"..."
No one in the conference room spoke; only the sound of exhaling smoke became more pronounced.
Amidst the swirling smoke, many eyes focused on Kizaru's figure with complex expressions.
"This is footage obtained by the headquarters, leveraging its influence to get it from the World Economic News Agency. Morgans, that old sly fox, surprisingly took the risk to film on the site himself this time. It's truly unexpected..."
Blanu looked around and sighed:
"Looking at everyone's reactions, it seems all of you are already aware of what happened."
"Indeed, over at the Holy Land, we've currently been ordered to ceasefire with the Endgame Pirates for now, not to act rashly against them. Whatever those big shots are planning is beyond our guessing and shouldn't be guessed!"
"But no matter what, our Navy will never give up upholding justice, nor will we let down our guard against these vicious criminals!"
Blanu took a deep breath and continued:
"In this battle, Grand Admiral Kizaru was grievously injured and lost an arm. Enel of the Seven Warlords of the Sea died in battle, and Vice Admiral Doberman, Vice Admiral Dalmatia, and other high-ranking combat forces lost combat capabilities. The fleet suffered heavy losses."
"On the Endgame's side, apart from some cadres with minor injuries, not a single person was lost."
"This is no simple defeat; it's an utterly devastating loss! And what does this devastating loss tell us?"
Blanu suddenly slapped the table, his voice tinged with pain, sounding particularly sharp in the silent conference room:
"It's telling us, everyone, that whether it's Mr. Borsalino's severed arm or those sunken warships, they are telling us! That the Endgame Pirates, in just over two months upon entering the New World, have truly become formidable, no longer what they once were!!!"
Slam!
The whiteboard flickered, and the projection radio snail switched screens, starting to play the slideshow Blanu had prepared in advance.
First floated past the bounty orders of Whitebeard, BIGMOM, Kaido, and Red Hair, occupying the entire screen.
Then, photos of higher-ranking cadres like King, Quinn, Marco, Katakuri... appeared one by one, dazzling the eyes.
"These are the current Four Emperors, whom I'm sure everyone present is very familiar with."
"These Sea Emperors not only possess terrifying power themselves but also command a large number of outstanding followers under them, known to the world as the 'Royal Team'!"
"And as for the Endgame Pirates nowadays, though their numbers are still not large, in terms of the quality of their cadres, without a doubt, they already have the early shape of what could be called a 'Royal Team'!"
"Captain Shano himself already possesses nearly the combat power to stand equally alongside the Four Emperors!!"
"Under such circumstances, a few months later, we must conduct a comprehensive reassessment and promptly adjust their bounties according to the current threat level of the Endgame Pirates!"
Blanu gestured to his deputy, who immediately began adjusting the projection radio snail.
In the blink of an eye, neatly lined up new bounty orders floated on the whiteboard screen.
Compared to before, when each had to be manually posted one by one, technological methods are much more convenient.
"First, what everyone needs to know is this."
Blanu pointed to these bounty orders and said solemnly:
"Compared to the time at Paradise before, the Endgame Pirates have gained new members internally, and based on observations, the division of power ranks on the ship has become clearer, already distinguishable into three tiers."
"Starting from the lowest tier!"
"Although it's called the lowest tier.... as I mentioned earlier, the Endgame Pirates pursue an elite model like the Iron Wall Pirates. Even the crew member with the lowest bounty has close to two hundred million!"
"For instance, these three individuals!"
"'Defector Hunter' Smoker, 'Frosty Fist' Nojiko, and 'Pet-Eating Demon' Nami!"
Many scrutinizing gazes turned to the bounty orders Blanu pointed at.
When they saw Smoker and the blue-haired girl, the expressions of many Navy high-ranking officers remained calm;
But looking at the last orange-haired girl, many couldn't help but squint their eyes, sweat seeping from their foreheads, recalling some unsettling rumors.
"These three individuals are all in the lower tier of the Endgame's internal power level, but at the same time, they are rare Logia-type Devil Fruit ability users!"
