Chapter 24: Reactions
Foosha Village
Party's Bar
Amidst the cheers and laughter of the villagers, the tavern was more lively than ever.
Makino sat by the counter, resting her cheek on her hand, her eyes sparkling. In front of her lay the bounty posters of Luffy and his crew.
Her gaze was fixed on Luffy's bounty, and she gently brushed her fingers over the picture.
"Luffy-chan's gotten more manly… The sea really is a magical place."
The nearby villagers seemed to share the same sentiment and shouted excitedly:
"Kanpai!!"
"Luffy-kun finally took his first step toward achieving his absurd dream!!"
"Forty-five million berries—what a huge bounty! Luffy-kun is now a well-known pirate! Our village has produced a legend!!"
"Hahaha! And he's already famous with the ladies! Just a few months out and he's stolen the hearts of a bunch of beauties. I'm jealous! I wanna go to sea and meet women too—that's the real man's romance!"
Makino, still lost in admiration of Luffy's bounty poster, suddenly turned dark at that comment.
She glanced at the other bounty posters—those of the female crew members—and her expression grew more and more unpleasant.
She muttered through gritted teeth, "Those women don't look like good people. I just hope poor Luffy-chan doesn't get tricked by them!"
"If I'd known things would turn out like this, I would've sailed with him myself! Luffy-chan is still a little boy—he doesn't understand anything yet. Those seductive women are bound to approach him!"
The tavern suddenly fell silent. Lips twitched as the villagers quietly turned back to their sake, pretending not to hear her.
Thankfully, the angry mayor burst through the tavern doors just in time.
"You damn fools!! What are you celebrating?! That little brat has brought shame to our village! What glory is there in becoming a pirate?!"
And just like that, the tavern erupted in even louder laughter and joy. Looking at the furious mayor, everyone felt strangely cheerful.
Seeing their ungrateful faces still celebrating, the mayor collapsed weakly into a chair and muttered to himself,
"Is it unavoidable after all? What a cursed destiny…"
Meanwhile, Makino had already crumpled the bounty posters of the female crew members and tossed them into the trash. She carefully pinned Luffy's bounty poster on the wall.
With a dreamy smile on her face, she stared at it, completely lost in her imagination.
Elsewhere in the sea...
New World – Whitebeard Territory
Aboard the Moby Dick, Ace was running around like an overexcited kid, his face stretched in a wide grin.
"See this Straw Hat guy? That's my little brother!!"
"He looks strong, right? I trained him!"
"Forty-five million berries—not bad! He's catching up to me!"
"Marco, look, it's my little brother!"
"Oyaji, look! That's him—the troublemaker I told you about!"
The Whitebeard Pirates watched the overly hyped Ace go wild over his little brother and couldn't help but smile.
Marco glanced at Luffy's bounty poster and chuckled. "He does look pretty handsome…"
Whitebeard, surrounded by nurses tending to his ailing body, let out a hearty laugh.
"Gurararara! Ace, that's the third time you've told me about your little brother..."
When he saw the boy with the straw hat for the first time, Whitebeard briefly fell into a trance. That straw hat—it was far too familiar. To wear it with such confidence… the boy was definitely not ordinary.
"As expected of my son's brother."
But the joyful mood was quickly broken by the sound of hurried footsteps.
"Oyaji!!! Something big's happened!!"
"Thatch… he... Teach..."
On a remote island in the New World…
The Red-Haired Pirates sat in heavy silence. Their captain looked particularly gloomy.
The sky seemed to mirror his mood, with dark clouds gathering above.
Lightning crackled, and a light drizzle began to fall.
Suddenly, a panicked voice broke the silence as a crew member came running up, tripping over himself.
"Captain! Captain! A Warlord is about to attack the island!"
The main crew looked at him in amusement—because Mihawk was standing right behind him.
Shanks sipped his wine and gave Mihawk a tired glance.
"I'm not in the mood tonight, Mihawk. If you want a fight, come back another time…"
Mihawk snorted and sat on a nearby barrel, picking up a bottle of wine and drinking it without hesitation.
"I didn't come to fight. I'm not interested in bullying a cripple."
Even Shanks twitched at that. The rest of the crew had to suppress awkward expressions.
Hawkeye really didn't hold back.
He continued, "I met the boy with the straw hat."
As he spoke, he placed a stack of bounty posters on the table.
Shanks picked up the top one, and the gloom instantly vanished from his face.
"Hahaha! It's Luffy! He finally made it!"
Everyone gathered around. Gasp after gasp echoed around the camp.
"Damn, that's Luffy?!"
"Of course it is—look, isn't that the hat?"
"How come he's surrounded by all these beauties?! Beckman, did you teach him some tricks?!"
"I didn't! And I don't have what it takes to bag that kind of beauty… He looks more experienced than me."
Mihawk studied Shanks for a long moment, then asked with genuine curiosity,
"You seem very optimistic about this boy. Any particular reason?"
Shanks raised an eyebrow. "You? Curious? That's new. Don't tell me you've been charmed by Luffy too?"
Mihawk stayed calm but answered seriously.
"Of course I'm optimistic…"
He rested a hand on his empty sleeve, voice calm but filled with conviction—almost like he was convincing himself.
"He's the future of the next era."
Then he fell silent.
He clearly knew more than Shanks did… but since the boy hadn't revealed his true strength yet, Mihawk chose to keep that secret to himself.