Bounties

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

Becoming Wanted
Normally, a bounty is issued by a government official or by the police. 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 Works agents 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.

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 100,000,000 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 80,000,000 in a single campaign, the World Government offered Boa Hancock a position in the Shichibukai. Blackbeard believed he could become a Shichibukai member if he defeated Monkey D. Luffy, whose bounty had jumped from 30,000,000 to 100,000,000 following the defeat of Baroque Works and their leader Crocodile. Blackbeard would settle for achieving his goal by turning in Portgas 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. 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);
 * 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).

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 50, as the Marines were unaware he was responsible for defeating Kumadori of CP9. Luffy's bounty would doubtless be much higher if his defeat of Gekko Moriah wasn't kept secret by the government. Arlong, despite being a Grand Line pirate, had a far lower bounty than his overall threat level to the East Blue, as he bribed the corrupt Marine Nezumi in order to keep his activities secret. In some cases, due to miscommunication or unreported information, the bounty may end up being much higher or lower than the criminal deserved for their actions.

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 3,000,000, so a noteworthy one there would be 10,000,000 or more. 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 Mariejois), where an exceptional bounty is around 100,000,000, and is considered nothing in the New World (or the second half of the Grand Line), where 100,000,000 is common or weak. Bellamy indicates that pirates have tried to fake bounty posters in order to make themselves more intimidating, but that the scheme usually falls through in short order. He assumed this of Luffy, whose goofy portrait failed to match his 100,000,000 bounty, but learned the hard way that Luffy was on the level.

While the details of how high a bounty could be are not exactly known, the greatest amount revealed is that of the 550,000,000 bounty of Portgas D. Ace before his death, who was one of the most notorious pirates of the New World and the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. While a pirate with a bounty of 300,000,000 is still considered a rookie, once a pirate exceeds that value it is difficult to get any higher, and it seems that 400,000,000 is enough to be considered an elite pirate. 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 400,000,000.

In terms of piracy, any rookies who has earned a bounty of over 100,000,000 is considered impressive, and can be considered as a "Supernova" (超新星). The Worst Generation (最悪の世代) 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 100,000,000, and each member had caused a great influence within the New World, as well as earning themselves much notoriety.

Retracting Bounties


Bounties, once issued, are usually only retracted when the criminal is captured, killed, or is known to have otherwise died. A change in lifestyle will not affect the bounty. Wanted posters are usually marked with a large red X to indicate that the criminal was taken cared of. The notion that death brings freedom from the bounty was the sole reason for Kuro's plan to escape a pirate's life. A bounty can last for over a hundred years if the criminal is not proven to be dead, like the giants Dorry and Brogy, who can live several centuries. Brook's bounty was placed between 40 and 50 years ago, and is still active, the Marines having discovered that he is the same person as the living person in the photograph.

Aside from death or capture, bounties may be retracted if the criminal can prove themselves an asset to either the Marines or World Government. This is the case with the Shichibukai, who are considered allies of the World Government and have their bounties retracted; this extends to any criminal serving as a subordinate to the Shichibukai, such as Caesar Clown. With this, they are allowed to continue being a criminal on a conditional basis. A bounty may be removed by a court of law, as Jango's was during his mini-series. Jango's case was further aided by the pleas of the Marine Fullbody during the case. This later allowed him to enlist in the Marines under the command of Hina.

Criminals who end up as slaves keep their bounties on their heads; however, so long as the slave remains a slave the Marines do nothing to arrest them. To this end, they ignore the slavery on the Sabaody Archipelago as a number of criminals end up slaves there; some even go on to be bought by the World Nobles. Once a slave is freed or dismissed by their owner, they immediately become fair game once more.

Fake Bounties
As bounties are typically assigned numbers printed on paper with the picture of the criminal it was assigned to, bounties can be altered by skilled forgers. According to Bellamy, Pirates have been known to make up fake bounties in the past to intimidate other people to their advantage. These scams tend to be quickly quelled though, due to the insubstantial nature of the deception.

Identification
A criminal is, more often than not, known by his poster. Without the issuing of a wanted poster (手配書), no criminal can be made known. These posters are distributed across the world in newspapers and establishments. Marines also keep copies of each criminal at their bases and on board their ships for quick identification. Bounty Hunters may also carry a list.

The Poster Picture
The most important part of a poster is the person's portrait. It allows swift identification upon sighting the person and informs everyone in the world of their wanted status. The picture normally takes the form of a photograph; if a suitable photograph is unavailable, an artist's rendering may be substituted as in the case of Sanji. To some (including Sanji), a decent photograph is as important as the bounty itself, it being the only way to be associated with the bounty on the poster. A new picture can be issued to account for any change in appearance (such as Robin).



One of the most mysterious things about wanted posters is the Marines' ability to obtain photos of almost every criminal with a bounty. These photos are eventually revealed to be taken by the Marine Photography Branch Captain "Flaming Attach", who received his name by shouting "Fire!" instead of "Cheese!" when taking a picture. Alternatively, should a photo be unavailable, a sketch will be made of the criminal. Mr. 13 and Miss Friday were employed by the Marines to identify the remaining Baroque Works agents — the Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 pairs — through this method, in exchange for erasing their own potential bounties and allowing them to join the Marines with a job like Attach.

Nicknames
The Marines give criminals, especially pirates, nicknames with the bounty poster that either describes their appearance (such as "Cyborg Franky"), what their powers/abilities are (such as "Black Leg Sanji" or "King of Snipers Sogeking"), or what they do (such as "Cat Burglar Nami" or "Pirate Hunter Zoro"). Sometimes, it is just the most common nickname a person has (Luffy was called "Straw Hat" before his first bounty was issued).

