Li Cang immediately looked at the bottom of the Bounty List—the hundredth spot.
In an instant, he froze, his heart trembling, because the hundredth spot wasn't him.
He didn't know whether to feel relieved or uneasy. Did this mean he wasn't in the top hundred, or was his ranking higher?
100th: Yang Wang, Bounty: 10 million Berries
Li Cang had heard of this Yang Wang. He remembered him as an Ability User who had eaten the Island-Island Fruit, inheriting the strength of the infamous "Tyrant" from the Pirate King's era. He was also a Chosen One.
Li Cang consoled himself: "This Yang Wang definitely isn't stronger than me. My rank must be higher."
His gaze shifted to the ninety-ninth spot—still not him. So he continued upward.
98th—no. 97th—still no. 96th—again, not him.
Could it be that his name wasn't even at the bottom of the top hundred?
Li Cang felt a flicker of joy and reassured himself: "Even though I've lost both arms, I'm still a powerful Might Might Fruit Ability User. The strength I inherited from the Pirate King's era is nothing to scoff at. I must have underestimated myself. Ye Yu's words made me subconsciously doubt, but now it seems I should be more confident. Even disabled, I, Li Cang, remain among the elite of the Chosen Ones."
Encouraged, Li Cang continued scanning upward, now checking the ranks above eighty. But as his eyes climbed higher—past seventy, sixty, all the way to fifty—he still hadn't found himself.
"Huh? I'm actually in the top fifty?"
He was surprised, growing even more pleased.
He kept going—49th… 45th… 40th…
Gradually, panic set in. A thought surfaced in his mind: What if… he wasn't on the list at all?
The moment the idea struck, overwhelming unease gripped him. His eyes darted frantically upward—until his face paled, and he collapsed to the ground.
"How… how is this possible? I didn't even make the list? I'm a Might Might Fruit Ability User! It's an incredibly powerful Devil Fruit! My own strength isn't weak either—why couldn't I even break into the top hundred? Why?"
It never crossed his mind that he might be in the top ten—that was impossible. Just within the four Pirate Crew Alliances alone, there were more than ten people stronger than him, not to mention other powerful Pirate Crews.
So, he broke down completely. The once-proud man was now utterly devastated.
Lin Muxue sneered, "Pathetic. You're an embarrassment to the Chosen One Pirate Crew. You were even a vice-captain before, yet you didn't make the list? Good thing we demoted you earlier."
At that moment, some were overjoyed, while others sighed in disappointment.
Many Chosen Ones had believed they would make the top hundred.
"Amazing! I'm ranked 98th! Not bad—even if it's near the bottom, being on the list at all is a huge honor. I'm a Wine-Wine Fruit Ability User, with a bounty of 11 million Berries!"
"Hahaha! I can't believe it—I'm actually 60th! I thought it'd be tough to even make the list, let alone rank this high. Guess I'm stronger than I realized!"
"Oh? You, the Clear-Clear Fruit user, are ranked that high? Your bounty's even 20 million Berries? I sparred with you before—you weren't even as strong as me back then. I didn't make the list, but you've improved this much?"
"I was also surprised. My strength mainly started growing from level thirty, inheriting powerful swordsmanship. In the world of pirates, he was known as Rain Shiryu—clearly a formidable pirate, which explains why I became so strong. Otherwise, the Clear-Clear Fruit doesn't have much offensive power, but combined with my current swordsmanship, my combat prowess is incredibly strong."
...
Just then, the notification chime rang out.
"Those ranked beyond the top 100 will now receive their information, letting you know your ranking and bounty money."
Instantly, many grew eager, wanting to know their own bounty figures.
Li Cang was most curious—since he wasn't in the top 100, he wondered just how far down he was.
The next moment, everyone ranked beyond the top 100 learned their placement.
Li Cang froze on the spot, then clenched his fists, stomping the ground in frustration as he let out a furious roar.
"Ahhh!!! Damn it!!!"
Seeing Li Cang's explosive reaction, Lin Muxue asked, "What's wrong? What's your rank?"
Li Cang was seething, utterly devastated. "I'm exactly 101st."
This made Lin Muxue and those around them understand—anyone in his position would feel the same.
Li Cang was fuming. "It's all because of Ye Yu! If he hadn't spared my arms, my strength would be greater now, and I'd have made the top 100. But instead, I'm 101st—just outside the rankings! Aaaahhh!!!"
Li Cang was on the verge of losing his mind. If he had been 108th, or even 102nd, it wouldn't have stung as much. But being exactly one spot outside the rankings was unbearable.
