"Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace…"
"Publicly executing a Celestial Dragon!!?"
This was a day destined to be recorded in history.
As newspapers from the World Economy News Paper were carried by flocks of News Coos, the headlines spread instantly to every corner of the world—everywhere except the Calm Belt.
Although the papers themselves did not contain detailed information, the credibility of the World Economy News Paper, combined with the shocking photograph printed on the front page—Ace pinning a hideous figure in a Celestial Dragon's spacesuit to the ground—
In an instant, the entire world erupted!
…
…
At the Sabaody Archipelago, inside a strangely named bar called the Rip-Off Bar.
"Th-this… this can't be real, right?!"
"That's a Celestial Dragon we're talking about!"
"Shhh!!! Are you trying to get us killed?! Don't say those three words here!!!"
"R-right, you're right!"
A group of oddly dressed pirates nervously scanned their surroundings. When they saw that the entire bar contained only the proprietress behind the counter, they finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Their captain stood up, strode to the bar, and glared at the woman behind it before speaking in a threatening tone:
"Loose lips sink ships."
"Don't go spreading nonsense."
"Of course~"
The still-alluring proprietress narrowed her eyes and smiled. Wisps of white smoke curled up from the cigarette in her hand as she replied leisurely,
"I'm a professional, you know~"
"Hmph!" The pirate captain snorted. "At least you know your place."
"Settle the bill for us."
"Thank you for your patronage~" The woman maintained her professional smile. "Your total today comes to 280 million Beli."
The pirate captain sneered dismissively. "Only 280—"
But as he reached for his wallet, his expression froze stiff.
"Bastard! You dare scam me?!"
"Brothers! Grab your weapons—smash this black shop to pieces!!!"
"Yes!!!"
The pirates immediately drew all kinds of weapons, vicious light flashing in their eyes as they faced the seemingly defenseless proprietress.
Half an hour later—
Bang!
As the last pirate—stripped of every valuable on his body—was hurled far out of the bar, Shakky smiled and flipped the sign on the door from "Open" to "Closed."
"I told you—I'm a professional~"
She clapped her hands lightly and was just about to head inside to count the day's earnings when the newspaper the pirates had been reading earlier slid to her feet.
Printed across it in huge, eye-catching letters:
[Shocking! Senior Whitebeard Pirate Officer Publicly Executes Celestial Dragon! World Government Loses All Face!]
Although she had already known the contents of this news since early morning, seeing the headline again still made her pause for a moment.
"Whitebeard Pirates…" Shakky murmured. "Are they declaring war on the World Government?"
…
…
"Pops! What is Ace trying to do!?"
Meanwhile—
After the day's newspaper had been passed around, the atmosphere aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' fleet was completely different from the chaos engulfing the rest of the world.
Everyone was suppressing their emotions.
Blamenco, unable to keep his thoughts to himself, voiced the question on everyone's mind.
Beside him, Flower Sword Vista explained calmly:
"Isn't it obvious?"
"According to the shackles the World Government placed on the Navy, if anything happens to a Celestial Dragon, the Navy must dispatch forces at the Admiral level or higher."
"And a public execution—an act of extreme humiliation—will inevitably force the World Government to mobilize massive forces to suppress it."
"Ace… he's using his own safety to buy us more time!!!"
"What!?"
The pirates who had been slower to grasp the situation were instantly shocked.
"Then doesn't that mean Ace is in serious danger?!"
"Of course! That's the full might of the World Government coming down on him!"
Marco, wearing glasses and holding the newspaper, frowned deeply, worry filling his eyes.
"If that's the case, then Kizaru leaving the New World some time ago was probably because of Ace."
As he spoke, Marco looked up sharply.
"Pops! We really can't wait any longer this time!"
"If we do, Ace will be in real danger!"
"Mm."
At this moment, Whitebeard no longer hesitated.
His crescent-shaped mustache trembled as fury burned in his eyes.
"Marco, immediately contact every ship we can still reach!"
"Everyone gathers at Fish-Man Island!"
"I'm not so old that I need my sons to sacrifice themselves for me to survive!"