List of bounties
In the series, many bounties are revealed - either by the author in a reference box, said by a character (like Shakuyaku naming the nine Supernovas not part of the Straw Hat Crew), or a bounty poster being revealed (although the value may not always be fully accurate or fully shown, as with the Red Arrows Pirates). For example, Nico Robin's specific bounty was not made clear until after it was known she had one. When Igaram first mentioned Crocodile's former bounty, he said it was 80,000,000 while it actually is 81,000,000. Gekko Moriah was first introduced by Robin as merely holding a bounty higher than Luffy's.

Most of the current and former Shichibukai members have former bounties, since the first requirement to join the group is being recognized world-wide so one's notoriety scares criminals. Newcomer Blackbeard is an exception, having managed to get in by capturing Portgas D. Ace.

While several prisoners from Impel Down do not hold any specific value, Impel Down orders its prisoners from the bounty on their head. Levels 3 and 5 require bounties of 50,000,000 and 100,000,000 respectively, and the values required for others levels were not revealed. It is unknown if level 1 has a minimal value, although Buggy commented that every prisoner from level 2 that escaped with him holds a bounty higher than his own (15,000,000). Level 6 seems to use special requirements. Strangely, Mr. 2 is an exception to this rule, having been imprisoned in level 3 with a bounty of merely 32,000,000. As such, the values may be just recommendations, and the effort taken to capture the criminals may factor into where they are placed, but not affect their bounty since the Marines see no need to change it now that they have been arrested.

The Straw Hat Pirates' Bounties
Total bounty: 800,000,050

Shichibukai ex-bounties
Because they are frozen bounties, the Shichibukai bounties do not reflect subsequent criminal activities. Bounties listed are those that each Shichibukai had when they were granted Shichibukai status. Bounties are given in order of size.

Former Shichibukai
These bounties belong to Shichibukai who have left the group, and since have their wanted status reactivated. It is unknown what their current bounties are, but their departure had influenced an increase in numerical value.

East Blue Bounties
''Note: The average bounty for the East Blue is rated at only 3,000,000, making it the weakest sea in the One Piece world. Any bounty of 10,000,000 or higher is considered to be impressive within East Blue.''

Trivia

 * Oda confirmed that if Enel was actually a wanted criminal, he would have a bounty that could reach up to 500,000,000.
 * Record bounties:
 * Portgas D. Ace's now inactive 550,000,000 bounty is the highest known bounty, Chinjao's over 500,000,000 bounty is the highest known active bounty.
 * Prior to Luffy's fourth bounty, Doflamingo held the record for the highest known bounty for 365 chapters (chapter 234 to chapter 599) with a 340,000,000 bounty.
 * The lowest bounty known is Chopper's mere 50. Previously, Alvida held that position with her 5,000,000 bounty.
 * Robin holds the record for the youngest person to receive a bounty in the series, at the age of eight. Chopper is the second youngest at the age of fifteen.
 * Luffy's 30,000,000 bounty broke the record for active East Blue bounties, as well as the highest new bounty for an East Blue pirate.
 * Luffy holds the highest value of known bounty increases (being more than 13.33 times larger than the starting value, from 30,000,000 to 400,000,000).
 * Luffy also holds the highest amount of times of getting a new bounty, having received three bounties prior to the timeskip, and a fourth during it.
 * The oldest known bounties are jointly held by Dorry and Brogy - over a hundred years each.
 * The lowest known Shichibukai bounty is Buggy's 15,000,000 (this excludes Blackbeard, as he had no bounty).
 * The highest known total combined bounties seen in one crew is the Straw Hats 800,000,050.
 * The known Shichibukai ex-bounties total up to over 1,156,000,000. Including the former members, it would be 1,807,000,000.
 * The Eleven Supernovas' original bounties total up to 2,152,000,000, the highest of any known group. As the Worst Generation, their currently known total bounty is 2,800,000,000, the highest known of any group to date.
 * The highest (non-pirate) organization was Baroque Works, whose bounties when the group was active totaled 160,000,000. The group only had bounties for Robin and Crocodile, all other agents received their bounties after the fall of Baroque Works. It was stated that Crocodile would have had a far higher bounty if the World Government had been aware of his affiliation with Baroque Works prior to his defeat and arrest.
 * Jewelry Bonney currently has the largest known active bounty of all revealed female characters with 140,000,000.
 * Fisher Tiger had the highest known starting bounty: 230,000,000.
 * Panz Fry has the highest non-canon bounty: 320,000,000.
 * Known bounties of unseen or unnamed characters:
 * A criminal with a 42,000,000 Bounty was said to have been taken down by Mr. 3.
 * A pirate with a 50,000,000 Bounty was defeated by Smoker.
 * A pirate captain with a 55,000,000 Bounty unsuccessfully tried to join the Impostor Straw Hat Pirates.
 * In the real world, some pirates also had bounties placed on their heads. However, real world bounties were less massive than in the world of One Piece, but for the period it would have been considered a small fortune. Note: in those days £6 was considered a lot of money.
 * In the 4Kids dub, the "Dead or Alive" and sometimes the "Wanted" have been erased from the wanted posters.
 * In the first databook, Kuro's bounty is stated to be 16,000,000. Whenever it is in the movie intros it is incorrectly shown as 14,000,000.
 * Interestingly, Vander Decken IX has a different wanted poster than everyone else. Instead of saying "WANTED" at the top, it says "DANGER". This may be because it does not seem to be a World Government-issued wanted poster.
 * Ironically, Law's wanted poster shows Bepo appearing in the background with his head turned in the same position and stance as Usopp in Luffy’s poster.

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