The next morning, Kurogane Ren was just about to start breakfast when Nina walked in with a newspaper.
Ever since Ren had taken in over a hundred women, they had voluntarily taken over every chore on the ship.
Laundry. Cooking. Making beds. Cleaning.
Ren did not even have to dump his own foot-washing water before bed anymore.
The only thing he was dissatisfied with was this—
Out of all those women, not a single one had volunteered to warm his bed.
Of course, the real reason was that Xu Nian had secretly told everyone Ren was still too young, that his body was not fully developed yet, and that he absolutely could not engage in any "pleasant exchanges" with them. For the sake of the captain's health, everyone was supposed to keep their distance.
To make sure the message stuck, Xu Nian had also gone around and "chatted" with each of them while holding a gun.
If Ren had known, he definitely would have argued that after taking the Strengthening Pill, his body had already matured just fine. He was more than prepared—at least in theory.
Naturally, Ren knew nothing about any of this.
Right now, he was eating breakfast and reading the paper.
He took a sip of water while scanning the headlines.
Then—
"Pffft!"
The moment he saw what was printed on the page, he sprayed the water straight out.
It was his wanted poster.
And the bounty printed on it had jumped from fifty thousand Beli... to two hundred and fifty million.
Five thousand times higher.
The jump was so absurd that Ren could barely process it.
For a second, he even wondered if the Marines had taken the wrong medicine—or if the person printing wanted posters had gotten drunk and added too many zeros.
Then, after staring at it for a few more seconds—
"Hahahaha!"
He burst out laughing.
At last, he was no longer second from the bottom in his own crew.
His bounty had to be the highest now.
Which was exactly how it should be.
He was the captain, after all. Of course his bounty should be the biggest.
But his happiness lasted all of three seconds.
Because right under his wanted poster... was another one.
And the person on it was Deneisa.
Her bounty had reached a staggering four hundred million Beli.
The Marines had even given her a title—Silver-Eyed Swordmaster.
Ren exploded.
"Which idiot arranged these posters?! Why the hell didn't they put Deneisa's above mine?!"
His brief dream of being the number one bounty in his own crew had been crushed before it even properly began.
Grinding his teeth, Ren kept flipping through the paper.
Soon, he came across another headline.
Dracule Mihawk Agrees to Become One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Oh? So Hawk-Eyes joined the Seven Warlords?"
It was a shocking piece of news for most people.
But Ren? Not really.
He had known for a long time that Mihawk would eventually become a Warlord, so this did not surprise him in the slightest.
He continued reading.
Then—
"Pffft!"
He spat out another mouthful of water.
Because he had just seen an official announcement.
A formal invitation from the World Government... asking the Worldbound Pirates to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
And underneath it was an extra line.
To show their sincerity, the World Government had already ordered the Marines to suspend all pursuit of the Worldbound Pirates.
Ren fell silent.
The World Government wanted him to become a Warlord.
Should he agree?
If he did, then he could plunder legally and would no longer be hunted by the Marines.
But once he became a Warlord, every other pirate would see him as a government lapdog.
More importantly...
He had killed a Celestial Dragon.
Even if he accepted the position, the moment that secret came out, the World Government would absolutely move to eliminate him.
So from the bottom of his heart, Ren did not want to become a Warlord.
But if he refused, the World Government would definitely be offended.
After all, they had already shown "sincerity" by ordering the Marines to stop chasing him.
If he turned them down, those five old bastards in the Five Elders would definitely order the Marines to ramp up the hunt.
Troublesome.
Very troublesome.
...
"Captain, come quick! Today's paper has news about Ren and Mihawk!"
"Oh? Really?"
At that moment, Shanks had already led the Red-Hair Pirates into the East Blue, where they were searching for the sniper Ren had mentioned before.
He took the newspaper and glanced through it.
"The World Government actually wants Ren to become one of the Seven Warlords?"
"Hahahaha!"
Beckman gave him a look.
"What's so funny, Captain?"
"I'm laughing because the World Government wasted its time. Ren's not the kind of guy who'd ever become a Warlord."
Beckman studied him for a moment before replying, "That guy is calm, rational, and doesn't really act like a pirate at all. I think there's a good chance he'll agree."
Shanks grinned.
"Then let's make a bet, Beckman. We'll bet on whether Ren accepts the Government's offer."
Beckman nodded. "Fine."
"A bet needs stakes. If you lose, that storage ring Ren gave you belongs to me."
Beckman stared at him.
"And if you lose?"
Shanks puffed out his chest and declared proudly, "If I lose, I'll listen to you from now on."
Beckman snorted.
"Haven't you always been listening to me?"
"Ah... hahaha..."
...
"Old man, that Lucky Ren jumped from fifty thousand to two hundred and fifty million in one go! That's five thousand times higher!"
"Gurararara..."
"I told you that brat wasn't simple."
At that moment, Flower Sword Vista stroked his chin.
"Marco, compared to Lucky Ren, I'm more interested in that Silver-Eyed Swordmaster, Deneisa."
Marco looked at him and laughed.
"Vista, are you thinking of sparring with her? But she's a woman. Even if you win, it's nothing special. And if you lose... wouldn't that be humiliating?"
"Hahahaha!"
...
"Mamamama..."
"That Worldbound Pirates crew looks promising. Two members already have bounties over two hundred million."
Big Mom grinned widely, then looked at Katakuri.
"Katakuri, I think that Deneisa girl is pretty good. How about I make her your wife?"
Katakuri's expression did not change.
"Mother, I'm not interested in marriage."
"Mamamama..."
"In that case, send some people to make contact. Ask whether they're willing to work for me."
"Yes, Mama!"
...
"Worororo..."
"King, send someone to contact the Worldbound Pirates. See if we can recruit them. If we want to dominate the New World, the more powerful fighters we have, the better."
"Yes, Kaido-sama."
As Ren and his crew grew stronger, both the World Government and the great pirate powers of the sea began preparing to recruit them.
Meanwhile, Ren himself was busy searching for a place to settle down and begin proper development.
Because just moments ago, he had drawn something incredible from the system.
A damaged divine relic.
The Space Stone from the Avengers movies.
As for why it was considered damaged, the system explained that only when all six Infinity Stones were gathered together could they truly count as a divine artifact.
The moment Ren saw the glowing blue cube, he nearly shouted in delight.
How powerful were the Infinity Stones?
Gather all six, and they could destroy an entire universe.
Of course, Ren only had one, so he could not destroy the universe.
Not that he wanted to.
If the universe was gone, who was he supposed to discuss life and intimacy with in bed?
As soon as he realized it was the Space Stone, Ren already knew exactly what he wanted to use it for.
He was going to turn it into an infinite energy source.
Its appearance solved one of his biggest problems.
Why had Ren not upgraded to a better ship already?
It was not because he did not want to.
It was because he could not.
Money was one issue, but not the main one.
Xu Nian could design a biological vessel like the Free Roamer, and Martha had the ability to manufacture a near-perfect ship.
The real problem was materials.
Ordinary materials simply could not withstand the crushing pressure of the deep sea.
And when Martha used her ability to multiply her ultra-hard alloy, the energy consumption was ridiculous.
Yes, Martha ran on a nuclear battery—but that battery was not infinite.
Now, with the Space Stone in hand, Martha could use it as an energy source to massively multiply materials.
Which meant Ren's long-delayed shipbuilding project could finally begin.
So right now, he was busy searching for some godforsaken deserted island where he could start building his new ship.
As for all those people trying to recruit him?
He did not have the time to care.