That night.
When Vergo relayed Shirogai's information to Doflamingo, the Donquixote family's captain was left stunned in silence.
"A monster... an outright monster."
Doflamingo's interest in Shirogai skyrocketed a hundredfold. He secretly contacted CP0, and with their authority, obtained a newly created S-rank file from the Gorosei, hidden deep within the World Government's most classified archives.
Danger Level: S.
Codename: Arrogant Emperor Shirogai Yamikuro.
Reading through the reports of Shirogai's actions and the evaluations made of him, a disturbing premonition crept into Doflamingo's heart.
A monster even more fearsome than the Four Emperors' Kaido had appeared.
This man would undoubtedly bring a devastating crisis upon the World Government, and upon the arrogant, foolish Celestial Dragons who ruled from behind the curtain.
At Mock Town's pier, late at night.
"Hehe, all that booze is about to spill out again..."
A drunken pirate stumbled toward the edge of the dock, relieving himself into the sea.
"What a waste! What a waste! Too bad, piss tastes too disgusting to drink..."
Burp!
He hiccupped, laughing to himself.
"Out with the old, in with the new... may the God of Wine bless me tomorrow again!"
Satisfied, the drunken pirate staggered back toward the tavern.
"Hehe, not bloated anymore. Time for another round!"
Flap!
"Caw, caw..."
A seagull news carrier swooped down, dropping a rolled-up newspaper before flying off without a glance. Ever since one of their kind had mysteriously vanished in Mock Town—leaving behind only scorched feathers—news birds were far more cautious here.
"What was that sound?"
The drunkard looked down at the paper curiously.
"It's a newspaper!"
He picked it up and flipped through lazily.
"Any juicy news? Huh... a new batch of wanted posters?" He burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Villains hunted by the Marines are heroes in this place!"
The man wobbled as he skimmed quickly, muttering under his breath.
"Some weaklings barely worth a few hundred thousand Berries... wait, isn't that the idiot who bragged about going to Sky Island earlier?"
Then he spotted one grinning idiot waving at the camera.
"Straw Hat Luffy, huh? Thirty million Berries? What a liar! This should only be ten milli—"
He froze mid-sentence, blinking hard.
"Eh? Huh?!"
He rubbed his eyes, sweat breaking out as the zeros stacked up in front of him.
"One... ten... hundred... thousand... ten thousand... hundred thousand... million... Oh my god!"
His body stiffened, disbelief plastered across his face.
"One hundred million? One hundred million Berries?!"
He dropped the stack of posters in shock, staring at the grinning face of Monkey D. Luffy.
Straw Hat Luffy – 100,000,000 Berries.
Reason for Bounty: Defeated Shichibukai Sir Crocodile. Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.
The drunkard sobered instantly.
"This is bad! This is seriously bad!"
He scrambled to pick the papers back up, muttering frantically.
"That brat didn't even fight back against Bellamy! If he really had, Bellamy would already be a corpse!"
Then his eyes fell on another poster.
A man slicking back his black hair, wearing a tired smile for the camera.
"Th–The Plunderer Shirogai... isn't he part of the Straw Hats too?"
His voice faltered as his eyes darted to the bounty amount.
His hands went limp. The poster fluttered to the ground.
"Two... two hundred million Berries?!"
Terror drained the blood from his face. His knees buckled.
"Oh my god... oh my god!"
He crawled backward in fear, staring at the poster as if it were cursed.
The Plunderer Shirogai Yamikuro – 200,000,000 Berries.
Reason for Bounty: Defeated Marine Captain Smoker in Loguetown, mastermind behind the Alabasta incident. Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. (Extremely Dangerous!)
"Bellamy is finished! Completely finished!"
The drunken pirate bolted upright, clutching the posters, and sprinted back toward the tavern screaming.
"Bellamy! Run for your life! If those two monsters come for you, you're already dead!"
On the coastline near Mock Town.
"Damn it! Bellamy! Give Shirogai back! Give the old man's gold back!"
Luffy stormed forward, teeth grinding in rage. His fury boiled so hot it felt like his very organs might burst.
Every second the scene replayed in his head, his hatred grew.
He swore he would rip Bellamy apart for what he'd done.
Tilting his head back, he roared into the night sky.
"That bastard! I'll never forgive you!"
When the Straw Hats returned to their companions, they found three men beaten and broken.
Uncle Cricket's eyes were red, his voice trembling with guilt.
"Sorry... truly sorry. We failed to protect your friends. We couldn't stop those scumbags from hurting your ship."
Shoujou, covered in bandages with several broken bones, sobbed.
"Sorry, Straw Hat! We couldn't protect them..."
Masira gritted his teeth, voice unsteady.
"The ship... the ship's keel is damaged. Forgive us..."
Inside the tavern.
"Ahahaha! Easy gold! How boring!"
Bellamy lounged arrogantly, flashing the stolen treasure. His pirate crew—though battered and mentally scarred—pretended strength, hiding their injuries behind bravado. He knew if he showed weakness now, the other cutthroats in the town would turn on them in an instant.
Sarquiss raised his glass, forcing a laugh through the splitting headache pounding his skull.
"Those two pathetic monkeys were hilarious! Shoujou was bawling like a child, covered in blood, crying 'Old man, old man!'"
The tavern erupted in cruel laughter.
"Weaklings protecting others? Pathetic!"
"Hahaha! Don't pity them too much. Fools like that were born to be robbed!"
____
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