Another Sensation (1/5)
Many people even regarded the lightning man on the wanted poster in the newspaper as a hero and worshipped him.
That showed just how much the world despised the Celestial Dragons.
"I-I'm rich... I'm going to be rich!!"
On the central street of Water 7 stood an exchange house called Thebolue, the same one where Arthur had exchanged his treasure for money.
In the manager's office, the suited manager held a newspaper in trembling hands. His eyes were bloodshot with excitement, and his emotions were running high.
You run an exchange house this big, so you should know about Logia users, right? I suggest you give me the real price. If you dare cheat me...
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, the lightning man—
A generous reward!!
The man's voice echoed in the manager's mind. His grip on the newspaper tightened, accidentally tearing a corner.
Anyone looking at him from the front would have seen his ferocious face, twisted into a smile.
The manager himself had not noticed that greed had taken control of his heart.
Only two thoughts filled his mind now.
He would report what he knew about the lightning man, then ride the Celestial Dragons' coattails and reap endless profits.
Bang—
Just as the manager was about to take action, the office door and windows suddenly shattered, sending shards of glass flying. Before the startled manager's eyes, three crates of black cannonballs came flying in from somewhere, followed by a streak of blue-white lightning that shot through the window.
Boom!!
The deafening blast shook the ground throughout Water 7's central street.
Thebolue erupted like a firework, blazing brilliantly for a brief moment.
Thick black smoke mingled with orange flames as the lavishly decorated building was consumed by the fire.
The massive explosion at the exchange house drew a large crowd of onlookers, and many people rushed over.
The massive explosion at the exchange house drew a large crowd of onlookers, and many people rushed over.
As a result, no one noticed two cloaked figures quietly slipping away.
"Neigh—"
At the same time, the King's Horse, hovering high in the sky, let out a whinny and galloped down from above. He landed at a secluded harbor and lay down, as if waiting for someone.
The exchange house manager and the employees who had appraised the treasure had all been silenced.
Just as Robin had said, Arthur had sent the King's Horse to their side for more than just protection.
Besides cleaning up the charred corpses in the Sabaody Archipelago, he was also responsible for plugging the gaps Arthur had not had time to deal with.
Very few people knew about Arthur's Rumble-Rumble Fruit. They could be counted on one hand.
Unfortunately, the exchange house manager and those employees were among them.
Merchants were greedy. Profit always came first in their hearts, no matter which world they were in.
Knowing this full well, Arthur had the King's Horse take Nami and Robin back to Water 7.
The city had just endured Aqua Laguna, and CP9 had been defeated by Luffy and the others, making it the safest place.
It was also so the King's Horse could "plug" those few gaps.
Somewhere on the Grand Line.
Two ships faced each other on the sea.
One was a ship bearing an incongruous pirate emblem. The other was a large vessel pulled by two enormous sea serpents, with a flag on its mast depicting a skull encircled by nine snakes in the shape of a sun.
The former was one of the products of the Great Pirate Era, while the latter belonged to the Kuja Pirates.
It was a pirate crew made up entirely of women, hailing from Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt.
Their captain was none other than the only woman among the Shichibukai, the woman considered the most beautiful in the world—the "Empress," Boa Hancock.
"That battle was so easy... Those men couldn't even put up a fight."
"So those are men? They're so weak!"
"What a haul, what a haul..."
"..."
Before the elite warriors who had mastered Kuja Haki, the pirate crew, whether somewhat famous or utterly unknown, was naturally crushed with ease.
They had not even earned the chance to glimpse the world's most beautiful woman before they died.
Under Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold's direction, the Kuja Pirates carried away the spoils of their expedition, marveling all the while at how weak the other crew had been.
"Caw—"
Just then, a News Coo flew in from the horizon. It paused briefly above the Kuja Pirates' ship, dropped a rolled-up newspaper, and flew straight off.
When newspapers were given away free like this, it generally meant the government or some major organization had paid for them, signifying that something significant had happened.
"..."
The newspaper landed right in front of Boa Marigold. Before she could bend down to pick it up, the headline printed in large letters made her serpentine eyes widen.
Chapter 82: Another Sensation (1/5)
"Elder sister... Elder sister..."
"Something terrible has happened, elder sister..."
Two enormous figures hurriedly squeezed through the doorway of a large room in the cabin. The authority Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold usually displayed before Amazon Lily's warriors had vanished; their faces were filled with shock, and their trembling eyes with disbelief.
"Sanda, Mari... What kind of behavior is all this shouting?"
A lovely silhouette showed through the pink curtains. The snakelike creature climbing over the figure slowly drew them apart.
