Chapter Sixty-One: A New Bounty Announced

“Hahaha, Xia Qi was right, your little troubles...”
“Wait? Xia Qi! What did you just say? Brother Chu Yi... he’s been officially recognized by the World Government as the world’s most dangerous criminal?”
Rayleigh, who had expected Xia Qi to be on his side and had prepared his words in advance, was caught completely off guard. The confident look on his face instantly vanished, replaced by sheer astonishment as he processed what Xia Qi had said.
Was this a joke?
In just a few days, Brother Chu Yi had earned himself a title greater than any in the world?
Had the World Government lost its mind, or had Xia Qi?
After a brief moment of mental blankness, Rayleigh snatched the newspaper from Xia Qi’s hands and drew in a sharp breath.
There was no question about it—it wasn’t the World Government that had gone mad, nor Xia Qi. In Rayleigh’s eyes, the one who had truly gone insane was none other than the young man standing before him: Chu Yi.
What was the headline on the front page?
The World’s Most Dangerous Criminal!
Rayleigh’s gaze dropped beneath the headline, and the shock in his eyes only deepened. Every title on that front page spoke of Chu Yi’s madness.
“Exclusive: The Truth Behind the Killing of the Celestial Dragons on Sabaody Archipelago!”
“In-Depth: The Real Story Behind the Destruction of the Holy Land, Mariejois!”
“The Shame of the World Government? Who Can Truly Protect Our ‘Creators’?”
“Slave Uprising! The Ruthless Hand of the Criminal Asura!”
The further Rayleigh read, the more astonished he became. Yet mingled with his astonishment was a growing sense of admiration for Chu Yi.
He admired the young man before him, who, having just made his mark on Sabaody Archipelago, had accomplished in mere days feats that no one before him had dared to even imagine, let alone attempt.
No true human could ever genuinely revere the Celestial Dragons or honor them as ‘Creators.’
No true human could ever accept the ‘slave system’ the Celestial Dragons had established without anger.
What would it feel like, if one day your lover, your parents, or your friends became slaves to the Celestial Dragons?
Yet under the Celestial Dragons’ tyranny and the World Government’s collusion, ordinary people could do nothing but silently accept their own subjugation, watching as the world decayed under these parasites.
But it was Chu Yi!
He was the one who rescued the innocent victims oppressed by the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, restoring their freedom and raising them up from wretched slaves to free men and women!
It was Chu Yi!

He was the first to stand up, to call out the World Government’s crimes, and to dare challenge them as an enemy!
Still, it was Chu Yi!
He became the first to stand against the Celestial Dragons, the first with the courage to slay the world’s parasites!
He did what others had wished to do, but had lacked the courage for!
He accomplished what others had dreamed of, but had lacked the strength for!
But as Rayleigh quietly admired Chu Yi’s blend of courage and strength—accomplishing such grand feats so soon after setting out to sea—his eyes suddenly fell upon Chu Yi’s newly issued wanted poster. As his gaze narrowed, Rayleigh acutely sensed the danger lurking behind Chu Yi’s fame.
This time, while the image on Chu Yi’s wanted poster remained unchanged, his bounty had undergone a dramatic transformation.
From the previous bounty, it was clear that Fleet Admiral Sengoku had tried to downplay the Sabaody incident and had not set the reward very high.
But now, the walls of secrecy had finally crumbled, especially after the catastrophic blow to Mariejois, which could no longer be concealed from the world. With no choice left, Sengoku had drastically raised Chu Yi’s bounty.
And that bounty was...
A staggering 800 million Berries!
An 800 million bounty was not just a symbol of strength; in the eyes of most pirates, it was also a mark of prestige!
The higher the bounty, the greater the standing among pirates.
Of course, in the original story, the bounties of the Seven Warlords were generally not that high, but that was merely an exception.
What’s more, Chu Yi’s bounty was not only set at 800 million, but accompanied by the title officially recognized by the World Government: the World’s Most Dangerous Criminal. Rayleigh could already imagine—if Chu Yi were to rally pirates in their masses, his reputation as Asura would draw countless followers, all eager to help him become the next Pirate King.
Such was the renown brought by an 800 million bounty and the title of the World’s Most Dangerous Criminal!
But...
With these thoughts swirling, Rayleigh took a deep breath to steady himself. When he looked at Chu Yi again, he slowly exhaled and said, in a low voice,
“Brother Chu Yi, I didn’t expect that in the short time since we last parted, you would have achieved feats that make even me take notice. When I first heard from Shanks that you’d named your crew ‘Heaven-Slayers,’ I never truly believed you meant to oppose the Celestial Dragons for good.”
“And yet...”
“Hahahaha, Brother Chu Yi, I truly underestimated you!”
“But...”
Suddenly Rayleigh’s tone turned grave.
“But, Brother Chu Yi, the trouble you’ve stirred up is truly terrifying. Even with me on your side—no, even if Shanks and the Red-Haired Pirates joined us—it would still be difficult to bear the weight of all this. I think, for now, you should set aside training in Observation Haki and give some serious thought to the path ahead.”
After Rayleigh finished, Chu Yi fell silent.
Especially when his gaze swept over Tiger, Hancock, and the others behind him—Chu Yi frowned slightly, pondering Rayleigh’s advice.

While Chu Yi was lost in thought—troubled by his soaring bounty and the title of World’s Most Dangerous Criminal—
On the first half of the Grand Line, a pirate ship crept forward, and a lively banquet was being thrown in celebration of Chu Yi’s new bounty!
“Hahahaha, Boss, Brother Chu Yi is incredible! We’d only just parted ways, and he stormed straight into Mariejois! I regret not joining him back then—otherwise, my bounty would be higher than yours by now!”
“Boss, maybe we should just disband our crew and all join Brother Chu Yi’s ‘Heaven-Slayers’—what do you think?”
“Sigh, when Brother Chu Yi told us the name of his crew, I thought he was joking! Who could have guessed... who could’ve guessed the guts he truly had. I bet those high-ranking Navy officers and the Celestial Dragons never imagined he’d dare strike them at their very heart, in Mariejois!”
As his crew praised Chu Yi and poked fun at him for entertainment, the future Emperor “Red-Haired” Shanks seemed to take no offense. He raised his cup and drank boldly, outwardly absorbed in the festivities for Chu Yi’s sake.
Only Beckman, from the glint in Shanks’ eyes, could faintly discern an unspoken emotion.
Perhaps because of this, when Beckman once again pulled out the newspaper the seagulls had delivered before the banquet, the vice-captain of the Red-Haired Pirates stood with his cup, gazing off into the distance and murmured in his heart:
“Shanks, Brother Chu Yi has taken the lead. When will you catch up to him?”
“To catch up to...”
“The world’s most dangerous criminal?”
With that, Beckman shook his head forcefully and let out a carefree laugh.
Meanwhile, on a remote island in the New World—
Boom!
Something plummeted from the sky—a meteorite or some such thing—striking the island with such force that it left a massive crater, nearly destroying half the land in an instant.
Yet amid such devastation, the being who fell from the heavens still clung to life!
Then, as the tenacious figure slowly climbed out from the pit, his eyes locked on the wanted poster he’d torn from the newspaper.
A chilling smile crept across his face. The future Emperor Kaido clenched his fist, and with a sudden motion, crushed the wanted poster to dust.
“The world’s most dangerous criminal, is it?”
“If he made a move... perhaps... perhaps he could kill me, too?”