The vast office fell into a deathly silence.
All the staff, who had been engrossed in their work, stopped what they were doing and looked up in astonishment.
Morgans's tightly clutched microphone slipped from his hand, hitting the desk with a clang.
For the first time, his massive bird-like face showed an expression called "bewilderment."
Create... a moon?
What nonsense are you talking about!
Am I crazy? Or is this News Bird crazy?
He suddenly snapped back to reality, grabbed the microphone again, and practically yelled into the den den mushi's mouth: "What the hell did you just say?! What did you see?!"
"A moon! President! A moon made of islands and seawater! It's hanging right above Goa Kingdom! I swear I didn't see it wrong! I took pictures! I took all the pictures!"
"And! And!" The News Bird's voice grew increasingly frantic, "Marine Hero Garp! Admiral Kizaru! Revolutionary Army Leader Dragon! All three of them... were present at the time!"
Boom!!!
That last sentence, like a bolt of a billion-volt lightning, struck Morgans's mind!
The rumors of an Admiral's crushing defeat... the Golden Lion's downfall... the gathering of Garp, Kizaru, and Dragon... a mysterious man who could effortlessly create a moon and make three of the world's top powerhouses bow down to him... All the clues, at this moment, connected!
A terrifying truth, yet one that made him tremble with excitement, surfaced!
"Haha..."
"Hahahahahahaha..."
After a brief, deathly silence, Morgans's characteristic, frenzied and excited laughter echoed through the entire News Agency headquarters!
"Quick! Quick! Clear out all the pages on the front page for me!"
"Headline! The headline must be in the largest font! It'll be—[The Advent of a God! The Flying Admiral Falls! An Artificial Moon Appears in the East Blue!]"
"No, no, no! That's not explosive enough! Change it! [The Throne of the New World Has Changed! How Shall the Remnants of the Old Era Greet the New God?!]"
Morgans flapped his wings, acting like a madman, spitting saliva everywhere.
Reflected in his huge bird eyes were the photos that had just arrived from the East Blue, photos that were enough to make the World Government call an emergency meeting overnight!
That terrifying celestial body, composed of islands and seawater, suspended high in the sky!
Golden Lion Shiki's face, distorted by gravity, filled with despair and fear!
And... Garp, Kizaru, and Dragon, three men standing at the pinnacle of the world, looking like frightened quail, frozen in place in a comical manner!
Finally, and most crucially!
The black-haired young man standing in front of the three, holding a fishing rod, his profile so calm as if he had merely stepped on an ant!
"The era... is changing!"
"No! The world... is about to be overturned!!!"
"Guhahaha! And I, 'Big News' Morgans, will be the witness and herald of all this!!!"
Meanwhile, in the East Blue.
Above Goa Kingdom.
The News Bird, which had just completed its "report of the century," was frantically flapping its wings with all its might, trying to escape this contentious place as quickly as possible.
Its brain was still consumed by the excitement and fanaticism that almost burned it out.
Photos!
It had obtained photos that could overturn the world!
As long as it delivered these photos back to headquarters, it would no longer be an ordinary News Bird! It would be a legend in the news industry! A monument for all future bird-people to look up to!
Just as it could already see the distant horizon and was preparing to rush out of this devilish sea area in one go.
A voice, overly calm, even with a hint of laziness, sounded without warning, directly in the depths of its mind.
"Hey."
"How's the angle of the photos you took of me?"
"Am I handsome?"
"!!!"
The News Bird's feathers instantly bristled!
It was like a fighter jet hit by anti-aircraft fire at ten thousand meters, slamming on the brakes, nearly tumbling and crashing in mid-air.
Who?!
Who's talking?!
It looked around in terror; the sky was empty, with only the artificial "moon" silently displaying its horror.
Is it a hallucination?
Having auditory hallucinations because of too much tension?
The News Bird composed itself, preparing to accelerate again.
However, the next second, the scene before its eyes twisted and stretched without warning!
As if gripped by an invisible large hand, then violently yanked backward!
Whoosh!
Space shifted.
One second it was the biting cold wind at ten thousand meters, the next, a sea breeze mixed with salty dampness and a faint smell of blood rushed over.
Under its feet, it felt the soft touch of sand.
The News Bird stiffly, inch by inch, lowered its head.
It saw its own claws, slightly sinking into the beach.
It... returned to the ground?
"Goo?"
The News Bird let out an extremely human-like sound, full of dullness and bewilderment.
It slowly raised its head.
The black-haired young man it had just seen in the photos was now standing in front of it, still holding that familiar fishing rod, a kind smile on his face.
Boom—!!!
The News Bird's brain completely crashed at this moment.
"I'm asking you a question."
White Night looked at the dumbfounded bird in front of him, poking it with his fishing rod a little impatiently.
"How did the photos of me turn out?"
"If I'm not satisfied, I'll have to charge you guys, you know."
The News Bird's brain completely crashed.
Who am I?
Where am I?
"I'm asking you a question."
White Night looked at the dumbfounded bird in front of him, a little impatiently poking its fluffy belly with the end of his fishing rod.
"How did the photos of me turn out? Am I handsome?"
"If I'm not satisfied, I'll have to charge your news agency for portrait usage fees and emotional distress fees, you know."
Goo!
The News Bird's feathers instantly bristled, and it suddenly jumped back a step, looking at White Night in terror.
But it quickly understood a hint of information from those calm eyes.
The other party, it seemed... really didn't intend to do anything to it.
He was just... simply asking about the photo's shooting effect?
The feeling of relief after escaping danger instantly broke through the dam of fear.
Its professional quality as a world-class paparazzo, and its ingrained survival instinct, completely overwhelmed its rationality at this moment.
The News Bird almost reflexively, carefully pulled out a stack of freshly developed photo negatives from the small bag hanging around its neck, gripped them with the tip of its wing, and respectfully handed them over.
White Night nodded in satisfaction, took the negatives, and flipped through them one by one.
For a moment, the entire rocky beach fell into a strange silence.
Only the sound of the sea breeze blowing and waves crashing remained.
Garp was already somewhat used to White Night's unreliability; this kid was just so casual!
But Kizaru and Dragon were different!
Is this the time to care about photo effects?
Looking at the young man appreciating the photos, they couldn't connect him with the god who had just displayed Kamui.
What kind of situation is this!
I haven't even entered the instance yet!