"A bounty hunter? I've never seen a bounty hunter this strong."
Law's expression was grave.
His Observation Haki was far inferior to Rorschach's, but at such close range, he could clearly sense the dangerous aura emanating from the bald man before him.
Very strong!
Back in the North Blue, Law had encountered bounty hunters before.
He had even worked as one for a time, capturing pirates with bounties of two or three million berries to claim the rewards.
In his impression, bounty hunters were far weaker and held lower status than pirates.
Even their reputation was terrible—they were often called "hyenas" by people on the sea.
Many bounty hunters secretly doubled as pirates who raided villages.
After defeating rival pirate crews, they would claim the bounties through the Bounty Hunters' Guild, which took a cut as a handling fee.
As for titles like "Six-Star Bounty Hunter," Law had never heard of them before.
"You've never heard of me?" Hanx sighed. "As expected, the Bounty Hunters' Guild isn't what it used to be. I told the old man we needed reforms, but he wouldn't listen. Now even the Marines, our closest allies, don't recognize the few remaining high-ranking members of the guild."
He shook his head, holding the limp body of Jean Ango like a dead dog, and began walking away.
"Hey!"
Law frowned and stepped forward, blocking the path with Kikoku.
Hanx raised an eyebrow. "What? Trying to stop me from leaving? Marine, I'm not a pirate. Bounty hunters and the Marines aren't enemies."
Law, however, was staring at the Heavenly Dragon Halberd still tightly gripped in Jean Ango's hand.
The treasure hunter wasn't completely unconscious—for some reason, he wasn't resisting, letting the bald man drag him by the neck.
"You can leave, but you have to return what belongs to us. And one more thing..."
He turned to Palmer, who was clutching his chest and coughing up blood.
"You think you can just walk away after hurting one of ours?"
"Ah, my apologies. I acted a bit too hastily earlier." Hanx looked genuinely regretful. "As for your belongings... you mean this thing?"
Following Law's gaze, he glanced down at the halberd in Jean Ango's grip.
At his stare, Jean Ango, who had been pretending to be unconscious, immediately opened his eyes and shouted defiantly, "This is my weapon! No one's taking it from me!"
"Shameless! That clearly belongs to Commodore Rorschach!"
Palmer, struggling to pull himself free from between two collapsed buildings, clutched his chest—now bearing a clear fist imprint—and staggered forward, glaring furiously.
By now, shipwrights were swiftly evacuating the onlookers from both sides of the street.
Meanwhile, others rushed to alert the new Marine base and Rorschach, who was currently at Dock 1.
However, the blinding flash and deafening explosion from earlier had already drawn the attention of many.
At Dock 1, Rorschach—who had been helping construct his new ship as a laborer—paused and looked toward the upper city in surprise.
"What's wrong, Commodore Rorschach?"
Kaku, who was sawing through a block of wood nearby, asked curiously.
After a few days of working together, Kaku had found Rorschach surprisingly easy to get along with.
Unlike the overbearing or aloof types, Rorschach was far more approachable than someone like the silent Lucci.
For a man of his strength and, in a way, a fellow colleague, Kaku had no reason to antagonize him.
"Kaku, do you know what a Six-Star Bounty Hunter is?"
Hearing the question, Rorschach's expression shifted slightly as he voiced his curiosity.
Compared to him—a fresh recruit straight out of Marineford—CP9 agents like Kaku, with their extensive intelligence networks, undoubtedly knew far more about the world.
Sure enough, Kaku's eyes flickered toward the direction of the commotion as he explained:
"Commodore, the 'star' ranking is the Bounty Hunters' Guild's way of classifying hunters based on their strength and status.
A hunter's star rating is determined by the total bounty of the pirates they've captured."
As Kaku elaborated, Rorschach grew more intrigued.
"I had no idea the Bounty Hunters' Guild had such a system. I suppose it makes sense—an organization that openly hunts pirates must have strong figures backing it."
