Chapter 100 The Speed of Light
[Grand Line, Mechanical Island——]
The huge mushroom cloud in the distance made the residents of all the towns on the island look in the same direction.
Everyone recognized what that place was.
Dr. Vegapunk's Research Institute...
Pah! Uncle Gini's eyes almost popped out of his head in shock, and the shotgun in his hand fell into the snow.
His daughter Kidman and the modified dog she was leading opened their mouths in unison, their jaws dropping to the ground.
“…Did you really press it?!”
**** 〖The midpoint of the Grand Line, below the holy land of Marijoa on the Red Earth Continent——〗
[Navy Headquarters, Marinford]
In the clean, tidy and extremely deep quiet room, two rows of naval officers sat in two columns, holding a group meeting behind low coffee tables.
The semi-retired veteran general, wearing a navy coat covered with medals, gave a long and impassioned speech, then retreated to a table at the top with his teacup and took a sip.
I'm so old that I feel dry in my mouth after just one hour of educating the younger generation.
"So……"
Although he had a green Mediterranean hairstyle, he was actually only 35 years old. Major Brannew of the Navy Headquarters, who was in the prime of his life, walked forward with two freshly-made photos in his hands.
Snap, snap.
He pinned the two photos, for which the final reward amount had not yet been determined, on the whiteboard used for demonstration.
"Next, we will discuss these two criminals..." Brannew said seriously while wearing sunglasses, "According to the latest news from the Machinery Island branch, Dr. Vegapunk's research institute on the island was completely blown up by these two people, and all of the doctor's research materials were destroyed..."
The location of the Mechanical Island is not too far from the entrance of the Grand Line - in other words, the probability of encountering a vicious and powerful pirate group is not too high. The navy's troops stationed on the Mechanical Island are also quite good... but now someone is so crazy that he directly blows up the entire research institute that the navy has carefully protected? This news is naturally horrifying! But fortunately, those present are all key officers of the navy headquarters, so they will not be so shocked.
All the officers just turned their eyes to the two photos that Brannew had posted on the whiteboard.
Lieutenant General Kuzan was also present at the meeting this time. He looked at one of the photos on the whiteboard, which was the photo of the young man - his face had not changed much from what he had seen at the beginning.
I just didn't expect that the little guy had already entered the Grand Line less than a year after escaping? And did something like this?
As for the short-haired girl in the other photo... Kuzan looked at her silently for a moment and confirmed that this was indeed not Nico Robin.
Come to think of it, Nico Robin hasn't revealed her whereabouts for a long time...
Major Branno picked up a marker and wrote the names under the two photos - Giovanna Giorno and Kujo Jolyne!
"Giovanna Giorno was originally a well-known young hunter in the West Sea. In just over half a year, he hunted pirates with a total bounty of 43.96 million Baileys..." Branny introduced, "As for this Kujo Jolyne, there is no detailed information about her past for the time being, but according to the description of the people in the Mechanical Island branch, among the two, this girl - Kujo Jolyne, is the captain! What is known so far is that she is the user of an unknown devil fruit, which can at least make humans, including herself, disappear out of thin air... In addition, Kujo Jolyne's combat ability is not weak! Stronger than the average branch lieutenant..."
Kuzan: “…”
The naval officers began to discuss in low voices.
“You’re still really young!”
"I didn't expect to become a pirate..."
"And they committed such an unforgivable crime..."
"How much is the reward?"
"When it comes to Dr. Vegapunk, there will definitely be a lot! And it can't be a lot."
"The bounty is too low. How can we show how much we value Dr. Vegapunk?"
"That fire destroyed all the information in the institute. We must set the reward higher!"
"And we must arrest these two people as soon as possible!"
…
"For a pirate who was bountyed for the first time, our highest record is 20 million berries..."
As for the devil's son, that is of course an individual case outside the scope of discussion.
Branny read the information in his hand, "However, in order to show our respect for these two pirates who committed the worst crime of this century... the current plan is to set the bounty amount at 70 million for Captain Kujo Jolyne and 30 million for former bounty hunter and crew member Giovanna Giorno!"
Although the bounty was unusually high, the naval officers present felt that it was necessary to make an exception.
"Such evil criminals must be eradicated this morning to serve as a warning to others!"
The naval officers were discussing this when Vice Admiral Kuzan suddenly stood up and said, "Regarding these two people..."
Everyone looked at him.
Kuzan, the user of the Ice Fruit, is an ace with the potential to be a general among the vice admirals of the Marine Headquarters.
"To be precise...it's this young man."
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
The man in suit pants walked forward and took the marker from Major Brannew's hand. Under Lynch's photo, below the name "Giovanna Giorno" written by Brannew, he added the name "Brando Dio".
"This was the name he told me when I met him in Xihai a year ago."
Kuzan put down his pen.
Glancing at all the naval officers present, he said in a deep voice, "That is to say... these two names may not be his real name. We must pay special attention to this when arresting him."
"Has Vice Admiral Kuzan ever dealt with this Giorno... and this boy?"
"Yes." Kuzan said slowly, "At that time... I wanted to bring him back to the Navy Headquarters, hoping to train him to be an outstanding marine! He has the qualifications. Well... the current situation, from another perspective, probably confirms my opinion. This kid is really amazing!"
His jokes were so dull that no one could laugh.
Kuzan continued: "And at that time, when we were in close contact, my observation Haki... sensed a humanoid 'ghost' beside him!"
He pointed his finger at Lynch's flamboyant smile in the photo, and a layer of frost crept over the photo.
"The deeds of the so-called 'Evil Spirit of the Pirate King' that are circulated in the West Sea... are what he did!"
As soon as the words fell, the entire conference hall couldn't help but make a slight noise.
"Is there such a thing?"
"This Qiao... this young man is really unscrupulous!"
“That’s terrible!”
The officers present immediately understood why Kuzan had said that he wanted to bring the boy back for education. Such a dangerous kid must be reformed! Now that he couldn't be reformed, they had to issue a warrant for his arrest, bring the misguided boy to justice, and throw him into prison for forced reform.
The previous bounty price for Kujo Jolyne and Giovanna Giorno was overturned, and all the officers started discussing it again...
Finally! An unprecedented bounty amount was printed on two freshly-made bounty warrants!
The short-haired tough girl, Captain Kujo Jolyne, has a bounty of 100 million berries! The black-haired flamboyant boy, former bounty hunter, Giovanna Giorno, has a bounty of 100 million berries! "These two troublesome little ghosts... Are they ghost abilities that can only be discovered by Observation Haki? I'm really worried..."
Wearing a brown suit and a top hat, Lieutenant General Borsalino of the headquarters stood up slowly.
"You're faster," Kuzan said lazily as he walked up to him. "You should go for the haul."
Borsalino pouted and said lazily, "That's right..."
Before he could finish his words, his entire silhouette seemed to disintegrate and turned into tiny golden particles of light, whooshing...flying towards the direction of the entrance to the Grand Line which was facing the Navy Headquarters!
However, in an instant, Vice Admiral Borsalino turned into a golden light, flashed across the vast ocean of the Grand Line, and arrived at the Mechanical Island surrounded by ice and snow.
(End of this chapter)