Golden Lion Defeated, the World Stunned

That night.

Garp raided the kitchen and ate his fill.

Thousands of miles away, Steel Bone Kong heard the news and felt a weight lift from his chest. He even helped himself to six extra bowls of rice for supper.

The news quickly spread through Marine Headquarters.

After a brief stunned silence, all of Marineford erupted in cheers.

Shiki had once stormed Marine Headquarters alone, then escaped from prison. It had long been one of the Marines' greatest humiliations.

Noah's victory had washed that shame away. It electrified the entire headquarters and sent morale soaring!

And morale wasn't the only thing soaring. So was Noah's popularity among the Marines.

Because Noah had spent a year stationed in the West Blue, many recruits who had only recently arrived at headquarters barely knew him.

But after this, and after hearing their seniors and fellow Marines sing his praises, those recruits became devoted fans on the spot.

The young women in the Marines were no exception. One look at Noah's photo, and their eyes turned to stars.

Some of the more ardent ones had even picked out names for the children they imagined having with him...

Meanwhile.

Somehow, the World Economy News Paper had obtained the full inside story that very day.

On Morgans's orders, the editorial staff worked overtime, giving the story a huge front-page spread before sending it to print.

The headline they had prepared—"Shichibukai A-Lian Defeated! Entire Crew Heads for the New World! Super Rookie Shanks Makes His Grand Entrance!"—was ruthlessly shoved into an obscure corner.

By dawn.

Countless News Coos took flight with freshly printed papers, carrying the earthshaking news to every corner of the sea...

Grand Line, G-6 Branch.

Dusk had fallen. Behind the base fortress, cooking smoke curled above the residential quarters.

"This is getting ridiculous.