"So, you can see just how formidable the Endgame Pirates' foundation truly is!"
"In the recent Dressrosa War, the large-scale destructive and control abilities of Logia-types were perfectly executed by them."
"Among them, Nojiko used methods very similar to Great Admiral Aokiji to freeze the entire sea, rendering the warships immobile, losing their artillery suppression capabilities, and in the subsequent battle, single-handedly defeated a Headquarter Vice Admiral."
"Nami collaborated with her sister, attacking from above with a dual attack of ice and fire, vanquishing all Marines attempting to seize the heights of Dressrosa, and her mastery of the Fruit Ability is already quite adept."
"As for Smoker, there's no need for much explanation. Besides the Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability, he has also mastered Dual-Colored Haki and is quite comprehensive in all aspects. After all, this guy is a junior familiar to many sitting here, having been personally trained as a proud disciple by Zephyr...."
"For those who only know how to hold meetings, go ahead and hold your meetings. Teacher Zephyr already has enough troubles lately; don't drag him into this unnecessarily."
An old Navy Vice Admiral sneered, speaking with a gloomy expression.
"Apologies."
Blanu coughed and said:
"I was merely mentioning it in passing, with no intention of disrespecting Mr. Zephyr. Anyway... let's get back to business; after the increase, these three individuals' bounties are now updated to the following—"
"'Frosty Fist' Nojiko, original bounty 200 million Belly, now increased to 330 million Belly!"
"'Defector Hunter' Smoker, original bounty 210 million Belly, now increased to 365 million Belly!"
"'Pet-Eating Demon' Nami, original bounty 160 million Belly, now increased to 228 million Belly!"
Mentioning Nami, Blanu hesitated:
"Oh, right, I should mention that the pet white dog, symbolically bounty 1,000 Belly, which had just joined the Endgame not long ago, is now missing in action, evidently..."
"In any case, its bounty has been removed, and the Endgame has adopted a new pet resembling a cat. Who knows how long it will live, so there's no point in setting a bounty for it...."
"Beastly."
A female Major General couldn't help but mutter under her breath.
Others knew exactly whom she was talking about, and many nodded subconsciously, evidently in agreement.
Being cruel to enemies is quite normal, but repeatedly turning on comrades and even consuming them—such shocking incidents are rare, even among pirates....
"The remaining members in this lowest tier have also shown improvements in strength during this war. We won't dwell on these, and we'll move on quickly."
Blanu turned his head to the remaining bounty orders on the whiteboard screen, pointing to each one:
"The 'Son of the Demon' Robin, the orphan of O'Hara, is no longer running and hiding as she used to after finding sanctuary with the Endgame Pirates, undisguisedly exposing herself under the sun...."
"After entering the New World, her demonstrated Haki has considerably increased. Taking into account her special status and level of threat, her bounty is increased from 260 million Belly to 300 million Belly!"
"'Redfoot' Zeff, the veteran now largely a strategist, seemingly more passionate about his culinary skills than fighting, primarily defended the ship during the war, without taking any aggressive action."
"However, a newly promoted Headquarter Vice Admiral tried to approach the Endgame, only to be easily pushed back by him, showing that his strength should not be underestimated, provisional bounty 220 million Belly!"
"'Thunder Grey Wolf' Ah Yin, when the Endgame Pirates first entered the Grand Line, was once seen by us as the most noteworthy threat within the Endgame aside from Shano."
"However, that was almost a year ago, and now circumstances have changed; his strength and position have been surpassed by the crew over time. So, he's likewise placed in this tier, bounty set at 300 million Belly!"
At this point.
Blanu took a sip from the water cup beside him, and his deputy sensibly switched the slideshow to the next page.
This time, the bounty orders displayed on the screen were only three.
On both sides were particularly burly and robust men, while in the middle, a Sword Master girl with a high ponytail and cold gaze stood.
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PS: Not cliffhanging, just ran out of time, not finished yet, and there's still another update. Keep burning the midnight oil, and you can check it out early in the morning.