Indeed, the number was not just a record; it was a complete shattering of the known limits of power.
Gol D. Roger, once the undisputed strongest man on the seas, had set a seemingly insurmountable bounty of 5.5 billion Berries in his lifetime.
Now, that record had been surpassed, and at an astonishing, world-shaking amount.
"Terrifying… absolutely terrifying," a seasoned Marine muttered, his voice barely a whisper as he stared at the new wanted posters.
"What does this even mean? Has Whitebeard become the new Pirate King?"
The moment these words were spoken, an unnerved silence fell over the surrounding crowd.
Everyone understood.
A bounty of seven billion Berries wasn't just a recognition of one's strength—it symbolized a height so vast, so impossible to surpass, that it changed the very nature of the world.
For ordinary pirates, such an opponent was not just unbeatable; he was a living god, a force of nature to be avoided at all costs.
For the Marines, he represented a colossal, existential threat.
Faced with such an exorbitant bounty, even the most arrogant and foolhardy pirates would likely choose to steer clear, let alone engage in direct confrontation.
In fact, in ports and taverns across the Grand Line, many pirates who saw this poster would feel a sudden, overwhelming urge to join the Whitebeard Pirates, hoping to become part of the legend's crew.
At that moment, two new recruits slowly stepped forward from the crowd at Marineford, their figures standing out conspicuously on the bustling, half-rebuilt docks.
One had bright pink hair and wore a pair of glasses perched on his forehead, his expression earnest and wide-eyed—this was Koby.
The other had long golden hair and sported a pair of wraparound sunglasses, giving off a mysterious and cool vibe—this was Helmeppo.
Side by side, they approached the makeshift bulletin board where the new bounties were posted.
Their eyes were immediately drawn to the massive, central poster, and their jaws nearly dropped in shock.
Koby pointed a trembling finger at the impossible string of zeroes on the paper.
"H-Helmeppo-san… do you see that? Do you actually see that number? A seven… billion… Berry bounty!"
Helmeppo gulped hard, his usual cocky demeanor completely gone.
His eyes were wide with a mixture of disbelief and pure, primal fear as he stared at the poster.
This number was utterly inconceivable.
He had never imagined, not in his wildest dreams, that he would see such an astronomical figure in his lifetime.
He turned to Koby, his own eyes flashing with awe.
"I-I see it, Koby. But… do you really think… can anyone actually capture a pirate like that?"
Hearing this, Koby's expression grew intensely solemn.
In fact, by all rational standards, it was impossible.
Yet, an unyielding fire burned in his heart, a resolve forged in his brief but life-changing encounters with true strength and true justice.
Taking a deep breath, he replied firmly, his voice devoid of its usual tremor.
"As long as we put in the effort, nothing is impossible! No matter how many obstacles lie ahead, we must charge forward! We can never retreat!"
"..."
Helmeppo was speechless, his legs nearly giving out from the sheer, crushing weight of the number before him.
It was an unimaginable sum, a mountain of power and influence pressing down on his very soul.
And yet, Koby actually wanted to go after a monster like that.
For a moment, Helmeppo genuinely thought his friend had lost his mind.
"Don't be stupid, Koby! Are you crazy?!" Helmeppo couldn't help but blurt out, grabbing his friend by the shoulders.
"If hard work alone was enough to do something like that, then what would be the point of talent? Of power? Some things are just on a different level!"
To him, some things were simply unchangeable.
Talent was the ultimate deciding factor, and they were just… them.
Yet, Koby wasn't shaken by Helmeppo's disbelief.
On the contrary, it only strengthened his resolve.
He knew he came from humble origins.
He had no prestigious background, no extraordinary, monstrous talent.
But that didn't mean he was destined to fail.
"If hard work isn't enough," Koby declared, his voice rising with passion, "then I'll just work ten times harder! A hundred times! A thousand times! A million times harder if I have to!"
He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes fixed on the bounty poster on the wall, burning with an unwavering, almost painful determination.
"One day, I'll be strong enough to capture a pirate like this. I'll stand before Luffy-san, and I'll tell him—I did it! I'm a great Marine of Justice, and I'm no worse than anyone else!"
Helmeppo stared at Koby's resolute gaze and found himself at a loss for words.
He knew that look.
Koby's resolve was now unshakable.
No amount of persuasion, no amount of pragmatic, cynical reasoning, would ever change his mind.
Finally, he let out a long, weary sigh and shook his head, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching his lips.
"Well," he said, "since it's come to this… let's go eat first. I'm starving."
.....
Across the skies of seas worldwide, the News Coos soon took flight.
Each bird carried a small pouch at its waist, filled with the latest, world-shaking newspapers.
Whenever they passed over an island, they would drop the papers from the sky like white-winged messengers of fate, ensuring the news spread with impossible speed.
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Navy Headquarters has been destroyed!"
The first person to grab a newspaper in a bustling port town shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief, immediately drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
"What? Say that again!" a fisherman paused in his work, a net half-mended in his hands, his face a mask of disbelief.
"Navy Headquarters is the heart of the Marines, the symbol of the World Government's power! How could it possibly be blown up?"
"It's true! Here, look at this!" The man held up the fresh newspaper, its ink still fragrant, and handed it to the fisherman.
As more and more people noticed the fluttering papers in the air and reached out to grab one, the entire dock erupted into a cacophony of shocked shouts and frantic murmurs.
When their eyes landed on the front-page headline—accompanied by a horrifying photograph showing Marineford reduced to a smoking crater—everyone froze, their faces etched with a shared, stunned disbelief.
"This… this is actually real," someone muttered, their voice trembling with astonishment.
The news spread like a wildfire, sending shockwaves through the entire region as people frantically discussed the possible reasons behind the incident and its terrifying consequences.
But just as they were forced to accept this new reality, another, even more world-shaking cry rang out from the crowd.
"A Pirate King! Another Pirate King has appeared on these seas!"
"What?! Has Roger come back to life?!" someone exclaimed in shock.
"Nonsense! The dead can't return! Look at the latest bounty poster inside the newspaper!" another person shouted, pointing at the paper in their hand.
Everyone crowded around, their eyes fixed on the newspaper.
And there, clearly printed in bold, stark ink, was the staggering figure of seven billion.
"Gasp…!!! Whitebeard's bounty has reached seven billion Berries!"
"That's… that's even higher than Roger's bounty!" someone marveled, their voice filled with awe.
"It's over! These seas are going to be in complete chaos again!" another worriedly said, picturing a new, even bloodier era of piracy.
"Chaos my foot!" a grizzled old merchant retorted, surprisingly calm.
"With a King of the Seas this powerful, those other upstart pirates won't be fighting to become the Pirate King anymore. The race is over. I have a feeling these seas might actually… gradually stabilize."
"That… actually makes sense," another person considered.
"If there's one lion so strong that all the others are too scared to challenge him, maybe the jungle will finally know some peace."
The world debated, argued, and despaired.
But one thing was certain: the Great Pirate Era had just entered a new, terrifying, and completely unpredictable chapter.
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