As the Angel Pirates stood before the bulletin board with their own thoughts, a burst of chatter suddenly rose outside.
"Speaking of which, it's almost time for the next generation of Supernovas to emerge! They'll probably reach Sabaody Archipelago soon, right?"
"The most promising ones... should be Bonney with her 150 million berry bounty and Page One with 120 million, right? I heard they're actually siblings."
"What's strange about siblings? 'Wet Hair' Caribou with 210 million and his brother Coribou with 190 million are siblings too! And their bounties are even higher. Plus, Caribou's a Logia-type Devil Fruit User!"
"Are these really the ones you're betting on? I'm more interested in this guy called 'Golden Thief'—a ruthless character who robbed Alabasta's royal palace right after setting sail! His first bounty was a staggering 350 million berries! His crew is insane too—a bunch of seemingly decrepit old men all with bounties over 50 million... There's even a unique group bounty poster targeting all combatants of the Old Geezers Pirates! This last bounty poster is truly unprecedented! Now that's potential!"
Listening to the passersby's heated debate, the Angel Pirates couldn't help but curl their lips.
These people were treating pirates like celebrities to idolize.
After the crowd of excited onlookers dispersed, Chopper whispered, "They robbed Alabasta? I hope Aunt Bellemere and the others are okay."
"Didn't you see the crime description? They defeated everyone, but most victims just passed out inexplicably... That definitely sounds like someone with Conqueror's Haki," Jack frowned in concern.
"And they must already have mastered its controlled release... No wonder the Angel Alliance directly set a 350 million berry bounty. Honestly, that might still be too low."
"He's just some coward who doesn't dare hurt people and only cares about money!" Bonney declared triumphantly, arms crossed.
"If I catch him, I'll hang him up and beat him a hundred times! A hundred times, I tell you!"
For some reason, Yamato instinctively furrowed her brows upon hearing Bonney's words.
Not out of dislike.
But from an inexplicable premonition that Bonney might regret saying this... badly.
"It's good that Alabasta is fine..." Chopper patted his chest with his split hooves, showing a smile so adorable it could heal, "As for the Ulti siblings mentioned earlier... they must be those two classmates of mine, right? Are they the reinforcements sent by Captain Rosinante?"
"Probably?" Brook clapped his hands softly and said in a low voice, "If we go to the rendezvous point now, we should find out everything."
With that, led by Yamato, everyone left the newspaper office.
The passersby didn't react much, but in reality, the sharp-eyed paparazzi had already seen through their disguises.
As they left, the reporters swarmed after them in a chaotic rush.
All except one...
"These fools who don't know any better... Yamato is going to teach them a lesson they'll never forget."
The man hugged his camera, let out a long sigh, and laughed mockingly:
"Hahaha, lucky for me Morgans tipped me off, otherwise I'd probably be one of them too... How dare they mess with Michael's people?"
This man, nameless and faceless, called himself the "King of Photography," nicknamed "Flame Photo Hero"!
Originally the head of the Marines' photography department, he took all kinds of photos for propaganda.
But after being fired by the Marines, he became Big News Morgans' top enforcer.
"All of them are idiots with no nose for news. Alabasta, which was recently attacked, is about to have a princess arriving at Sabaody Archipelago soon!"
Muttering to himself, the King of Photography blended into the crowd.
The next moment, he vanished among the masses, impossible to track.
A face so ordinary, it was terrifying.
...
"So, what exactly should pirates do?" Imu, now clad in a rose-red leather outfit, gripped a longsword and was about to undo the buttons on Michael's chest.
"Like, abducting innocent men or something..."
"That's not something a weakling like you gets to do."
With a casual flick of his wrist, Michael snapped the longsword in half.
"Tch, then at least give me something to do..."
"Didn't you have enough to do as a queen eight hundred years ago? You've barely had a few full nights of sleep and already you're getting cocky?"
"No... It's just that habits and muscle memory die hard," Imu said with frustration. "That's why I'm trying to find something else to distract myself."
"You... truly have the body of a princess but the fate of a laborer."
Michael couldn't help but tease.
But...
He was bored too!
In the original story, Luffy's pirate life was a relentless chain of events with no downtime.
Even excluding the two years of training on Amazon Lily, his total time adventuring on the sea barely added up to three hundred days!
Three! Hundred! Days!
From a rookie who could barely knock out Alvida to one of the strongest fighters in the world.
Michael smacked his lips...
Compared to that, he didn't seem all that outrageous...
"Judging by our course, we should be nearing Water Seven soon... How about we stop there for a while? You've never seen a floating city, right?"
"Not a bad idea..."
A glimmer of anticipation finally appeared on Imu's face.
"Honestly, as long as I'm sticking with you, I don't care where we go."
"...Lady, you're a queen! Not some lovestruck fool!"
...
"Why are you chasing us?!"
"Because I need some cough syrup."
"What the hell?!"
"Ahem, ahem—because we, the Love X Stan Pirates, adore youngsters like you!"
Near Water Seven, a central rudder-style fast sailing ship with a ram's head figurehead was intercepted by a large three-masted vessel.
A group of vicious-looking pirates surrounded the young crew aboard the smaller ship.
Their eyes lit up with glee when they spotted two radiantly beautiful young women among them.
"Hey! Long-nose, think of something already!"
"You're the red-and-white-haired one! Aren't you supposed to be strong?!"
"I am strong! But there are too many of them!"
The long-nosed young man and the red-and-white-haired girl wasted no time bickering even in this dire situation.
"Cough! Cough! Usopp, Uta! We have to run!"
"Kaya, stop talking!"
"Look behind us! Isn't there a ship speeding toward us?"
Kaya pointed behind them.
Usopp and Uta turned around.
A massive pirate ship was hurtling toward them at terrifying speed.
Its flag bore a skull impaled by a straight sword.
Then, a voice filled with cheerful idiocy reached their ears.
"Shishishi! Old Geezers Pirates, combatant Luffy, reporting for duty!"
Uta & Usopp & Kaya, "What kind of ridiculous name is that for a pirate crew?!"