With a spurt, Li Cang coughed up blood from sheer rage.
"Ahhh!! It's all your fault, Ye Yu! I swear I'll kill you someday!"
He recalled Ye Yu's earlier words—praying he wouldn't make the list, because if Ye Yu had taken the 100th spot, Li Cang would've been 101st. Back then, it seemed impossible, but now it had come true.
The thought made Li Cang spit out another mouthful of blood in fury.
Meanwhile, Ye Yu glanced over the rankings and noticed Li Cang wasn't listed. He knew Li Cang would be upset, but not this furious.
Ye Yu felt smug. If he knew Li Cang was exactly 101st, he'd have been even more pleased.
At the same time, the person ranked 102nd wasn't nearly as upset.
"My bounty is 9.5 million Berries—at least I'm not 101st, or I'd be devastated."
"My bounty is 5 million Berries, but I'm ranked beyond the top thousand—1,900th."
"Mine's 4 million Berries, ranked 5,000th."
"The competition is insane."
"My bounty is just 10,000 Berries—ranked beyond the millions."
...
After a brief discussion, everyone turned their attention to the rankings from 11th to 100th, curious about who made the cut.
Sun Long scanned from the bottom up and finally found himself—40th place, with a bounty of 30 million Berries.
He was satisfied and confident that his rank would improve further in the future.
Many executives from the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew made the list—more than half of them—which filled them with pride, feeling they had brought honor to their crew.
Qiao Ling'er said, "I don't have much combat strength, but thanks to the Heal-Heal Fruit's power, my ranking isn't on the list, but I'm still at 120th."
Han Ling was stunned when she saw her own name. "I actually made the list? And I'm 48th with a bounty of 28 million Berries? That's way higher than I expected!"
Ye Yu wasn't surprised. "Your own strength wouldn't normally warrant such a high ranking, but because of your ability, even though Phantom can only attack once now, it's still excellent combat power."
Han Ling felt she had benefited and thanked him: "It's all because of the Captain. The Captain is too strong, so when I challenged, I used the Captain's photo to summon the Phantom for one full-power attack. That's why my ranking is so high. Since the Captain's strength is in a league of its own, if I had used the world's second strongest Phantom, I'd only get one or two attacks at most and wouldn't make the top hundred."
Ye Yu didn't comment, as this was indeed the case.
At this moment, the vice-captains were most concerned about the current rankings, checking if their names appeared. If they did, it meant they weren't in the top ten; if not, they were in the top ten.
Zhao Yan'er saw her name and was somewhat disappointed.
"Rank twenty-one... Not only not in the top ten, but not even the top twenty. This world is truly full of hidden talents."
Ye Yu also saw it—Zhao Yan'er's bounty was forty-eight million berries.
However, Zhao Yan'er remained determined: "I'll keep working hard. After all, it's the Flare-Flare Fruit. With more development, I can grow even stronger."
Ye Yu believed it was possible. Among the pirates, Ace had died too early, and Sabo had possessed the Flare-Flare Fruit for too short a time, so its full potential and Awakening hadn't been seen. Though in his past life, many had joked that "not even dogs would eat the Flare-Flare Fruit," thinking that most top-tier fighters in the pirate world could already attack with flames. But the fruit's potential was still very high.
At this moment, Zhao Lin was surprised.
"As a Non-Ability User, I didn't make the top ten, but I'm actually fifteenth—with a bounty of fifty million berries."
Ye Yu wasn't surprised, given that Zhao Lin had contracted Kozuki Oden. If not for the fact that deceased pirates in the original world couldn't be contracted (while all living ones had been), he would have made the top ten.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ke was startled not to see his name.
"Huh? I'm not listed?"
The crew also noticed—his name was indeed missing.
"Congratulations, Vice-Captain! Top ten!"
Xiao Ke was also in disbelief. "Ah, really? But I'm a Non-Ability User, and unlike the Captain, who contracted seven, I only contracted Ben Beckman."
Zhao Yan'er said, "You must be in the top ten. There's no way you'd be outside the top hundred. Since you're stronger than me now, you have to be in the top ten."
Xiao Ke agreed, especially since the earlier announcements hadn't revealed his bounty information.
The crew erupted in cheers.
"Congratulations!"
"Our Pirate Crew has at least two in the top ten—Xiao Ke and the Captain."
"Let's see if Vice-Captain Xia Ling is on the list."
...
