The Underworld

Beneath the royal palace of Dressrosa.

There were secret passages built through the Tontatta's hard labor, forming the notorious Dark World.

The sheer volume of illegal business gave it ample room to thrive.

Weapons, slaves, intelligence, and more.

Any transaction that could not be conducted openly could find buyers and sellers here.

There were currently only three entrances into the Underworld.

And all the keys were held by figures known as Underworld brokers.

These were the shadowy links connecting the Underworld.

Doflamingo, for instance, was the biggest broker of them all, code name: Joker.

Morgans rarely came here, and he was not particularly willing to, even though he was one of its leaders himself.

He wanted almost nothing to do with any of this in his own business.

Yet precisely because he was in the news business, he had no choice but to deal with all sorts of people.

Morgans received Doflamingo's hospitality in a special, luxurious room.

It was originally intended for the kings of the Underworld to enjoy themselves in.

The table was piled high with his favorite popcorn, but his expression was utterly wary.

After all, the man before him was Doflamingo, a figure with a fearsome reputation.

"Big News Morgans, thank you for accepting my invitation. But I'm merely an intermediary myself."

Doflamingo could clearly sense his wariness.

Although Morgans had his own sources of confidence, his actual strength was hardly impressive.

While it was difficult to judge precisely, he was certainly no match for Doflamingo, who had achieved Devil Fruit Awakening.

After hearing that, Morgans did not lower his guard. Instead, he grew even more wary.

Anyone who could get this uncrowned emperor of the Underworld to introduce them would be no easy person to deal with, either.

He had probably been a little hotheaded in making this decision.

Someone pushed the door open and entered, and Morgans swept his gaze over.

Once he saw the person's face clearly, he knew he had no choice today.

Intelligence capabilities had always been Lofan's most pressing concern.

But things had to be done in order, and with no good ideas, he had set the matter aside.

Yet waiting for news at the branch last time...

For the first time, it had made Lofan, who was accustomed to knowing everything and controlling the situation, put this goal on his agenda.

Because unexpected events could not be controlled.

In Lofan's original plans, Kong had not been there to help him secure an Admiral's position.

As he saw it, he would need to build things up and wait for at least several years.

But in the end, plans could not account for fate.

Sometimes there was no need to scheme over everything, but learning things a little earlier would give Lofan more and better choices.

Rather than only coming to a realization when events were already upon him.

It was because he had started reading the news while recovering at the branch that Lofan had set his sights on Morgans.

An organization capable of gathering and distributing news worldwide.

Viewed from another angle, it was an ideal intelligence agency capable of gathering and transmitting information worldwide.

What more could he possibly ask for?

At present, the World Government undoubtedly had the strongest intelligence capabilities.

Back then, Blackbeard had only just discovered the Revolutionary Army's base, and CP0 had arrived in the blink of an eye-a clear demonstration of their operational capabilities.

Kaido had once praised Big Mom's intelligence as the best in the business.

Using the advantages of marriage alliances, she could easily obtain news from various countries.

But that was ultimately only within the scope of pirate forces. Accurate, certainly, but what about speed?

On a truly global scale, she could not achieve the World Government's combination of speed and accuracy. She lacked the money, resources, and manpower.

At a comparable level on the opposing side was the Revolutionary Army. Its powerful intelligence network could be called the foundation of its survival and operations.

It would be no exaggeration to say that it devoted all its strength to building its intelligence apparatus. Otherwise, the World Government would have uprooted it long ago.

A little further down came Morgans's World Economy News Paper.

With his Devil Fruit ability, he could communicate with birds.

He used News Coos to sell newspapers worldwide, and he obtained accurate news from all over.

People even contacted him themselves and delivered it straight to his door.

Lofan's recent operation and the publicity surrounding it, for example, had both resulted from cooperation between the Navy and Morgans.

Lofan even suspected that Morgans actually worked with both CP0 and the Revolutionary Army, exchanging information.

There was also the comic strip about Germa fighting a hero of the seas.

It portrayed charismatic villainous heroes, which was clearly the result of a deal between the two sides.

The World Economy News Paper could rake in money on a vast scale while also transmitting intelligence with such speed, precision, and effectiveness.

Lofan could not think of a better choice.

When it came to Morgans, Lofan's starting position was that he had to win him over completely, by any means and in any way necessary.

"Morgans, whatever your terms, whatever means it takes, I need you!"

It was the first time Lofan had displayed such intense determination before others.

Even when they discussed things like Hollowfication, Doflamingo had never seen Lofan need something so urgently.

"Doflamingo is one of us. Say whatever you want, and I'll do everything in my power. So think it through carefully and give me an answer."

The world's foremost Morgans fan, always making big news-could you really have no purpose at all?

You call yourself a miser, yet you value your work in journalism even more. What exactly are you pursuing?

Although Lofan had approached this with no bottom line whatsoever, that was still a last resort.

The best outcome would be to form a community of shared interests, just as he had with Doflamingo, where harm to one meant harm to all.

Therefore, Lofan had to use this opportunity to thoroughly understand Morgans's true nature.

"So, Morgans, what are your thoughts?"

Morgans's broad wings had long since clenched into fists. You want me to give you an answer?

There's only one damn choice that'll let me walk out of here unharmed, isn't there? How the hell is that my answer to you?

He cursed inwardly, his expression shifting.

Running was not realistic. But what way could he maneuver to find a path to survival in this fatal situation?

"This really is big news, Cloud Gull Admiral."

Watching the big bird grasp for something to say, Lofan did not respond. He simply sat steadily and waited.

Seeing Morgans's pent-up frustration, Doflamingo felt moved to speak as well.

"Morgans, wavering won't solve anything. Pointlessly dragging things out through indecision is just a waste of time."

Lofan had already discussed it with Doflamingo.

As long as he could bring Morgans into the fold, with the advantage of his intelligence and Lofan's secret assistance...

The entire Underworld would be unified under Doflamingo!

Then there would be no place for the Queen of the Pleasure District, the King of Shipping, or anyone else. The Dark World would have only one king!

Joker the Clown!

"But surely you can't just say a couple of things and leave it at that.

Besides, even if I tell you now that there's no problem, how can you be sure there really isn't a problem with me?"

Lofan nearly laughed aloud. Once you're aboard, you won't be able to escape a single one of those things.

I don't need to make sure there's no problem with you. When the time comes, you'll be desperate for there to be no problem with you yourself.

"Morgans, I believe in you. I believe that one day, when you discover a big story...

Whether it involves a World Government scandal or offends the Four Emperors, you'll still publish it without hesitation.

That's your responsibility as a journalist, isn't it?"

"?!"

No, even flattery shouldn't go this far. You're throwing around the World Government and the Four Emperors at the drop of a hat.

What?

Do you people at the top really have no room in your eyes for anything except the very pinnacle of the world?!