Several days later.
Navy Headquarters, Marinfanto.
The towering fortress stands silently, facing the magnificent and vast square, and the crescent-shaped giant harbor.
And on the right side of the fortress, within the wind-style building resembling the Heavenly Guard Tower.
In a tatami-floored conference room, more than a dozen figures wearing Cloaks of Justice are seated in two rows, with sake and grilled fish placed on the low tables before them.
Yet no one touches them, the atmosphere in the entire conference room is quite oppressive and suffocating.
Amidst the swirling smoke, only the sound of puffing cigars can be heard.
"It seems everyone has already heard the rumors."
Senior Staff Officer Blanu steps into the conference room, approaches the whiteboard, and scratches his messy grass-green nest-like hair.
"That's right, over on the East Sea, a nest of vicious pirates suddenly appeared a while ago, very troublesome."
"Vicious pirates?"
A white-haired Major General sneers, "Really, daring to use such words? Even I blush with shame hearing this. The internal investigation reports are clear; wasn't it Vice Admiral Onigumo going crazy and causing trouble by shelling Log Town?"
"Watch what you say."
Another young Rear Admiral says indifferently, "It's unrelated to Mr. Onigumo; it was under orders from Alta, who has Heavenly Celestial Dragon blood. The duty of a soldier is to obey orders, what else could he do?"
"Not a pure-blooded Heavenly Celestial Dragon, if you really don't want to comply, there are many ways to pretend. What can Alta do about him as a Headquarter Vice Admiral?"
The white-haired Major General gets angry, his voice suddenly rising a pitch.
"Stop finding excuses! Clearly, this guy's old habits have surfaced again! Seeing pirates gather, he just wants to go over and enjoy slaughtering them, disregarding civilian safety, but ends up provoking trouble! It's shameful for me to be associated with such persons as comrades!!!"
"Calm down, Mr. Fane."
Blanu rubs his brow with some frustration, advising helplessly:
"How Vice Admiral Onigumo behaves, I won't judge for now, and it's not the topic of our meeting today. Let's set it aside for now; you can continue arguing privately after the meeting, alright?"
Humph!
Rear Admiral Fane turns his head, snorting heavily as an unwilling response.
Blanu shakes his head; as one of the oldest staff officers in headquarters, he is already used to such situations.
Vice Admiral Onigumo, in the entire navy headquarters, is the most extreme among the hawks, long disliked by the doves.
Since the "Log Town incident," various departments have had numerous disputes regarding the role Onigumo played in it.
The scene in today's staff meeting is merely a microcosm.
"In any case, Vice Admiral Onigumo was publicly 'executed.' I don't want to use this word, but it truly best depicts the scene at that time."
Blanu continued, "And the King of Pis Kingdom, Alta Your Majesty, who he was responsible for protecting, also died aboard the warship."
"From the Pis Kingdom royal family, there have been multiple urgent requests to investigate, with strong wording, even threatening to escalate it to the Holy Land. The impact of this incident is extremely adverse."
"So, as I said earlier, no matter what stance people have regarding Mr. Onigumo, it doesn't matter. The attitude from the top concerning the Log Town incident is clear; focus must be on dealing with these individuals, and eradicate them as soon as possible."
With that, he takes out a large stack of bounty orders, and sticks them one by one on the whiteboard.
"First, this one!"
With a snap, Blanu's thin long stick points to the right-most bounty order featuring an old man with braided mustache.
"Redfoot Zeff! Former captain of the Chef Pirates, bounty of 50 million Belly. Years ago, with crew members, adventured in the Grand Line for a year before returning to the East Sea, since then disappeared."
"The staff department kept an eye on him for some time, later generally assuming it was due to aging, retiring, but no one expected him to lower his status, following someone else's ship as an ordinary chef to set sail again."
"Notably, for unknown reasons, his right leg was replaced with a prosthetic made of unknown metal, showcasing the ability to control fire and thunder, and can fly directly in the air."
"At the same time, he has grasped several Rokushiki Body Techniques, with significant improvement from before. During the Log Town incident, he was even able to fight on par with the formidable Hound Rear Admiral."
"Hound Rear Admiral?"
The faces of the attendees turn serious; some came out around the same time as the Hound from the Headquarter Elite Training Camp, knowing his background. He is outstanding among Rear Admirals in the headquarters.
If nothing unexpected happens, he is likely the next priority candidate for promotion to Headquarter Vice Admiral.
And this powerful old man, in this newly emerged pirate gang, holds the position of just a chef?
"Based on this information, after deliberation by the staff, the revised bounty is determined to be 80 million Belly! Nicknamed Steel Red Foot!"
After Blanu's somber announcement, he moves the long stick to the left by one position, "Now look at this one!"
In the photo, a black-haired girl with a high ponytail stands sideways in the rain, quietly watching ahead, dressed plainly like the Wado Ichimonji at her waist.
"Kuina, a mysterious girl, years ago won the local swordsmanship competition on Asakura Island in the East Sea, vanished for years, now displays Sword Master Level power at a young age!"
"And this time, it's her initial bounty, priced at 75 million Belly! Nicknamed Rain-Slaying Sword Master!"
A first bounty of 75 million Belly.
This is an unimaginable amount for pirates from the East Sea.
But the assembled individuals aren't surprised; the Sword Hero Realm is rare even in the first half of the Grand Line, deserving of such bounty level.
"Now onto these two, 'Iron Fist' Nojiko, 'Orange Hair' Nami. Upon investigation, both are sisters to a man named Shano."
Blanu points to the two stylistically different sisters on the whiteboard:
"Among them, Nojiko possesses considerable combat strength, masters several fist techniques and Rokushiki Body Techniques, although slightly at a disadvantage in her fight with Rear Admiral Yaqi, she single-handedly thwarted Rear Admiral Yaqi's support plans."
"Thus, the bounty is set at 40 million Belly!"
"As for this underage girl named Nami…" Blanu slightly frowns, "She didn't engage in direct combat in the Log Town incident, after assessment, presumed to be onboard due to her blood relation with the captain, essentially lacks combat ability, but because she participated in this event, bounty is unavoidable."
"Tentatively set at 8000 Belly!"