I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

The bounties offered by pirates on the high seas exhibit a phenomenon of fragmentation and inflation.

The bounty system has long lost its original meaning.

No matter how high the bounty, no one can actually claim it. For both bounty hunters and the general public, it's just a number.

Pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions are usually dealt with by the Navy, not by bounty hunters.

For pirates... bounties have even become a measure of their "status" among great pirates, representing the standard of their strength and fame.

Some particularly ruthless pirates will even deliberately commit evil deeds, massacre civilians, and do bad things in order to increase their status and fame.

The more evil deeds one commits, the higher the bounty, the more famous and prestigious one becomes, and the more one can rely on one's reputation to recruit followers and expand one's power.

Take the Straw Hat Pirates as an example.

Although they don't actively commit evil, they are generally overjoyed every time their bounties increase—the Navy's intention in raising their bounties is not to reward pirates, make them happy, or increase their fame.

After establishing a new order in Liangshan, they also made corresponding adjustments to the bounty system for criminals left over from the World Government.

“Yes…” Joseph exclaimed.

"On the high seas now, even the most powerful pirates have a maximum bounty of 100 million Berries."

"While it did not completely deny the former World Government's bounty system, the changes were quite significant."

One hundred million Berries is already a huge sum for bounty hunters, and few can challenge it, so cutting bounties has little impact on them.

Unfortunately, Joseph and Johnny belong to the very few powerful bounty hunters.

For ordinary people, even if the bounty for a criminal with a bounty of 500 million or 600 million Berries is reduced to 100 million Berries, it still makes no difference; they are still extremely dangerous criminals that the public cannot afford to offend.

For the navy, which specializes in capturing pirates, the impact is minimal.

The Navy has its own set of standards for measuring the danger level of criminals with bounties exceeding 100 million Berries. The original bounty system can be used as a reference; those who capture pirates will receive corresponding military merits...

The group most affected is the pirate community.

This cut off the bubble of pirate bounties, preventing them from becoming a benchmark for comparison among pirates.

Meanwhile, key figures involved in the reform of the bounty system also included former Neo Navy Commander-in-Chief Zephyr.

He once defected from the Navy and continued to uphold justice in the New World, but was smeared by the World Government and regarded as a great pirate.

Having personally experienced the stigmatization, Zephyr deeply resented the original bounty system and suggested a reassessment of the danger levels of the many pirates on the high seas.

For example, groups like the Straw Hat Pirates, which are similar to maritime adventure teams, have indeed been burdened with a bad reputation that is inconsistent with the facts.

Meanwhile, the bounty of characters like Nico Robin, the Devil Child, is determined not by how evil she has done, but by her ability to decipher the Poneglyphs, which poses a threat to the original World Government. But what does this have to do with the newly established Liangshan?

Both types of characters will require corresponding adjustments to the new bounty system, and this will be a long process, not something that can be done overnight.

Pirates are a large group of outlaws.

In the original work, Luffy, Sabo, and others initially sailed the seas waving the black skull and crossbones flag, calling themselves pirates. This was tantamount to writing the word "robber" on their faces, and they deserved to be feared by the people and hunted by the Navy.

However, upon closer examination, pirates like Luffy and Robin are naturally less dangerous than pirates who plunder and slaughter civilians.

The new bounty system doesn't mean Luffy won't be hunted down; it just means his priority will be lowered. The new Navy will focus its attention on pirates who pose a greater threat.

Even if Luffy reaches the final island and becomes the Pirate King in the future, his bounty should remain at 100 million.

"Leaving that aside... how did you all end up back in the East China Sea?" Joseph looked at the stern-faced, imposing Kro in front of him, his gaze unconsciously falling on Kro's nostrils as he recalled bits and pieces of the past.

Joseph the Knife God was the inventor of the Chopsticks Dance.

Kro didn't think much of it and sighed to himself:

"Isn't it only natural to return to the East China Sea?"

"I'm not as clear-cut and determined as the bald guy and his gang."

"Not everyone has lofty ambitions," Chloe sighed, taking a sip of her wine.

"All I've ever wanted is to live a peaceful and mundane life, to be a wealthy retired man."

At this point, Kro felt a pang of sadness.

In the original storyline, Kuro is described as having the second-highest IQ among the characters who appear in the early stages, second only to the red-haired first mate, Beckman.

But as clever as he is, his vision is indeed limited.

Known for his wisdom and resourcefulness, Kro spent three years painstakingly lying low as a steward, all in order to seize the wealth of the wealthy Kaya family in the East Sea countryside and become a rich country gentleman, living a peaceful but monotonous life.

Of course, including Chloe, Aaron, Monca, and others, they were all snatched away by Sieg ten years earlier and swept onto completely different paths by the mudslide of fate.

Kro's life trajectory was also quite tortuous.

The savings he has now are what he earned while doing business on the Island of Everything during the time Sieg was missing.

