The newspapers caused a great uproar on the sea, the topic of conversation on every street corner.
The Celestial Dragon's murder was the most explosive news they'd ever seen in the newspapers, so explosive they suspected it was fake news.
The great pirates who roamed the seas didn't care, especially the remnants of the Rocks Pirates and the Roger Pirates.
Celestial Dragons had died in droves at God Valley.
What surprised them more was that Kaido's bounty had actually risen to 1.5 billion for invading a backwater island!
Even if the newspaper said he'd also killed a Marine Vice Admiral, it shouldn't be that high!
Just a Marine Vice Admiral.
But they still didn't take Kaido seriously, even though Kaido had formed his own pirate crew.
In the eyes of these big shots, Kaido was still that trainee brat.
They also didn't plan to go to Baltigo, not out of any sentimentality for being on the same ship, purely because they looked down on the place.
Shiki, a cigar in his mouth, held the newspaper in his hands, his rebellious face wearing a wild smile.
So killing a Celestial Dragon in public would raise your bounty so terrifyingly!
Should he go kill one too?
Do a live broadcast?
On Baltigo, Noro didn't know the sea had almost erupted into a dragon-slaying era.
He'd just beheaded a pirate captain, his halberd still stained with blood.
"Surrender, or die with your captain!"
Looking at Noro, expressionless like a god of death, the pirates quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy.
"Surrender, surrender, we were originally here to join the Beasts Pirates."
"Yeah, what captain? Never heard of him, don't know him."
"Long live the Beasts Pirates!"
"Long live!"
...
Noro was impressed by these people. If it was before, he would have killed them all directly.
Now that he had the Cheer-Cheer Fruit, this brainwashing artifact, Noro didn't mind sparing their lives, using them as cannon fodder.
Noro waved his halberd, ordering, "Englar, take them back, have Matty give them a few days of political lessons."
"Yes, Vice-Captain!" Englar replied, driving the group towards their encampment.
Noro sighed.
He'd chosen Baltigo in the first place because it was remote, and there was no profit to be made, allowing the Beasts Pirates to develop quietly.
He didn't know which Marine bastard had come up with the idea of raising their bounties so high.
Kaido and Noro's achievements were only killing a Marine Vice Admiral.
A Marine Vice Admiral's strength, converted to a pirate's bounty, might not even be 500 million.
Pirates with bounties at this level were unconvinced, why did your bounties soar so high just for killing a Marine Vice Admiral!
If you're not convinced, then fight!
Pirates flooded into Baltigo, wanting to defeat the Beasts Pirates, to raise their own fame and bounties.
Only Kaido and Noro could defeat pirates at this level.
King, with his Lunarian race's powerful defenses, could also hold them off, but that was all.
The constant influx of pirates was annoying, but it also had its benefits.
They were like opponents tailor-made for Kaido and Noro, their strength improving rapidly in the battles.
And they'd also taken in a lot of pirates.
Without time for much thought, Noro flapped his wings, flying to King's battlefield to provide support.
After nearly a month of slaughter, this pirate challenge finally ended.
Countless pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions had used their heads to prove the value of Kaido and Noro's bounties.
Those stronger than the Beasts Pirates looked down on them, those weaker didn't dare come again.
Baltigo returned to peace.
During this month, the giant heating furnace, shipbuilding factory, and weapon factory had been completed one after another.
Noro finally didn't have to run into the Door-Door World to sleep on the golden bed with Stussy anymore.
Baltigo officially began a 996 life of punching in and out.
The crew members recruited on the island, and the pirates they'd taken in, totaled 8,000.
This number of pirates had already exceeded most pirate crews.
Noro actually wanted to recruit more, it wasn't like he couldn't afford to feed them.
But Baltigo was too small, they couldn't squeeze out more manpower.
These 8,000 pirates, after a month of Matty's brainwashing, now had absolute loyalty to the Beasts Pirates.
The Baltigo wind was still biting, on the plaza, 8,000 crew members stood in neat military formation, Noro, combining the training of Asian military camps and Marine camps, had created a special training schedule.
King, hands behind his back, expressionless, patrolled back and forth among the crew members.
The Beasts Pirates' founding trio, Kaido was the captain, Noro was the vice-captain, King was the combat commander, now moonlighting as an instructor.
The Englar siblings had not only been officially promoted, but had also been assigned positions.
Englar was the captain of the first combat unit, also working as a deputy instructor.
Matty was the propaganda captain, responsible for teaching political lessons, and encouraging the crew members during training.
Queen had found many assistants on Baltigo to help him with his experiments.
Stussy was still a vase.
Kaido and Noro, the captain and vice-captain, weren't idle either.
Kaido was responsible for teaching King the three colors of Haki and combat skills, Noro was responsible for teaching Englar the Six Styles and Haki.
And he planned to have Englar learn them, then teach the crew members.
The two would also find a deserted island to fight when they were free.
Under Matty's flag waving, the two unleashed their full potential, fighting with all their might.
Fighting against a stronger opponent not only made the battle more enjoyable, but also allowed them to improve their strength faster.
Time passed, and another year flew by, the Sea Calendar reaching 1489.
In this year, Noro also had a major event in his life, he became a father.
Transmigrators in One Piece were either blessed with many children, or were as infertile as if they'd been sterilized.
But Noro was different. In his second year here, Stussy, under his daily efforts, gave birth to a son.
With the birth of his son, Noro also saw a rare maternal love in Stussy's eyes.
Under Matty's Cheer-Cheer Fruit buff, the 8,000 crew members had become a well-trained army.
Kaido had selected the three best among them, bestowing upon them the Tiger Fruit, Hawk Fruit, and Horse-Horse Fruit, appointing them as captains.
King, under the tutelage of gold-medal teacher Kaido, had skillfully mastered the three colors of Haki, and Englar had also learned the Six Styles and two colors of Haki from Noro.
During one of Noro and Kaido's battles, when the halberd and "Hassaikai" collided in the air,
Noro's lips couldn't help but curve upward.
It was time to conquer Wano Country!
===
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