Suddenly, a grove of peach blossoms appeared, lining both banks for hundreds of paces. No other trees grew among them; the blossoms were fresh and beautiful, and fallen petals drifted everywhere—
She was a woman of unparalleled beauty, with long black hair in a hime cut and exquisite features. A fair, jade-like hand supported her slightly tilted head, while her beautiful dark-blue eyes held a look of indifference and pride. She wore snake-shaped earrings and a qipao bearing the Kuja emblem, her long, pale legs crossed in a posture that set the blood racing.
Though a woman, she exuded an imposing presence that made men bow their heads.
Seeing her two younger sisters so unlike their usual selves, flustered and having lost their composure, Hancock spoke with some displeasure.
"Sorry, no... Elder sister, look at this newspaper, quickly."
Hancock's commanding rebuke instinctively stunned the two panicked sisters. Boa Marigold then came to her senses, hastily shook her head, and walked over to Hancock with the newspaper in her hand.
"A newspaper? It's bound to be full of irritating things and reports about those stinking men. What's worth looking at?" Hancock made no attempt to hide the disgust on her beautiful face.
Still, her sisters' expressions had stirred a rare curiosity in her, and she reached out to take it.
"..."
As the contents of the newspaper came into view, Hancock froze, just as her sisters had.
She involuntarily held her breath. All the indifference and pride vanished from her trembling eyes, as though she had seen something deeply shocking.
Several seconds later, her pet Salome, coiled around her, felt her body gradually begin to tremble and tactfully slithered down.
Hancock drew up the legs she had crossed beneath her qipao. The newspaper slipped from her hands, and she wrapped her arms around her knees, her face now filled with the fear of remembered things.
"Sanda... Mari..."
"Elder sister..."
Hancock looked at her sisters, her trembling eyes unusually full of fear. "Is there really someone that foolish in this world?"
"Ah... Elder sister, someone like that really has appeared." Boa Marigold nodded vigorously. "He not only killed a Celestial Dragon, but also fought fiercely with an Admiral and got away safely."
"He's a hero..." Boa Sandersonia flicked her tongue and spoke meaningfully.
"He's such a fool..."
Hancock hugged her legs, rested her chin on her knees, and looked at the newspaper lying on the bed. She bit her lower lip hard, and two trails of tears appeared on her ever-proud face.
"To think there's someone so foolish in the world. My eyes have truly been opened..."
"Mm-hmm..."
The sensation continued.
News of the Celestial Dragon's death had spread across the world, and people everywhere were even holding celebrations, but clearly...
In the eyes of the Celestial Dragons, the incident was an outrage and a disgrace.
The killing of a Celestial Dragon in public, like the public attack on Saint Charlos, simply could not be covered up.
So, if they wanted the furor to die down, the only option was to focus the world's attention on something else.
"Brrr, brrr..."
On the very night the world was discussing the Celestial Dragon's death, a Den Den Mushi rang in a room on a certain island.
"This is big news. I'd be delighted to be of service."
"I understand, no problem! I guarantee the world's attention will shift tomorrow!"
"You'll cover the cost?! Thank you so much! I emptied my private savings to get the news spreading quickly last time. My News Coos still haven't all returned, so your generosity will take a great deal of pressure off them."
"..."
"Everyone, we're working overtime tonight to get the story out. There's more big news!!"
History repeated itself. As dawn approached...
The News Coos, which had only just begun returning from around the world, ate their fill. Then, still weary, they took the hastily printed rolls of newspapers and flew back along the routes they had come.
Fortunately, someone had paid for this batch of newspapers too.
They did not need to land, only drop a paper whenever they passed an island, which greatly reduced the strain of their work.
The sea was quiet in the dead of night.
The waters were calm, and a ship lay at anchor.
In the bright moonlight, a pirate who had gotten drunk at a banquet staggered over to the railing to relieve himself.
Smack—
Just as he pulled up his pants and prepared to go back to sleep,
a rolled-up newspaper fell from the sky and landed on the deck with a loud thud.
"Huh? Why's there another newspaper?!" The pirate rubbed his bleary eyes and bent down to pick it up.
Curious and puzzled, the pirate opened the newspaper, and a wanted poster was the first thing to fall out.
"Th-this... this..."
Almost the moment the wanted poster landed on the deck, the drunken pirate jolted awake as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him.
"Gulp..."
His hands shook around the newspaper, mildly at first, then violently. The pirate swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "W-war... Is it coming?"
"Captain, something terrible has happened!!!"
Before long, an almost roaring shout rang out across the pirate ship.
He was the first to discover it, but he was certainly not the only one.
The same scene gradually played out across the world.