NOVEL WEB Chapter 189: Chapter 189
"That guy Kairos Flint… hard to say," Kaido said, narrowing his eyes. "But judging by his usual behavior, he probably won't get involved."
After all, this was a grudge match between the Navy and the pirates. What did it have to do with a bounty hunter like Kairos?
Unless, of course, the Navy decided to hire bounty hunters.
But even then, it didn't seem very likely.
"Forget it, doesn't matter. This mess has nothing to do with us anyway. Our main target is still Kairos Flint," Charlotte Linlin declared coldly, her mind focused entirely on that one name. She wasn't interested in anything else.
However, Katakuri frowned slightly. Something didn't sit right with him. He had a strange feeling that things weren't going to be that simple.
——
Meanwhile…
As Morgans' report about the Navy spread across the world, responses erupted from every corner.
In the New World—
On an island temporarily being used as a regrouping point for the Whitebeard Pirates, most of the division commanders had returned. Only a few were still delayed due to other matters.
"Dad, we've captured a lot of pirates this time. Quite a few of them can use Haki. All of them have bounties on their heads. Together, it adds up to nearly 2.1 billion Beli," Marco reported, counting the prisoners housed in the ship's hold.
There were over 170 captured pirates in total. Four had bounties over 100 million, and the rest ranged from tens of millions to several million. As the saying goes, "Even a mosquito is still meat."
As long as there was a bounty on someone, the captains of the twelve divisions would bring them in. Anyone who resisted too much was either sent away—or taken down.
Compared to ordinary bounty hunters, their efficiency was leagues ahead.
"Geez… all that time and effort, and it's only 2.1 billion? We still owe Kairos Flint several billion more!" Diamond Jozu grumbled, clearly frustrated. This was the first time he had felt just how massive their debt was.
Marco gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. There are still a ton of pirates out there in the New World. We've only just started. If we put in more time, we'll make up the rest of the money."
If the New World didn't yield enough, they could always shift to the Grand Line. The number of pirates there was astronomical. Many of them were new upstarts aiming to enter the New World. Their bounties weren't too low either.
Whitebeard, meanwhile, was in good spirits. In a short time, they'd already captured pirates worth over 2 billion. He believed they could pay off the debt in a few months.
However, one thing still bothered him.
The food Kairos Flint had given him last time had improved his condition greatly—and left him craving more. He couldn't help but wonder… if he captured more pirates, what else could Kairos offer in return?
Just as Whitebeard was lost in thought—
Foil Vista came rushing over, gripping a newspaper in his hand. He was running so fast he stumbled and fell to his knees with a loud thud.
"Dad! Bad news!" Vista cried, ignoring the pain as he scrambled up and shoved the newspaper toward Whitebeard.
"My son, what happened?" Whitebeard asked, helping him up.
Vista, trembling with urgency, pointed at the headline and said, "Ace was captured by the Navy. He fought with Blackbeard on an island, but Blackbeard ambushed him. After he lost, the Navy took him. They're planning to publicly execute Ace a month from now!"
The room fell into a stunned silence.
Whitebeard's expression darkened immediately.
"What? How could this happen?" Jozu shouted, grabbing Vista by the shoulders.
The other division commanders were equally shocked.
Blackbeard had once been part of the Whitebeard Pirates. Back then, he had always stayed in the background, unnoticed. But then he killed Satch and stole the Dark-Dark Fruit.
That betrayal had infuriated Whitebeard.
Ace, hot-tempered and fiercely loyal, had gone after Blackbeard alone. And now this…
"Dad, we've got to go save Ace right now!" Marco shouted. His bond with Ace was deep—they were like real brothers.
"Yes, Dad! Let's head out now and bring Ace back!" other commanders added.
The entire ship was in an uproar, everyone calling for an immediate rescue.
But Vista quickly raised his hand to calm them down.
"Everyone, please listen! This isn't as simple as it looks!"
The room fell silent.
"What do you mean?" someone asked.
Vista unrolled the newspaper and laid it flat on the ground. Pointing at the article, he said, "The Navy isn't acting alone. They've launched a worldwide recruitment campaign. Dozens of powerful fighters at the rank of Vice Admiral have joined them. Even Momousagi and Tokikake have been promoted. And with the addition of the new Admirals—Fujitora and Ryokugyu—the Navy now has seven Admirals."
"Seven Admirals?!"
The captains of the Whitebeard Pirates were dumbfounded.
Did they hear that right?
The Navy had added four new Admirals?
How were they supposed to fight that?
"This can't be real…" Marco muttered, his face paling.
Even though he was strong enough to be a general-level fighter, there was no way he could take on seven Admirals. Not even close.
Whitebeard was aging. His physical strength had already declined. Facing this level of firepower, survival itself would be a challenge.
"Damn it! The Navy's coming after us hard this time!" Jozu cursed, punching a nearby wall.
But deep down, he knew the truth—they were outmatched.
Among the Whitebeard Pirates, the only ones with Admiral-level strength were Marco and Ace.
And now Ace was captured.