For the cunning and resourceful Kuro, doing business is far more lucrative than being a pirate.

Now, the time has finally come for us to return home in glory.

Not everyone has lofty ambitions...

Joseph and Johnny murmured it over and over, then looked at each other, both deeply moved.

"Indeed, we are just small people."

There are plenty of retired wealthy men living in villas who collect garbage, and there are also urban legends about cleaning ladies owning several buildings.

Even though Joseph and Johnny have become the God of Swords and the Saint of Blades, they still prefer the peaceful life in the East Blue.

Many years ago, they were also bandits.

After the bandit king faked his death in the Sabaody Archipelago, they left the bandit group and began their adventures on the Grand Line.

After ten years of wandering and experiencing countless adventures, I finally returned to the East China Sea.

Two years ago, during the Baratie incident at the sea restaurant, they encountered Sieg, who had returned under the alias "Wang Rixiong". The two joined forces to stop Hawkeye, allowing Sieg to leave, and they never saw Sieg again.

“Crow, Monka, we need to apologize.” Joseph remembered something and spoke apologetically:

"Two years ago, Brother Sig was arrested and imprisoned by Admiral Higuma himself. By the time we heard the news, it was too late."

Johnny continued:

"The East Blue is too remote. Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors, is well-informed and acts swiftly in the Grand Line. He can quickly mobilize his entire crew to launch a strong attack on the Marine Headquarters, but we can't do that."

"By the time we reached the Grand Line, the war was over. The bandit groups that had reappeared had already gone to the New World and disappeared from the world's sight once again."

"Why bring this up now?" Kloe shook her head.

"Someone like Boss Sig is probably just fishing for himself."

Johnny and Joseph also breathed a sigh of relief.

Four veteran cadres who had followed Xige since the Donghai era drank some wine in front of a booth at the amusement park, reminiscing about the past and chatting about everyday life.

Joseph and Johnny are part-time amusement park owners who occasionally work as bounty hunters.

With his savings accumulated over the years, Kro planned to retire to the East China Sea and live a dull life as a wealthy countryman.

Unlike others like Monca, he didn't have a clear plan for the future, nor was he quite sure what he wanted.

Perhaps he will rest for a while in his hometown in the East China Sea, or perhaps he will rejoin the military in the future and become a member of the new navy.

“What’s wrong with being a nobody?” Monka said from the side, his voice low.

"So, let's drink to the little guys."

The Sword God, Sword Saint, Axe King, and the Hundred-Piece Krok were drinking small cups and chatting about everyday things.

A dozen or so steps behind them, the group of mohawk-wearing thugs lay silently in a pool of blood.

Hurried footsteps could be heard outside the amusement park gates.

A-Jian, the police officer stationed in Cocoa West Village, dressed in a police uniform, jogged in, the little windmill on his hat brim spinning rapidly.

"I received a report that a group of pirates are causing trouble here..."

He stopped in his tracks halfway through his sentence.

Under the setting sun, a group of Mohawk pirates lay quietly on the floor of the amusement park, while Johnny and Joseph, the amusement park owners he knew, were drinking and chatting about life and small fry at a nearby stall, oblivious to everyone else.

A cold sweat suddenly broke out on Ah Jian's back.

"Uncle Jian is here too, want to have a couple of drinks?" Joseph greeted him with a smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the pirates lying all over the ground and only then did he realize what he had done, so he quickly explained with a smile.

But no matter how you explain it, Ah Jian's gaze toward the God of Knives and the Saint of Swords was ultimately different.

Kro watched quietly from the side, his gaze wandering.

People like Joseph and Johnny, though not the brightest stars in the spotlight, are no longer completely ordinary people.

And so did he.

Because of the mudslide of fate, they deviated from their original path.

But when the dust settles and the glorious past fades away, they will eventually return to their own hearts and live their own lives.

The life of a mountain bandit is a magnificent drama, a grand journey from the East Sea to the summit of the Red Earth Continent.

But after the grand finale, they will eventually return to their own lives.

Even if it returns, it will never be the same as before.

Their past experiences, their beliefs and dreams as bandits, will become a part of their blood until the end of their lives.

These are the paths the bandits took after the event ended.

From all corners of the country, we go our separate ways; each with our own dreams, we live our own wonderful lives.

..................

The bandit king wisely retired from the scene, disbanded his bandit gang, and became a legend.

He rarely appears in public, but his influence remains ubiquitous.

The king of Den Den Mushi, Gilman, and the king of news, Morgans, joined forces to reorganize the World News Agency. The former Shock Department officially became a newspaper under the World News Agency, and its subsidiary, The Tabloid, became the world's second largest newspaper in terms of circulation, second only to The World Economic Herald.

Morgans once again became known as the King of News, and his news birds flew all over the world again.

On this day, Morgans was enjoying a coffee at the newspaper headquarters when there was a knock on the door.

The person who walked in was a newspaper editor, holding a newspaper in his hand.