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"Extra! Extra! Buy the latest newspaper! It's about the pirate Asmodeus Zechs! He's back! He's back! He's resurfaced!!!"
That day, newspapers across the world carried the same headline:
[Asmodeus Zechs Returns With a Bang!!!]
Beneath the headline was a photograph of Zechs smiling charmingly at the camera. The article went on to describe his reappearance, along with his latest crimes against the Marines and the people of a certain island.
The return of a pirate with a bounty of 900 million Berries shocked almost the entire world.
And the reactions were mixed.
"Damn it, what the hell?! Wasn't that bastard locked up in Impel Down? Then why is he back on the surface?!"
"Do you think he escaped from Impel Down?"
"How is that even possible? Nobody has ever escaped from Impel Down! It's the World Government's inescapable prison! How could anyone get out of there? It's never happened before!"
"Then that means Asmodeus Zechs might be the first person ever to escape!!!"
"Whoa... that's so cool!!"
"Cool my ass! What are the World Government and the Marines even doing? If they managed to capture someone like that, then how did they let him escape? They should have executed him, for God's sake!"
"Wuuu... I-I thought I could finally rest easy... now that the Marines had avenged me for what that bastard did to my wife and daughters right before my eyes... but... but those Marines... how could they!?"
While some people reacted to the news of Asmodeus Zechs' return with fear, anger, and despair, others were thrilled, excited, and flushed to hear it.
"Princess! Your Highness! Please forgive me for interrupting the meeting, but I have news... news about Sir Zechs! Look... he's back! He escaped from Impel Down!"
"Is he really? Is Sir Zechs truly back?"
"Great! Then we don't need to carry out the rescue operation at Impel Down anymore! Cancel it! Stop all the training and preparations for it!"
"And here I was wondering how those damned Marines had managed to keep Zechs-sama locked up in the first place. It's good that he escaped..."
"Look at that smile... he's still as handsome as ever!!! No... he's become even more handsome and even cooler now..."
"Mwah... muah... Zechs-sama... seeing you again makes me want to kiss you all over... mmm..."
Aside from the general public and ordinary people, even some of the major figures of the world were surprised by the news.
…
Somewhere in the New World—
"Vohahahaha... did this guy really manage to escape from Impel Down? Interesting..." laughed Rocks D. Xebec.
He had just finished winning a Davy Back Fight and was celebrating with his newest recruit, the red-haired, red-bearded smuggler Ganzui.
Ganzui noticed the interest in Rocks' expression and asked curiously, "You want to recruit this guy as well?"
"Not sure at the moment... but I suppose he's not as pathetic as I thought earlier," Rocks replied casually before taking another swig of rum.
He had previously dismissed Asmodeus Zechs as pathetic for being defeated and captured by a mere Rear Admiral. But hearing that Zechs had escaped from Impel Down caused him to revise his opinion somewhat.
Escaping from Impel Down was an unprecedented feat. In the entire history of the prison, no one had ever managed it before. That achievement alone was enough to make Asmodeus Zechs worthy of attention once again.
Of course, Rocks still did not think especially highly of Zechs after he had been defeated by a mere Rear Admiral. But at the same time, it would not be wrong to say that Zechs had once again returned to his radar.
What Rocks did not know was that Zechs had never been imprisoned in Impel Down at all.
The one Rear Admiral Sengoku had captured and sent to Impel Down was the pirate Guru Ochoku.
The entire operation had been a trap designed to lure in Charlotte Linlin and capture her as well. Unfortunately for the World Government, Linlin never took the bait, and the plan failed.
Even so, the World Government never bothered to issue a correction to the newspapers clarifying that it had been Ochoku, not Asmodeus Zechs, who had been imprisoned.
As a result, countless people misunderstood the situation and ended up crediting Zechs with becoming the first man to escape from Impel Down.
In reality, even if Zechs truly had been imprisoned there and later escaped, he still would not have been the first person ever to break out of Impel Down. That distinction actually belonged to Morley, the giant who escaped from the prison more than fifty years earlier.
Since nobody knew the truth, all the fame was being given to Zechs.
…
Aboard Charlotte Linlin's ship—
"Look! Look! It's Zechs-sama! It's the Captain! He's back! He's really back!!!" several pirates who had once belonged to Zechs' crew cried out excitedly.
