The following day. Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"Captain of the 'Buggy' Pirates, 'Buggy the Clown,' with a bounty of 15 million Beli!"
"Captain of the 'Black Cat' Pirates, 'Kuro of a Hundred Plans,' with a bounty of 16 million Beli!"
"Captain of the 'Krieg' Pirates, 'Admiral' Krieg, and his second-in-command, 'Gin the Man-Demon,' with a bounty of 12 million Beli!"
"And the captain of the 'Fish-Man' Pirates, Arlong, with a bounty of 20 million Beli. Along with the entire 'Fish-Man' Pirates, all of whose officers possess strength not inferior to pirates with bounties in the tens of millions."
"The above are all the major pirates in the East Blue with bounties in the tens of millions! However, every single one of these pirates was defeated by a single group – the East Blue's new star, 'Sea Emperor' Eden."
Marine HQ Major Brannew was currently explaining the situation in the East Blue and the heinous acts of Eden's group to the assembled admirals and officers in the conference room.
"Most importantly..."
"Someone witnessed Eden fighting the World's Greatest Swordsman, 'Hawk-Eyes' Dracule Mihawk, at the Baratie sea restaurant."
"It's said that neither of them gained the upper hand..."
"Furthermore, Rear Admiral Erza, who was in charge of subjugating Eden's group, personally admitted she was powerless against them."
"Therefore, whether we like it or not, we must acknowledge that in the East Blue, the symbol of peace, a supernova has risen after several years!"
"Under special approval from Fleet Admiral Sengoku! The decision has been made to issue bounties for 'Sea Emperor' Eden's crew as follows..."
Brannew paused here, taking a sip from his teacup to moisten his throat.
Then, Brannew continued, "First, the captain, 'Sea Emperor' Eden, bounty: 120 million Beli! Second-in-command, 'Fire Dragon' Natsu, bounty: 60 million Beli! Third-in-command, 'Rain Woman' Juvia, bounty: 50 million Beli! Navigator, 'Cat Burglar' Nami, bounty: 20 million Beli! And the pet, 'Demon Cat' Happy, bounty: 18 Beli. That is all."
"Oooh!!"
Once Brannew finished, the entire conference hall erupted into heated discussion. Everyone seemed intensely curious about this supernova who had surpassed a 100 million Beli bounty within a mere week of setting sail.
"Next up, we have the pirate crew under Eden's faction, the 'Straw Hat' Luffy crew. We will now begin to determine the bounties for the 'Straw Hat' crew..." Brannew continued.
"'Monkey D. Luffy?!'"
"'What's with this 'Monkey'?'"
"'Don't tell me he's someone's grandson again?'"
In the hall, some of the Commodore-ranked officers, upon hearing Luffy's surname 'Monkey,' immediately wore expressions as if they'd swallowed something bitter, speaking with a sense of weary resignation.
Mm, speaking of the surname 'Monkey'... Perhaps no one in the entire Marines, or even the world, didn't know it... After all, the Marine 'Hero,' on par with the current Fleet Admiral Sengoku! The legendary Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp, who once chased the 'Pirate King' Gol D. Roger all over the world and repeatedly refused promotion to Admiral, was simply too famous.
Moreover... It wasn't the first or second time Garp's son or grandson had run off to oppose the World Government and the Marines. That old geezer Garp had a record.
"It's decided."
"The bounties for the other members of the 'Straw Hat' Pirates will be determined later. Captain Luffy's bounty is set at 30 million Beli! As for the others, issue the wanted posters first..."
After some discussion, they finally settled on the bounty situation for the Straw Hat crew. Perhaps because Luffy's surname was too conspicuous... All the Marine admirals and officers present decided to increase the bounty, aiming to capture Luffy as soon as possible, lest he grow stronger and become completely uncontrollable later on.
Meanwhile, in the Fleet Admiral's office...
"Alright, I will seriously consider your report."
"You may leave now, Rear Admiral Erza."
Sengoku had just received Erza's submitted report. He set aside the 'detailed' account of Eden's clash with Mihawk within the report and, looking at a certain disrespectful old geezer in his office, his stomach churned with anger. He roared, "Eat, eat, eat! All you know is how to eat! Your grandson has run off to become a pirate, and you're still here eating! Garp, you old fool, get out of my office!"
"Ahahaha..."
"Luffy, that rascal, is just like his father~"
"Speaking of which, has Luffy ever even met his father?"
"Ahahaha..."
Garp laughed heartily as he left the office. Amidst his laughter, he gently wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye, his expression filled with a profound loneliness. 'Luffy, have you finally chosen to become a pirate like Ace? You've truly broken your grandpa's heart.'
"Vice-Admiral Garp."
"There's something I'd like to ask of you."
After Garp was 'kicked out' of the Fleet Admiral's office by Sengoku, Erza, who had been waiting here for him, immediately approached. She bowed respectfully to Garp.
At the same time, Erza thought to herself, 'So this is the Haki teacher Eden recommended? Marine HQ Vice-Admiral, 'Garp the Fist.''
"Isn't this Rear Admiral Erza?"
"You young lady are about to be promoted to Vice-Admiral. You'll be my equal then, no need to be so polite with me..." Garp smiled casually at Erza, appearing exceptionally easygoing.
"Vice-Admiral Garp, I actually have a favor to ask of you," Erza requested after a moment of thought.
"What is it?" Garp looked at Erza, puzzled.
"I want to learn Haki."
"Please teach me..." Erza stated bluntly.
"Haki, you say?"
"Mm, speaking of which, you're almost a Vice-Admiral. It's indeed time to teach you."
"Then come with me, little lass."
"Haki isn't something you can learn in a day or two."
"Prepare yourself! I'm very strict." Garp agreed quite readily after a brief moment of thought.
"Eh?!"
This clearly stunned Erza. The speech she had prepared was suddenly useless. However, after a brief moment of hesitation, Erza quickly followed Garp's steps.
Meanwhile.
On a certain nameless island.
Mihawk, traveling in his coffin-like boat, slowly docked it beside the island.
"Mihawk, what are you doing here?!"
"Are you planning to start a war with our boss?!"
"Alert! Alert..."
As Mihawk set foot on the island, the entire island seemed to tremble...
Members of a certain pirate crew, currently resting on the island, all looked at the newly arrived Mihawk with wary expressions, shouting loudly.
"No! I'm here to see your boss."
At this, Mihawk shook his head. He wasn't here to fight these people today; rather, on a whim, he planned to find this pirate crew's boss and have a good chat about the trends of the new era.
However...
When Mihawk, under the wary watch of these pirate grunts, finally saw the boss of the pirate crew stationed on this island... he found himself drawn to a man standing beside the red-haired individual he was looking for. This man bore an eighty percent resemblance to the red-haired man but had short, orange-red hair.
"Mihawk, let me introduce you."
"This is my newly made companion... Gildarts."
At the same time, the red-haired man, one of the four individuals who reigned like emperors in the New World, one of the 'Four Emperors' – 'Red-Haired' Shanks – laughed heartily as he introduced the person beside him to Mihawk.
Mm, this person was none other than the strongest fighting force of the mages' guild Fairy Tail, Gildarts.
~# Every 30 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter