I Will Stand Above the Heavens

"Stand above the heavens in the future and call yourself the Heavenly King... What arrogant words! Hahahaha! That level of swagger is exactly what makes for a big news story!" Morgans burst out laughing.

If it had merely been some fool who did not know his own limits spouting nonsense, Morgans would have dismissed it with contempt. Every year, countless cannon fodder who could not recognize their own worth emerged on these seas, clueless about how to write the word death.

But when someone possessing Conqueror's Haki said such things—especially someone so young who could already control that power with such precision—that was the ambition and bearing of a true emperor!

This was absolutely worth reporting.

No, it deserved the front-page headlines! This was unprecedented, earth-shattering news!

The last newcomer to excite him this much had been "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace, the Flame-Flame Fruit user who had now joined the Whitebeard Pirates and become captain of the second division.

Back then, Morgans had squeezed quite a few eye-catching headlines out of Ace.

What a shame that Ace had later been taken under Whitebeard's wing, cutting off his source of information entirely.

After that, the seas had returned to a deathly silence.

But now...

Morgans stared intently at Rayson's photograph, his eyes nearly glowing.

Conqueror's Haki! A newcomer who could control it precisely at such a young age! And on top of that, such an arrogant declaration that he looked down on the world! This was far more newsworthy than "Fire Fist" Ace had been back then, far more deserving of endless coverage!

Besides, there was even more explosive material here to dig into!

Morgans looked at the information in the report on the straw-hatted boy who had announced his own name.

"Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the pirate crew Rayson joined. Monkey? D? Ha, hahahaha!" A strange, malicious grin appeared on Morgans's face.

As the mouthpiece controlling world opinion, Morgans was far too familiar with that surname.

Was that not the family name of Marine hero Monkey D. Garp and Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon?

Judging by his age, this straw-hatted brat was most likely Dragon's son and Garp's grandson.

That old fossil Garp had a son who became the commander of the Revolutionary Army, and now his grandson had actually gone to sea as a pirate?

And among that grandson's crew, there was actually a monster who had awakened Conqueror's Haki and called himself the "Heavenly King." Was he not openly challenging the title of Pirate King's right-hand man, the "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh?!

Could this brat be aiming for the Pirate King's throne?

The grandson of Marine hero Garp wanted to become the Pirate King? Three generations of this family were truly fascinating!

There was simply no end to the material here! It was absolutely worth hyping up!

Hmm, the news about the straw-hatted brat could be held back for now. The top priority was to report on Rayson with everything he had!

Meat had to be eaten one bite at a time, and big news had to be released step by step.

Morgans had been hungry for far too long. Now that he had finally hooked a big fish—and one that looked capable of providing an endless stream of follow-up stories—he had to hold on tight and squeeze every last bit of value out of it.

Compared with the overwhelming shock of Conqueror's Haki, the straw-hatted brat's current abilities were not eye-catching enough.

What was the essence of news? Grabbing everyone's attention at once!

And what could draw more attention than a super rookie who declared he would "stand above the heavens," crowned himself the "Heavenly King," and possessed "Conqueror's Haki"?

As long as he drew the entire world's attention to that point, the subsequent coverage of this pirate crew could unfold naturally.

Besides, with the surname "Monkey D." involved, Morgans did not need to worry too much that excessive praise would bring disaster upon them and cause this rising pirate crew to die young, cutting off his source material. Garp would never stand by and watch that happen.

He had not encountered news he could promote so recklessly and without restraint in a very long time!

Greed gleamed in Morgans's eyes.

"Send this photograph all over the world! Let the name Heavenly King Rayson resound across this planet!

Tell those salted fish on the seas who have already lost their dreams and rotted in the mud that a new king is about to be born! These long-stagnant seas are finally about to boil again! Hahahahaha!" Morgans roared with laughter.

On his desk lay a close-up photograph of Rayson.

In the image, Rayson's eyes burned with a terrifying light that looked down upon the world. It had been captured at the exact moment he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.

Before long, the front-page newspapers about Rayson finished printing.

Beneath Rayson's close-up photograph, the bold headline stood out clearly: [I Will Stand Above the Heavens!]

Of course, news of Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy setting sail had also been included. Morgans had even drawn a thick underline beneath the words "Monkey D."

Carried on the wings of countless News Coo, this report would soon spread to every corner of the world.

The long-silent seas were about to stir up towering waves!

Meanwhile, Rayson had no idea that his goal had already been achieved, nor did he know that the newspaper featuring him on the front page was about to spread across the entire world. At that moment, he was using the Navigation (White) trait to sail the seas alongside Luffy.

"Land ahead. That's our destination, Shells Town." Rayson compared the chart in his hands with the increasingly clear outline of land and smiled.

After sailing across the sea for so long, nothing felt more refreshing than seeing land. And if that land happened to be the destination, that joy naturally doubled.

Thanks to Rayson stocking up on provisions aboard the passenger ship beforehand, Luffy was not starving to the point of his chest sticking to his back as he had when setting sail alone in the original story.

Moreover, the winds and waves around the East Blue were gentle. Under Rayson's Navigation (White), the journey had been smooth and uneventful.

"Shishishi! We got here so fast! Looks like we really need a navigator to go to the Grand Line! Oh, right! We need a musician too!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

Before Rayson joined, Luffy's experience at sea had basically consisted of drifting with the current in a shabby little wooden barrel from Foosha Village.

After trying precise navigation just once and experiencing its efficiency, Luffy had completely fallen in love with the feeling.

But since Rayson had mentioned that his half-baked skills would not be enough to handle that Devil Sea, finding a reliable navigator had naturally been placed very high on Luffy's list of priorities.

Of course, a musician remained just as important.

"A musician? Not a bad idea." Rayson chuckled, finding Luffy's peculiar obsession amusing.

Luffy's fixation on finding a musician had persisted from beginning to end. In the original story, the Straw Hat Pirates did not finally welcome Brook until after their battle with the Seven Warlords' "Moonlight" Moria.