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Chapter 59: Big News, Bounties for Everyone!
The morning after Line's massive incident in Mary Geoise dawned...
The World Government fully intended to cover up everything that had happened. ...Given the sheer humiliation of the events, it was the obvious choice. The Invisible Phantom Thief Line, along with his crew, had breached Mary Geoise with effortless ease. Unknown "man-eating plants" had been scattered across the Land of the Gods, causing untold devastation. The five highest powers of the Marines—Aokiji, Akainu, Kizaru, Fujitora, and Ryokugyu—had deployed, only to be completely humiliated and defeated simultaneously. Every single slave in Mary Geoise had been liberated. Line and his crew successfully escaped Mary Geoise without suffering a single casualty.
...There wasn't a single detail on that list they could safely release to the public. Fortunately, since no civilians or journalists had witnessed the event, there was no risk of the truth leaking out... or so they thought.
However...
"Kwahahaha! Magnificent! To think such a colossal scoop would fall right into my lap! The photographs are absolutely perfect! Alright, it's settled! This is tomorrow's front page!"
...Thanks to the actions of a certain someone, the full, unedited details of the incident had been leaked directly to the president of the World Economy News Paper, Big News Morgans. Morgans found Line's incident absolutely exhilarating.
"A mega-scoop like this only comes around once every thousand years! I don't care how much money they try to bribe me with, I'm not burying this! Print it all! Move it out, boys! This is Big News!! Kwahahahahaha!!"
And so, overnight, the news of Line's apocalyptic raid was broadcast to the entire world.
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— Kamabakka Kingdom —
"Iyaaaan! Did you all see today's newspaper!?"
"I haven't seen it yet, let me look!"
"An attack on Mary Geoise!? What is this!? What is this!?"
Today, just like any other day, the burly maiden okamas sprinted across the sandy beaches, their bodies bouncing with vigor. The only difference was that today, they all gripped newspapers tightly in their hands.
"The culprit is the Invisible Phantom Thief Line... Wait, could this be our little Line-chan!?"
"Densuke-chan is in here too! It's definitely them!"
"What kind of incredibly dangerous stunt is he pulling~?!"
"...Still, I'm just glad they managed to escape safely without getting caught~."
"Ufufufufu~n♡"
"Ahahahaha~n♡"
Gossip bloomed among the okamas as they squealed over the news of Line's exploits. Beside them, the queen of this kingdom, Emporio Ivankov, was reading the newspaper with deadly seriousness.
"Hmmmm. Line-boy... just what in the world did those kids pull off-chable...? Even I feel like I've been outplayed..."
"Attacking the Land of the Gods!? Is this real!? It's gotta be a joke, right!? You've gotta be joking!! Eh!? It's not a joke!? Ngahhahhahha!"
Ignoring Bon Clay, who was spinning in circles and screaming beside him, Ivankov pressed a hand to his forehead. It was shocking enough for the general public... but from the perspective of a Revolutionary Army Commander, this news was utterly, terrifyingly absurd. Ivankov had managed to regain his composure now, but upon first reading the headline, his eyes had bugged out so far they actually punched holes through the newspaper. What drew his attention the most was the phrase: "Complete Liberation of All Slaves."
"Complete liberation... Does that mean our old friend, Bartholomew Kuma, has been liberated as well-chable?"
His former comrade, who had been stripped of his ego and transformed into a mindless human weapon for the Government... Recalling Kuma's tragic fate, Ivankov let out a heavy sigh.
"For now... I need to contact Dragon. We'll wait for his instructions. Hee-haw!!"
With that, Ivankov pulled a communication Transponder Snail from deep within his massive afro.
—————
— Amazon Lily, Island of Women —
Situated in the Calm Belt, this island inhabited entirely by women was generally inaccessible to the News Coos. Because of this, no matter what massive incidents occurred in the outside world, the women of Amazon Lily had no way of knowing—and honestly, they didn't care.
Except...
"Everyone! Look!"
"What is it?"
"Snake Princess brought back a newspaper from the outside world!"
"? So what? I have absolutely no interest in outside newspapers."
"Ufufu, that's what you think, right? But guess who's on the front page... It's Line-sensei!!"
"Line-sensei!?" x4
The Kuja Pirates, led by Hancock, frequently ventured out to sea for raids and expeditions. Tucked among their latest haul of plundered goods was a copy of the World Economy News Paper. Unusually, it instantly captured the full attention of the Amazon Lily warriors.
