Morgans's Fear

Morgans followed.

His camera and notebook were left on the airship.

He had originally intended to take it with him, but the look in the Night Owl Guard's eyes told him that he didn't need to record this meeting.

He left all his belongings behind.

The road from the city gate to the interior of the Holy Land is long.

Morgans walked on the cobblestone street, flanked by empty buildings and neatly maintained streets.

The bodies have been removed and the ground has been washed, but dark brown stains that have seeped into the cracks of the stone slabs can still be seen occasionally. They have been diluted by the water, but not completely washed away.

The slaves had also disappeared; no one knew where they had been taken.

The street was quiet, save for the sound of his footsteps and the footsteps of the Night Owl Guard ahead of him.

Outside the Room of Authority, the Night Owl Guard stopped, pushed open the door, and stepped aside to let Morgans in.

When Morgans walked in, the first thing he saw was the throne.

It looks completely different from the photos he secretly took from a distance.

The handrails transformed into dragon shapes, the carpet turned dark red, and a yin-yang symbol rotated above.

A man in a pale purple robe stood in front of the throne, his back to him, looking at the picture above the throne.

"Morgans."

Natsu did not turn around, her voice was flat.

"They've arrived."

Morgans ' legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.

He steadied himself by holding onto the door frame, the sound he managed to squeeze out a little hoarse.

"Lord Natsu, I... I've arrived. As you instructed, within three days..."

Natsu turned around.

His Mangekyō Sharingan spun quietly, his gaze fixed on Morgans' face.

Morgans stiffened again when he was glanced at, the feeling of being controlled by Genjutsu surging up from the depths of his memory, and he subconsciously took a step back.

"Don't be nervous," Natsu said. "I won't scare you today."

Morgans swallowed hard. He didn't quite believe it, but he dared not say anything else.

"World Economy News Paper." Natsu took two steps to the side and placed a hand on the armrest of the throne. "I'm keeping your newspaper company, not because I want to start one."

It's because this ocean needs a place to send messages. Previously, the World Government was the one to send messages, but now the World Government is gone.

Your newspaper has been doing this kind of news-spreading business for many years.

He is familiar with the ways of the world, has a wide network of connections, and a large readership.

I'm too lazy to start from scratch, so I'll leave it to you to continue.

Morgans blinked.

He had imagined many possible scenarios for their meeting, but this was the one he had never considered.

Natsu's tone was very flat, as if he were really discussing a business deal.

"However," Natsu tapped her fingers lightly on the dragon-shaped armrest, "From today onwards, all articles from your newspaper must be sent here for review before publication. What can be published, what cannot be published, and how it should be written—the returned comments will be the standard."

Morgans paused for a moment. He opened his mouth, but his voice was even hoarser than before.

"Lord Natsu, is that... is that newspaper still mine?"

"It's yours," Natsu said. "You're the president, your editors, your reporters, your printing plant—they're all yours. You can hire whoever you want, fire whoever you want, send whoever you want to interview—it's all up to you. I won't interfere."

He paused for a moment.

"But the manuscripts need to be reviewed. The front page headlines need to be reviewed, the editorials need to be reviewed, and any reports involving the Uchiha Clan need to be reviewed."

You can post whatever you want on the remaining pages.

Weather, sea conditions, trade routes, interesting tidbits—it's all up to you.

You can praise people or criticize them, as long as you don't cross the line, nobody will care.

What is the bottom line?

"The rule of the Uchiha Clan cannot be questioned. The laws of the Uchiha Clan cannot be slandered. The enemies of the Uchiha Clan cannot be glorified," Natsu said. "Just these three. The rest is up to you."

Morgans remained silent for a few moments.

He kept his head down, his mind racing.

Being asked to review a paper is certainly frustrating for the newspaper, but Natsu's terms weren't too demanding.

These three bottom lines are fewer than the explicit and implicit restrictions of the era of the World Government.

Moreover, Natsu said that the newspaper still belonged to him, and he retained all the power over personnel and editing.

This means he can still do the news he wants, as long as he doesn't cross those three lines.

"I understand." He looked up. "Regarding the newspaper, do as Lord Natsu says."

Natsu looked at him for a while. "You adapted quite quickly."

"Having worked in a newspaper for so many years, I've dealt with all sorts of people," Morgans said with a wry smile. "I know what's marketable, what's not, what can be written, and what can't. I have a scale in my heart."

"That's fine then." Natsu withdrew her hand, walked away from the throne, took two steps towards the steps, and tilted her head. "Send over the first batch of manuscripts tomorrow. I want to see how well you've written them."

Morgans nodded. "So... what should we write on the front page?"

Natsu thought for a moment.

"Write about Mary Geoise. Write about what happened here. Write about the Celestial Dragons being gone, the World Government being gone, Uchiha Clan taking over. Let the people of the Four Blues know that this sea has a new master."

Morgans took out his small notebook and scratched two marks on the edge of the page with his fingernail as a note.

"The Celestial Dragons are gone, the World Government is gone, Uchiha Clan has taken over. That's it?"

"That's it. Don't add any unnecessary words. Don't use words like 'bloody,' 'cruel,' or 'tyrannical,'" Natsu said. "Just state the facts. The Celestial Dragons are gone, that's a fact. The World Government is gone, that's a fact. The Uchiha Clan has taken over, that's also a fact. The facts are frightening enough. No need to embellish."

