Chapter 134: Star Lord's Bounty, Sudden News!
Roy's momentary daze and serious expression didn't attract anyone's attention.
Because right now, almost everyone in the conference room had the same expression.
Even Kizaru, who was lazily picking his ear, and Akainu, who always had a sour face, looked visibly serious.
The Zodiac.
This organization, unknown half a year ago, had captured the world's attention in just a few months.
Every single thing they did was a major event that shook the seas.
Every executive who appeared so far was exceptionally powerful, even more terrifying than the Warlords handpicked by the World Government.
And most importantly—their mystery.
So far, even though they had appeared more than once, and five Top Executives had been recorded.
Intel on their organization remained a fog.
Even though their existence was known worldwide, the World Government still tried to cover it up.
Inside the Marines, understanding of them was limited to hearsay.
Even after the recent battle on Sabaody Archipelago, the entire Marine force didn't know the specifics—Akainu, a participant, had only recently been allowed to return to Marineford.
But now, Sengoku mentioned this name in the meeting and made it the main topic.
The significance was self-evident.
"The Government has authorized the declassification of The Zodiac's files and provided extra information previously known only to the Government."
"We have updated the internal Marine database on The Zodiac and their bounties."
Sengoku explained concisely.
Meanwhile, Tsuru took out several Wanted Posters from her sleeve.
She handed the first one to Sengoku.
"First, the first Zodiac member to appear—Yuji (Rooster)."
Sengoku's voice rang out.
"Initially, 'Yuji' appeared at the Heavenly Tribute storage in the Nice-Mayer Kingdom, robbing this year's Tribute, then vanished."
"Recently, he and a subordinate appeared on Sabaody Archipelago and kidnapped a World Noble."
As he spoke, Tsuru put up the photo of 'Saint Anbokamu'.
"Recently, through the Celestial Dragon's Vivre Card, the Government confirmed his death—his private vault was also robbed."
Silence fell on the room.
"Good grief... what guts."
"Although it's a good thing, but..."
Roy heard whispers.
Clearly, the officers were shocked—although most knew the nature of Celestial Dragons and had no loyalty to them.
Hearing a Celestial Dragon was actually killed still shocked them.
Most Marines had guessed Yuji would use the Celestial Dragon for ransom.
But Sengoku raised his voice, interrupting the whispers.
"In summary—we can see Yuji acts without scruples. And The Zodiac isn't just Top Executives... at least on Sabaody, several lower-level members delayed Sakazuki by self-destructing."
"Plus previous intel—the President of Baroque Works in the Grand Line is Zodiac member 'Ryuji' (Dragon)..."
"Analysis suggests The Zodiac is a massive organization. Each Top Executive likely has many members and subordinate institutions. Due to their incredibly tight structure, we've had no leads until now."
Sengoku and Tsuru looked extremely serious.
Although they couldn't understand how such a powerful organization hid for so long.
Facts spoke louder than words.
The distinct, powerful Top Executives and emerging lower members proved this guess.
Roy: "..."
Wanted to laugh, but didn't dare.
Sengoku continued, "Besides that, regarding Yuji's ability—"
He looked at Akainu.
Akainu stood up silently, turning to face the room.
"I fought him. He is indeed a very dangerous guy."
The Admiral spoke seriously.
"I confirmed he is a Mythical Zoan user, with light manipulation abilities similar to Borsalino, extreme speed, and powerful self-healing and physical strength..."
He detailed Yuji's strength.
The Marine officers grew more alarmed.
Hearing rumors was one thing, but hearing Akainu say "that guy is dangerous" was another.
Akainu sat down silently.
Sengoku continued, "He claimed to have eaten the 'Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Winged Dragon of Ra', but the details are doubtful."
He paused. "Because this fruit doesn't exist in the Encyclopedia."
He slapped the Wanted Poster on the board.
The figure in the Bird Mask was clear.
Below, the bounty stunned everyone.
"Therefore, we judge 'Yuji' as one of the most dangerous Zodiac members. His original bounty is void. The new bounty, ordered by the Five Elders, is raised to 3.1 Billion Berries."
Sengoku said softly but seriously.
Then...
"3.1 Billion!?" (xN)
Noisy discussions erupted instantly.
"Above 3 billion... besides the 'Four Emperors', is there anyone else alive?"
"There's the guy who escaped Impel Down and vanished for over a decade..."
"You mean 'Golden Lion' Shiki?"
"Yes—not just Shiki, 'Ochoku' (Wang Zhi) also exceeds 3 billion."
"Bounty set personally by the Five Elders?"
Many noticed the issue.
Normally, bounties were determined by the Marines and reported to the World Government.
But this time, 'The Zodiac's' bounties were clearly different.
Set personally by the Five Elders.
Sengoku banged the table. "Silence!"
He didn't explain, picking up the second poster.
"The second member, Ryuji—Baroque Works MR.0, killed Crocodile in Alabasta..."
He listed the known Top Executives, their deeds, and bounties.
