One day later, somewhere in the East Blue...
The Straw Hat Pirates were sailing along like usual, except for one thing: it was brutally hot.
Under the blazing sun, the Going Merry felt like it was about to burst into flames.
Luckily, there were beads of sweat constantly dripping onto its deck.
Even though the sweat was also hot, the moisture at least gave the ship some peace of mind.
And where was all that sweat coming from? Thinking about it, the Merry's sheep figurehead seemed to crack a nervous, comical smile.
…
On the deck...
"Ah, that hurts so much!" Sanji yelled, hugging his knee, his face twisted in pain.
But when he looked at the other guys, he felt a little bit better.
Luffy was covered in bruises and completely unconscious.
Zoro's eyes had rolled back into his head, all the booze from last night thoroughly beaten out of him.
Usopp was twitching on the ground like he was having a seizure.
Even Chouchou was lying on its back with its tongue hanging out, looking like it was on its last legs.
At least Sanji was still conscious.
"Ray, what's gotten into you today?" Sanji gasped. "Why are you hitting so hard?"
He was pretty sure Ray was just in a bad mood and was taking it out on them.
Ray let out a small sigh, his face a cold, emotionless mask.
"Less talk, more kicking," he said flatly. "If you can't land a hit on me, you'll end up just like them."
A cold sweat broke out on Sanji's back.
Seeing how serious Ray was, he knew he had to go all out.
In a flash, he zipped to Ray's side, swinging his left leg at his face.
"Collier Shot!"
Ray just tilted his head slightly, and the kick sailed right past him.
But Sanji used the momentum to spin his body and follow up with a powerful roundhouse kick.
'Hmph, the time it took you to dodge was just enough for me to launch this next kick,' he thought proudly.
"Take this, Mutton Shot!"
Unfortunately, Ray just sidestepped, and the kick missed completely, sending Sanji tumbling to the ground.
"Get up," Ray said. "Continue."
Sanji clutched his throbbing head and let out a roar.
(╬◣д◢):"Aah~, I'm coming at you with everything I've got!"
What followed was a quick, painful montage of Sanji jumping up, getting knocked down, standing up, falling, crawling up, and collapsing again.
After a few rounds of this, he finally passed out, face down on the deck.
Just then, Nami came out of her room, planning to grab an orange.
The moment she stepped onto the deck, her eyes met Ray's, and she froze.
She got super flustered under his cold stare.
"Um..." she stammered, "I think I'll just... go back to sleep for my beauty rest?"
Ray didn't say anything.
He just reached over and picked up a big wooden practice stick.
"Come here."
Seeing that her fate was sealed, Nami puffed out her cheeks and mustered her courage.
"Fine, I'm coming!" she yelled. "Just you wait! I'm gonna beat your butt black and blue!"
She marched over to the bow of the ship, but once she drew her Clima-Tact and got a good look at her twitching, unconscious crewmates and the nearly dead dog scattered around, all that courage vanished.
"Ray-sama" she pleaded, pouting pitifully, "go easy on me later..."
…
Hundreds of kilometers away...
A pirate flag with a clown emblem fluttered in the wind.
On the deck of the ship, the stunningly beautiful Alvida sat under a parasol, reading a newspaper.
"Captain Buggy," she sighed, "why do you always have to be so flashy? The Marines already found out about your awakened ability. With a bounty this high, things are going to get dangerous."
"Huh? Ka-ha-ha!" Buggy's voice boomed. "I told you! After all that commotion I caused, my bounty was bound to skyrocket!"
He jumped down from the crow's nest and walked over to Alvida.
"So," he asked, leaning in curiously, "how much did it go up?"
Alvida sighed again.
"200 million. Buggy, do you realize what that means?"
Buggy shot her a look. "Only 200 million? I thought it'd be at least 500 million. That's the starting price for a real big shot pirate."
He was clearly disappointed.
'Do the Marines really look down on me that much?'
"And I even prepared a big gift for them."
Alvida just rolled her eyes.
She knew he was just pretending to be disappointed to hide how proud he was.
But she kept it to herself.
The current Buggy was genuinely terrifying.
Cabaji the Acrobat walked up, oozing flattery.
"Captain, with the gift you've prepared, I'm sure your bounty will easily surpass 800 million!"
That cheered Buggy right up. "Of course! Your boss has prepared two entire islands for the Marines at Loguetown! Ka-ha-ha-ha!"
As he laughed, everyone on the crew, including Alvida, turned to look nervously at the sky behind them.
Dozens of massive, square chunks of islands were just floating there, following the ship.
The pirate ship looked like a tiny mouse next to a giant tiger.
Even though they'd been seeing it for a while now, it was still an absolutely mind-blowing sight.
Of course, Buggy didn't keep them floating all the time.
When he got tired of showing off, he'd just put them back together.
They could even have parties on the floating islands.
This was exactly why the Marines had found out about his new powers.
He was just too flashy.
"Captain," Cabaji said, "the newspaper also has an update on the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Oh? Ray and the others? Let me see!"
…
Meanwhile, all across the world, the new wanted posters for the Straw Hat and Buggy Pirates had started to circulate.
East Blue, Windmill Village
The Village Chief, Woop Slap, noticed everyone in town was celebrating.
When he got to the bar, Makino told him why.
"Chief, everyone's just happy that Luffy's bounty went up."
"Hmph! 50 million Berries!" the old man fumed. "Our village has produced a 50-million-Berry criminal! That's more than six Higumas combined!"
Makino just smiled and slid Luffy's poster in front of him.
"Don't be so upset. Look how happy Luffy is in the photo."
"Hmph! That brat. I don't know how Garp raised him."
Despite his words, the corners of the chief's mouth twitched up into a small, proud smile.
…
Baratie, the Floating Restaurant
The chefs were having a huge party, celebrating the Straw Hats' new bounties.
"Hahaha, that's our Ray! 65 million! What a monster!"
"Hey, Boss, how much was your bounty back in the day?"
Zeff's face went dark, and he smacked Patty on the head.
"I forgot! Now stop celebrating and get back to work!"
"The pirate hunter got 30 million, but Sanji didn't even get a poster! Tsk tsk."
"Exactly! What an embarrassment to our restaurant! Ahahaha!"
Zeff just stared out at the sea, a hint of worry on his face.
'With bounties this high, the Marines will be all over you. Be careful, Sanji.'
…
Cocoyashi Village
Genzo was fuming in Nojiko's house.
"Look at this picture! Lifting her shirt and shaking out wallets on a pirate ship! What kind of image is that?! How is she ever supposed to get married now?"
(Nami's wanted poster had captured the moment she'd "robbed" the villagers.)
Nojiko just chuckled. "Do you actually want Nami to get married?"
"No..."
"Then what are you worried about? With a photo like this, she might become a celebrity in the pirate world!" Nojiko laughed, then glanced under the table where she'd hidden Ray's wanted poster.
'No wonder he wears a mask,' she thought. 'He's way too handsome.'
Excited, she rocked back and forth on her chair and accidentally banged her head on the table.
…
Orange Town
Thanks to Buggy's powers, the town had mostly been rebuilt.
The townspeople were gathered around, looking at the new wanted posters.
The butcher stared at Ray's poster, a happy smile spreading across his face.
"My savior... thank you for meeting me."
That night, however, he found out his wife had secretly collected Ray's poster, too.
"My savior... I regret ever meeting you."
…
The news of these two pirate crews' staggering bounties didn't just cause a stir in the East Blue.
It sent waves across all four seas—and even into the New World.
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