"Yes, Pops!"
Marco answered at once.
Although the newspaper did not specify the exact location of the Celestial Dragon's execution, it clearly stated that it would take place in the first half of the Grand Line.
It was easy to foresee that in the coming days, the Marines stationed throughout the New World—originally deployed to encircle Whitebeard's subordinate fleets—would rapidly withdraw and return to the first half of the Grand Line.
That meant the Whitebeard Pirates would no longer need to worry about their subordinate ships being ambushed by the Navy.
Under normal circumstances, this should have been good news for the Whitebeard Pirates, who were already in a critical situation.
But if all of this had to be achieved through Ace's sacrifice…
Then they would rather fight the Marines to the bitter end!!!
Unaware that Ace was currently with the Straw Hat Pirates—and that they had already reached the Sky Island—the Whitebeard Pirates began moving at full speed.
Just as Whitebeard said, they too had not reached the point where they needed to sacrifice their companions to survive!
…
…
Marineford, Office of the Fleet Admiral.
"Damn it!!!"
"Why did that missing Celestial Dragon end up in the hands of a Whitebeard Pirate?!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed the day's newspaper onto the desk, fury and disbelief written all over his face.
Their plan had been on the verge of success—the Whitebeard Pirates' operational space had already been compressed to the absolute minimum!
Yet because of this single newspaper, all their efforts over this period were instantly reduced to nothing!
And having lost this opportunity, the now-alert Whitebeard Pirates would never give them a second chance!
More importantly—
What had originally been a covert operation to encircle the Whitebeard Pirates had now been dragged fully into the open.
Just moments ago, the Five Elders had issued a dead order to Fleet Admiral Sengoku: immediately mobilize all Marine forces to conduct a full-scale search throughout the first half of the Grand Line for Fire Fist Ace and the missing Celestial Dragon!
"It would've been better if he'd just died…"
The usually composed Sengoku finally couldn't hold it in and muttered something utterly blasphemous.
Though he didn't specify who "he" was—
Tsuru and Kizaru, both present, understood perfectly.
"There's no other choice."
Sengoku clenched his teeth and issued the order:
"Recall all ships from the New World first."
"Also, notify all Marine officers of captain rank and above currently at headquarters—dispatch warships and begin searching for the missing Celestial Dragon."
The Marines were never a force of true justice.
They were merely a tool used by the World Government to better rule the world.
To the World Government, whether there was one more Yonko or one fewer in the New World made no real difference.
But if a Celestial Dragon—meant to stand at the top of the ruling class—were publicly executed before the entire world…
That would be an unforgivable catastrophe capable of shaking the very foundations of their rule!
Thus, even though the newspaper stated that the execution site would be revealed three days later—
As the armed forces under the World Government, the Marines had no choice but to obey orders and begin searching for the Celestial Dragon's whereabouts.
They even had to completely withdraw their top-tier forces from the New World to avoid being counterattacked by the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Damn… Celestial Dragons…"
Sengoku cursed again in his heart.
…
…
"Morgans! Hand over the intelligence on Fire Fist Ace's location!"
"And immediately halt all related newspapers and news reports!"
"Otherwise, you and your news agency can prepare to face the World Government's wrath!"
Somewhere in the skies of the world—
Inside the headquarters of the World Economy News Paper, which had already fled its original location and was constantly on the move.
A man dressed as a reporter pressed an exquisitely crafted long gun firmly against Morgans' avian head, threatening him.
Yet despite the icy touch at his forehead, Morgans' tone remained eerily calm.
"I never thought that after following me for so many years, you'd turn out to be one of the World Government's dogs."
"Cipher Pol is everywhere."
"Morgans, you should give up resisting."
Hearing Morgans' words, the CP agent—who had worked alongside him for years—softened his tone slightly.
But the gun in his hand remained perfectly steady.
Every successful CP operative underwent specialized training.
Emotions were never allowed to interfere with their missions.
However, what the CP agent did not expect was—
After he finished speaking, Morgans replied in a deep, almost regretful voice:
"What a shame~"
"I was even planning to let you head a brand-new department next year."