"Line-sensei! Everyone said he died in the Summit War... but he really was alive all along!"
"That's our Line-sensei for you!"
"I finally get to see Line-sensei's face again after two whole years! Kyaa♡"
"I hope Line-sensei comes back to teach us more about the 凸凸凸 and the 凸凹~♡"
"According to the paper... it looks like Sensei attacked a place called Mary Geoise?"
"Apparently, he saved all the people who were captured as slaves! I don't really understand the details, but Sensei is amazing♡"
Clutching the newspaper bearing Line's face, the maidens squealed in delight. The influence Line held over the ignorant young women of this island—having single-handedly educated them in the "arts of men and dirty jokes" two years ago—was staggering.
"Oh, I know! Let's go tell Marguerite!"
"Good idea! She collapsed from some mysterious illness right after Line-sensei left."
"What did Elder Nyon call it? Love Sickness?"
"If we show her this article about Line-sensei, maybe she'll get better!"
Gripping the newspaper, the maidens excitedly hurried toward the residential district where Marguerite was bedridden.
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— The Great Prison, Impel Down —
Two years ago, Impel Down suffered catastrophic damage when it became the stage for the Summit War, with a massive portion of the first level being completely blown away. But thanks to the desperate, grueling repair efforts of the Marines, the impenetrable fortress had finally been restored to its former glory.
"Muffufufu~♪ The Warden's chair feels absolutely magnificent today as well-mash! Yes it does!"
Following the disastrous events of two years ago, Magellan took responsibility and accepted a demotion. In his place, Hannyabal had finally been promoted to Warden, and today, he was lounging in the Warden's chair in a spectacularly good mood.
"I've finally climbed my way up to this position... So then, perhaps it's time to start planning Impel Down Branch No. 2-mash? Eventually, we'll expand to Branch No. 3, Branch No. 4... and I will become the Supreme General Manager of all Impel Downs...!"
Hannyabal grinned deviously, his ambitions burning brighter than ever. Just then, a knock echoed from the Warden's office door.
"Pardon me, mmm~~♡ Warden Hannyabal."
Without waiting for a response, the Chief Guard and chief torturer of Impel Down, Sadie, strutted into the room. She was clutching today's newspaper tightly against her chest.
"Oh, Sadie. Did something happen?"
"Actually, I have a very special, mmm~~♡ favor to ask of you, Warden Hannyabal."
"A favor?"
"Yes. A very important request that I can only ask of you, Warden Hannyabal. Mmm~~♡"
"Only of me, the Warden!? F-Fufufufu! I see, I see! You can only ask me~!"
Sadie was a sadist through and through, a woman who loved torture and lived for bloodshed. Seeing her act this utterly docile and sweet caused Hannyabal to completely drop his guard, his face melting into a dopey grin.
"W-Well then, Sadie! You can ask Warden Hannyabal anything! Let's hear it! After all! I am the Warden-mash!"
"You're amazing, Warden! Mmm~~♡ You're so dependable!"
"Of course I am! Wahaha! ...So, what's the favor?"
His heart pounded in anticipation as she finally spoke—
"As of today, I, Sadie, am officially resigning from my position at Impel Down! Thank you for everything! Mmm~~♡"
"...Huh?"
Hannyabal's jaw violently slammed onto the Warden's desk.
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— Fish-Man Island —
Ten thousand meters beneath the sea, directly below the Red Line, the island of Fish-Men and Merfolk was currently engulfed in a massive, island-wide festival.
"Gyaa~♡ Our savior!! Lord Line is alive~♡"
"Of course he is! I always believed there was no way someone like Akainu could ever kill him!!"
"It looks like our savior liberated a massive number of slaves again!"
"Not just a massive number! All of them! Every single one!!"
"And this time, not only did he do that, but he completely crushed four Admirals and the Fleet Admiral all at once!"
"H-Just how legendary is this guy going to get~!?"
"Kyaaa~♡ Our savior♡ Lord Line~♡♡♡" x4
Men, women, and okamas alike—with hearts in their eyes—were waving the newspaper featuring Line like a victory flag.
"We need to report this to King Neptune immediately!"
"He probably already knows! King Neptune has been tracking Lord Line's movements closer than anyone!"
