"So basically… this is a huge trap, isn't it?"
Acnologia's expression darkened slightly after hearing Is's explanation.
"Yeah, Is. The World Government is dragging their own people down with them," Tatsumaki said, puffing her cheeks, clearly indignant on his behalf.
"It is what it is," Madara Uchiha said calmly as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "There are pros and cons. You've drawn hatred, sure—but you've also gained fame."
"The name 'Aurelius D. Virel Is'… has officially entered the world stage."
"Fame doesn't really matter to me," Is replied with a faint smile. "If I had the choice between becoming famous and living a peaceful life… I'd rather live quietly."
That had always been his original goal.
Before awakening the system, his ambition was simple—live like a carefree aristocrat, eat, drink, and enjoy life as an ordinary Celestial Dragon.
Even after gaining the system, that goal hadn't changed much.
The only difference was that training had now become an essential part of his daily life.
As for ruling the world?
Is had little interest.
To him, that was just exhausting work—endless responsibilities, endless troubles.
…
Just as Is had predicted—
Rocks' side exploded into fury.
Rocks gripped the newspaper tightly, his entire body trembling with rage.
"Bastard…"
"BASTARD!!!"
"Crack! Crunch!"
He crushed the newspaper into a ball and hurled it to the ground.
This time—
the Rocks Pirates had taken a heavy loss.
They had gone through great effort, sacrificed manpower, all to gain greater notoriety.
And yet—
the credit had all gone to the World Government.
To the Celestial Dragons.
To Aurelius D. Virel Is.
How could Rocks remain calm?
"Captain Rocks… this is all nonsense," Charlotte Linlin quickly said. "We were never chased like the newspaper claims. We were just pursued by Kong, right, Shiki?"
Shiki immediately nodded.
Although he didn't particularly like Linlin—and this situation had little to do with him—
they had carried out the mission together.
If responsibility was assigned, it wouldn't just fall on her—he'd be dragged down too.
"That's right, Captain Rocks. Being chased by that so-called Aurelius D. Virel Is? That never happened. It's all propaganda fabricated by the World Government."
"I agree," Streusen added from the side. "This isn't the first time we've seen how they operate."
With the three of them speaking up, they had effectively given Rocks an out.
And truthfully—
he was more inclined to believe their version anyway.
So he took the step down.
"Look at this… this is the so-called World Government that claims to stand for justice."
"In the shadows, they're even more ruthless than us pirates. Hahahahaha!"
By the end, Rocks burst into loud laughter.
"Only those idiot affiliated nations would willingly become their lapdogs," Charlotte Linlin sneered.
"The weak are always the same," Whitebeard finally spoke. "They either get devoured by the strong… or they perish. Choose one."
"Very well… Aurelius D. Virel Is, was it?"
Rocks' eyes gradually filled with killing intent.
"I'll remember this."
"Using the achievements of the Rocks Pirates to boost your own reputation… let's see whether you can handle the consequences of this 'gift.'"
"Aurelius D. Virel Is…?"
Whitebeard muttered inwardly, his gaze sweeping over Charlotte Linlin and Shiki.
He had already sensed something off.
The relationship between Linlin and Shiki had never been particularly good.
What caught his attention wasn't Shiki backing her up—
but his attitude.
For Shiki to behave like that, there were only two possibilities:
Either Linlin had leverage over him—
or something interesting had happened during the battle at Mary Geoise.
The former seemed unlikely.
Shiki wasn't the type to submit like that.
Which meant—
the latter was far more probable.
"Looks like something interesting happened," Whitebeard thought to himself.
He decided to ask the trainee crew members about it later.
…
Meanwhile, in the New World, in a certain sea region—
aboard the Roger Pirates.
Where there was anger—
there was also joy.
When Roger saw the newspaper—
he burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hahaha! I never expected this… the Rocks Pirates' executives ended up in such a sorry state!"
"They attacked Mary Geoise, only to get chased down by a Celestial Dragon! If it were the Marines, fine—but this? Hahahaha!"
Rayleigh gave a helpless smile.
"Aurelius D. Virel Is, huh? Roger, don't forget—we also suffered a loss against him."
During their last encounter with Madara Uchiha, he had taken quite a beating.
If Roger hadn't arrived in time, things could have gone much worse.
"That may be true," Roger said, still grinning. "But I can't help laughing when I see this."
"Though… poor Gaban. He's still lying in bed after that last fight."
He paused slightly, then added:
"But as for Celestial Dragons… this Aurelius D. Virel Is is the first one I actually acknowledge."
"In the future… he'll definitely become a formidable enemy."
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