Chapter 59: Raging Undercurrents
Chapter 59: Raging Undercurrents
The next day, at the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
In a solemn and dignified room, five figures dressed in suits or kimonos were gathered. One of them whispered, "Another natural-born monster? We must eliminate him as soon as possible."
A bald old man in a kimono, wiping the Shodai Kitetsu in his hands, muttered, "In that case, let's temporarily assign the Paramecia users that Sengoku requested from CP to him."
"The Seraphim form..."
"Has it appeared before?" the blond middle-aged man asked his seniors.
"It has not," the man who was also bald but had a white mustache replied in a deep voice. As the oldest among them, he had never heard of a Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Seraph.
The man wearing a black top hat, with a scar by the corner of his eye and his hands resting on a cane, had an indescribable look in his eyes as he gave his opinion. "Perhaps it's a fruit that has appeared recently. Devil Fruits themselves are the product of humanity's desire for evolution. Angels are a common existence in various religions; the appearance of a Seraphim fruit is not strange."
"The natural-born monster, Shanks, and that Oni with the special status who is still missing..." the old man with the goat-like beard said with a blank expression while standing to the side. "These three are all first-class troublemakers..."
"What about the bounty? Should we follow Sengoku's proposal?" another asked.
The bald, sword-wielding old man said with a blank face, "Have Morgans suppress the news about the Seraphim user's fight with Garp. The monsters in the New World cannot know about this. Lower the bounty amount. Before the kill is confirmed, the powers outside the World Government don't need to know so much."
In the magnificent architectural complex of Mary Geoise.
An old man in lavish clothes, with black wing-like decorations and graying hair, looked at the photo of the boy with snow-white wings, a trace of obsession flashing in his eyes.
"A true angel... how beautiful..."
"Compared to him, those last dregs can only be considered crude imitations."
"Such a beautiful thing should rightfully become part of my collection!" The old man slowly stood up, took his weapon, and walked out of the palace-like manor.
As he passed a giant training ground, he turned and instructed a short-haired girl who was drenched in sweat, "Go and tell Garling that I'm going out for a bit!"
The girl stopped what she was doing and replied with a blank expression, "I will inform him, Saint Cabanha..."
World Economic News Agency Headquarters.
"What?!"
"You want me to hide the truth of the news?"
The humanoid albatross slammed the desk, spitting furiously into the receiver. "Do you take me for one of those scumbags who don't care about the truth of an event just to catch people's eyes?"
Morgans's feathers all puffed up, and his wing-hands trembled violently, it was unclear whether from anger or from the pain of slamming the desk. In his office, a few of his subordinates cowered in a corner, not daring to look at their boss.
"You can be..." the Den Den Mushi on the desk mimicked the agent far away on the Red Line, replying flatly. "I trust you will do as we ask, Morgans..."
To this, the president of the World Economic News Agency, Morgans, was so angry he laughed. With a flick of his wing, he sternly refused, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"If I do as you ask, I'll... I'll take this phone tomorrow and..."
However, before Morgans could finish his words, the CP agent interrupted him. "Do you want us to come and talk to you in person?"
"..."
Morgans's voice died in his throat. The air fell into a dead silence.
In the office, Morgans's subordinates felt their scalps tingle. Without looking back, they left his office. If they stayed here and witnessed their boss's dark history, they would surely be punished for it!
After a long while, the Den Den Mushi mimicked the agent on the other end, letting out a light chuckle. "Heh, what were you going to do with the Den Den Mushi?"
"..."
Morgans gritted his teeth, his feathers exploding in extreme anger, making him look a size larger. This scene was vividly presented to the agent on the other end of the Red Line, making the smile on his face even wider.
"Hehe, Morgans, you're a smart man. You know what to do..." With that, the agent hung up.
In the dim office, only Morgans remained.
However, what the agent didn't know was that the second the call was disconnected, Morgans's angry expression vanished, replaced by a deep gaze, without a trace of anger. A thoughtful smile played on his beak. He took the photo of Louis taken by his reporter, leaned back in his chair, and swiveled to face the wall covered with photos of great figures.
Morgans held Louis's photo up, examining it. Under the combined effect of the dim light in the office and the shadow of his top hat, his entire face was obscured, making his expression unreadable.
After a long time, Morgans took off his top hat. His wing-hand gently rubbed the three nails on the hat, his profound gaze falling on a group photo of the most famous pirate crew among them.
"This suits my purposes perfectly..."
One by one, News Coos wearing military caps, with satchels containing newspapers and bounty posters slung at their waists, set off from the printing plants of the World Economic News Agency all over the world.
In the early morning, white wings streaked across the sky as the News Coos circled above various towns. They let out sharp cries, attracting the attention of the people below.
The sudden cries drew the attention of many citizens, who looked up with puzzled faces. One by one, free bounty posters were scattered from the sky by the News Coos, drifting down onto every street in the gentle breeze. After doing this, the News Coos descended from the sky and landed in the most conspicuous places, waiting for the citizens to buy newspapers.
The bounty posters were paid for by the World Government, but the newspapers had to be bought with money. If you wanted to know why the pirates were wanted, you had to buy a newspaper from a News Coo!
A moment later, people, full of curiosity, picked up the posters that smelled of ink. The next moment, those who had picked up the posters let out a series of gasps.
"It's the Red Hair Pirates who destroyed a nation!"
"Their bounties have gone up by a lot again!"
"Can someone tell us what happened?!"
Looking at one of the bounty posters, it showed a young man with short red hair and three claw-mark scars over his eye.
Below it was written:
"Red-Haired" Shanks
Bounty: 1,737,000,000 Berries!
Dead or Alive!
Not only had Shanks's bounty increased, but the bounties of his crewmates had also increased significantly.
"What's... this?"
However, what surprised everyone most was that among the posters, there was a photo of an "angel." On the poster, which smelled of ink, was a handsome, stern-faced young man. His short, pale-golden hair flew in the wind, and on his back, snow-white wings wreathed in flames were spread wide.
"..."
The next second, shouts erupted around the News Coos.
"Give me a newspaper! I need to know what happened!"
"Me too!"
"Quick, two more copies!"
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