At Marine Headquarters, the atmosphere was tense.
Inside the Admiral's office, Fleet Admiral Sengoku stared at the report in disbelief.
"Crocodile was killed… by Renaud?!"
He had already been stunned that Crocodile was orchestrating a coup in Alabasta.
But this? A rookie pirate had defeated one of the Shichibukai?
"I can hardly believe it," murmured a vice admiral, sharing the same disbelief.
Renaud: Captain of the Renaud Pirates. Believed to be a user of the Ukon no Mi.
Current bounty: 900 million Berries.
Vice Admiral Garp's tone turned grim.
"He's using sword techniques suspiciously close to Golden Lion's style…"
"You think he's a disciple of Shiki the Golden Lion?" Sengoku's brows furrowed deeper.
Garp was one of the few who had crossed blades with Golden Lion countless times. If he recognized the technique, it was likely true.
For years, they thought Shiki had died. But maybe the old lion was training someone in the shadows...
"What a headache," Sengoku muttered, rubbing his temples.
They had hoped to eventually reinstate Crocodile as a legitimate force for the World Government.
But now, that plan was dust—and Renaud was being painted as the "hero" of Alabasta.
They couldn't let that happen.
Sengoku quickly dispatched a team to Alabasta for three objectives:
Assess the situation on the ground.
Frame the victory as a Marine operation, not a pirate one.
Have journalists document it favorably—portraying Marines as the true saviors.
To the people, the story was this:
A pirate tried to attack Alabasta. Marines stopped him. The country was saved.
Photos were distributed, narratives constructed, and soon, the Marine's image was stronger than ever.
"Is Hina in Alabasta now?" Sengoku asked.
All credit was being redirected toward Tina. She didn't resist—she wasn't Smoker, after all.
Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned as she looked at Renaud's wanted poster.
"We'll need to raise his bounty—drastically."
Sengoku agreed. "Killing Crocodile isn't something a 100 million bounty covers."
"Set it to 4 billion Berries," he ordered coldly.
That matched Crocodile's former standing—maybe even underestimated it.
And so, the bounty skyrocketed.
Elsewhere on the Grand Line...
On a tiny black coffin ship sailing through the waves, Dracule Mihawk glanced at the news.
"4 billion Berries?"
He scoffed.
"The Marines don't even know what they're dealing with."
From East Blue straight into the Grand Line—this Renaud had already felled a Shichibukai.
"You might just shake the world someday," Mihawk whispered.
On the Moby Dick, flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates:
Commander Vista read the paper with wide eyes. "Marco! Did Ace catch that bastard Blackbeard?!"
Marco shook his head and approached Whitebeard with the bounty slip.
"Pops… Crocodile's dead."
Whitebeard's brows twitched beneath his crescent mustache.
Soon the commanders gathered.
"Hah! How pathetic!" one laughed.
"Trying to conquer Alabasta, and he ends up dead!"
"This punk Renaud… where the hell did he come from?!"
"Back when we were his age, we weren't even half that capable," one muttered, stunned.
"Pops, are you going to adopt him as your son now too?" another teased.
Whitebeard just drank from his jug and chuckled.
"This is what makes the seas fun. You never know who'll rise… or fall."
On Onigashima, in the heart of Wano Country:
Emperor Kaido laughed thunderously after reading the paper.
"Good! That brat Renaud has promise!"
Nearby, Jack the Drought grunted, "Shall I capture him and make him join the Beast Pirates?"
Kaido didn't answer—but he was clearly intrigued.
At Totto Land, headquarters of Big Mom:
Her son Perospero nervously searched for her.
"I should tell Mama. Crocodile's dead!"
"Don't bother," said Katakuri coldly.
"She's… entertaining a man."
Perospero nearly fainted.
Then he glanced back at the newspaper photo of Renaud and smirked.
A new target had been found.
On a remote island, in the heart of the sea:
From deep in the woods, a voice laughed darkly.
"Even Crocodile… killed by a rookie?"
Ben Beckman exhaled a smoke ring. "It proves he's strong. But that kind of attention brings bigger threats."
Everyone nodded. They knew how fame painted targets on backs.
Suddenly—someone shouted.
"Is that Luffy?! He's got a bounty now too?!"
A burst of laughter exploded from the group.
They had been watching from afar, but even they were caught off guard.
"Good job, Luffy!"
As the world turned, Renaud's name echoed across all oceans.
He had made his mark—not just as a pirate…
…but as the man who terrified the Four Emperors.