"True! After all, Lord Line and the Mermaid Princess are..."
"Oh, wait! We need to tell Arlong too! He just became a Warlord a year ago!"
"Arlong was more worried about Lord Line's safety than anyone!"
"Things are getting seriously busy around here!"
"LI-NE!! LI-NE!!" x4
Out of everywhere in the world, the place that celebrated today's newspaper the loudest... might very well have been Fish-Man Island.
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— Punk Hazard —
This was an island that used to house a World Government research facility. It was currently believed to be completely devoid of life, a toxic wasteland following a catastrophic chemical weapon explosion.
"...!! L-Line... you were alive...!"
On this desolate island of toxic gas, a woman sat reading the newspaper, large tears streaming continuously down her cheeks.
"...U-Uuu... sniff... sniff..."
"Shurorororo! What's this, what's this? I thought you were a woman as cold as snow, but you're actually crying!? This is a rare sight indeed! Shurororororo~!"
Floating around the weeping woman with his bizarre, trademark laugh was a man made of gas. He peered down at her with a condescending smirk.
"For you to be this emotional! Just what exactly is written in that newspaper? Shurororo!"
"...Read it yourself."
The woman slapped the newspaper directly into the man's face. Written on the front page... Mary Geoise half-destroyed, all slaves liberated, and the absolute highest military powers of the Marines completely annihilated...
"Eeeeeeeehhhhh!!?"
The man promptly fainted backward.
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— Marine Headquarters, Room of Authority —
Inside this room, where only the most elite Marine officers—the Admirals and Vice Admirals—gathered for strategic discussions, an emergency briefing regarding the mastermind of the recent incident, Line, was currently underway.
"To think... the Invisible Phantom Thief was still alive..."
"Didn't he die two years ago during the Summit War? Burned to a crisp by Akainu's magma?"
"Just how the hell did he survive that..."
"F-F-Forget about that! We need to focus on this incident! T-They're saying Mary Geoise suffered catastrophic damage! What are we going to do!?"
"The Fleet Admiral and the Admirals were wiped out all at once. This isn't a joke anymore."
"Uwooon! M-My... my sweet little bunny is...!"
The briefing room was drowning in a heavy miasma of depression, panic, and wailing despair. Amidst the chaos, Commodore Brannew, the presiding officer, clapped his hands loudly to gather everyone's attention.
"Everyone. Quiet down!!"
"!!!" x4
"...Let me state this clearly right now. We believed we had adequately assessed his threat level, but it is now undeniable: we severely underestimated the true power of the Invisible Phantom Thief..."
"!!!" x4
At Brannew's words, the Marines swallowed hard.
"...Until now, we operated under the assumption that the Invisible Phantom Thief was a lone wolf without any military backing. However..."
With a mechanical hum, a large projector screen lowered onto the wall, displaying a specific photograph from the newspaper article. It showed mysterious, man-eating Piranha Plants burning homes, destroying the Land of the Gods, and actively hunting Celestial Dragons.
"Through this incident... it has become clear that the Invisible Phantom Thief possesses the ability to command a legion of unknown, man-eating flora. While we cannot confirm the exact number, it is estimated that approximately one thousand of these man-eating plants were unleashed upon Mary Geoise...!"
"One thousand!?" x4
"I shouldn't need to explain the sheer terror that comes with those numbers."
Whether it was the Four Emperors who ruled the seas or the Marines who maintained global order... true terrifying power for any organization was measured by "numbers." Military strength. An army of disposable, man-eating plants... in some ways, that was vastly more dangerous than a fleet of average pirates.
"Just how many of those things can the Invisible Phantom Thief control!?"
"Thousands... maybe tens of thousands... hell, maybe even more!?"
"H-How are we supposed to fight man-eating plants...!?"
"Dammit... this is so depressing..."
As the room began to spiral back into despair, Brannew interrupted, signaling it was too early to give up hope. He clicked to the next slide.
"...And it isn't just plants. Through this incident, we have confirmed that the Invisible Phantom Thief has at least two human accomplices."
The image that appeared on the screen was a selfie-style photograph of a young angel girl.
"The first accomplice of the Invisible Phantom Thief. This is the mysterious young girl who calls herself... Densuke!"
"Densuke...?"
"Never heard the name before..."
"From the looks of it, she's just a child."