For the first time in months, they finally knew for certain that their captain was alive and safe.
Rob also let out a long sigh of relief, finally releasing the tension he had been carrying all this time.
He had already believed that Zechs was alive because Linlin had assured him. And although he trusted her, a small part of him, just one percent, had still doubted.
But now, after seeing the newspaper with his own eyes, that last bit of doubt disappeared.
"Mama... mama..." Charlotte Linlin laughed as she looked at the article. "So... you've finally shown yourself again, huh, Zechs..." Even she looked relieved now, one hundred percent certain that she wasn't being delusional or having weird dreams about him.
"Are we going to see him, Ane-san?" one of the pirates aboard the ship asked.
Everyone on the crew already knew how important Asmodeus Zechs was to Linlin. It had been almost nine months since she had last seen him. Until now, they had simply had no idea where he was.
But now that Zechs had resurfaced... Surely Linlin would want to see him, right?
Streusen, who had been cleaning the deck in a corner, immediately perked up his ears. 'If Linlin goes to see him... then perhaps this is my chance...' he thought.
Rob and the others who had once been part of Zechs' crew also looked towards Linlin expectantly.
But they were all disappointed when she shook her head. "No. There is no need," Charlotte Linlin said. "We will meet only when it is time to decide the outcome of our bet."
Ever since she and Zechs had made that bet, the two of them had stopped contacting each other, even in the dream world.
Although the thought of seeing him made Linlin feel restless and full of desire, she had already made up her mind.
She would not see him again until their bet was nearing its end.
That was her decision. Still, considering Rob and the others, she added, "If the rest of you want to see him, then—"
Before she could finish, Rob shook his head. "There's no need, Ane-san. We are no longer part of Cap—... I mean, Asmodeus Zechs' crew. We're part of your crew now. And although we do want to see him after so long, what we truly want is to stay by our captain's side and help her win. Besides... Sir Zechs already has new companions, so there's no need for us to worry about him."
The others nodded in agreement.
Linlin snorted, though there was a smile on her face. "Suit yourselves."
With that, the discussion ended, and everyone decided to hold a banquet to cheer for Zechs' return.
While people were singing, dancing, eating, and drinking, Linlin lowered her gaze to Zechs' photograph in the newspaper once more and blushed slightly. 'Hm... not bad... he really is handsome enough to become my future husband...'
Embarrassed by her own thoughts, she coughed lightly and then grinned. "Now that you've resurfaced, it means you're finally going to start making a real effort to compete with me. Very good... that's how it should be. It wouldn't be any fun without competition."
…
Aboard the stolen Marine warship—
Zechs was lounging lazily in a chair beneath the warm sun, enjoying the pleasant weather that the ship rarely encountered. His sunglasses covered his eyes, and he looked somewhat at ease.
Unfortunately, his rest does not last long. But the interruption didn't come from the sudden change in weather; rather, it came from his very own maid, who exclaimed loudly and very excitedly as she rushed over to him, "Zechs-sama! Zechs-sama! Look... look!"
She was waving a paper in her hands as she suddenly stood in front of him, blocking the sunlight.
"What's gotten you so excited about?" he asked lazily as he pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead and glanced at the paper she was holding for him to see.
There is a picture of Pudding on it. In the photograph, her bangs cover her third eye, and she has her innocent look, appearing all cute, shy, and adorable.
Beneath the picture, written in large bold letters, are the words:
[WANTED
Dead or Alive
Nutcracker Maid Pudding
฿15,000,000]
"Oh? It's your wanted poster..." Zechs murmurs in slight surprise.
And indeed, the paper Pudding is holding is her very own wanted poster. Printed beneath her picture is a bounty of fifteen million berries.
"That's right, Zechs-sama! This is my wanted poster! I am officially a wanted pirate now!!!" she said with a bright smile, her excitement obvious.
For someone born into the Charlotte Family, becoming a wanted criminal is not something to fear. Quite the opposite, it's almost like a coming-of-age ceremony… and now that she has this bounty, so it's like she has finally grown up.
"Although fifteen million is still kind of small..." she said, pouting for only a moment before smiling again. "But I still have a bounty now... Hehehe..."
Although a bounty of fifteen million may seem small from the perspective of someone forty-nine years in the future, for this era, it is not a small amount at all.
