"The new bounty posters just dropped, Captain!"
The wooden door slammed open. A tall, lean man with hair covering his left eye burst into the room, visibly excited, a stack of bounty posters clutched in his hand.
"Ooh, how much did mine go up by?" Aeridar's eyes lit up, visibly intrigued.
"Am I on there?" asked Dimitri.
"We fought too, right? There better be one for each of us!" Millie and Mina crowded in, voices overlapping.
Oliver pointed at Arlan and smirked, "Bet mine's higher than his."
"Lemme see!" Arlan's face darkened as he snatched the stack from the man's hand.
"Looks like I made the cut too." Gorbo's curious expression brightened as he noticed multiple posters in the pile.
"First one: Captain of the Chris Pirates—Golden Ring, Chris T. Aeridar. Impact-Impact Fruit user. Bounty: 80 million Berries," Arlan read aloud.
"Yesss! Cough, cough..." Aeridar clenched his fist in celebration. His bounty had doubled. Still far from the big names, but definitely a leap forward.
"Second: Head of Combat and First Division Commander—Oliver the Slayer. Dual-wielding swordsman. Bounty: 65 million Berries." Arlan shot him a glare.
"Hehehe..." Oliver chuckled as he wiped his blades, clearly pleased.
"Third..." Arlan's shoulders slumped, and he muttered, "First Mate and Second Division Commander—Blue-Hair, Gilbert Arlan. Bounty: 50 million Berries."
Oliver immediately grinned like a shark. "Told ya."
"Hehehe..." The crew started snickering—Oliver, Dimitri, even Millie and Mina joined in.
"SHUT UP!!" Arlan roared, baring sharp canines.
"Fourth: Head Chef and Third Division Commander—Hariel Gorbo the Mighty Cook. Bounty: 35 million Berries."
"Not bad," Gorbo said with a rare smile curling at his lips.
"Fifth: Navigator and Gunslinger—Myles Dimitri. Bounty: 30 million Berries."
"Ha! Nice work!" Dimitri beamed, pumping his fist. He could feel his name beginning to spread.
"Sixth: Twin Gunner Sisters of the Chris Pirates—Millie and Mina. Each with a bounty of 10 million Berries."
"Ahh~ We got one too! Awesome!" The sisters squealed and hugged each other tight.
"Hahaha... Not bad at all! Every officer got a bounty. That brings our total bounty to... 270 million Berries! Cough, cough, cough..." Aeridar was coughing from excitement, but clearly, he was thrilled.
In the original story, Luffy's second bounty was 100 million, but by that point, he had already entered the Grand Line and defeated a Warlord of the Sea. Even then, only Zoro had joined him on the wanted list at 60 million.
That means the Straw Hat Pirates' total bounty on their second round was just 160 million—with only two members recognized.
In contrast, Aeridar's Chris Pirates hadn't even entered the Grand Line yet. And already, on their second round of bounties, every major member, including Aeridar's twin attendants Millie and Mina, had been listed. A total bounty of 270 million Berries—that alone made Aeridar immensely proud.
"But Captain, with your injuries, we won't be entering the Grand Line anytime soon," Oliver said, eyeing the bandages on Aeridar's chest.
Aeridar raised a finger and waved it slowly, a calm smirk on his lips. "No rush. We've got time."
"Exactly. We already saw the news in the papers—the Marines are mobilizing on a massive scale. They're making a full sweep of the seas, either wiping out pirates or at least thinning their numbers. The real war between pirates and Marines is just getting started. No need to jump into the Grand Line too soon," Arlan said, sipping from his water glass like he had the whole chessboard figured out.
"Cough, cough. The Grand Line's split into two halves—the second is called the New World. That's where real pirates thrive. It's a stronghold for the strongest... cough" Aeridar wheezed, then scanned the room.
"The World Government and the Navy are clinging to what they can in the New World, but the Four Emperors won't let them take it easily. A brutal war is coming, and it'll reshape the balance of power for years to come..."
"And because the first half of the Grand Line is still within the Navy's jurisdiction, all pirates there will be under heavy fire."
Arlan nodded, chiming in, "If we charge in too early, especially after showing off in the Battle of Loguetown, we'll be prime targets for a Navy crackdown."
"Exactly. The Admirals might not move personally against us yet—not with the monsters in the New World to deal with—but the Marine HQ has plenty of elite Vice Admirals. They might come." Aeridar sipped some warm water to soothe his throat.
"That last battle exposed a few flaws in our crew. We need time to recover and regroup. As long as our officers are here, we won't fall to the Navy's elite."
"Damn right," Oliver added. "When the time comes, we'll expand. The brothers who've made it this far with us—they're the foundation."
"We just need time to train, sync up, and build unity."
"Half a year. We'll enter the Grand Line in half a year."
Aeridar and Arlan continued discussing their plans, heads close, deep in strategy. Oliver and the others kept nodding—maybe they didn't catch everything, but the gist was clear.
"Uh, quick question," Oliver raised a hand. "So... we're leaving in six months?"
"We had the same question," Gorbo and Dimitri nodded furiously like pecking chicks.
Aeridar swept his gaze across them and said coolly, "Yes. And in that time, you'd all better train your asses off. Got a problem with that?"
"Nope! No way! None at all!" The group instantly went pale and shook their heads.
Aeridar grinned. "Good."
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