Although the Summit War had ended and the live broadcast screens had gone dark, the people of the world remained in a state of shock for a long time.
The conclusion was simply too unexpected.
At first, it was thought that this paramount battle might not even break out.
After all, for a mere Second Division Commander, it didn't seem necessary to risk the entire Whitebeard Pirates.
But as it turned out, not only did the Whitebeard Pirates arrive, but it was also revealed that Fire Fist Ace was the son of the Pirate King, making this not just a simple confrontation between good and evil.
Just when it seemed one side was bound to be defeated, ushering in a new chapter for the Great Pirate Era that had been quiet for twenty-two years...
Piercer Duke Link revealed his true strength, decisively killing Whitebeard with a single punch and a single palm strike.
Although Whitebeard was heavily wounded at the time, the Wood Golem Arhat, taller than the Marine Headquarters building, and the Wood Dragon, a product of the Logia-type Mori Mori no Mi that could float in the air defying gravity through unknown principles and abilities, were all deeply etched into the minds of the world.
Everyone understood that while Whitebeard was severely injured, Piercer Duke Link had not used his full strength either.
This youngest of the Seven Warlords possessed power on par with the very pinnacle of the seas!
Finally, the rise of Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach, who seized the power of the Paramecia-type Gura Gura no Mi in front of the entire world and became a dual Devil Fruit user, breaking the world's rules, left the whole world's jaws on the floor.
After the Summit War concluded, Morgans, the president of the World Economic Journal, who was never one to let a big story die down, spread his findings and investigations across the globe through newspapers.
The headline was full of sensationalism, infuriating the World Government and the Marines: "The Impenetrable Fortress of Impel Down Has Been Breached! Great Figures Who Roamed the Seas and Monsters Lost to History Have Returned!"
Morgans' surprise attack caught the World Government off guard, making the Five Elders wish they could pluck his feathers out.
But they also knew that even if Morgans hadn't done it, the news of Impel Down's breach would have quickly spread throughout the world anyway; it was a scandal that was impossible to cover up.
After all, with the rise of the Blackbeard Pirates, the identities of those members in prison uniforms would surely be investigated.
Thus, the Five Elders tacitly approved of Morgans' actions and even gave him a copy of Impel Down's surveillance footage, allowing him to report truthfully.
After watching the footage, Morgans was ecstatic. For the next few days, the headlines of the World Economic Journal were dominated by Link and Teach.
"Massacring Countless Criminals in Impel Down, Just How Much Does Piercer Duke Link Hate Pirates to Be So Merciless?"
"The Secret of the Logia-type Yami Yami no Mi: A Power That Breaks the World's Rules by Turning a Highly Improbable Rumor into a 100% Reality—Stealing Devil Fruits!"
"Piercer Duke and Blackbeard Teamed Up! Besides the Mythical Zoan, Nine-Tailed Fox Model, and the Paramecia-type More More Fruit, How Many Other Devil Fruits Did They Seize?"
"The Two Main Culprits Behind the Impel Down Breach, Both Stripped of Their Warlord Titles, Ranked Co-NO.1 of the Worst Generation!"
"Bounties Issued for All Members of the Piercer Duke Pirates and Blackbeard Pirates, a Record-Breaking First Bounty!"
The death of Whitebeard, the survival of the Pirate King's son, the intervention of the Red Hair Pirates, the return of the Dark King Rayleigh, the relationship between Straw Hat Luffy and Fire Fist Ace, Monkey D. Luffy's connections to the Marine Hero and the Revolutionary Dragon...
All of this news appeared in the World Economic Journal, but it was all relegated to the second page.
News that would normally be headline-worthy was all reduced to mere footnotes in the face of Link and Teach.
For several days, the spotlight was focused entirely on Link and Teach.
Their performances in the Summit War were simply too shocking.
The former was powerful to the extreme, while the latter was an existence that broke the very rules of the world.
Even the World Government was worried about their relationship.
If they continued to work together, the seas would undoubtedly descend into complete chaos.
Therefore, bounties for Link and Teach, as well as their pirate crews, were immediately distributed worldwide.
The initial bounties for Link and Teach broke all previous records.
Their crew members were also all investigated by the CP organization and had bounties issued.
Piercer Duke Pirates:
[Piercer Duke Link, Bounty: 1,046,000,000 Beri, Dead or Alive.]
[Cat Burglar Nami, Bounty: 50,000,000 Beri, Dead or Alive.]
[Devil Child Nico Robin, Bounty: 120,000,000 Beri, Dead or Alive.]
[Nine-Tailed Fox Carina, Bounty: 250,000,000 Beri, Dead or Alive.]
[Void Walker Nojiko, Bounty: 150,000,000 Beri, Dead or Alive.]
[Ghost Princess Perona, Bounty: 118,000,000 Beri, Dead or Alive.]
[Vivi, Bounty: 200,000,000 Beri, Only Alive.]
Among these bounties, besides Nami, whose identity was the only thing discovered, the identities and Devil Fruit abilities of all the others were found out.
Only Vivi had no title or full name, and her poster was marked with "Only Alive."
Evidently, it wasn't Cobra who acted, but the World Government that discovered Vivi's identity and was caught in a dilemma between issuing a wanted poster and not.
In the end, they chose to issue a bounty for Vivi; after all, it wasn't the first time a Celestial Dragon had been issued a bounty.
However, to avoid severing the royal lineage of the Alabasta Kingdom and causing Cobra to withdraw from the council of affiliated nations, the World Government chose to hide Vivi's surname and marked her poster with "Only Alive."
Until the Piercer Duke Pirates completely crossed the World Government's bottom line and had to be eliminated, the World Government was willing to give Cobra this face.
As for the Blackbeard Pirates, Teach's first bounty also reached an exaggerated 1,038,000,000 Beri, only a few million less than Link's.
Although in terms of threat, Teach was far above Link.
But after reviewing the events, both the Marines and the World Government felt that Link was more dangerous.
Because from beginning to end, Link was the one in the dominant position.
He clearly knew that Blackbeard had the ability to steal fruits and the constitution to become a dual-fruit user, yet he still helped the weaker Blackbeard kill Whitebeard and handed over the Paramecia-type Gura Gura no Mi!
How confident must one be to do such a thing?
Coupled with Link's development of the Logia-type Mori Mori no Mi and his feat of killing Whitebeard, there was ample reason to believe that he had no fear of Blackbeard at all.
The mysterious figure who massacred the prisoners on the third and fifth levels of Impel Down also suggested that Link might have a hidden force or subordinates behind him.
Therefore, until the threat level of the Blackbeard Pirates surpassed that of the Piercer Duke Pirates, Teach's bounty would not exceed Link's.
Due to this special period, both were also added to the list of the Worst Generation, ranked as co-NO.1
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