"If I'm not mistaken, the Golden Emperor's Devil Fruit should be that one."
Tsuru's words made Sengoku furrow his brow. His expression soon darkened.
"The Gold-Gold Fruit."
"Almost certainly."
Tsuru set down the file, her expression grave. "That Devil Fruit can't fall into Golden Lion's hands. Otherwise, his power will grow even faster."
Sengoku and Tsuru both knew exactly what the Gold-Gold Fruit represented.
If Golden Emperor was recruited by Golden Lion, it would mean the Flying Pirates would gain a vast fortune. They'd then find it much easier to recruit more men.
Money was the most fundamental bond holding a massive power together.
The Gold-Gold Fruit wasn't the strongest one listed in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, but it was the most important.
Especially to a powerful organization.
Possessing the Gold-Gold Fruit meant being able to easily locate gold buried all over the world. That was tantamount to controlling wealth—and the world economy. No ambitious person would let such a prize slip away.
Besides, the Gold-Gold Fruit hadn't appeared in a long time!
Now that it had resurfaced, it was bound to attract the attention of ambitious people, strategists, and kingdoms alike.
"We're too late."
Sengoku sighed. It was already too late to contain the story.
It was easy to predict that, over the next few days, the Golden Emperor would become famous.
After all, Dragon Horn Jax was the captain of the Flying Pirates' 20th Fleet. Anything connected to the Flying Pirates was bound to make huge news.
This story couldn't be suppressed anymore.
Even setting everything else aside, the Golden Emperor had a mountain of gold. That alone was enough to make Chaos a household name across the seas.
Didn't everyone who went out into the world want wealth, fame, and power?
A mountain of gold that large would make it easy to buy even an entire kingdom.
The power of wealth wasn't just an expression.
"Since we can't suppress the news anymore, we might as well give it a push!"
Tsuru tapped the desk with one hand and quickly came up with a plan.
"You mean...?"
A single glance was enough for Sengoku to understand what Tsuru had in mind.
"Too bad he's a pirate."
Tsuru nodded, then looked at the wanted poster, her gaze turning sharp.
The next day, news spread across the seas.
"Extra! Extra!"
"Dragon Horn Jax, captain of the Flying Pirates' 20th Fleet, with a bounty of 330 million berries, was killed by the Golden Emperor on Sabaody Archipelago!"
"The Golden Emperor has challenged Golden Lion from afar, vowing to take his head!"
"The Golden Emperor's bounty has risen from 123 million to 567 million!"
"Golden Emperor Gaia Chaos, Paramecia-type Gold-Gold Fruit user, master of Two types of Haki and the Six Powers!"
"The Paramecia-type Gold-Gold Fruit is the most lucrative Devil Fruit. It can turn the user's body into gold, control gold, and even locate gold underground!"
"The Golden Emperor once controlled gold worth hundreds of billions of berries in battle. Whoever controls the Golden Emperor will become the richest person in the world!"
"..."
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves. In just one day, the Golden Emperor's name had spread across the Four Seas, the Grand Line, and the New World.
Nearly every pirate gazed greedily at the newspaper. The photograph showed Chaos standing in the palm of the Goddess of the Heavens. The fifty-meter-tall goddess gleamed with golden splendor, radiating temptation.
Especially the claim that whoever controlled the Golden Emperor would become the richest person in the world.
It hit with the same force as the future promise of becoming Pirate King in the Great Pirate Era.
The Great Pirate Era hadn't begun yet. Everyone who went to sea as a pirate was after wealth, women, power, and fame—and now, wealth was right there in front of them.
All they had to do was take control of the Golden Emperor.
With money came power, women, and fame—perhaps even the whole world.
There was nothing money couldn't accomplish when it came to recruiting men.
The entire sea went mad.
The Golden Emperor was now the future One Piece!
He was a treasure in plain sight.
Countless pirate crews began turning toward the Grand Line.
Somewhere in the New World.
Ten thousand meters above the sea.
Islands of every size—some a hundred meters across, some a thousand, and some even tens of thousands—floated in the sky, scattered like the stars in a heavenly realm.
The closer they were to the center, the larger the islands became.
These were different from Sky Islands. Sky Islands floated because of the White Sea, but these islands had no White Sea beneath them. They simply hung in the sky, as if held aloft by some mysterious force or field.
The islands were strange and wondrous. Some were entirely covered in water, others made up entirely of rock. All kinds floated in the sky, creating a breathtaking sight.
On the undersides of some islands, rainbows stretched across the sky.
Mountains and flowing rivers, waterfalls plunging down, white cranes and other birds in flight, and the roars of beasts echoing from the forests.
The view drew closer and closer. Among the many islands arranged in orderly clusters was one vast island.
A sprawling complex of buildings covered its surface.
The structures were imposing, lofty, luxurious, and magnificent. A huge plaza lay at the front, where pirates could often be seen.
At that moment, a gathering was underway in the central palace. Every pirate there was a notorious Great Pirate.
Everyone seated inside had a bounty of at least 300 million berries. The closer they were to the throne, the higher their bounties!
Their strength grew with their bounties, too.
But the once-lively banquet had fallen quiet. Many Great Pirates were staring at the newspapers in their hands.
On the throne at the front sat a man who looked down on all things. Every inch of him radiated a domineering air, like a lion roaring across the seas and aspiring to conquer the world.
He was the legendary Great Pirate Golden Lion Shiki. Before long, he would threaten and try to recruit Roger, single-handedly lay waste to Marineford, and prove so formidable that Sengoku and Garp would have to join forces to defeat him.
In terms of current fame, Golden Lion Shiki was the undisputed overlord.
Whitebeard, Lone Red, and Roger were no match for him.
At this time, Golden Lion was full of ambition and intent on ruling the entire sea.
In both power and strength, he stood at the very top.
He hadn't lost his legs, nor did he have a ship's wheel embedded in his head. That meant nothing was holding back his strength!
He could lord it over the masses and reign supreme!
"Gyahahahaha!"
"A Gold-Gold Fruit user!"
Golden Lion stared at the newspaper in his hand, puffing on a cigar as he laughed uproariously.
"Admiral, give me ten days. I'll bring you the Golden Emperor."
At the banquet table below, a man with a missing left eye and three whiskers drained the drink in his bowl, then glared at the laughing Golden Lion with a ferocious look.
He was Lone Wolf Spand, captain of the 15th Fleet, with a bounty of 710 million berries and a Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit: Dachshund Form.
"Ten days? I only need five."
A voice full of disdain rang out. It belonged to a bare-chested giant, six meters tall, with bulging muscles and a thick mat of chest hair.
He was Great Kong Omit, captain of the 13th Fleet, with a bounty of 960 million berries and the Zoan-type Ancient Zoan: Kong Form.
"Pfft!"
As soon as Great Kong Omit finished speaking, a snicker came from the seat beside him.
A voluptuous, alluring woman sat there in a revealing outfit. She wore purple lipstick, and as she chuckled, her ample curves bounced.
"Crystalis, what are you laughing at?"
Great Kong Omit glared at her. Beside Crystalis, he looked like a beast next to a beauty.
A closer look revealed that Great Kong Omit was somewhat wary of the woman.
She was none other than Crystalis, captain of the 12th Fleet, known as the Cruel Queen. She had a bounty of 1.015 billion berries and was a Paramecia-type Net-Net Fruit user.
She enjoyed torturing her enemies to death. She looked alluring and seductive, but beneath that exterior, she was as venomous as a snake.
Her methods were among the most vicious in the entire Flying Pirates.
The starting site: Shen Kou (Qingshan Jiliao), 300 Qidian coins.
Before you continue