Morgans put the notebook back in his pocket and nodded. He turned to leave, but paused at the door.

"Lord Natsu."

Natsu tilted her head slightly.

"Um... my seagull."

"Your seagull is fine. It flew back," Natsu said. "Your seagull can continue flying from now on, but the contents of the letter need to be approved."

Morgans nodded, pushed open the door, and went out.

The Night Owl Guard standing in the corridor was still waiting at the door. When he saw him come out, he tilted his head, gesturing for him to follow.

Morgans followed behind, retracing the path they had taken.

When he reached the city gate, he looked back, but the door leading to the palace was closed, and he could see nothing there.

He boarded the airship, sat in the cockpit, and took off his hat, placing it on his lap.

Then he took out a small notebook from his pocket and carefully looked at the two lines of writing he had just made.

He stared at the line of text for a while, then closed the notebook and started the airship's engine.

In the printing plant at the World Economy News Paper headquarters, the smell of machine oil and ink mingled together, making one's nose sting.

Morgans pushed open the door of the printing plant, and the workers inside looked up at him, then froze one by one.

They knew what their president was like on a regular basis.

His attire was always impeccably tailored, his feathers were always gleaming, and when he spoke, he held his chin slightly up, exuding an air of "I am the president of the World Economy News Paper."

But the person standing at the door had disheveled feathers, dark circles under his eyes, and a wrinkled uniform hem. He looked as if he had been dragged down from the sky and pulled for three miles.

"President?"

Morgans waved his hand, didn't reply, and walked straight through the workshop to his office.

He stopped halfway there, turned to his deputy following behind, and said, "Postpone all other articles for today. Leave the front page blank. I'll write tomorrow's front page."

The deputy hesitated for a moment. "President, the front page is already set up—"

"Reject it."

Morgans closed the office door.

He took off his hat and placed it on the corner of the table, pulled out a chair and sat down, then took out a stack of blank manuscript paper from the drawer.

The paper was laid out on the table. He picked up the pen, the nib hovering above the paper, and stopped.

Write about Mary Geoise.

Write down what happened here.

It says that the Celestial Dragons are gone, the World Government is gone, Uchiha Clan has taken over.

Avoid adding unnecessary words. Avoid using terms like "bloody," "cruel," or "tyrannical."

Just state the facts.

He closed his eyes briefly, recalling the scene inside that hall.

The throne had changed; the armrests had become dragon-shaped, the carpet had turned dark red, and the World Government symbol above had been replaced with a yin-yang symbol.

Natsu stood in front of the throne, her back to him, and said "You've arrived" in a flat voice.

The hall was so quiet that even the sound of him swallowing could be heard.

He opened his eyes, and the pen tip landed on the paper.

"The Holy Land Mary Geoise, formerly the highest power center of the World Government, is now under the control of the Uchiha Clan."

He wrote very slowly, putting down each word one by one.

He never writes this slowly normally.

He worked as a journalist his whole life, and he never hesitated when writing articles; he wrote whatever came to mind, his pen moving with effortless grace.

But today he had to go over every single word in his mind twice.

It's not that I'm afraid of writing the wrong word, it's that I'm afraid of writing too much.

"Imu, the former supreme ruler of the World Government, was killed by the Uchiha Clan in the battle of Sabaody Archipelago."

All Five Elders are dead.

The entire God's Knights have perished.

Former Marine Headquarters Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Marine Garp the Hero, Marine Admiral Sakazuki, Marine Admiral Borsalino, and others have been sealed away by the Uchiha Clan.

Former Marine Admiral Kuzan and Aramaki were killed in action.

He paused, looking at the few lines of text on the manuscript paper.

There are no adjectives.

There was no "tragic," no "shocking," and no "unprecedented" aspect.

These are the people, and these are the results, falling line by line.

Heavier than any adjective.

He continued writing.

"The Celestial Dragons, formerly under the World Government, have all perished in the Holy Land Mary Geoise."

The slave system that existed in the original Holy Land has been abolished by the Uchiha Clan.

All slaves have been freed and are being resettled.

He paused to write this, recalling the scene he had witnessed on the streets of Mary Geoise that day.

Those slaves kneeling in the corner, their eyes vacant, had iron collars around their necks and chains nailed to the wall.

He didn't dare look too long when he walked past them, but now, as he writes this, all those images come back to him.

He considered whether or not to include these images in his writing.

Natsu said, just write the facts.

These are also facts.

But he hesitated for a moment and still didn't proceed.

He simply added one more sentence to the manuscript.

"The Uchiha Clan has declared that from this day forward, there will be no more nobles or privileges in the world, and all beings will be equal."

Anyone who violates the Uchiha Clan's laws, regardless of their origin or status, will be punished according to the law.

He put down his pen, picked up the manuscript, and read it from the beginning.

After finishing reading, he put down the manuscript, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling.

The article was very short, shorter than any of his usual front-page articles.

But he felt that was enough.

Natsu is right.

The facts themselves are frightening enough.

There's no need for him to embellish the story.

He picked up his pen again and added a line at the end of the manuscript, "This is a firsthand report from Holy Land Mary Geoise by the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Morgans."

Then he stood up, pushed open the door, and handed the manuscript to his deputy who was waiting outside.

"Formatting. Post it first thing tomorrow morning."