Holy Land Mary Geoise
Inside a vast Gothic chamber decorated with extravagant luxury, five elders of different appearances lounged on an enormous sofa. One of the bald elders rested a sword across his lap.
At first glance, it seemed ordinary.
In reality, it was one of the most infamous blades in history.
The Supreme Grade cursed sword, Shodai Kitetsu.
The five men gathered here held the highest authority within the World Government.
The Gorosei.
At least, that was what the world believed.
Only a select few knew that an even higher existence, Imu, stood above them.
Seated opposite the Gorosei was Kong. His posture remained perfectly straight as he calmly reported the outcome of the Marineford operation.
After returning from Marineford, he had immediately requested an audience to inform them of Sengoku's failed mission.
"Has Ryūjin truly reached such a level?"
Shock appeared on the faces of the Gorosei after hearing the report.
Killing ten thousand Marines was already astonishing.
Defeating five Admiral-level fighters at the same time was something else entirely.
Never before had such a monster appeared on the seas.
Even the Four Emperors, who stood at the peak of piracy, seemed far behind in comparison.
Ever since Ryūjin gained worldwide fame after defeating Dracule Mihawk, the Gorosei had kept a close watch on him.
Yet even they had never imagined his growth would be this terrifying.
"This is the intelligence the Marines have gathered regarding Ryūjin. Please review it."
Kong placed a thick file before them.
The Gorosei exchanged the documents and began reading.
As they progressed through the report, their expressions grew increasingly serious.
Some information within the file had never reached them before.
Most shocking of all was the revelation that Ryūjin could control seawater.
Devil Fruit users were forsaken by the sea.
Touching seawater weakened them.
If Ryūjin could truly manipulate it freely, then he was the natural enemy of every Devil Fruit user in existence.
Including certain members of the Gorosei.
Even Lord Imu.
The report contained another unbelievable detail.
Ryūjin could injure Logia users without relying on Haki.
That ability completely overturned the common understanding of the sea.
For Logia users, it was an especially dangerous threat.
"Kong, Ryūjin's existence poses a tremendous threat to both the Marines and the World Government."
After finishing the report, the long-haired elder finally spoke.
"The World Government cannot tolerate such an individual unless he falls under our control," the elder wearing a hat added coldly.
"We want Ryūjin brought under our control as soon as possible."
"We are extremely interested in the source of his abilities."
"His existence violates the established laws of the world. There must be secrets hidden within him."
"However, if control is impossible, you are authorized to eliminate him."
"During this operation, CP0 will provide full assistance."
Kong remained composed.
"Ryūjin's strength is unfathomable. I cannot guarantee victory."
He had no intention of making promises he could not keep.
The bald elder slowly rose and extended his weapon.
"Take my Shodai Kitetsu."
"Do not disappoint us."
Kong accepted the legendary blade respectfully.
As one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords, Shodai Kitetsu possessed extraordinary power.
Combined with Kong's own strength, it would greatly increase his combat capabilities.
After bowing deeply, Kong left the chamber.
Once he returned to Marine Headquarters, he immediately coordinated with CP0 before issuing orders.
"Sengoku, the moment Ryūjin makes a move, I want to know."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral."
Sengoku wasted no time.
Orders were transmitted throughout every Marine branch.
The entire Marine force entered a state of heightened readiness.
At the same time, Ryūjin's name once again shook the world when his newest bounty was revealed.
---
The Moby Dick
"Pops! Pops!"
Marco sprinted across the deck, waving a freshly printed bounty poster.
Whitebeard glanced over while taking another drink.
"Marco, my son, judging by your expression, something major happened again."
Ace grinned.
"Let me guess."
"Ryūjin again?"
Nobody found the guess surprising.
Recently, Ryūjin seemed incapable of staying out of the headlines.
Every few days another world-shaking event surfaced.
And every time Marco rushed back looking this excited, the news involved Ryūjin.
Ordinary events simply couldn't attract the attention of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Ace got it right."
Marco held up the poster.
"The Marines updated Ryūjin's bounty again."
Whitebeard raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Did the brat do something else?"
Jozu looked stunned.
"His bounty was already seven billion Berries."
"How much higher could it possibly go?"
"At least another billion, right?"
Someone nearby swallowed nervously.
"Could it have exceeded eight billion?"
"Maybe even nine billion?"
The crew stared at Marco expectantly.
Marco grinned.
"Ten billion."
"A full ten billion Berries."
The deck instantly exploded.
"What?!"
"Ten billion?!"
"You're kidding!"
"That's impossible!"
Gasps echoed everywhere.
Even Whitebeard froze for a moment.
A bounty of ten billion completely shattered common sense.
Nobody had ever imagined such a figure appearing in this world.
Several seconds later, Whitebeard suddenly burst into laughter.
