"He attacked a kingdom? This kid sure has guts," muttered Cael as he opened the newspaper delivered by Cricket, who stood by Cael's side as he also noticed the huge headline on top of the front page, along with a picture of a man he recognized almost instantly.
"PIRATES ATTACK HOTARU KINGDOM. ROYAL FAMILY TARGETED. MARINES LAUNCH MANHUNT FOR LUCIEN VOSGRAVE AND CREW."
Along with this huge headline was a photo of Lucien holding Law under his arm while jumping from the royal castle. Cricket had met that boy. The same one who had defended him in the street and argued about Noland with more conviction than most adults managed. Looking at the headline and then at the photograph, he could not make the two things sit together.
"Grandpa Cael. Did Lucien attack an entire Kingdom? How could he attack people like that? He turned into a pirate and is going around doing stuff like this," as his voice stammered, and he turned to look at Cael, who had the same neutral expression he always seemed to carry with him.
"Cricket, you can't believe everything just because the masses say it. If it were true, then what happened to your ancestor would also become true. I am sure Lucien did not attack and kill people of Hotaru as is being said here. There is always another side of the story, and until we get the full picture, we should never blindly trust any." Cricket just nodded upon hearing Cael's words.
"But still, I wonder what he actually did to get this bounty. He is not the boy who left Lvneel all those years ago. He is now a famous Pirate of the North Blue."
Cael commented as he noticed the 3 wanted posters that were at the end and the number written right under Lucien Vosgrave.
****************
Judge was at his desk when the small scientist came in without knocking, which was either a habit or a death wish, depending on the day.
"Sir. The boy who almost burned this entire facility down three years ago is on the front page." He set the newspaper on the desk.
Judge looked at it. The photograph. The headline. The name.
"I knew this child was something else the moment he walked in," the scientist continued, moving around the desk to look at the paper alongside him. "He is what, eighteen now? Just turned. And he has had the nerve to attack Hotaru. Even their general is capable. To think how much he has grown in three years."
He paused, tilting his head at the page.
"If we had kept him here a few more months, I am certain all four of your children would have turned out exceptional. Not just the three that did."
Judge's expression shifted in the way it always did when someone referenced the fourth child. Not anger exactly. Something colder than anger.
"We already determined during the tests that he was not operating within normal parameters," Judge said. "He stole the blood samples we collected from him. We did not notice until he was already gone." He set the paper flat on the desk. "That was our mistake."
Judge looked at the wanted poster for a long moment. The photograph. The number underneath the name. Then he set the newspaper to the side of his desk, picked up the document he had been working on before the interruption, and continued reading it. The scientist waited for a response that was not coming, adjusted his glasses, and quietly let himself out.
****************
"Aldric, isn't this your boy. Looks like he takes after his father. He went and attacked an entire kingdom with one crewmate and a small child. It seems like attacking kingdom runs in your family's blood," laughed a small but very weird-looking man as he slammed the newspaper in front of the large man.
Picking up the newspaper, Aldric couldn't help but crack a smile as he laughed out loud, "Ivankov, my son is not like me. He will be much greater than his father. What we do is try to change the world. But I am sure my son will succeed in his goals." as he turned towards the purple-haired little man who looked like he tricks little kids.
"Dragon, what about your kid? Are you going to just let your father raise him? Is he even able to raise a child like a normal human?" Aldric shouted across the room towards the tall man, who was deep in discussion with Aldric's wife about which kingdom to move on next.
Turning around, Dragon replied, "As his son, I couldn't continue to be a marine as he wanted. Let him train his grandchild at least to be one; he'll be much happier that way. He took him back to our hometown to be raised."
"Oh, I can't wait for the day when your own son comes and arrests you," laughed Aldric along with Ivankov.
Dragon just shook his head and responded, "Should we recruit your son for our cause. We need reliable and trustworthy people."
Before Aldric could even respond, his wife, who knows Lucien like the back of his hand, just said, "Leave it, dragon. Lucien would be bored out of his mind if we brought him in. I am sure those years with Cael were torturous enough for him."
Dragon just nodded as he turned and continued with his task.
****************
"Lucien, look. All three of us have bounties now. We are Pirates, not just bounty hunters anymore," said Idris as he set the newspaper down.
Law, sitting right beside him, picked it up immediately. "All three of us? I have one too." He looked at the number under his name. "I am seven years old, and I have a bounty on my head."
Lucien came up behind him and lifted the paper out of his hands to read it himself.
Trafalgar D. Water Law
Wanted Dead or Alive
5,000,000
Idris Vane
Wanted Dead or Alive
15,000,000
Lucien Vosgrave
Wanted Dead or Alive
35,000,000
"It does seem like we are Pirates now." Lucien set the paper down with a shrug. "I suppose we couldn't hope otherwise after raiding a kingdom and killing a royal."