are very few figures whose bounties reach the astronomical height of one billion.
Such a number signifies either unparalleled strength, unimaginable crimes, or most likely, a combination of both—a criminal who is not only powerful but also exceedingly ruthless.
Brook recalled the earlier scene where William tore Absalom apart with his bare hands. At the very least, the ruthlessness and danger were undeniable.
To be fair, in terms of pure personal strength, William might not yet fully warrant a bounty of one billion Beli. However, the deeds he had committed—killing "Golden Lion" Shiki, corrupting local Marines, manipulating the government of an allied nation, and later wreaking havoc across the East Blue after being captured by Garp—were more than enough to justify such a figure.
In fact, one billion Beli might still be an understatement.
If not for the fact that William was swiftly apprehended by the Marines after killing Shiki, leaving no time to officially issue a bounty, the mere notion of debuting with a bounty of one billion would have been shocking enough. Moreover, disagreements among the Marine high command after Garp's disappearance further complicated the matter. Otherwise, given William's crimes, his bounty could have been even higher.
The reason for the Marines' internal division was simple.
Currently, the Marines only knew that Garp and his unit had entered the Calm Belt and then vanished without a trace. Whether Garp was alive or dead, how he had been captured, and where he might be if still alive—all of this remained a mystery.
Hardliners like Admiral Sakazuki, also known as "Akainu," advocated for an immediate and overwhelming response. He proposed deploying stronger forces to the East Blue to crush William's exposed network and any armed factions with known locations, using a thunderous show of power.
However, this proposal was directly rejected by Fleet Admiral Sengoku and his faction of pragmatists.
From Sengoku's perspective, both as Garp's comrade and as the Fleet Admiral, there was no way he could agree to Sakazuki's plan. Without knowing the whereabouts of the hostages or the main culprit, such an action would not harm William but would instead provoke him and his ruthless crew, likely resulting in the execution of the hostages.
Furthermore, since it was unclear how William's group had managed to capture Garp and his unit, executing Sakazuki's plan would require deploying even stronger forces and more personnel to ensure success. Garp's disappearance had already destabilized the Grand Line, a region rife with individuals far more dangerous than William. To further deplete Marine Headquarters' resources would risk unraveling the fragile order that had been painstakingly maintained, potentially turning the Grand Line into another chaotic region like the current East Blue.
It would be akin to robbing Peter to pay Paul. The Grand Line's importance far outweighs that of the East Blue, and Sengoku would never take such a gamble.
In addition to these two main viewpoints, there was also an extreme faction within the Marines. This group argued that the entire East Blue had shown signs of danger during William's crime spree and proposed launching a large-scale Buster Call to obliterate any areas connected to William. They suggested executing all local residents to force William out of hiding.
However, such a suggestion was dismissed as lunacy, even by hardliners like Sakazuki. After all, the Marines are not madmen. If William had not appeared, and the original storyline had unfolded as it was meant to, even when former Admiral "Black Arm" Zephyr lost all faith in the Marines and sought to destroy the entire New World, the Marines still spared no effort to stop him.
That was in the New World, a region with the Four Emperors and rampant pirate activity, and even then, the Marines dared not take such drastic measures. The East Blue, by comparison, was out of the question. Moreover, even if the Marines were willing to act, the World Government would never approve such a plan.
As a result, the relationship between the Marines and William's group had become highly precarious, with both sides deeply wary of each other. The Marines would not hesitate to act if they discovered the whereabouts of Garp and his unit, learned how William had captured them, or found William himself. William, fully aware of this, remained extremely cautious.
Brook squirmed on the ground like a giant caterpillar, inching closer to Karslana and the others. With a hopeful tone, he asked, "But we're on the same side as Becker—ah, I mean, William, aren't we? He drove off Moria, so that should be a good thing for us, right?"
"Morgan William is a man far more dangerous than Gecko Moria," Karslana replied. "And he's still a newcomer. The crimes he's committed already surpass those of many seasoned pirates. You'd better not be so optimistic. He's ruthless and utterly devoid of humanity."
She knew how desperately the Marines wanted to capture William and understood that William was equally aware of this. That's why she didn't feel any safer just because William had defeated Moria. Especially with a Marine like herself present, she felt even more vulnerable.
At that moment, Gin crushed the last zombie into a bloody pulp. Hearing Karslana's words, he casually shook off the viscera from his hands and remarked in a slow, deliberate tone, "Sergeant, didn't your superior ever teach you to lower your voice when sharing intelligence in private?"
"No," Karslana replied. By now, she had come to terms with her situation. She knew that if William and his crew intended to silence her, there was no way she could escape. Summoning her courage, she retorted, "My superior only taught me that pirates will always be pirates."
After the East Blue incident, all of William's key subordinates were added to the wanted list, each with a bounty of over ten million Beli—even the relatively weak Sherlock.
Among them, Gin and Dampier had the highest bounties, each exceeding one hundred million.
Dampier, in particular, had been managing William's plans and overseeing operations while William was imprisoned. Before Gin's identity was exposed, Dampier had been the most wanted member of the Morgan Group after William.
But once Gin's true identity was revealed, Dampier ceded that position. The Marines harbored an intense hatred for Gin, whose espionage had allowed William's crew to anticipate every move the East Blue Marines made. The East Blue was already William's domain, and Gin's actions turned the Marines into "transparent men," completely at the mercy of William's group. Gin had even fed the Marines false intelligence, making him instrumental in creating the current chaos in the East Blue.
As a result, Gin received the treatment of a "super rookie," debuting with a bounty exceeding one hundred million.
Although Karslana had not initially recognized Gin, once she identified William, it was easy to deduce the identity of this infamous subordinate. As a Marine, she instinctively despised Gin, the turncoat spy.
"Nice attitude. It seems the Marines did a good job educating you," Gin sneered. "Too bad you're too weak, so you're stuck as a sergeant. You should learn from me—I became a Marine major in just a few years."
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