Garp looked at the scarred coastline, then up at the giant sphere, and let out a long sigh.
"You brat, you've really gone too far this time."
"This commotion, I'm afraid the whole world has seen it."
White Night nonchalantly took out his fishing rod again, cast his line, and said leisurely, "If they saw it, they saw it. It just saved me advertising fees."
"I'm still too close to the common people, letting some people forget what politeness means!"
Garp opened his mouth, but in the end, it only turned into a wry smile.
Indeed, is there any advertisement more hardcore than this?
He had been with this kid for too long and almost forgot that he was an alien, completely devoid of humanity!
White Night sneezed!
He looked at Garp suspiciously.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you were just thinking something impolite, weren't you!"
Hmm!?
'Has this kid's Observation Haki already reached this level!'
Garp burst into hearty laughter, so loud it made the shattered rocks under his feet tremble.
He seemed to have completely misunderstood White Night's words, and slapped White Night heavily on the shoulder with one hand.
"How could that be, kid! This old man is a marine hero, famous for his politeness! I never speak ill of anyone!"
As if one person's testimony wasn't enough, Garp suddenly extended his large hand and embraced Kizaru and Dragon, who were stiff as statues beside him.
"You two agree, right!"
He grinned, his tone enthusiastic, but the terrifying force in his arm, enough to crush steel, was conveyed without reservation.
"Yes, yes!"
Kizaru nodded like a pecking chick, forcing out a smile uglier than crying.
"Vice Admiral Garp... no, Mr. Garp! He has always been a paragon of etiquette! A model for the Marine!"
At this moment, all his Admiral's dignity and his lazy justice were thrown to the winds.
He just wanted to stay far away from these three monsters now!
Especially that monster who had just casually conjured a "moon"!
On the other side, Dragon's face was also twitching slightly.
He could feel the warning from Garp's arm, and even more, the terror hidden beneath White Night's calm gaze not far away.
He took a deep breath and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.
"Yes, Father... he is very polite."
As these words left his mouth, Dragon felt his revolutionary beliefs waver for a moment.
Watching the deliberate farce of these three clowns, White Night wiped his nose with his finger.
Never mind.
They were all leeks in his field anyway. What could he do if they were a bit crooked and ugly? Spoil them, of course.
"Alright, alright, I know you're all polite."
Not far from that terrifying celestial body made of islands and seawater, high in the cloudless sky.
A News Bird, with a professional camera in its beak and pilot's goggles on its head, was hovering stiffly in the air.
Its wings had forgotten to flap, maintaining minimal flight purely by instinct.
Its beak was wide open, as if it could fit an egg.
In its beady eyes, the "moon" hanging in the clear blue sky was reflected, filled with human-like dullness and bewilderment.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What did I see?
Is this... the Moon!
No, it should be called a water ball, because more than half of this sphere is made of seawater.
But no matter what it's called, this thing shouldn't appear in a place like the East Blue!
As a professional war correspondent, it had traversed the hail of bullets in the New World, witnessed the clashes between the Marine and pirates, and photographed the tragic demise of kingdoms.
It thought its nerves were tough enough to face any bizarre scene in this world.
But the scene before its eyes completely shattered its meager bird's worldview.
It couldn't help but want to coo a few times.
The legendary great pirate, the Sky Emperor, Golden Lion Shiki... the man who once contended with Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard, even single-handedly stormed Marineford, destroying half of it... was just... squeezed into a ball and hung in the sky by someone?
The News Bird laboriously turned its stiff neck, aiming the camera's telephoto lens at the small patch of reef below.
In the viewfinder, four figures were clearly visible.
marine hero, Monkey D. Garp!
Admiral, "Glint-Glint Fruit" user, Kizaru!
The world's most heinous criminal, leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon!
And... the black-haired young man who, after retracting his gravity, acted as if nothing had happened, took out his fishing rod again, and started fishing!
Click! Click! Click!
