Bounties Infobox.png


A bounty is a government-issued reward placed on an individual and awarded to whoever can apprehend or kill that person.

Overview

Becoming Wanted

Normally, a bounty is issued by a government official or by the Marines. The idea is to tempt others into aiding the capture of the criminal so they can be brought to justice quickly. Bounty Hunters make careers trying to find and capture these wanted people. Bounties are issued with a "Dead or Alive" disclaimer, meaning the reward will be paid so long as the threat gets eliminated, but Baroque Worksagents state that bounties are usually only paid in full if the criminal is captured alive; up to 30% of the bounty money may be lost by bringing in someone dead, since no public execution can be held.[1] There are certain exceptions where a criminal's capture condition are further restricted, as Sanji's second poster has been altered to be "Only Alive", per his father's political influence in the needs of his third son back alive.
The amount of a bounty is determined in response to the perceived threat level of the criminal in question; the greater the threat to the world, the greater the bounty. In the eyes of a pirate, high bounties are thus usually seen as a sign of strength. After all, having been assigned a bounty means that the World Government as well as the Marines acknowledge the threat of the person to whom it is assigned. Luffy expresses enthusiasm over his first bounty, and Sanji likewise expresses disappointment when his own bounty poster fails to properly identify him (being a crude artist's rendering). This is not universal, however; Kuro and Nami resented their bounty due to the unwanted attention it brought them. A bounty in excess of Beli.png100,000,000 indicates that the person to whom it was assigned has committed unlawful acts of catastrophic degrees. Earning a large bounty in a quick time also gives the pirate notorious attention and a global reputation. After earning a bounty of Beli.png80,000,000 in a single campaign, the World Government offered Boa Hancock a position in the Shichibukai. Blackbeardbelieved he could become a Shichibukai member if he defeated Monkey D. Luffy, whose bounty had jumped from Beli.png30,000,000 to Beli.png100,000,000 following the defeat of Baroque Works and their leader Crocodile. Blackbeard would settle for achieving his goal by turning inPortgas D. Ace instead since Ace had caught up with him and Blackbeard emerged victorious.

Bounty Issuing

A bounty reflects both the threat and power of an individual.[2] Engaging in activities deemed criminal by the World Government or associating with groups which engage in them is enough to warrant significant bounties even if the criminal is not powerful themselves. In particular, direct opposition to the World Government, no matter the reason, is treated as a serious offense, and bounties are issued accordingly.
A bounty can be increased for several reasons:
  • The threat of a person's observed combat abilities (as stated by Aokiji);[2]
  • More experienced bounty hunters volunteering to capture the individual or group (like the Accino Family, non-canonically, trying to catch the entire Straw Hat Crew);
  • Further criminal acts beyond the initial one;
  • Inspiring criminal acts when provoked or inciting others to act 'criminally' (for example, Whitebeard destroying Marine ships that followed his fleet for reconnaissance and Dragon leading his organization to conquer nations affiliated with the World Government).
  • Having knowledge deemed illegal by the World Government, as with Nico Robin.
Occasionally, a designated amount on a bounty may increase if the criminal in question has committed crimes of considerable magnitude that goes beyond the crime(s) committed beforehand that earned them their initial bounty, as with the case of Luffy.
Since the Marines can only issue bounties based on their knowledge of the criminal in question, a bounty may not necessarily reflect the true threat of a person. Tony Tony Chopper was mistaken for a mere pet and issued a mere Beli.png50, as the Marines were unaware he was responsible for defeating Kumadori ofCP9.[3] Luffy's bounty would doubtless be much higher if his defeat of Gekko Moriahwasn't kept secret by the government.[4] Arlong, despite being a Grand Line pirate, had a far lower bounty than his overall threat level to theEast Blue, as he bribed the corrupt MarineNezumi in order to keep his activities secret.[5]In some cases, due to miscommunication or unreported information, the bounty may end up being much higher or lower than what the criminal deserved for their actions.[3]Regardless of the discrepancies, bounties are still treated as a way to determine a person's average threat level, being the one facet of society that can be easily compared. Stacking them against averages helps determine threats in relation to location; for example, the average bounty in the East Blue is Beli.png3,000,000, so a noteworthy one there would be Beli.png10,000,000 or more.[6] Since East Blue is defined as the weakest of the four seas outside of the Grand Line, West, North, and South Blue must have higher average bounties and have a greater number of famous criminals hailing from their waters. However, the four 'cardinal (direction)' seas pale in comparison to the Grand Line (up to Mary Geoise), where an exceptional bounty is around Beli.png100,000,000, and is considered nothing in the New World (or the second half of the Grand Line), where Beli.png100,000,000 is common or weak.[7]Bellamy indicates that pirates have tried to fake bounty posters in order to make themselves more intimidating, but that scheme usually falls through in short order. He assumed this of Luffy, whose goofy portrait failed to match his Beli.png100,000,000 bounty, but learned the hard way that Luffy was on the level. Any bounty that goes to Beli.png1,000,000,000 or over is considered monstrous, even in the New World.[8] While the details of how high a bounty could be are not exactly known, the greatest amount revealed in the first half of the story was that of the Beli.png550,000,000 bounty of Portgas D. Ace before his death, who was one of the most notorious pirates of the New World, the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and most notably the son of the infamous Pirate King, Gol D. Roger himself. The current highest active bounty is that of Yonko Marshall D. Teach with a bounty of Beli.png2,247,600,000. While a pirate with a bounty of Beli.png300,000,000 is still considered a rookie, once a pirate exceeds that value it is difficult to get any higher,[9] and it seems that Beli.png400,000,000 is enough to be considered an elite pirate.[10] While the Shichibukai are also important pirates in the world, some of their former bounties are not particularly high, however it should be noted that these are their former bounties which do not represent the threat that they could have achieved as active pirates. After Jinbe resigned, his bounty jumped to over Beli.png400,000,000. In terms of piracy, any rookie who has earned a bounty of over Beli.png100,000,000 is considered impressive, and can be considered as a "Supernova" (超新星, Chōshinsei?).[11] TheWorst Generation (最悪の世代, Saiaku no Sedai?) of Supernovas were during the Golden Age of Piracy, when eleven of them almost simultaneously appeared on Sabaody Archipelago, each holding a bounty of over Beli.png100,000,000, and each member had caused a great influence within the New World, as well as earning themselves much notoriety.[12]

Retracting Bounties