Chapter 148: Despair
"I'm sorry, Boss. He used the chaos to escape..."
"Keep chasing! How long can he hold out on his own? The teleportation distance of that Fruit also has its limits. Search the nearby islands thoroughly!"
The News Coos, delivering newspapers around the world every day, were also quietly searching for Harding's trail.
And if Harding wanted to know the situation in the outside world, his only channel was the News Coos' newspapers. But the moment he bought a newspaper, Harding would expose his location.
For the next several days, Harding spent his life constantly on the run.
Meanwhile, the number of people hunting him was increasing day by day.
On the MADS research ship, Vegapunk was conducting his research as usual, but the other few couldn't calm down.
"One billion Berries... plus that 100 million makes it 1.1 billion Berries... Wobigong, if we kill him, can you collect that 100 million Berry bounty on our behalf?"
Even if it were purely used for research, this was an incredibly ample amount of funding. For researchers who always felt their budget was insufficient, they naturally couldn't bear to let this astronomical bounty slip away.
While calculating the numbers, Queen (Caesar's future peer/rival) looked at Wobigong nearby, asking if he could cash it out directly.
"If you can catch him, yes. I will tell Big Bro. But the three of you... do you have the ability?"
"Huh? Do we have the ability? Don't underestimate us, Wobigong! This is my newly developed viral weapon! As long as a tiny bit gets on him, he can forget about getting away safely!
Morgans's newspaper said that guy is right around here. This is the only island nearby where one can resupply and rest. Once I lay my traps, that money will be in the bag! Muhahaha!"
Queen laughed triumphantly, holding a bottle of weirdly colored chemical reagent in his hand, looking as if he had it in the bag.
"Shurorororo, you idiot, he will be my prey! I am a noble Logia-type user now.
How could your weapons possibly catch up to the speed of the Teleport-Teleport Fruit? I'm different. I don't even need to show my face. As long as I continuously release toxic gas into the air to poison him, by the time he realizes it, it'll be too late!
High Girls, wait for me!"
Caesar Clown, who had already eaten the Gas-Gas Fruit, emerged from a nearby ventilation duct. He cast a disdainful glance at the reagent in his colleague's hand while fantasizing about his luxurious future.
Getting his hands on such a massive bounty would be enough to fund his debauchery for quite a while.
Judge remained silent, merely inspecting his equipment: jet boots that allowed one to fly in the sky, a stun gun that released high-voltage electricity, a bullet-blocking cape. He was arming himself to the teeth with piece after piece of equipment.
He even had a pair of Seastone handcuffs hidden inside his coat. As long as he could seal the opponent's ability, Judge believed his high-tech equipment could definitely take the guy down.
Because they couldn't stand each other, the three refused to cooperate and chose to act separately.
Caesar ran to the largest local nightclub. He figured that after fleeing all this way, Harding would definitely want to relax once he reached a place he deemed safe.
Judge headed to the underground information brokers' trading spot. He figured that to understand the current situation, Harding would definitely risk coming here to gather intel. Otherwise, running around blindly like a headless fly would get him killed sooner or later.
Queen, however, chose to go to a desolate river far from civilization. He figured that after being hunted for so long, Harding would be scared out of his wits and wouldn't dare go near crowded places.
If it weren't for the unknown dangers and mysterious viruses often found on uninhabited islands in the New World, Harding might have just hidden on an isolated island.
Actually, Harding had thought exactly that at the beginning. But the virtually omnipresent News Coos made it completely impossible for him to hide. Even if he went to a deserted island to live like a savage, his pursuers would find him quickly.
In the end, the one who won the bet was Queen.
After waiting in the wilderness for two whole days, he finally saw someone who looked extremely similar to Harding, though dressed in rags and looking incredibly exhausted.
He was practically stumbling toward the riverbank. From the looks of it, he had very little stamina left.
[Muhahahaha, I finally waited for you. This astronomical bounty... is mine!]
Picking up the bazooka on his back and adjusting the angle, Queen aimed in Harding's direction and pulled the trigger.
And then...
"Your shooting skills seem pretty poor. Using a weapon like a bazooka, can you still miss this badly at such a distance? Then again, what kind of normal person would willingly serve that freak?"
The rocket didn't hit directly, and this allowed Harding in the distance to start mocking his attacker.
"You relentless pests... just for that bounty, you're willing to risk your lives for a Fish-man?!"
"What kind of stupid things are you saying? Didn't you abduct his citizens first, which is why he targeted you? Besides, you're a fool if you don't take money when it's right in front of you. Did you think you dodged that? I missed on purpose!"
He let Harding talk for a while before finally refuting him.
"I know you are an ability user. With the flight speed of a rocket, you have plenty of time to activate your Fruit ability. But from what I know, you are an arrogant, ignorant fool who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth!
You wouldn't waste stamina activating your Fruit ability for an attack that was clearly going to miss. But... your arm shouldn't be able to move anymore. This is my masterpiece! Just a tiny drop is enough to take effect!
Under these circumstances, let's see how much stamina you have left to teleport!
Muhahaha!"
Accompanying the words, Harding finally noticed that weirdly colored spots had appeared on his arm at some point. He had clearly been poisoned, and it was spreading upwards.
"Using poison? Despicable!"
"I don't want to be called despicable by an idiot who buys people. But I'll gladly accept your astronomical head..."
Before Queen could finish his sentence, Harding suddenly vanished.
"F*ck!!! Damn it!!! This guy actually still has stamina!"
This island wasn't too far from the Red Line, which was Harding's ultimate destination. He now clearly understood the situation: there was practically no place left for him to hide on the entire Grand Line.
And he himself had a bounty, so he couldn't go to a Marine base. The only sanctuary left was the World Government side, because of their connection with the Doel Kingdom.
Queen's attack had cost him half his life. In order to not be infected and die from that substance, Harding chose to chop off his own arm before the poison could spread to the rest of his body.
Finally, looking utterly miserable, Harding arrived at the base of the Red Port. The World Government's cross flag gave him renewed hope.
"I... I am the captain of the Doel Kingdom's purchasing team. Quick... quickly send me to Mary Geoise..."
Seeing several suited Cipher Pol (CP) agents, Harding felt as if he had seen a lifeline. He hurriedly approached them and handed over the transit pass he had kept safe even while running for his life.
"Harding of the Doel Kingdom... that's you, right?"
"Yes, that's me..."
Harding even actively pushed back his disheveled hair, wanting the other party to properly recognize him.
"Hmm, it really is you. Come this way, I'll take you to rest."
Harding, who had relaxed his guard, didn't notice the hint of pleasant surprise in the CP agent's tone when confirming his identity.
Before Harding could react, with a click, a handcuff made of Seastone was locked onto his wrist.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
"What are we doing? Your head is worth an astronomical price on the black market right now! What do you think we are doing?"
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