The flash fired frantically!
This News Bird, almost by muscle memory, forever captured this historic scene!
It photographed that ominous-looking "moon"!
It photographed Golden Lion Shiki's twisted, terrified, and despairing face before he was sucked in!
It photographed the stiff, horrified, ghost-seeing expressions of Garp, Kizaru, and Dragon!
It even photographed White Night's infuriatingly calm profile and his leisurely action of casting his fishing rod!
Each photo was a nuclear bomb capable of detonating the entire world!
"Big... big news..."
"BIG NEWS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A sharp bird cry pierced the sky. The News Bird finally recovered from the extreme shock, replaced by an unprecedented frenzy that almost burned out its brain!
It trembled its wings and pulled out a small den den mushi from its pouch.
Dialing! It had to contact the president as soon as possible!
...Meanwhile.
On a Sky Island in the Grand Line, at the headquarters of the World Economic Journal.
"Useless! A bunch of good-for-nothings!"
"It's been so long, and still no news!"
A giant bird-man over three meters tall, wearing a flamboyant suit, was furiously flapping his wings, sending documents flying all over the office.
It was Morgans, the president of the World Economic Journal, "Big News" Morgans.
Currently, he was tearing his hair out over the rumor that had circulated from the Underworld channels in the New World, about an "Admiral suffering a crushing defeat in the East Blue."
"President! We've already sent everyone near the East Blue to verify it! But... we can't find anything!" a subordinate reported nervously.
"Can't find anything? Then go die!" Morgans roared, spitting saliva everywhere. "What's the use of keeping you good-for-nothings!"
He paced back and forth restlessly, his huge bird claws scraping an irritating sound on the floor.
As a news agency that constantly obtained world-class information, it was unacceptable that they hadn't uncovered any news after so long. As for that rumor from the Underworld, if Doflamingo hadn't released it, he would have thought it was fake news from some bastard.
Moreover, Marineford had already taken action.
This news was probably true!
Just then.
Buruburu Buruburu—
Buruburu Buruburu—
On the desk, a den den mushi made of pure gold suddenly rang urgently.
The entire noisy office instantly fell silent.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on that den den mushi.
Morgans' huge body paused, he spun around abruptly, and grabbed the receiver.
"Speak!" His voice was deep and hoarse, carrying an undeniable authority. "If it's not intelligence about the East Blue, prepare to be tomorrow's roasted bird feast!"
From the other end of the den den mushi came a sharp, urgent voice, mixed with heavy breathing and extreme excitement.
"Pre... President! It's... it's me!"
"Big... big news! It's big news that can overturn the world!"
Morgans frowned, impatiently saying, "Less talk! Get to the point! Which Admiral? Defeated by whom?!"
He had already assumed the East Blue intelligence was about an Admiral's crushing defeat.
However, the voice on the other end screamed with all its might!
"Not an Admiral! No... it's related to that too! But... but it's even more explosive, President!"
"Golden Lion! It's the legendary great pirate, Golden Lion Shiki!!!"
"Golden Lion?" Morgans was stunned for a moment, and the arrogant figure of the man with a cigar, floating in the air, flashed through his mind. "Did he go to the East Blue? Did he defeat an Admiral?"
This guess seemed more reasonable.
"No! No! No!!!" The voice on the other end was so excited it cracked. "Shiki... he lost! President! Golden Lion Shiki... lost!!"
"What?!" Morgans' pupils suddenly constricted at the news.
Golden Lion lost? What a joke! Who could defeat that monster? Garp and Sengoku working together?
"Who defeated him?! Did the Marine deploy a Buster Call?! Or were both Garp and Sengoku present?!" Morgans urgently pressed.
"No... none of them..."
The voice on the other end trembled even more violently, as if recounting a myth.
"It was one person... President... only one person..."
"He... he... he casually... created a moon..."
"And then... sealed Golden Lion... inside it!!!"