"She has wings..."
"Place of birth: unknown. Race: unknown. Given the glowing halo above her head, the Transponder Snail-like shell on her back, and her swan-like wings, it is highly probable she is a Devil Fruit user... but we know almost nothing else about her."
Flipping through his documents, Brannew continued.
"According to Admiral Kizaru, who engaged her in combat, any damage inflicted upon her is somehow completely absorbed. While she hasn't been seen using Haki... she is capable of flying through the air at blistering speeds."
"S-She absorbed Admiral Kizaru's attacks!?"
"She's not a Logia... right? Maybe a Mythical Zoan?"
"...Not knowing the details of her powers is incredibly dangerous..."
"She looks like an angel, but that shell on her back makes no sense... what is that?"
"Uuuun, I have no idea..."
The Marines threw around theories about the young girl named Densuke. Her true identity was simply a Transponder Snail who ate the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Angel, but naturally, none of them were going to figure that out.
"Given her high-speed flight, damage-absorption capabilities... and above all, her active complicity with the world-class criminal known as the Invisible Phantom Thief..."
"Archangel Densuke!! Bounty: 200,000,000 Berries!!"
"...!!" x4
Two hundred million Berries for an entirely unknown child, slapped onto her after a single incident. The sheer size of the bounty proved exactly how seriously the World Government was taking this disaster.
"...Moving on to the next. I'm sure many of you are already well aware of her, but..."
"!!!" x4
The image on the screen switched from the angel girl to a young rabbit girl. Instantly, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
"...Having hunted down countless pirates over the past two years... recently hailed as a beauty rivaling the Pirate Empress and the Mermaid Princess... Sabaody's bounty hunter hero...!"
The hearts of the Marines pounded wildly in their chests. And then...
"The Billion-Hunter Rabbit, Esune, has been identified as an accomplice of the Invisible Phantom Thief...!!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!? Our idol, Esune-chan~~!!?" x4
Confronted with this unbearably cruel reality, a massive portion of the elite Marines present clutched their heads and collapsed to their knees in sheer despair.
"Uwooooon...! Tell me it's a lie! Our Esune-chaaaaan!!"
"I'm a member of the Billion-Hunter Rabbit Fanclub, dammit..."
"So am I~! Member No. 0721!"
"Billion-Hunter-chan's bromides! The monthly releases! I bought every single one! ...I mean, I'm still going to buy them, but..."
"Uwooo! Even if she's our enemy! I still love Esune-chan!!"
Strong, cute, and beautiful. Moreover, she was a heroic bounty hunter who effortlessly apprehended brutal pirates for them. Esune wasn't just popular with the civilian public—she had amassed an army of hardcore fanboys among the Marines.
"...Everyone, please settle down. I deeply understand your shock. After all... I am Member No. 0003 of the Billion-Hunter Rabbit Fanclub."
Commodore Brannew is a hardcore veteran fan...!
There had been rumors that if she ever enlisted, she'd instantly be given the rank of Vice Admiral... and that becoming an Admiral wasn't out of the question. For the idol of the bounty-hunting world to actually be a subordinate of the Mary Geoise attackers... the shock to the Marines was deeper than the ocean itself.
"...Over the past two years, the total bounties collected by the Billion-Hunter Rabbit exceed 9 Billion Berries. ...If she was gathering those funds under the direct orders of the Invisible Phantom Thief... it means he has acquired a devastating amount of financial power. ...Going into hiding while his subordinate builds his war chest... this points to a terrifyingly cunning and meticulously calculated grand strategy."
In reality, Esune had just been rampaging in a suicidal frenzy, fully convinced Line was dead... but there was no way the Marines could ever know that.
"Taking into account her combat prowess in capturing multiple 'hundred-million' class pirates, her incredibly powerful Haki, her massive popularity, and her global fame...!"
"The Billion-Hunter Rabbit, Esune... is hereby designated a wanted criminal with a bounty of 820,000,000 Berries!!"
"Uwoooooooh♡ Billion-Hunter Bunny-chaaaaan♡♡" x4
Staring at her newly issued wanted poster, the Marine men erupted into completely inappropriate cheers, prompting several female Marines to aggressively smack them over the heads while yelling, "Knock it off!!"
