"The next one," Brannew said, his tone turning complicated, "is... a rather special case."
He turned to look at the officers seated before him.
"I believe many of you—especially those who were once students of Instructor Zephyr—will recognize this man."
Snap!
The tip of Brannew's pointer struck the board, tapping a bounty poster of a white-haired man astride a motorcycle, a cigar clenched between his teeth, exhaling smoke with a grim, expressionless face.
"Formerly known as the short-tempered 'White Hunter,' user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, former Captain and base commander of the Loguetown Branch—Smoker."
Brannew sighed.
"According to multiple Marine eyewitnesses, he fought Vice Admiral Onigumo aboard the warship. After being subdued, he bore resentment, and once he regained consciousness, he took advantage of the ship's depleted manpower to murder King Altai of the Kingdom of Peace in cold blood.
Afterward, he vanished. Reliable intelligence confirms that he later joined the pirate crew known as the Curtainfall Pirates."
"Such a heinous act is tantamount to desertion from the Marines! Considering that his temper and conduct held him back from promotion—his actual strength far exceeds a standard Headquarters Captain—his bounty is set at 70 million Berries, codename: 'The Rogue Hunter!'"
Snap!
The pointer struck again, now landing on the final bounty poster.
But this time, the picture wasn't of a human being—it was a massive silver wolf, nearly three meters long.
Its head was raised toward the moon, howling proudly, silver fur shimmering like cascading snow. It radiated both grace and majesty.
"What species is that?"
Several of the officers leaned forward in curiosity.
"That's one fine-looking beast. Certainly easier on the eyes than the freaks in Kaido's crew…"
"We haven't yet identified its exact species," Brannew said gravely, "but what's certain is that this creature—called 'Gin'—is the second-strongest fighter aboard their ship."
"One of Vice Admiral Onigumo's subordinates, a Rear Admiral, fought it directly—and within minutes, was covered in wounds, nearly having his throat torn out.
According to his testimony, the wolf fought casually—holding back the entire time."
Gasps rippled through the room.
A creature that could defeat a Rear Admiral without even fighting seriously?
"Furthermore," Brannew continued, "it displayed the ability to manipulate lightning.
Codename: 'Thunderfang Silver Wolf.'
Bounty: 80 million Berries."
The staff officer's tone darkened.
"Now… for today's main subject—the man who personally snapped Vice Admiral Onigumo's neck."
All previous posters were taken down. Brannew affixed a single new one to the center of the whiteboard.
"Captain of the Curtainfall Pirates—'The Blade Swordsman,' Shanu!"
"He's long been known in the East Blue. At just fourteen, he defeated Arlong's crew, subordinates of the former Sun Pirates.
Since then, he's slain numerous pirates with bounties exceeding ten million Berries.
Among the people of the East Blue, he's regarded as a symbol of justice—more trustworthy than even the Marines."
"But make no mistake—that was all a façade. During the Loguetown Incident, his true, violent nature was laid bare for all to see!"
Rear Admiral Farn frowned, about to speak, but Brannew cut him off sharply.
"His act of publicly executing Vice Admiral Onigumo was nothing less than an outright challenge to both the Marines and the World Government!
On top of that, he tore the execution platform of the late Pirate King Roger from its foundation and threw it into the sea—declaring before the world that he would become 'the one to end the Great Pirate Era.'
Such arrogance is beyond measure!"
"And at that very moment, he demonstrated a rare ability—Conqueror's Haki."
"A man with that level of power and ambition… even for a first-time bounty, he warrants an exceptional evaluation—one that breaks precedent."
Thud!
Brannew's hand struck the board.
The poster fluttered, revealing a black-haired young man with a long sword on his back—
and beneath it, in bold black print:
180,000,000 Berries.
The highest first bounty in Marine history.
"How much?!"
Somewhere in the East Blue, near Reverse Mountain—
Shanu, reclining beneath a parasol and sipping one of Zeff's freshly made cocktails, promptly spat it out in shock.
"That's right, Captain," Kuina said dryly, holding up the newspaper. "You heard correctly. One hundred and eighty million Berries—an all-time record.
No pirate has ever received a bounty that high before entering the Grand Line."
Shanu stared at his own wanted poster, then smirked.
"Looks like Marine Headquarters really wants me dead."
He had expected to break East Blue's record, sure—but maybe around one hundred million.
One hundred and eighty million was absurd.
Even compared to the Worst Generation—those Supernovas who'd appear four years later—this bounty would rank near the top.
And he hadn't even entered the Grand Line yet.
"Captain of the Curtainfall Pirates, huh… tch. Their intelligence network's impressive. We only finalized that name a few days ago."
Behind him, a white flag fluttered from the mast—
"Curtainfall Adventurers."
That was the name Shanu had chosen for his crew.
Of course, the World Government didn't acknowledge "adventurer groups," so to the public, they were inevitably labeled pirates.
After leaving Loguetown, Shanu had finalized everything—the name, the flag, even the ship's name: The Curtainfall.
A vessel meant to draw the curtain on the Great Pirate Era.
Unlike typical pirate flags, his bore no skull and crossbones—he disliked that cliché.
Instead, it mimicked Drake's aesthetic: a white field emblazoned with two crossed swords piercing through the Marine's iconic seagull-and-scales emblem.
It looked sharp—clean, bold, and rebellious.
If seeing it made Marines grit their teeth and choke on their rage?
Well, that wasn't his problem.
"Still," Kuina muttered, flipping through the paper, "the reports paint us in a pretty bad light.
They completely glossed over how Onigumo fired on civilians and attacked us unprovoked—making it sound like we attacked Loguetown first. Now he's a tragic hero who 'died defending innocents.'"
"That's normal," Shanu said with a shrug. "You know how the World Government and the Marines are—masters of rewriting the truth.
But lies don't last forever. The people of Loguetown saw what really happened.
Give it time—the truth will spread across the East Blue."
He set down his cocktail and chuckled.
"After all, even Morgans and his World Economy News rely on the Government to survive.
For now, we're not important enough to make him risk defying them."