The Thousand Sunny sailed steadily across the sea. It had taken them quite some effort to escape from Totto Land—they'd run smack into a Navy fleet mid-operation and were frozen solid by Kuzan's Ice Age.
If Sabo hadn't arrived in time to shatter the ice and pull them out, the entire crew might've been wiped out.
Only after laying eyes on the massive aerial fortress did the Straw Hat Pirates realize… Kuina had been holding back last time.
No, she wasn't just holding back. She was practically letting them off easy... ocean-sized mercy, that was.
Finally breaking free of Big Mom's territory, Nami, as the crew's navigator, let out a long sigh of relief.
"Hey~ Luffy~ Everyone's been gone for a while now. How long are you gonna stay all sulky like that?!"
Luffy lay on the grass, face scrunched with frustration. Around him, the crew was sprawled out in all directions.
"Sigh~ What a waste. The Navy moved too fast…"
"We were totally just extras in that whole thing!"
"How did Wright-san show up all of a sudden like that? And with sooo many Marines!"
Luffy rolled over in frustration.
"A showdown between a Yonko and the Fleet Admiral… and we didn't even get to see the ending!"
"Yeah… that's a real shame," Zoro said with a straight face, leaning against the railing. "And the booze there was good too. I didn't get my fill."
"The desserts were amazing~ That last cake… I really wanted a bite~~" Chopper's eyes sparkled.
"Soo many snacks! All sweet and delicious! I was in heaven!"
"Hey! You morons! Focus!" Sanji snapped.
"If we'd left any later, we'd be toast!"
"If it weren't for the Chief of Staff stepping in, that half-baked Bege wouldn't have stood a chance, none of us would've made it out alive!"
"And besides…" Sanji growled through clenched teeth, dragging deeply from his cigarette. "That bastard of an old man, he totally rigged my wanted poster!"
"Heh~ We really lucked out, huh? For a second, I thought I was gonna be squeezed into watermelon juice~" Robin chuckled softly, clearly intrigued by Smoothie's powers.
"R-Robin~! Don't go imagining things that scary!" Usopp wailed from the rail, his face ghostly pale. "W-Why did my bounty go up again?!"
Indeed, after parting ways with Bege, the Straw Hats were assisted by Sabo and Koala in escaping Kuzan's freezing assault. Once out of danger, it had already been several days—and by then, The World Economy News had published the full story of the battle at Totto Land.
The daring group who'd crashed Big Mom's tea party, and even attempted to assassinate her in the presence of her top officers—the Straw Hat Pirates—had become world-famous overnight.
"That fat bird that kept following us around… turns out he's the president of the World Economy News Paper? Who saw that coming?!"
Franky looked thoroughly impressed by Morgans' journalistic drive.
"Whoa! So President-san is a giant fat bird who made it through all that chaos? He's not just a pervert…"
Franky struck a dramatic pose.
"He's a super pervert!!"
"…"
Brook sipped his tea and twirled his cane. "Speaking of which, the assassination was Bege's plan. We only played the opening act… and yet we got our bounties raised, while Bege barely made the papers. He's not too happy about that, yohohoho!"
"…"
The Merry, now fully sentient as their helmswoman, looked rather heartbroken. Despite her invaluable assistance during their escape from Totto Land thanks to her advanced warning systems…
"Why do I have a bounty?! And…"
Tears welled up in Merry's eyes as she laid out a stack of wanted posters.
"Why is it so high?!"
Silence fell over the deck.
They had stood against Big Mom and actually made it to the tea party. In full view of the Four Emperors, they'd launched an assassination attempt… and escaped alive.
They clashed with a fleet led by an Admiral during their retreat… escaped again. Their close ties with the Revolutionary Army only deepened their perceived threat level.
Straw Hat Pirate Bounties:
Captain: "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy – 800,000,000 Berries
Swordsman: "Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro – 280,000,000 Berries
Cook: "Black Leg" Vinsmoke Sanji – 270,000,000 Berries
Doctor: "Tanuki Doctor" Tony Tony Chopper – 70,000,000 Berries
Sniper: "Sogeking" Usopp – 150,000,000 Berries
Navigator: "Cat Burglar" Nami – 60,000,000 Berries
Archaeologist: "Devil Child" Nico Robin – 110,000,000 Berries
Shipwright: "Iron Man" Franky – 80,000,000 Berries
Musician: "Soul King" Brook – 78,000,000 Berries
Helmswoman: "Klabautermann" Merry – 10,000,000 Berries
Chopper was practically melting from joy.
"Ahahaha~~ Damn it~~ My bounty jumped seventy thousand times over!"
"But why 'Tanuki'?! I'm a doctor, damn it!!"
"Bwahahahaha!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
After the Redfield incident, Naval Headquarters added a new rule of thumb:
Never assume something cute can't be deadly.
Pato's abilities had been on full display in the battle against Big Mom. Even though the tiny tanuki hadn't shown up in person, the fact that he could still turn the tide shocked the Navy to its core.
So much so that Vice Admiral Tsuru's strategy division ordered a full review of all known "mascot" pets among the major pirate crews.
That's how they realized: Bepo, the 500-Beri navigator of the Seven Warlords' "Surgeon of Death," was a formidable Mink warrior in disguise.
And now, with the Straw Hats making their escape, every member had shown unexpected strength.
Among them, the two long-considered "mascots"—cotton-candy-loving Chopper and ship spirit Merry—had proved to be anything but background characters.
The Navy's "big sisters" in intelligence had their eyes sparkling with renewed clarity: the Straw Hat Pirates had long been hiding a powerhouse doctor and helmswoman under the guise of pets.
And that tanuki doctor? He could turn into a hulking monster—crazy strong!
At long last, Chopper could puff his chest with pride.
Clink!
"Huh? Luffy, did your armlet break?" Nami asked, hearing the sudden sound. Luffy was still laughing, but the bracelet that had always been on his arm—cracked during their last battle—had finally fallen apart completely.
"Ah… That's a shame."
Luffy scratched his head, looking down at the broken remains.
"I think… this was the one you gave me after we beat Moria. I've worn it all these years, never took it off."
"Oh, right… we picked that out from Moria's treasure hoard, didn't we?" Nami recalled.
"Hm? There's something inside."
From the shattered bracelet, a tiny scroll had rolled out. Nami picked it up and studied it. Her eyes widened.
"This… this is—!"
"A treasure map!"
"Huh?!"
Everyone's jaws dropped. Stuff like this usually had nothing to do with their kind of pirate crew.
"So detailed…"
Nami dashed to her room and grabbed a magnifying glass, poring over it carefully.
"It seems to be… right around this area!"
"I just finished charting the waters near Totto Land. A few tiny islands on the edge match what's drawn here…"
Her eyes turned into glimmering Beri signs as golden light sparkled from her pupils.
"Luuuuffy~ This is a treasure, you know!"
"Even though we're near the borders of the Yonko, Phoenix Marco's territory…"
"To think there'd be treasure right on the edge of Yonko turf—it's like it was placed here just for us!"
"…"
Luffy didn't care much about treasure, but Marco's territory? Now that caught his interest.
"All right! It's settled!"
"We're heading toward Marco's turf! Let's find that treasure!"
Nami: "Yay~!"
Everyone else: "Ohhh!"
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