The grand chamber fell into eerie silence.
A nameless brat forced Lord Imu to act personally?!
Preposterous.
Not even the Four Emperors or the Celestial Dragons had ever been treated with such urgency.
If this incident were to be reported publicly, the first thing the World Government would need to do is eliminate the ones involved—no exceptions. The only viable plan was to surround and contain them.
The blond Elder shook his head. "That's pointless. Ren Takashi isn't stupid. If he knows he can't win, he'll escape. The real danger is if he knows how to escape."
The curly-haired, impatient Elder slammed his staff into the floor, creating a massive crater beneath him. "There's also the method of killing with a borrowed knife."
The bearded Elder finally spoke, his voice slow and measured. "We can raise Ren Takashi's bounty to catch the attention of the Four Emperors. Given their nature, conflict is inevitable."
Kaido?!
At the mention of this idea, the other Elders instantly pictured two faces—Kaido and Big Mom.
Whitebeard had no interest in anything other than his so-called 'sons,' and was unlikely to act unless directly provoked.
The blond Elder's scowl loosened. "If Ren Takashi can't kill Garp, then let Kaido and Big Mom deal with him. The outcome benefits us either way."
Ren wouldn't be able to deal with both at once.
Best-case scenario, they all suffered losses. Even if Ren escaped, it would weaken everyone involved. No one would stop him from retreating.
"Who cares who dies?" sneered the bearded Elder. "Our goal is to provoke chaos. Remember—Ren is our enemy. And so are Kaido and Big Mom. Let them destroy each other."
A sliver of malicious glee flashed in the Elders' eyes.
No matter who fell, they would be the ones to reap the rewards in the end.
The mustached Elder nodded. "Good. Let them do the dirty work. We'll just sit back and enjoy the show."
Admiral Zhang Guo, who had been standing silently to the side, finally gathered the courage to speak. "What should Ren Takashi's bounty be? And on what grounds?"
The Navy's recent defeats must not be allowed to spread.
Any news issued by the Marines would be heavily curated. Disgraceful outcomes would be downplayed or omitted entirely.
This was standard practice for preserving the Navy's image.
Moreover, Kizaru had been critically wounded. He would be out of action for an extended period.
Even if he eventually returned to public view, the citizens wouldn't immediately associate his shattered arm with Ren Takashi. If the government stayed silent, public speculation would remain uncertain—and if necessary, they could offer an alternate explanation.
"Even the Sea King of the East, Shanks, lost his arm to a Sea King. So is it really that strange for Kizaru to lose his arm to Ren Takashi?" Zhang Guo reasoned.
The Elder who wielded the sword asked flatly, "What's Ren Takashi's current bounty?"
"Eight hundred million berries," Zhang Guo replied.
"Raise it to... three billion."
"Three billion?!" Zhang Guo was stunned.
That amount put Ren just beneath the Four Emperors.
Many of the legendary Emperors had lower bounties than that.
What was most terrifying was that this entire figure was based on Ren's combat strength alone.
Bounties typically accounted for various factors: influence, threat to the World Government, public destruction, and so on. Combat strength was only one part.
Even in the original timeline, Luffy only reached three billion after defeating Kaido and dismantling the Beast Pirates' operations.
Ren Takashi, by contrast, had no territory, no armada, no empire—just one spaceship and a crew full of women.
At most, one billion of his bounty was likely due to his teleportation technique.
Zhang Guo frowned. "Will people believe it?"
The blond Elder snapped, "Do we need them to believe it?"
"If they're pirates, who cares? If they're civilians, they won't understand. Sengoku, your job is to carry out our orders. Maintain the Navy's image."
"Say nothing unnecessary."
Zhang Guo clenched his jaw. In front of the Five Elders, even a Fleet Admiral was beneath notice.
"Understood," he bowed.
Due to the Elders' strong insistence, the bounty was updated and distributed the next day.
The first person to get wind of it was naturally Morgans—the head of the World Economy News Paper.
"Hurry up! Speed up the presses!"
"Woooo!!!" his staff cheered in unison as they worked tirelessly.
Morgans rubbed his hands together in excitement, already dreaming of the wealth this scoop would bring him. His eyes sparkled, literally turning into the shape of Berries.
But something didn't feel right.
Why destroy Enies Lobby for no reason? Was it just to flex his strength?
Not impossible… Morgans nodded silently. Pirates did all sorts of crazy things for attention.
What a pity Ren had no companions on the island—otherwise, he might've captured footage of the entire battle.
—The Next Day—
Encouraged by Morgans, an army of News Coo birds soared across the globe, delivering the bombshell headline like a massive stone splashing into still waters.
[BREAKING] Ren Takashi: New Bounty — 3 Billion Berries! Dead or Alive!
Ren destroys Enies Lobby in a fit of madness!
Ren challenges the Navy's authority and must be taken down by any means!
A threat to world peace!!!
The blood-red titles dominated every paper rack worldwide.
The Marines didn't forget to stir conflict between Ren and the Four Emperors.
The world was ablaze with chatter, and the news spread like wildfire.
—Wano Country, Onigashima—
"Tch. The Navy's methods are as despicable as ever," Kaido scoffed as he looked over the headlines.
Jin, the masked leader of the Calamities, said gravely, "Don't you think it's strange?"
Kaido grunted, "Spit it out."
"It's just Enies Lobby. Is it really worth a three billion bounty?"
If it were truly that simple, Jack would've razed the place long ago.
Jack, the Drought, chuckled nearby. "Heh… what do you think, Kaido-sama? If you give the word, I'll head out and capture this guy right now!"
Kaido didn't even flinch. "No need. If he enters the New World, I'll handle it myself."
The Grand Line was vast. Finding Ren there was like hunting a needle in a haystack.
But in the New World, Kaido's intelligence network and reach were unmatched.
He'd find Ren soon enough—if Ren didn't hide.
"By the way, what's Yamato up to?" Kaido suddenly asked.
Runti, one of the Flying Six, scratched her head awkwardly. "She's… role-playing again."
Kaido's face darkened. Was this about Kozuki Oden again?
In her private quarters, Yamato held her plump cheeks in her hands, starry-eyed as she stared at a photo of Ren on her table.
Strong, dashing, charismatic, and most importantly… healthy.
Everything she wanted in a man.
Ren Takashi was her fated love!!!
Even Katakuri, Big Mom's greatest son, would leave the room grimacing after hearing that.
—The New World, Moby Dick—
"Bwahahaha… Looks like Ren wasn't satisfied with just killing Crocodile. Now he wants to be famous," laughed Flower Sword Vista.
The captains of the Whitebeard Pirates burst into hearty laughter.
Only Marco frowned slightly. "Doesn't something feel off?"
Whitebeard, sitting in his chair, casually tossed the newspaper aside.
Whether it was true or some deeper scheme, he didn't care.
He had one priority now—
At that thought, the crew's smiles faded briefly. They all shook their heads.
No sign of Blackbeard yet.
The hunt continued.