Ye Yu wasn't surprised that Xiao Ke made the top ten. As the contractor of the Red Hair Pirates' vice-captain, and with Beckman being an emperor-level figure in the pirate world—where Red Hair was the sun, Beckman was the moon—his infrequent appearances didn't change his emperor-level status. Making the top ten was expected, though he was likely at the bottom of it.
At this moment, Xia Ling was also delighted.
"I don't see my name either."
The crew cheered happily.
"Amazing! Vice-Captain Xia Ling is also in the top ten!"
"Vice-Captain Xia Ling's strength has improved tremendously since reaching level thirty."
"After all, she inherited Aokiji's strength, and Vice-Captain Xia Ling said Aokiji was a former Marine Admiral."
"We've got serious prestige now. Many on the bounty list are executives from our Dominant Feather Pirate Crew, and we have three in the top ten."
...
Ye Yu wasn't surprised, since Xia Ling corresponded to the pirate world's Aokiji.
Both Xia Ling and Xiao Ke were eagerly anticipating what their bounty amounts would be.
At this moment, the entire world had noticed and could make educated guesses.
"Incredible! The Dominant Feather Pirate Crew has the most members on the bounty list now."
"Indeed, far surpassing other top pirate crews."
"It seems the strongest pirate crew remains the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew. Though they previously defeated an alliance of four pirate crews, we thought they'd start falling behind after level thirty since they have more Non-Ability Users aboard. But who knew so many would make the list?"
"And many are Non-Ability User executives too."
"Aside from Sun Long, Zhao Lin, and Zhao Yan'er, nearly all Dominant Feather Pirate Crew members in the top hundred were originally executives from Xiao Ke's crew."
"Absolutely. Recruiting Xiao Ke's pirate crew was a treasure trove for the Dominant Feathers—all their executives are on the list."
...
Ye Yu remained unsurprised, as they corresponded to the Red Hair Pirates' executives, whose crew had the highest average bounty in the pirate world.
Jin Mo and others looked displeased, clearly unhappy with this development.
Moreover, Xia Ling and Xiao Ke's absence from the list meant they were definitely in the top ten.
Jin Mo frowned. "Three from the Dominant Feathers in the top ten?"
Song Ling said gravely, "It's confirmed then."
Lin Muxue was surprised but unconcerned.
"Even if three spots in the top ten are taken, I'm definitely still in it. I'm not worried at all."
Song Ling smirked confidently. "Neither am I. After all, I inherited Big Mom's legacy—one of the Four Emperors in the pirate world."
Jin Mo also shrugged. "No worries here either. I inherited the Golden Lion, a legendary pirate."
Wang Quanshi crossed his arms. "My goal is second place. I'm the least concerned of all."
They barely glanced at ranks eleven to one hundred, deeming it unnecessary since their names weren't there.
Just then, Li Cang suddenly froze, as if remembering something.
While searching for his own name earlier, he'd spotted a familiar one. In his frantic, increasingly desperate scan, he'd overlooked it—but now, the realization hit him like a tidal wave. It couldn't be... Had he misread it?
Li Cang jerked his head up, eyes darting across ranks ten to twenty. His pupils dilated in shock, and he muttered in disbelief.
"This... How is this possible?"
Noticing Li Cang's abrupt shift in expression, Lin Muxue—who had been standing proudly with her arms crossed, eyes shut as she awaited the top ten reveal—opened her eyes and frowned at his troubled stare.
"Why are you looking at me like that? What's the matter?"
Li Cang knew he had to say it—it would come out eventually anyway.
He pointed at the list. "Xue Er... take a look at ranks ten to twenty."
Lin Muxue scowled. "Why would I? I only care about my bounty right now. I'll check the others after I know mine." She dismissed him and turned away.
But Jin Mo and the other two, curious, glanced over—and immediately stiffened.
After the initial shock and confirmation, Jin Mo, Song Ling, and Wang Quanshi all covered their mouths and laughed, their voices dripping with sarcasm.
"Hahahaha, always bragging and boasting, yet not even in the top ten."
"It really is her, though it's hardly surprising."
"She is indeed the weakest among the four of us. Always talking about her great potential—who knows if she'll be the strongest later, but right now, she's really not up to par."
Seeing them mocking her and looking her way, Lin Muxue froze. What did this mean?
Taking in Li Cang's expression, Lin Muxue's face paled with panic and unease. Could it be...?
At this thought, Lin Muxue abruptly turned her gaze to the rankings beyond the top ten. The next moment, she stood rooted to the spot, stunned.
(End of Chapter)