The World Economy News Paper was, of course, Morgans's main future industry.
In the original work, whenever something big happened, Morgans would have his news coos distribute the news for free to amplify the impact of the event.
And the financier behind this was often the World Government… they needed Morgans to help shape public opinion, to amplify or downplay certain events, and to use words and images to guide the world's perception.
But now, Morgans was just an intern reporter at a small newspaper.
He certainly didn't have that kind of financial power.
But that was okay.
He didn't have money... Makoto did.
When they left Mary Geoise, Yu and the Four Gay Bros had helped themselves to quite a bit of loot… the Celestial Dragons' treasure vault, the Five Elders' secret rooms, Pangaea Castle's treasury. They took everything they could carry.
Gold, jewels, Devil Fruits, famous swords, Poneglyph rubbings...
They filled their player inventory slots.
To promote the great achievements of their respected and great boss, Yu and the others generously allocated a large sum from the looted gold and silver, giving it all to Morgans.
And the effect, naturally, went without saying.
The newspaper was scattered across every inhabited island in the world, like dropping a nuclear bomb into a calm lake.
It immediately detonated the entire One Piece World.
…
On some unnamed island, an old pirate drinking alcohol saw the newspaper and sprayed out a mouthful of sake.
"Impossible... this is impossible..."
He read it over and over again, his eyes wide as bells.
"Kong is dead? That [Steel Bones] Kong?"
"One of the Five Elders was killed?"
"The Roger Pirates were captured?"
"The Holy Land was burned?"
"And a guy named Imu was captured? Who is Imu? The superior of the Five Elders? The Five Elders have a superior?"
His voice grew louder and louder, until he was almost shouting.
The tavern owner from the next room poked his head out: "What's wrong with you so early in the morning?"
"Come look! Come look at this!"
The old pirate slapped the newspaper on the table. The tavern owner looked down—
And he spat too.
…
North Blue, Flevance.
In a village square, the villagers gathered around as a literate person read the newspaper.
"...Killed Marine Admiral [Steel Bones] Kong... killed Giant King Harald... killed one of the Five Elders Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro... captured God's Knights' Commander Figarland Garling... captured the King of the World, Imu... captured the entire Roger Pirates..."
The reader's voice grew softer and softer, until at the end he was almost muttering to himself.
No one spoke.
"Um..."
A little girl timidly raised her hand.
"Uncle, is this person a good guy or a bad guy?"
The reader opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer.
Good guy?
Bad guy?
He really didn't know.
He only knew that the world was about to change.
Each and every news item in the newspaper would be enough to spark a world-class discussion on its own.
Let alone several of them breaking at once.
The capture of the Roger Pirates… normally, that would be front-page headline news.
But in this newspaper, it was pushed to the back pages.
Because the earlier content was just too insane.
Killing a Marine Admiral.
Killing the Giant's King.
Killing one of the Five Elders.
Severely wounding the God's Knights' Commander.
Capturing the King of the World.
Any one of these deeds, in any era, would be enough to go down in history.
And Makoto had done all of them in a single day.
It was too damn exaggerated.
And the photo of Imu in the newspaper shocked people worldwide as well.
The caption read: The true Supreme Leader of the World Government, superior of the Five Elders, the [King of the World] hidden in the shadows of history for eight hundred years… Nerona Imu.
The whole world exploded.
The Five Elders actually had a superior?
Above the World Government, there was actually a [King of the World]?
Even more shocking was the photo of Imu kneeling on the ground, licking Makoto's shoe.
Countless people gathered at the entrances of Marine bases around the world, asking the Marines if this was true.
After all, the Marine was a direct organ of the World Government. Imu could be considered the Marine's superior's superior.
If he was captured, the Marine lost their reputation too.
Not to mention that the Marine's only Admiral was now dead.
The public's emotions were extremely agitated.
Especially the citizens of member countries… they had the right to question the Marine because they paid the [Heavenly Tribute] every year.
They paid so much money so the Marine would protect their safety.
And the result?
The Marine Admiral was killed.
The Holy Land was burned.
The supreme King of the World Government was captured.
Then what kind of garbage had their money been feeding?
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Sengoku sat in his office, his desk piled high with documents.
Every single one was intelligence about Makoto.
Every single one gave him a splitting headache.
"Report!"