[Ryuji (Dragon), Bounty - 2.053 Billion Berries]
[Nezumi (Rat), Bounty - 2.731 Billion Berries]
[Inoshishi (Boar), Bounty - 2.511 Billion Berries]
"..."
Looking at the bounties, none below 2 billion, totaling almost 10 billion.
The officers felt numb.
Even Roy was dazed.
But what truly shocked him was the last poster Tsuru took out, and Sengoku's words.
"Besides these four."
Sengoku's tone was extremely grave.
"The last known member, who appeared only once, suspected to be the Leader of The Zodiac."
"According to Government intel, his code name is 'Star Lord'."
Sengoku revealed the poster.
"His bounty is 10 Billion Berries."
"...How much?"
Many officers asked instinctively.
After seeing the number of zeros clearly, they realized they hadn't misheard.
"Ten... Ten Billion!?"
Knowing they heard right, they suspected their brains were malfunctioning.
They knew what 10 billion Berries meant.
Bounty represented danger to the world.
Even Pirate King Gol · D · Roger, who started the Great Pirate Era, had a bounty of only 5.5648 Billion Berries.
But now, the existence named 'Star Lord', who appeared only once, had almost double Roger's bounty.
That meant the World Government made no secret of their thought—Star Lord was a far greater threat to the world than the Pirate King!
"Why?"
"This number will cause chaos!"
"Even if he pierced the Red Line and is terrifyingly strong, this number is too..."
The officers couldn't understand.
But Sengoku shook his head.
"This is what I wanted to tell you, intel just given by the Government."
He scanned the room gravely.
"Star Lord is not a 'criminal' who appeared in this era."
"He committed a grave crime in the old era—"
Sengoku paused, then said, "Government intel states he was the mastermind behind the God Valley Incident over thirty years ago."
"So this bounty is special—anyone providing info on Star Lord's location, verified by the Government, can receive a portion of this bounty."
"Furthermore, the Government will dispatch 'Special Envoys' to inspect and explore countries freely. They have the authority to mobilize local Marine and Government forces to find traces of The Zodiac and Star Lord."
Silence fell again.
"..."
As mentioned, the God Valley Incident was a secret erased by the Government.
But Marine officers had heard of it—they knew Garp became the 'Hero of the Marines' there, and the Rocks Pirates vanished after that battle.
Even God Valley itself sank into the sea, with few survivors.
Many famous names today reportedly rose after that battle.
It was an event that truly 'influenced an era'.
And now, new news appeared.
The existence named 'Star Lord' in The Zodiac seemed related to that event, even being the mastermind.
"So Star Lord is very old?"
"A powerhouse existing from the old era to now?"
"Has The Zodiac existed for so long too?"
Doubts filled the officers' minds.
Roy's eyes also showed surprise.
"...Good grief, they aren't even hiding it anymore."
He muttered internally.
Unlike others, Roy's intel allowed him to see the truth.
Star Lord wasn't an old monster, and The Zodiac wasn't even a year old.
Mastermind of 'God Valley'? Nonsense.
He was sure the injury on Sengoku's face came from this.
Garp participated in God Valley, even fighting Imu.
In the original story, learning Sengoku helped hide the truth for stability, Garp punched his best friend.
This time, the Government bringing up God Valley and blaming 'Star Lord' naturally angered Garp again.
Speaking of which, Roy was curious—did Garp know 'Star Lord' appeared at God Valley? Or Rocks' final fate?
"Probably not, or he would have told Sengoku..."
"Mm, I can probe later when there's a chance."
He muttered, not rushing—his relationship with Garp wasn't as close as with Viroth. Mentioning God Valley rashly was unwise.
So Roy put Garp aside and pondered.
He ignored the fake intel from Sengoku.
But he caught two key pieces of info.
First, the Government didn't plan to hide 'Star Lord' anymore, which would cause chaos.
Second, sending 'Special Envoys' clearly violated the sovereignty of member nations.
Member nations were 'allies', not slaves.
These actions would cause huge backlash, yet the Government did it without hesitation.
Even when Luffy was confirmed as 'Nika' in the original story, the reaction wasn't this huge.
This proved...
"The World Government... no, Imu..."
Roy muttered. "That guy fears me more than I imagined."
Thinking this, Roy didn't panic.
Star Lord's tracks?
Find them if you can.
But at this moment...
Puru Puru Puru.
Puru Puru Puru.
A small red Den Den Mushi in Roy's sleeve rang.
Though not loud in the noisy room.
It made Roy frown.
He wouldn't carry a normal snail to a meeting—silencing phones was common sense.
But this red snail was an exception.
It was the 'Emergency Snail' of the Detention Unit, only used for real emergencies.
"Hello."
Roy picked up.
He heard a nervous, anxious voice.
"Boss."
It was 'Motara', the liaison officer of the Detention Unit.
"Hans and the others went missing in the East Blue."
"Debris of the 'Black Loyalty' was found in the area—they might be... in trouble!"
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