"...Continuing on. While they haven't been officially confirmed as members of his crew... I will now introduce two highly dangerous individuals who are extremely likely to assist the Invisible Phantom Thief in the future."
The projector switched, displaying the faces of two former Warlords who had been enslaved in Mary Geoise and freed during the incident: Gecko Moria and Bartholomew Kuma. Seeing the faces of such heavy hitters, the Marines swallowed hard.
"...During this attack, Gecko Moria was visually confirmed to be assisting the Invisible Phantom Thief. But that is not all. Following the attackers' escape... it was discovered that the 'shadows' of several hundred Celestial Dragons had been stolen!"
"Hah!? Shadows? From the Celestial Dragons!?"
"Several hundred!?"
"T-The only person capable of that is Moria with his Shadow-Shadow Fruit!"
The truth revealed itself... The real reason Moria was late meeting up with Line in Chapter 55... was because he was busy running around stealing shadows from the Celestial Dragons. He was truly a man who never missed an opportunity to profit.
"Because of this, hundreds of Celestial Dragons can no longer step foot under the sun...!"
"T-This is the absolute worst...!"
"They took the shadows of the Celestial Dragons hostage..."
"Wait! Maybe Moria stole those shadows on the orders of the Invisible Phantom Thief...!"
"That's it! You're right! The Invisible Phantom Thief would definitely do something like that!"
"To manipulate a Warlord into stealing the shadows of the Celestial Dragons...! That damn Invisible Phantom Thief!"
"What an utterly godless bastard!"
Stealing the shadows was 100% Moria acting entirely on his own... yet somehow, the narrative had perfectly aligned to paint Line as the evil mastermind behind it all. It was the natural consequence of his past actions.
"...Next, another former Warlord... the Tyrant, Bartholomew Kuma...!"
"...!!" x4
"We do not know why or how, but Kuma's ego has returned!"
"Haaaaahhhhhh!!?" x4
The sheer absurdity of the statement caused many Marines to scream in complete disbelief. Bartholomew Kuma had undergone extensive cybernetic modifications at the hands of the world's greatest scientist, Dr. Vegapunk. His memories had been wiped, his ego erased, and he had become nothing more than a mindless human weapon for the Marines. And now... his memories were back? His ego had returned? Every single Marine in the room perfectly understood exactly how catastrophic that was for the World Government.
"We have absolutely no idea what the Invisible Phantom Thief did to Kuma... We simply don't know. But...!! The end result is that Kuma has regained his memories! Moving forward, Kuma will stand against the Marines as our enemy...!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!?"
"Kuma's body is loaded with the greatest scientific technology in the world!? This is a joke!"
"And what about his incredibly dangerous Paw-Paw Fruit!?"
"Don't tell me... is the Invisible Phantom Thief planning to utilize the teleportation capabilities of the Paw-Paw Fruit for himself!?"
Their imaginations were spiraling into the worst possible scenarios. Brannew let out a heavy sigh before putting Moria and Kuma's newly updated wanted posters on the screen.
"Naturally, having resigned from the Seven Warlords, these two have received new bounties. 'Ruler of the Dead, Gecko Moria'... 1,096,000,000 Berries!! And 'Tyrant Kuma'... 1,290,000,000 Berries!!"
"...!!" x4
Former Warlords... Two of the worst possible enemies had just turned against them... and in their eyes, it was entirely the fault of the Invisible Phantom Thief.
"Additionally, Gecko Moria's subordinate, Ghost Princess Perona, was also visually confirmed at the scene, so we are assigning her a bounty of 67,000,000 Berries."
I'm completely stuffed... Many Marines thought to themselves. But the true main course was yet to come.
"Now, finally. The mastermind himself, the Invisible Phantom Thief, Line..."
"Here it comes...!!" x4
"Taking into account his massive army!! The sheer name value of his subordinates!! And—even with the help of his allies—the terrifying combat power required to simultaneously crush a Fleet Admiral and four Admirals!! And above all, the unparalleled gravity of the incident he caused...!!"
"Bounty: 4,032,320,000 Berries!! The 'Invisible Phantom Thief, Line' is hereby designated a threat on par with the Revolutionary Army... and a hyper-dangerous individual second only to the Four Emperors!!"
"Hiiiiiiieeeeeeee...!!!" x4
The Marines trembled in sheer terror. And so, before the day was out, these wanted posters were scattered across the entire world.
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