Sengoku's eyes flashed with a sharp glint, his face grave as he stared at the Den Den Mushi. "Alright, Admiral Borsalino, report your intelligence!"
"Understood."
Kizaru paused, then continued in a rare, serious tone. "It has been confirmed that the Golden Lion is dead."
"And Kouta, through our brief exchange, learned that this fellow likely ate a Space-type Devil Fruit, allowing him to teleport and fly. Nothing else is known for now." He then tilted his chin, uttering his famous line.
"How terrifying!"
"Marshal Sengoku, if there's nothing else, I'll request to set sail back."
"Mhm! You've worked hard, Admiral Borsalino."
With that, Sengoku hung up the call, a trace of surprise in his eyes. Even though he had been prepared, hearing the news of the Golden Lion's death still brought a sense of surrealness.
"Seventeen years old, world-class, and a pirate at that. This silver-haired individual might be even more dangerous than the Golden Lion!"
This reminded him of another immensely powerful seventeen-year-old. Douglas Bullet, a former member of the Roger Pirates, known as the "Child of Demonic Descendants."
"Hahahaha!!"
Just then, Garp burst into laughter and exclaimed, "Truly remarkable! To have actually killed the Golden Lion, a man from our East Blue."
"Hahahaha..."
He then gave a thumbs-up towards Kouta's wanted poster on the blackboard behind Sengoku. To be honest, he didn't dislike Kouta. From Kouta's actions so far, there was no indication of any intent to threaten the Marines. Any threat was directed towards the World Government. The World Government's threats had nothing to do with him as a Marine. Didn't they?
"Garp."
Sengoku chided Garp, who was laughing so hard he was almost crying. He then looked around the conference room, his gaze finally settling on Tsuru.
"Tsuru, since it's confirmed the Golden Lion is dead, combine the threat assessment of the silver-haired one and announce the latest bounties from your staff department!" The bounties for pirates like Kouta could no longer be solely determined by individuals. They required deliberation by the Marine staff department and submission to the World Government for the final decision.
Tsuru, hunched over, propped her chin on her hands. A sharp glint flickered in her dim eyes. She spoke calmly, "According to the preliminary deliberations of the staff department, we can offer 'Silver Hair' Kouta..." She paused, then continued, "a bounty of 500 million."
"500 million?"
"Truly terrifying!"
"If memory serves, Silver Hair was only just wanted for 70 million a few days ago."
"This is truly unprecedented!"
Even though everyone in the conference room knew that Silver Hair Kouta's bounty wouldn't be low this time, they were still astonished upon hearing 500 million. Silver Hair Kouta could be said to be the pirate with the fastest bounty increase. In just a few days, his bounty had jumped from 70 million to 500 million. It was now certain that Silver Hair Kouta's name would resonate throughout the world at the fastest pace possible.
"Bang!"
Sengoku slammed his fist on the table, drawing everyone's attention. He looked at everyone and stated, "Given Silver Hair Kouta's strength, no one in the first half of the Grand Line can stop him anymore." His gaze swept across the room, and he uttered a grim sentence. "Of course, that includes us Marines."
"Sengoku..."
Tsuru couldn't help but speak up. Sengoku raised a hand, interrupting her. He then said sternly, "It's not that the Marines are incapable of arresting Silver Hair and his crew."
"Given that Silver Hair Kouta can fly, we don't have sufficient troops to apprehend him at the moment. To arrest him, we would need to deploy at least two Admirals' worth of combat power to have a chance of success. However, the situation in the New World is currently delicate, and we cannot afford to dispatch two Admirals to pursue Silver Hair and his crew." He adjusted his glasses, a gleam of intelligence in his eyes, and continued. "Therefore, our current strategy is to find a way to expedite Silver Hair's journey to the New World, so he can contend with the monsters there!"
Thinking of something, he asked Tsuru, "By the way, Tsuru, is Silver Hair currently in Loguetown?"
"Yes."
"Quickly contact Colonel Smoker in Loguetown and tell him not to act impulsively. He can appropriately turn a blind eye and let Silver Hair and his crew proceed to the Grand Line sooner." This troublesome Marine was known for his issues; otherwise, a Logia-type Devil Fruit user and a student of Zephyr wouldn't have been stationed in the East Blue to guard Loguetown. He didn't want this man to make a futile sacrifice. The current Silver Hair was no longer someone an ordinary Marine officer could handle.
He then stood up. As everyone else also rose, he announced, "That concludes today's meeting. Upon your return, inform all the branch commanders in the first half of the Grand Line that they are to allow Silver Hair and his crew passage when they encounter them. This is a headquarters order."
"Yes."
Everyone saluted Sengoku in unison. Sengoku glanced at them and then declared loudly, "In the name of absolute justice, I hereby announce, dismissed." He then led the way out of the conference room. He still had to report the results of today's meeting to the Five Elders in Mary Geoise to expedite the release of Silver Hair Kouta's new wanted poster.
...
In less than two hours, Kouta's new wanted poster appeared at the Marine base in Loguetown, and then at all Marine bases. Finally, it reached the World Economic Journal.
World Economic Journal Headquarters.
The President's office.
The obese "Big News" Morgans, draped in a black cape and wearing a top hat adorned with a red and white feather, stared at a wanted poster on his desk with great excitement and eagerness. This user of the "Bird-Bird Fruit, Albatross Model" maintained a beast-man form, so no one knew his true appearance. His greatest interest was in big news. The wanted poster before him, along with photos secretly taken by his subordinates, constituted unprecedented major news for the entire world.
"Truly remarkable! To have killed the Golden Lion."
He stared at several secretly taken photos beside the wanted poster, depicting the floating island, the Golden Lion, and Kouta in battle, trembling with excitement. "And this guy's bounty, it's terrifying. His second bounty has reached 500 million." Even though he knew Kouta deserved it, he was still astonished. He had never seen such a proportional increase. He had already decided on the headline for this major news: "Pirate with the Largest and Fastest Bounty Increase in History, Slayer of the Legendary Golden Lion, the New Generation Pirate King, 'Silver Hair' Kouta." Thinking this, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Gagagaga..." He then grabbed the photos and the wanted poster, walked out of his office, and roared at the waiting newspaper employees. "My subordinates, hurry up and get to work! This time, I want Silver Hair's wanted poster and our news to appear worldwide as quickly as possible."
At Morgans' command, the entire newspaper agency sprang into action. Not long after, numerous messenger birds, carrying newly printed news destined to shock the world, flew out in all directions.
...