"Oh, right—do you remember what I taught you?"
"What!?" A sudden sense of dread gripped the CP agent's heart.
But Morgans continued calmly:
"That is…"
"True news is always hidden deep within the event itself!"
"Just like me—"
Bang!!!
In an instant, Morgans' massive body abruptly shrank!
He had reverted to his original form using the power of the Zoan-Type Devil Fruit, Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Albatross.
The sudden change caused the CP agent's gun to lose its target, the barrel slicing through empty air.
But in the next moment, Morgans transformed back into his hybrid form, curled his wings into fists, and slammed one straight into the agent's head!
Boom!!!
The tremendous force sent the agent flying.
With their president safe, the tense atmosphere inside the news agency finally eased.
Morgans waved his hand and barked orders:
"What are you all standing around for?!"
"Is tomorrow's publication ready yet?!"
"If anything goes wrong, I'll hold every one of you responsible!"
"Get back to work!"
"Yes, President!"
The staff responded immediately and returned to their tasks.
Morgans walked over to the unconscious CP agent, contempt flashing in his eyes.
"Hmph."
"Threaten me?"
"Do you really think I'm sitting in this position because I bought it with money?"
After spitting disdainfully, Morgans turned away and left the agent where he lay, heading off to review the upcoming days' drafts.
Per Doflamingo's request, he had already split Ace's recorded video into seven segments, selecting the most representative images from each.
They would be published over seven consecutive days!
After a full week of fermentation, both the newspaper and the name Morgans would be branded into the hearts of people across the world!
What made it even more amusing was—
Neither the World Government nor the Marines could shut down their news offices across the various islands!
Because over the next few days, the only source of information about the Celestial Dragon…
Would be the freshly printed newspapers of the World Economy News Paper!!!
…
…
With the circulation of a single newspaper, undercurrents surged throughout the world.
This world did not belong only to Whitebeard, the Marines, or the World Government!
Once the news spread everywhere, countless schemers began drafting plans that would benefit themselves.
Everyone understood—
A terrifying event was about to unfold, plunging the world into utter chaos!
And chaos, for certain people, was the most advantageous environment of all.
Of course.
This was only the first day of the seven-day serialization. Everything had just begun, so most people chose to watch and wait.
But for the Straw Hat Pirates—the ones orchestrating all of this—
The coming days would be the busiest time of their lives!
…
…
"Hey! Be careful! That box contains Reject Dials—they're practically extinct! Every single one is priceless!"
"Wait—who put these Tone Dials into the Video Dial cases?! Reorganize them immediately!"
"Slow down, slow down!!! Those lousy dials need to be handled gently! One slip and today's work will be ruined!"
"..."
"..."
Standing atop a massive stag beetle, Usopp darted back and forth through the air like a foreman, directing the transport crews below—an eclectic mix of Wapol's soldiers and members from Buggy's and Bartolomeo's pirate crews.
Countless ant-like insects formed smooth transport lines, carrying crate after crate of Sky Island resources into Hyperspace Holes.
Red's Hyperspace Hole technique could reach distances of tens of kilometers at maximum range!
The only limitation was that the farther the distance, the smaller the portal he could summon.
From the sea surface to the Sky Island—a mere ten thousand meters—was well within Red's capabilities.
Previously, Red had moved Laboon far away from that stretch of ocean out of concern that abnormal sea activity and undersea volcanic eruptions caused by the Knock Up Stream might injure him.
Now, sensing the psychic imprint he had left on Laboon, Red immediately used Hyperspace Hole to summon the transport crews that had long been prepared inside Laboon's body.
The resources of the Sky Island were incredibly abundant!
Not to mention the gold Enel had used to construct the Ark Maxim—
The dials of the Sky Island were themselves extraordinarily precious resources!
Whether it was Tone Dials and Video Dials for daily use, or Impact Dials and Reject Dials for combat, all of them were rare and valuable treasures scarcely found in the Blue Sea.
Once the execution site was revealed, they would no longer have time to carefully gather these resources.
So before the great event truly began, they naturally had to loot as much as possible!
(End of Chapter)