Pudding understands that as well. Even if she cannot accurately imagine how much her bounty might inflate to forty-nine years from now, the simple fact that she finally has one is enough to fill her with excitement.
So she giggled happily, spinning on her heel, and proudly admired her wanted poster.
"And I look cute too. Good thing I noticed the cameraman with my highly perceptive eyes and posed properly. Otherwise, they might have taken an ugly picture."
"But the epithet 'Nutcracker Maid'..." Zechs points out.
"Ahem..." Pudding coughs awkwardly and immediately puts on an innocent expression.
"This... I wonder why they gave me such an epithet," she says while pretending not to know. "Even though the main thing I showed was my sniping."
"Are you sure you do not know?" Zechs asks flatly. Please. He saw Commodore Alpha Male's bloody crotch afterward. Considering what she did to him, 'Nutcracker Maid' is an extremely fitting epithet.
"I really have no idea..." she said, avoiding his gaze before quickly changing the subject. "By the way... There are wanted posters for you and Katakuri Onii-sama, too."
Zechs looked at them. His own wanted poster is the same as before, still carrying a bounty of ฿900,000,000.
Then there is Katakuri's.
[WANTED
Dead or Alive
Katakuri
฿80,000,000]
Compared to Pudding, Katakuri's display of power was far more impressive. Pudding only incapacitated a few Marines via Memory Threads as well as Flashback, then destroyed Alpha Male's manhood, and finally demonstrated her sniping skills.
Katakuri, on the other hand, unleashes overwhelming Conqueror's Haki to knock down almost all the sailors except Commodore, who was also shaken by his Haki. He later defeated Commodore Alpha Male with a single mochi punch coated in Armament Haki and finally destroyed every ship in the harbour, while revealing his ability to create many mochi clones.
That level of power is on a completely different level.
Even setting everything else aside, the mere fact that he can use Haki already makes him a terrifying threat, enough to earn him a bounty of eighty million berries immediately.
"It is not that impressive at all," Katakuri said quietly as he looked at his wanted poster. Rather than appearing excited like Pudding, he appeared nostalgic… recalling his first bounty from his original timeline.
"Fufu... true," Zechs says with a grin. "Compared to your original bounty, this is indeed much lower."
After all, Katakuri is a man whose true bounty exceeds a billion Berries. Compared to that, eighty million really does seem small.
"But... you did well out there, Pudding," Katakuri said as he nodded toward his little sister.
"Umm..." Pudding nodded back, suddenly growing shy from the praise.
In the past, she and Katakuri were not especially close. But now things are different. In this era, she is the only sibling he has beside him, so Katakuri pays far more attention to her than before. On top of that, he has become something like her teacher, guiding her and teaching her how to fight.
Because of that, the bond between them has grown much closer.
So when Katakuri praised her, Pudding couldn't help but feel both embarrassed and happy.
"Well... this calls for a celebration," Zechs says with a grin. "My Pudding-chan finally got her first bounty. We should celebrate, shouldn't we?"
Neither Katakuri nor Pudding disagrees. "Then let's celebrate."
"Fufu..." he chuckled, and soon the atmosphere aboard the ship became much livelier. Rum was brought out, and even Pudding drank.
Normally, she does not drink at all. But today is different. She is simply too excited not to.
So she drank while listening to Zechs sing some songs, her face gradually turning redder and redder until she clung to him, sat on his lap, and rested her head against his chest, rubbing her cheek, asking, "Zechs-sama… I am a good maid, aren't I?"
"Pudding-chan is indeed the best…" he said, patting her head.
"Zechs-sama, praise me more…" she asked while looking at him with drunk eyes.
"Fufu…" he chuckled…
Katakuri watched the scene and allowed himself a faint smile.
An atmosphere like this, with not much tension, not much pressure of having to be responsible for the safety of his siblings, not only from outsiders, but also Bigmom, was not so bad. It allowed him to relax and be at ease.
Still, deep in his heart, one thought also remained. 'I hope Brûlée and the others are alright...'
In the end, however, he pushed those worries aside for the moment and quietly took another drink.
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A/N:
[1] Thanks for voting and letting me know that readers are indeed interested in this fanfic. Now, the reason I asked those questions... well, I won't lie, it's because I haven't received any new P-atreon subscribers in almost an entire month. That's honestly a big problem for me, since this is my only source of income… or rather, my family's source of income.
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