One thing after another had Water 7's officials running around like crazy, and the merchants and nobles were just as busy.
They were all happy though. Profit had a way of uniting everyone.
At this point, anyone who tried to stop Adam from holding his signing event was their enemy.
Water 7 was in a state of organized chaos, which left the CP5 agents completely confused.
When Spandam received his subordinates' report, he was just as stunned. What on earth was going on, how could a writer cause such a huge ruckus?
For a mentally unbalanced idiot like him, reading books was already too difficult.
Once he confirmed that this mess had nothing to do with him, Spandam tossed the matter out of his head. Why waste time on this when he could be out drinking and wasting money instead.
The Marines assigned to hold the line in Water 7 arrived as well. Unfortunately, it was not Admiral Zefa.
In truth, when the local branch received Water 7's request for coordination, they passed it on to Marine Headquarters, and the officer in charge there went to look for Admiral Zefa.
It was not that the incident was important enough to require admiral-level combat power. It was simply that they knew Admiral Zefa liked Mr. Adam's works and wanted to earn some favor with the big shot.
But recently, Zefa had already been driven half mad by Adam's ideas. There was no way he would accept this assignment.
He was afraid that if he saw Adam again, he would have to hear that line one more time about "uniting all the people in the world."
Zefa did not want to go, but that did not mean others were unwilling. Considering time and mission requirements, Marine Headquarters finally dispatched Vice Admiral Yamakaji.
He was a pillar among vice admirals, a man who fought with a katana, always biting a cigar with a smile on his face.
During the Paramount War, he had looked after Staff Officer Tsuru, strong yet gentle, a model Marine.
He was an old hand. Vice Admiral Yamakaji often wore a smile, but he was not very talkative.
He looked rough and bold on the outside, but what he loved most was quietly reading.
He and Staff Officer Tsuru were close friends and reading buddies. He was very fond of Ethan's new books. This time, he had come both to keep order and to attend the signing.
As the warship approached Water 7, a few pirate ships appeared here and there, just opportunistic raiders trying to take advantage of the situation.
Yamakaji smashed every one of them without ceremony. After docking, he did not march straight into the city. Instead, he let the men rest and then began arranging a detailed defense plan.
On the way here, it was clear there were plenty of pirates prowling these waters, so the plan needed to be precise.
An old vice admiral like him did things steadily and methodically.
The unstable, hotheaded commanders had already been eliminated by the sea back in the previous era. The casualty rate among Marines was not exactly low.
Only after everything was arranged did he meet with the mayor. As for autographs and conversation, there would be time for that later.
Under the eyes of the whole city, the signing event finally began.
Readers started filing in. Everyone entered with a ticket, and the seats filled up quickly.
The hall became a sea of heads, but there were a few figures who drew attention even while sitting quietly in the corner.
One was Vice Admiral Yamakaji of Marine Headquarters, a tall man wrapped in the "Justice" coat of a high-ranking officer.
The other was Morgans, president of the World Economy News Paper and one of the dark emperors of the underworld.
He attracted attention not only because of his status, but also because he always appeared in his hybrid form from the Bird Bird Fruit, Albatross Model.
A big beak, small eyes, a body covered in white feathers, a large tail, wings shaped like arms.
He wore a black top hat with a red and white feather tucked into it, a light blue shirt with a yellow bow tie, red-and-white checkered trousers, and a black cape.
In that form, he was bound to draw stares wherever he went.
Morgans did not care about that. The only thing that mattered to him was his news and his stories. He was the type who wished the world would never be at peace.
When he saw Ethan submitting JoJo's Bizarre Adventure under the name Adam, his sharp journalist instincts told him this illustrated story would definitely sweep across the seas, so he immediately sent his best people to secure the rights.
As expected, the deal brought the World Economy News Paper a terrifying level of exposure and a huge spike in circulation.
Unfortunately for him, Adam was a wandering writer traveling through the Four Seas, so Morgans had no chance to sit down and talk in depth.
Later, Ethan began serializing Water Margin. In Morgans' eyes, the question was no longer whether the novel would be popular. The problem was that its core contained a power that could stir the seas into upheaval.
That kind of thing was exactly Morgans' flavor. He decided he would protect the publication of this novel at all costs.
Some people within the World Government quickly sensed that the story was reflecting reality and wanted to ban the book.
Morgans used his own influence to block them. A dark emperor of the underworld was not a joke.
Unless the World Government confronted him head-on in a way he could not resist, he had no intention of backing down from any other pressure.
Later, in the endgame, this very president would openly rebel for the sake of news itself. He really could be called a traditional journalist.
Now that Adam had come to the Grand Line and was holding a signing event, Morgans had the time, so of course he had to come and see what kind of person could write those two works.
After all, anyone who could write things like that had to be "a bit off" in some way.
The mayor of Water 7 went on stage and said a few official lines, then handed the platform over to Ethan.
Ethan sat on the sofa on stage and began speaking at length, occasionally interacting with readers in the audience. The atmosphere was excellent.
Young. That was the first impression Ethan gave Morgans.
So young, yet able to write works with such depth?
Mysterious. That was the second impression.
Having met countless people, the news tycoon could feel that the gentle, scholarly posture on Ethan's surface was an act. But what lay beneath that act?
He could not help wondering if this might turn into a huge story one day.
For the moment, he held back his curiosity. It was not the time to dig into the man's identity. There were still countless people on the seas waiting for Mr. Adam's current and future works.
But once Adam stopped producing new material, then it would be a good time to start digging.
Ethan had no idea that while he was enthusiastically building his public persona on stage, someone in the audience was already plotting to uncover who he really was.
(End of Chapter)
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