"Gurararara!"
"It seems Ryūjin has done something extraordinary again."
For the first time in years, even Whitebeard felt eager to see what the next newspaper would reveal.
---
Kaido's Flagship
"Ten billion?"
Kaido stared at the bounty poster before him.
Even he found it difficult to believe.
The Four Emperors represented the pinnacle of power.
Yet their bounties hovered around five billion.
Ryūjin's was double that amount.
It sounded absurd.
Bang!
Kaido slammed his kanabo down.
The deck shook violently.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"So the Marines are saying this man's strength is worth twice mine?"
Queen immediately snorted.
"Have those idiots lost their minds?"
"A ten-billion-Berry bounty?"
"What a joke."
Jack folded his arms.
"Two months ago it was seven billion."
"Now it's ten billion."
"Ridiculous."
King's eyes flashed with killing intent.
"Lord Kaido, allow me to hunt him down personally."
Less than half a year had passed since Ryūjin first appeared on the world stage.
His bounty had climbed from four billion to seven billion.
Now it stood at ten billion.
The growth was unbelievable.
Neither Kaido nor his commanders believed the bounty accurately reflected Ryūjin's strength.
Kaido eventually picked up his kanabo again.
"No rush."
"Let's finish our current business first."
"Then we'll deal with Ryūjin."
A dangerous grin spread across his face.
"I'd like to see whether someone with a ten-billion-Berry bounty can finally kill me."
News had already reached him that Kong had returned to the World Government.
Kaido had no intention of remaining quiet much longer.
If he continued doing nothing, people might actually think he had been intimidated.
That was unacceptable.
---
The shock spread far beyond Whitebeard and Kaido.
Big Mom and Red-Haired Shanks were equally stunned when they saw the new bounty.
If even the Four Emperors reacted this way, ordinary pirates stood no chance of remaining calm.
Across the seas, similar conversations erupted everywhere.
"Ten billion Berries? Am I dreaming?"
"I've never seen anything like this!"
"The Marines actually issued a ten-billion-Berry bounty?"
"What exactly did Ryūjin do?"
"Did he destroy Marineford?"
"The Four Emperors aren't even comparable anymore."
"Ryūjin has surpassed them all!"
As discussions intensified, some people even began redefining the balance of power on the seas.
Instead of the Four Emperors, they spoke of:
One Emperor and the Four Emperors.
The title of One Emperor belonged exclusively to Ryūjin.
---
Ryūjin's Ship
"One..."
"Ten..."
"Hundred..."
"Thousand..."
Nami and Robin practically pressed their faces against the bounty poster while counting the endless string of zeros repeatedly.
After checking several times, they finally accepted reality.
It really was ten billion.
The two women exchanged stunned looks.
Then they both inhaled sharply.
"Ten billion..."
Their worldviews had been completely overturned.
Ryūjin, meanwhile, looked utterly indifferent.
"It's only a number."
"It just reflects the Marines' attitude."
"Nothing worth making a fuss over."
To him, five billion and ten billion meant very little.
Nobody was collecting that bounty anyway.
The same logic applied to the Four Emperors.
Their bounty posters had existed for years, yet nobody had ever successfully turned one in.
Rather than dwelling on such meaningless things, Ryūjin turned toward Nami.
"You should spend more time deciding whether you want a Devil Fruit."
More than a month ago, Crocodile had already ordered Baroque Works agents to deliver a copy of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
Unfortunately, the forty Devil Fruits Sengoku provided were largely disappointing.
Most were ordinary Zoan Fruits.
Sheep Fruit.
Rabbit Fruit.
And various other mediocre abilities.
The Paramecia Fruits weren't much better.
Many were impractical, unattractive, or simply weak.
Naturally, Sengoku had no reason to hand over powerful Devil Fruits to an enemy.
Only a fool would strengthen someone who opposed them.
And because a person could only eat one Devil Fruit in their lifetime, choosing recklessly was out of the question.
Nami had carefully considered the options.
In the end, she wasn't interested.
"Ryūjin-san, thank you, but none of these Devil Fruits suit me."
Ryūjin shrugged.
"Yeah right, suit yourself."
Since Nami declined them, he naturally had no intention of letting them go to waste.
After informing everyone aboard the ship, Ryūjin entered the Kamui Dimension.
There, he began absorbing all forty Devil Fruits.
Each individual fruit provided only a small increase.
Together, however, they still produced noticeable gains.
His Seven Chakra Natures improved to varying degrees.
Among them, Yin Release and Yang Release received the greatest enhancement.
Even forty mediocre Devil Fruits generated worthwhile benefits.
That made Ryūjin increasingly curious about what rewards his four undercover pawns would bring him next.
Thinking about it, turning Sengoku and the others into puppets had been an excellent decision.
===
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