The next day, Wanted Posters and newspapers spread across the world.
In a tavern on an island in the North Blue, unrestrained laughter echoed.
"Fufufufufu~"
Donquixote Doflamingo, clad in a pink coat and sunglasses, sat at the bar with a newspaper in hand.
"Making a king bark like a dog in public—what a wicked guy."
"Trebol, go find this brat. With him, our future plans will be much easier."
...
In the West Blue, within Bege's Body Space.
Bege, Gunpowder, and Boren gathered around the dining table, raising their glasses in celebration.
First, to celebrate seizing another territory, and second, to celebrate Dier's new bounty.
After eating and drinking their fill, the tall and sharply dressed Boren in a pink suit deftly pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket.
"How about a round of poker?"
"Poker my ass!"
Bege gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Don't think just eating a Devil Fruit means you can slack off! Go train!"
"And you, Gunpowder! Practice your Devil Fruit Ability! Have you mastered Bursting Ignition like I told you?"
Gunpowder grimaced, throwing up his hands.
"I'm Gunpowder, boss, not fire! How am I supposed to ignite inside my body?"
Bege held a cigar in one hand while pounding the table with the other.
"Didn't I teach you about friction generating heat? Concentrate the gunpowder at one point, then rub it to create fire—explosive punches! Isn't that simple?"
"Easy for you to say..."
"Enough excuses! Dier just took down two more kings. We can't fall behind."
...
In a dormitory at Marine Headquarters.
"As expected of Lord Dier, accomplishing what I never could."
Vlad gazed at the Wanted Poster with admiration. He had been a Marine for over half a year now.
Thanks to his Bone Sword and Devil Bloodline, he had earned numerous merits in the West Blue, earning him a recommendation to train at Headquarters.
Perhaps due to the influence of his Devil Bloodline, his appearance and stature had drastically changed.
His once-black hair had turned red, his height had shot up from 1.67 meters to 1.93 meters, and the timid look on his face had vanished, replaced by resolute determination.
"Newbie, time to report to the training grounds!"
A voice called from outside. Vlad quickly stuffed the Wanted Poster under his bed.
Thud!
A blond man in uniform walked in—only to trip over the threshold and crash heavily onto the floor.
"Senior! Are you okay?"
Vlad hurried over to help the man up.
The latter waved it off casually.
"It's fine, I'm used to it. No need for 'senior'—just call me Rosinante."
"Come on, I'll take you to report in."
...
"Why isn't there any news about me?!"
On the deck of the Storm Petrel, Perona pouted angrily, clutching four Wanted Posters in her hands.
"I'm a Pirate too! I helped a lot! Why does the newspaper leave me out?! Robin and Hina didn't even appear, and their bounties still went up! I want a bounty too!"
She had taken the photos for Dier and the others' Wanted Posters herself using a Photographing Transponder Snail—including a selfie of her own.
Yet, while all the other photos made it into the papers, her favorite selfie was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, we already had bounties and records before," Hina said, admiring her own Wanted Poster with satisfaction.
"Hina is pleased."
The pink-haired girl, Hina, with a bounty of two million Belly.
The epithet was ordinary, and the bounty amount wasn't high.
But the photo used was quite elegant, and she was satisfied with it.
On the other side, Robin entered the operating room with today's newspaper in hand.
Dier, along with the Madson family, were all gathered here.
Madson was adjusting various instruments, while Law lay quietly on the bed, waiting for the examination.
Leia and Lami played a small game, their eyes filled with a mix of anticipation and unease.
Robin approached Dier, who was sitting on the floor eating, and said with concern:
"The newspaper today..."
"It's about the curse, right? I guessed as much."
"How did you know?!"
"Because I can curse people now."
Dier shrugged, his tone tinged with helplessness.
After the live broadcast, he had gained four new abilities in total.
Immunity to seawater, storage space, the ability to cure Platinum Lead Disease, and curses.
The upper limits of his other abilities had also improved significantly, but the curse ability had skyrocketed, its limit now on par with the rest.
Robin sat cross-legged and unfolded the newspaper to read aloud:
"Two Kings Bark Like Dogs in Public! The Most Heinous Criminal in History Emerges!"
The newspaper heavily emphasized Dier's misdeeds—controlling the Kings, making them bark like dogs in public, and finally setting the palace on fire.
It then mentioned his various abilities, labeling him as a rising criminal star with immense potential and extreme danger.
Finally, it tacked on an invitation for non-affiliated nations to join the World Government, promising that the Marines would protect Kings from Dier's Hypnosis.
"The part about the curse is here."
Robin flipped the newspaper over.
"The Tragedy of White Town, the Curse of an Evil Pirate!!"
"According to investigations by Flevance, Platinum Lead was originally non-toxic;
it was the evil Hypnotist Kali Dier who cast a curse upon it..."
This section mentioned both Dier and Madson.
Madson, originally the chief physician, had betrayed his country by bringing the wicked pirate Dier into Flevance.
Pirate Dier had cursed the Platinum Lead, imbuing it with toxicity.
Fortunately, the wise and heroic royal family and the World Government had developed a miracle drug—
a Small Blue Pill.
This pill normally had no effect, but when symptoms of the disease erupted, it would expel the Platinum Lead from the body.
Each pill was priced at 99,999 Belly.
The more one took, the stronger the effect.
"Quite the scheme they've got going."
Dier scoffed, stuffing the apple in his hand into his mouth and muttering:
"They pinned all the blame on me while making a fortune off it.
When the disease eventually breaks out, they can just claim the curse was too strong and wash their hands of it."
Still, it wasn't all bad.
Normally, newspapers wouldn't bother detailing a pirate's specific abilities, only mentioning them in passing.
But to convince the public of the curse, the paper had deliberately printed images of Dier demonstrating his powers.
Lying in a bathtub, surrounded by three orbs of fire, lightning, and water.
Reaching into his "Storage Space" to pull out an apple.
The hypnotized King barking like a dog in public.
With so many abilities, one more curse ability wouldn't seem out of place.
It was a shame the ability to cure Platinum Lead Disease wasn't mentioned.
Fortunately, there were enough people from the Visa Kingdom and Lia Kingdom for Dier to still acquire the ability to treat Platinum Lead Disease.
"Captain Dier, we can begin the treatment now."
Madson adjusted the equipment, adjusted his glasses, and said nervously:
"Although we can't directly observe the internal conditions, these devices will try to record the process of Platinum Lead being cured."
As he spoke, he looked down at Law and said anxiously:
"Maybe I should be the one. I have more Platinum Lead in my body, so the observation should be clearer."
"No, Dad, you should go check the instruments. Seeing it live is definitely more intuitive than watching a recording."
Law, lying there, shook his head decisively.
He had originally promised to help, but ended up reading comics for ten days, so now he took the initiative to serve as the test subject.
The treatment process wasn't complicated.
Place a hand on him, continuously expend stamina, and persistently activate the ability.
After about an hour, one-tenth of the Platinum Lead in Law's body had disappeared.
Madson was extremely excited—at the very least, his family could be saved.
"As for a medical method suitable for the general public, we'll have to take it slow."
Dier stroked his chin thoughtfully and said:
"Let's go to Reverse Mountain."
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