Marineford · Fleet Admiral’s Office
On the top floor of the Tower of Justice, inside the Fleet Admiral’s private office, the air was heavy enough to cut with a knife.
Kong sat behind his massive desk, tapping his fingers against the surface, his expression grim.
The intelligence report provided by his subordinates had just laid out the entire farce of that Buster Call before his eyes.
He could never have imagined that the small pirate he had casually used as a scapegoat years ago—someone who was supposed to have disappeared into the sea as a nobody—Sikes Dahl, had now grown to such a terrifying level.
Scanning the high-ranking Marines standing below—Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, several Admiral candidates, and Headquarters Vice Admirals were all present—Kong spoke in a deep voice:
“Let’s all share our thoughts.
Where should Sikes Dahl’s bounty be set?”
As his words fell, the office instantly fell into silence.
The high-ranking Marines looked at one another, all wearing troubled expressions.
Given Dar’s age, assigning a sky-high bounty was clearly against protocol, but setting it too low would be equivalent to slapping Garp and Sengoku in the face in public—after all, this pirate had managed to retreat unscathed from the joint pursuit of these two Marine legends.
Everyone’s gaze turned simultaneously to Sengoku and Garp.
Sengoku adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, glanced at Garp, who was wrapped in thick bandages and still secretly eating senbei, and after a moment of contemplation, spoke slowly:
“Based on previous combat records, Dar possesses top-tier combat power not inferior to a Marine Admiral.
Especially his Explosion-Explosion Fruit; its destructive power can be called devastating, and there is a high probability that he has already achieved fruit awakening.”
“He dared to openly provoke the Marine’s highest-level military action, the Buster Call, disregarding the dignity of the World Government and the Marines.
His behavior is lawless, and he poses a huge threat to the entire sea.”
“I suggest that his bounty should not be lower than 1 billion Berries.”
With Sengoku setting the floor at no less than 1 billion, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief and began to echo his sentiment.
“1 billion is far from enough!
I suggest 1.1 billion Berries!”
“The Explosion-Explosion Fruit is too dangerous; it should be set at 1.2 billion Berries!”
“This child’s growth speed is terrifying; we must use a high bounty to deter the sea!”
Seeing the scene becoming somewhat noisy, Kong suddenly raised his hand and tapped the table.
The dull sound made everyone instantly fall silent.
“Enough.”
He made the final decision directly:
“The pirate, Sikes Dahl, bounty 1.18 billion Berries.
Douglas Bullet, bounty 1 billion Berries.
The Intelligence Department and the Bounty Department must implement this immediately and announce it to the entire sea!”
“Yes!”
A Headquarters Vice Admiral responsible for issuing bounty notices immediately stood at attention and responded loudly.
New World, inside the headquarters of the World Economic Journal.
President Morgans clutched the newly arrived bounty intelligence, his bird eyes wide, flapping his wings in excitement and dancing around.
Since Roger was executed and the Great Pirate Era began, other than Whitebeard reaching the pinnacle as an Emperor of the Sea, there hadn’t been such shocking big news on the sea for a long time!
A young, super-rookie pirate who broke through a Buster Call and had a bounty approaching 1.2 billion—this was definitely a front-page headline that could sell out across the entire world!
Morgans immediately began writing personally, heavily exaggerating Dar’s terrifying combat power, the destructive nature of the Explosion-Explosion Fruit, and the legendary feat of escaping from the hands of Garp and Sengoku, adding plenty of hype and creating a frenzy.
In just a few days, Sikes Dahl’s name spread wildly across the Four Seas with the newspaper.
One must know that in this era, any pirate with a bounty exceeding 1 billion Berries was a legendary Great Pirate who dominated a region and whom even the Marines dared not easily surround and annihilate!
Dar, overnight, became the hottest rising star in the entire sea.
Time flew, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.
In the front section of the New World, on a Sky Island that no one had stepped foot on for years.
Clouds churned, air currents raged, and two figures were engaged in a fierce battle between the sky and the ground.
The loud noise of colliding fists made the entire Sky Island tremble slightly.
It was Bullet and Dar, whose injuries had completely healed.
After Bullet woke up from his coma, Dar had personally found him, directly inviting him to join his pirate crew and promising him the position of Vice Captain.
Bullet had always been arrogant and only gave one condition: beat him, and he would board the ship.
But this battle had gone on until now, and only a deep sense of powerlessness remained in Bullet’s heart.
His awakened ability was being completely countered by Dar’s Armament Haki Domain.
Putting aside fruit abilities, in a pure contest of physique, speed, and attack power, Bullet was actually being comprehensively suppressed by Dar.
What was even more terrifying was that every one of Dar’s attacks carried an explosion effect, and every punch of his own that landed on Dar’s body triggered Dar’s passive explosion.
Finally, with a deafening roar, Dar landed a heavy punch wrapped in explosive power, smashing hard into Bullet’s chest.
Bullet flew backward like a broken shell, crashing heavily into the ground, kicking up dust, and was unable to stand up again.
Dar walked slowly in front of him, looking down at Bullet lying on the ground, his tone relaxed:
“How about it?
Do you still want to keep fighting?”
Bullet lay on his back in the pile of rubble, saying nothing.
He had suffered too many blows during this period.
He had thought he was a top-tier powerhouse rarely seen in the world, but he didn’t expect to first be easily defeated by Garp like a chick, and now to be beaten without any power to fight back by a young man who had suddenly emerged.
So, he was still this weak.
Seeing his long silence, Dar smiled, patted his shoulder, and advised:
“Little Ba, this sea is much more dangerous than you imagine.
With a personality as flamboyant and warlike as yours, if you roam the sea alone, you will sooner or later be targeted by various powerhouses working together.
Join our Blast Pirates; everyone can look out for each other, right?”
The name ‘Blast Pirates’ was something Morgans had coined in the newspaper earlier, and Dar thought it was good, so he used it directly.
Bullet slowly sat up, patted the dust off his body, and stared at Dar with serious eyes.
He was actually somewhat excited, as if he had found a goal again, and said:
“I don’t care about the position of Vice Captain.
But I have one condition—I will continue to challenge you until one day, I can completely defeat you!”
…..