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Red, sitting comfortably in his chair, displayed a confident look as he addressed Vivi:
"My second plan is actually very simple! Our crew will take the initiative to defeat Crocodile and drive him out of the Kingdom of Alabasta!"
"You..." Vivi raised her head again. Although she didn't say anything, her eyes conveyed everything.
Even though she had been completely won over by Red, who seemed to know everything, Crocodile was still a Shichibukai under the World Government's command! If he were truly so easy to defeat, how could he have been allowed to do what he pleased until now?
But as if anticipating Vivi's doubt, Red suddenly grinned.
Snap!
He snapped his fingers, then smiled and said:
"Nami, bring me today's newspaper. It's in my cabin outside!"
"Ah, has today's newspaper arrived?" Nami was surprised and immediately dashed out with her nimble legs.
In the past, Nami had been responsible for purchasing daily newspapers. After all, she was the only one on the Merry who had the habit of reading newspapers. Even Red only glanced at them occasionally.
Perhaps the newspaper delivery seagulls on the Grand Line were different from those in the East Blue, so they didn't understand the crew's habits and delivered the newspaper directly to Red at the stern of the ship.
After a moment, Nami returned holding a brand-new newspaper. Compared to before, there was a strange gleam in her eyes now.
Seeing this, Red smiled. "It seems you've already seen it, Nami."
"Yes!" The corners of Nami's mouth lifted slightly, and she immediately unfolded today's newspaper, placing it before Vivi.
Several wanted posters fell out from between the pages.
No more, no less—exactly three!
"What is this?" Seeing this scene, whether it was Vivi, Smoker, or the rest of the Straw Hat crew, they all looked curious.
Vivi arranged the wanted posters neatly in a row.
All of a sudden, the faces of three powerful members of the Straw Hat Pirates appeared before everyone—in photograph form.
Usopp shouted in surprise: "It's Luffy, Zoro and Sanji's wanted posters!"
"What? I have a bounty too?" After hearing this, Sanji rushed over and immediately spotted his own photo on a wanted poster.
In Zoro's photo, he was wearing a dark green bandana, revealing fierce eyes, looking contemptuously at the camera while wielding his three-sword style in mid-air. It was hard to imagine what kind of mental state the photographer had been in when capturing such an image.
Sanji's wanted poster featured him executing his Diable Jambe kick mixed with the power of his flamberge technique. The wind pressure combined with the flames had blown his short golden hair back, casting a fiery red glow across his face.
Luffy's photo on the side hadn't been updated. But a new wanted poster naturally meant that his bounty had been increased.
From the shocked expressions on Vivi and Smoker's faces, it was clear how terrifying these bounties were.
Smoker suddenly picked up all three wanted posters, comparing them repeatedly with Luffy and the other pirates.
"This... how is this possible?" He stared in disbelief.
Red nodded and suggested: "Read today's paper, Captain Smoker. I just hope you won't be too angry..."
Smoker suddenly dropped the three wanted posters and quickly grabbed the newspaper from the table.
On the front page was an image of the Going Merry riding the waves, sailing away from the wreckage of countless Marine warships.
This time, to emphasize the danger posed by the Straw Hat Pirates, the Marines had truthfully reported the details of the incident. Naturally, they recorded how Luffy and his crew had destroyed dozens of battleships with a single strike.
It wasn't until this moment that Smoker realized what a grave mistake he had made! Nearly a hundred warships had been destroyed by the enemy during operations under his command... yet here he was, a failed Marine, eating and living comfortably aboard their ship!
"Straw Hats!" In an instant, Smoker let out an enraged roar.
"White Blow!" Without hesitation, he swung his arm, attacking the Straw Hats.
But at that moment...
Clang!
Zoro's Wado Ichimonji, infused with jet-black Armament Haki, suddenly appeared before him, intercepting Smoker's elemental fist.
Zoro grinned: "Mind your position, Mr. Marine! You're still our prisoner right now."
Terrifying power surged from Zoro's arms, easily suppressing Smoker. A lightning-quick slash followed.
Smoker was knocked away by the back of Zoro's blade, crashing into the restaurant wall.
Seeing this scene, Sanji suddenly frowned: "Really! The kitchen is not a place for you to fight! Be careful not to break my kitchen utensils, you idiots!"
"Hey-hey."
Zoro sheathed his sword and turned to Sanji with a teasing smile: "If you're so worried, hurry up and develop your own Armament Haki to protect them! 77 million Beri cook!"
After being called "No. 4," Sanji had successfully earned a new nickname from Zoro—"77 million Beri cook"! This was exactly the bounty amount on Sanji's wanted poster.
[WANTED]
[Name: Sanji]
[Reward amount: 77,000,000 Beri]
[DEAD OR ALIVE]
"You bastard!!!"
Sanji was instantly furious. He grabbed Zoro's bounty from the table, pointed at the "79,500,000 Beri" figure and shouted:
"That's only 2.5 million more than mine! What are you so proud of? Want to bet my bounty will exceed yours any minute?"
"Oh?" Zoro smiled crookedly. "Some people are all talk, but they haven't even developed Armament Haki yet!"
"You bastaaaaaaard!" Sanji roared. "I've already grasped the key to Armament Haki! In a few days, my Armament Haki will be more powerful than yours! Just wait and see!"
Chef Zeff once said: What makes you angry is often not lies, but the truth.
Zoro, with his Armament Haki, had successfully found Sanji's weak spot. Having gained the upper hand, he turned his back to Sanji, waving dismissively:
"Let's wait until you can actually do it!"
"Cough cough!"
At that moment, Smoker, who had been knocked away, coughed painfully, interrupting the quarrel between Zoro and Sanji.
The next second, he quickly raised his head and looked at Zoro, with deep fear evident in his eyes.
Smoker asked loudly in disbelief: "Impossible! Why has your Armament Haki suddenly become so powerful?"
Obviously just yesterday, he had seen that Zoro could only slowly infuse his blades with Haki. But moments ago, before even drawing his sword, his opponent had instantly completed the Haki infusion!
This speed of progress... he had never heard of anything like it in the entire history of Marine training!
When he heard this, Zoro suddenly displayed an arrogant attitude. First glancing at Red, he then said to Smoker: "That's our crew's secret. Marine, you've crossed a line!"
As for why Zoro had made such tremendous progress overnight—that was, of course, because Red had brought the Straw Hat members to spend a whole night training intensely, including sparring with a powerful opponent and his boss.
After this battle, Red had finally overcome a difficult challenge.
And Zoro had successfully leveled up significantly, his strength improving considerably!
Meanwhile, while Zoro, Sanji, and Smoker were arguing, Usopp picked up Luffy's wanted poster and placed it on the table.
Then he said with a shocked expression:
"100 million Beri? Now, Luffy, you'll become a target that the Marines and World Government will be determined to eliminate!"
"Shishishi~!"
Luffy immediately grinned upon seeing his new bounty, his eyes shining with anticipation.
"That's great! This means more and more strong fighters will want to challenge us in the future, right?!"
Nami, watching Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji argue, suddenly laughed: "From now on, I'll be a woman with 300 million Beri by my side at all times!"