Chapter 107: Good News, Bad News

“This... isn’t this sentence a bit too harsh?” Qiubai lay flat in the cabin of the small boat, staring at the photo of himself on the newspaper that Aien had helped him unfold... and made this judgment.

As for the bounty on his head, he had long expected it. After all, he had come into close contact with the Navy twice. Although he didn’t know exactly how they operated, if they couldn’t “trace the clues” and catch his slip-up, it would be a severe underestimate of such a vast organization as the Navy.

Although most of the bounty was placed on Doflamingo’s head, for Qiubai, who was being wanted for the first time, the figure of 58 million berries seemed somewhat exaggerated.

Comparing it to Fisher Tiger’s bounty of 230 million berries for storming the Marineford prison, Qiubai’s deeds, whether in severity, threat, or influence, were definitely less than a quarter of the former’s. Yet he received a quarter of that bounty, which made it seem as if the Navy was being overly “generous” with him.

While the total bounty value of the enemies he had taken down exceeded 320 million berries, such achievements couldn’t be considered as “cumulative” or “continuous.” For a first-time bounty, 58 million was still a substantial sum.

For a first-time wanted person, adding another 22 million would place his bounty on par with the lower end of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. But clearly, Qiubai wasn’t at that level. Moreover, his bounty was almost entirely based on his individual combat threat to the Navy and the world, unlike Nico Robin’s case or those who preyed on the weak and spread chaos... In other words, purely in terms of combat power, the Navy considered him worth 58 million. This was why Qiubai felt his “sentence was too severe.”

In the Navy’s eyes, at least for now, Qiubai was not the kind of pirate who had the potential to expose or exploit the World Government’s vulnerabilities.

Or perhaps the Navy, after hearing of his specific deeds, felt this villain should be crushed in the cradle?

Of course, this was only Qiubai’s personal reflection. Earlier, he thought that even if he were wanted, it should be around 30 million berries. But thinking it over, having taken down enemies totaling 300 million in bounty and receiving only a tenth of that seemed somewhat unreasonable.

“It’s not you, the problem lies with Doflamingo,” Aien said, moving the newspaper aside.

Generally speaking, no boss would appreciate a subordinate who inadvertently caused the price on their own head to skyrocket.

Qiubai glanced at the person beside him. It was a good sign that he was contemplating the matter at hand... Being gravely injured was naturally unwelcome among his own people; no matter what, such actions were too extreme.

Though he had tried to keep his account of events brief and somewhat biased, the outcome was plain to see, and any explanation would sound hollow.

“Think about it carefully: it’s hard to imagine a person being stronger at fifty than at forty, and almost impossible to be stronger at sixty than at fifty. So, the period after one’s peak is quite painful but irreversible and inevitable for everyone. Therefore, the interesting part is ultimately the climb to the peak.”

“And the intensity of certain actions determines how high that peak actually is. When you think about it, isn’t that worth trying?”

“But after trying... the novelty fades. From now on, I’ll avoid such reckless ventures.”

This was Qiubai’s earlier explanation, which translated to “I won’t take such ‘deadly risks’ again.” The attitude was commendable, but how long it would last remained to be seen.

“Doflamingo? He should be fine.”

When Qiubai uttered that name, an unprecedented warmth filled his voice. But what he truly thought in his heart was known only to himself.

Regardless of his thoughts, the time wasn’t right yet.

Doflamingo really shouldn’t have any problems. Qiubai’s actions perfectly embodied the Donquixote family’s “bloodline rule”: the authority of the officers must not be challenged. After being shelled, Qiubai had risked his life to avenge that grudge on the spot. Would Doflamingo be displeased by the rise in his bounty?

Even if he were displeased, he would have to keep it to himself. That’s how “rules” work—even words spoken by oneself impose constraints.

As an officer, Qiubai’s conduct was so proper and orthodox it was almost frightening. As for the increase in Doflamingo’s bounty, it was an “uncontrollable force” that had to be accepted. Qiubai should never be blamed or punished.

Even a tyrant like Doflamingo, when managing a group, couldn’t let his violent nature run wild. After all, reason must prevail.

“So, how do we decide our course now?” Peibo asked again. They couldn’t just drift at sea forever.

“Need you ask? Of course, back to the ‘family.’ Once my injuries heal a bit, I’ll contact Doflamingo,” Qiubai replied decisively. If before, he had hesitated because of the mermaid incident, now he could return to the ‘family’ with his head held high.

So, naturally, he would return with dignity.

...

In truth, Doflamingo’s mood was far from good at this moment. He was staring gloomily at his new bounty poster on the table.

An increase of one or two hundred million berries was nothing to him, and usually, he wouldn’t care. But the problem was... the timing was terribly inconvenient. Since he had been planning a major move and was in a critical preparation phase, Doflamingo naturally wanted to keep a low profile. Ideally, he wished the Navy would have forgotten him entirely.

Instead... this happened, making things conspicuously conspicuous.

He needed to be more cautious, praying not to reveal any weaknesses. He planned to tighten security on many matters and even decided to cancel plans to test his brother’s suspicious behavior—secrecy came first.

Still, the deaths of the Komodo Pirates’ captain and first mate at the hands of the Donquixote family wasn’t entirely without benefit. It effectively severed their ties with the previous sinking of the vice admiral’s ship... A group’s resources are limited; while dealing with a fairly strong pirate crew, even the Donquixote family wouldn’t unnecessarily provoke the Navy.

It wasn’t that it was impossible, but most pirate crews operated simply and directly, which formed a kind of inertia in the Navy’s thinking.

In fact, this line of thinking wasn’t wrong. The Donquixote family’s major target was only one person—the Marine Vice Admiral. Qiubai was completely off their radar.

So, for Doflamingo, this was a “wonderful” misunderstanding.

As for whether it was good or bad, the pros and cons aside, after letting Qiubai roam free for some time, Doflamingo had finally come to a clear realization.

He raised a finger to gently tap his new bounty poster and said,

“Qiubai... truly an ‘uncontrollable factor,’ isn’t he?”

The answer was to simply take away the “isn’t he?”—he was far too uncontrollable.