A Marine officer rushed into the office and saluted.
"Vice Admiral Sengoku! Urgent reports from all bases in the East Blue, West Blue, South Blue, North Blue, and the Grand Line! Large numbers of civilians are gathering at the base entrances, demanding an explanation from the Marine!"
Sengoku rubbed his temples.
"Tell them the Marine is handling it."
"But—"
"That's an order."
The officer opened his mouth, but ultimately saluted and left.
Sengoku leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Handle it?
How to handle it?
Kong was dead.
One of the Five Elders was dead.
The God's Knights were crippled.
The Supreme Leader of the World Government was captured.
A dead end!
The door opened.
Sengoku opened his eyes and saw Tsuru walk in.
"Where's Garp?"
"At the training ground."
"Is he kicking up a fuss about going to see Roger?"
"Not for the moment."
Sengoku was silent for a moment.
"...The Marine can't be without an Admiral."
Tsuru nodded in agreement. "That's what I came to talk to you about. I've already communicated with the higher-ups. Although things are a mess with the Five Elders right now, this matter can't be delayed any longer."
She paused.
"I propose that you, Garp, and Zephyr be promoted to Admiral ahead of schedule."
Sengoku's eyes snapped open.
"So suddenly?"
"This is the only way to calm the public."
Tsuru's voice was very calm.
"Kong-san is gone. The Marine can't be without Admirals. You three are the Marine's strongest current combatants."
Sengoku fell silent again.
"What about Garp..."
"I'll talk to him."
Tsuru finished speaking and left the office.
…
Training Ground.
Garp was punching battleships, just like his future grandson, the Pirate King.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the 200x effort buff.
And rather than training, it was more like pure venting.
Tsuru walked into the training ground and stood behind Garp. She didn't speak until he stopped moving.
"Garp, the World Government has decided to promote you, Sengoku, and Zephyr to Admiral ahead of schedule."
Garp's fist paused for a moment.
Then, he continued punching the battleship.
"I'm not interested."
Tsuru frowned. "This is the Marine's only way out right now."
"I said, I'm not interested." Garp stopped punching and turned to look at Tsuru.
"I don't want to be a lackey for those scumbags."
Tsuru was silent for a moment, then finally turned and left.
The news of Garp's refusal to be promoted to Admiral spread quickly within the Marine.
Some, like the future Aokiji, thought his behavior was cool. Many others thought he was simply insane.
But most of the feedback was positive.
Not being a lackey for the Celestial Dragons… that wasn't something just anyone dared to say.
However, refusing to be a lackey for the Celestial Dragons while having a secret relationship with the pirate Roger...
This Marine Hero's moral bottom line was quite flexible.
…
Water 7.
After Yu and the others left, Makoto and his group remained here, waiting for Tom to finish their new ship.
Makoto sat in a lounge chair, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
Pochita lay on his head, its round eyes rolling around, occasionally letting out a cute snore.
Nayuta lay on his lap, holding a newspaper, flipping through Morgans's article about Makoto, the corners of her mouth unable to stop curling up.
"That birdman sure can brag."
She turned a page, her eyes scanning the exaggerated adjectives and sycophantic praises.
[Light of the World], [Dawn of a New Era], [Savior of the Seas]...
The flavor was almost overwhelming.
Makoto opened his eyes, glanced at the newspaper, and closed them again.
"He's always been like that."
In the original work, Morgans didn't precisely align with any faction nor have a specific stance.
Everything he did was to stir up big events… to be precise, to do big things, do big things.
As long as he could generate hype and blow things up, this guy would praise anyone.
But now, Morgans had clearly sided with Makoto.
Because what Makoto gave him, no one else could.
And that was explosive content, an endless supply of explosive content!
"By the way." Makoto suddenly remembered something.
"That Imu guy's ability is quite similar to yours."
"Huh?" Nayuta looked up slightly, her own ringed eyes, also quite similar to Imu's, looking at Makoto.
Makoto then briefly recounted Imu's abilities… signing contracts, immortality, borrowing abilities, turning subordinates' power into his own.
After hearing it, Nayuta pursed her lips.
"Is that it?"
Well, she also thought it was quite similar.
But an inferior version in every way.
'Signing a contract actually required the other party's consent?'
'Wasn't it just something you could do if you wanted to?'