According to Kaku, bounty hunters were ranked from One to Nine Stars.
One Star: Captured criminals with bounties exceeding 100,000 berries.
Two Stars: 1 million berries.
Three Stars: 5 million berries.
Four Stars: 10 million berries.
Five Stars: 50 million berries.
Six Stars: 100 million berries.
Seven Stars: 300 million berries.
Eight Stars: 500 million berries.
Nine Stars: 2 billion berries.
Stars could also be earned through cumulative captures, but the required total would be ten times higher.
The higher the rank, the lower the guild's commission fee.
At Six Stars and above, hunters not only paid zero fees but also received salaries and additional benefits.
"A Six-Star Bounty Hunter can defeat pirates worth 100 million berries? Damn..."
Rorschach's eyes widened. "The Bounty Hunters' Guild is stronger than I thought."
He turned to Kaku.
"How many Six-Star or higher hunters are there in the guild?"
Kaku held up a hand.
"Only five?"
Rorschach was disappointed.
For a moment, he had thought he'd stumbled upon a hidden powerhouse in the world of pirates.
Kaku chuckled. "But the guild's leader is a Nine-Star Hunter—a man who once killed a legendary New World pirate with a 2.55 billion berry bounty."
"What?!"
Rorschach was stunned.
A pirate worth over 2.5 billion berries was undoubtedly a top-tier force, possibly even Admiral-level.
To kill such a monster, the hunter himself must have been at least Admiral-tier.
The Bounty Hunters' Guild had a top-tier fighter in their ranks?
"There are only a handful of pirates with bounties exceeding 2.5 billion. Who was it?"
This wasn't the era of inflated bounties yet—crossing 1 billion alone was enough to mark someone as a major threat.
Rorschach pressed for details.
"John Lekheim," Kaku said, a name that sounded unfamiliar at first.
But then he added, "Also known as Captain John, the 'richest pirate' of decades past. The World Government placed a 2.55 billion berry bounty on his head. He was killed by Jonathan Barnett, the Nine-Star Hunter."
"Jonathan Barnett—founder of the Bounty Hunters' Guild, the only Nine-Star Hunter alive, and known as the 'King of Hunters'."
"The bounty hunter who killed Captain John?!"
Rorschach's pupils contracted in shock.
Captain John was one of the infamous pirates from the Rocks Pirates.
Aside from the legendary One Piece, the most famous treasure in the world was Captain John's treasure.
(And in the present timeline, John's corpse had allegedly been turned into a zombie by the Shichibukai Gecko Moria.)
If Barnett had killed John, his strength was undoubtedly Admiral-level!
"Aside from Barnett, who are the other four high-ranked hunters?"
Rorschach began reevaluating this seemingly obscure organization.
"There are three Six-Star Hunters: 'Flash Warrior' William Hanx, 'Deadly Ninja' Shimada Ichiro, and 'Immovable Shield' Andre."
"And one Eight-Star Hunter—the guild's vice-leader, a man who rarely appears in public: Gulliver."
Kaku listed them off effortlessly, displaying his deep knowledge of intel Rorschach had never even heard of.
"An Eight-Star Hunter? That means he's capable of killing pirates worth 500 million berries or more—another absolute monster."
Rorschach couldn't help but whistle.
With this lineup, the Bounty Hunters' Guild's overall strength was almost on par with a New World Emperor's crew.
How had he never heard of them from Sengoku or the others?
As if reading his thoughts, Kaku shook his head with a wry smile.
"The guild isn't what it used to be."
"Rumor has it that Jonathan Barnett is over 80 years old, bedridden with illness, and on the verge of death."
"Without the legendary King of Hunters to hold things together, the guild—which has hunted countless pirates—will likely face retaliation from the pirates of Paradise."
"Oh, and their headquarters is in St. Poplar, also known as Queen Emerald City."
(End of Chapter)
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