Letting someone like Shiryu join the crew…
Even as a provisional member, it seemed far too reckless.
Everyone turned to look at Maude, subtle changes flickering across their expressions.
Even Shakky, an outsider to the crew, found Maude's decision somewhat rash. It reminded her of her past days in a pirate crew and the captain she once revered.
That captain had never turned away any powerful individual who wished to join, believing it to be the fastest way to strengthen the crew. However, this approach also carried hidden dangers.
And indeed, when their crew was on the verge of collapse, it wasn't at the hands of enemies—it was at the hands of their own.
Recognizing the potential flaw in Maude's decision, Shakky chose not to voice her concerns. After all, she was technically an outsider.
Even if she weren't, it wasn't her place to meddle in the affairs of another pirate crew.
Lafitte and Gaya also found it problematic, but they simply accepted Maude's decision.
As the first to follow him, they understood that once Maude made a choice, no one could sway him.
Their duty as crew members was to support their captain's decisions while working to eliminate any negative consequences those choices might bring.
As for Aokiji, he was far more composed than Lafitte and Gaya.
The stronger a person was, the less they lacked confidence, and thus, they had fewer concerns.
And the prime example of that was none other than Kaido of the Beasts.
After casually intimidating Shiryu, Maude suddenly remembered something.
"Shiryu, there's something I need you to do."
"What is it?"
Seizing the moment, Shiryu stepped toward Maude, attempting to break free from the encirclement of Aokiji and the others.
However, after taking a few steps, he realized something and immediately halted, casting a quick glance at the sunlight-covered ground ahead.
His shadow was still in Maude's possession. If he stepped into the sunlight, he would be reduced to ashes like a vampire.
Noting Shiryu's subtle evasion of the sunlight, Maude paid it little mind.
For now, there was no way he would return both Shiryu's shadow and heart.
Looking at Shiryu, Maude didn't immediately state the task but instead asked, "You were the Chief Warden of Impel Down, so you must be quite familiar with prisons, correct?"
"Yes."
Shiryu nodded.
"Good. I plan to build a prison on this ship." Maude decided on the spot. "That task is yours."
"No problem."
Though surprised, Shiryu agreed without hesitation.
He was well aware of his precarious situation and understood exactly what he should and shouldn't do within this crew.
Only by proving his value and loyalty as quickly as possible could he gain Maude's acceptance.
And along the way, he needed Maude to recognize his personal ambitions.
If he failed…
It would mean death.
After assigning the prison construction task to Shiryu, Maude didn't linger and made his way toward the temporary holding area for prisoners.
Next, he needed to extract the shadows from the captives and implant them into corpses to create tireless laborers that required no rest, no recharging, and no food.
There were 500 captives, but only 200 corpses.
No matter—there were still corpses left in the castle's cold storage from Moria's collection, more than enough to accommodate 300 additional shadows.
"This is going to be a major project."
Walking along an unfinished path, Maude muttered to himself about the upcoming process of creating 500 undead laborers.
"What major project?"
Perona's voice came from above.
As usual, she was floating in the air, holding her small parasol.
Maude looked up at her and spread his hands. "Creating 500 zombie laborers."
"Huh? That much work…"
Perona gasped in surprise. "That's going to be exhausting."
"Yeah, it will be quite the workload."
Maude nodded in agreement.
Perona sighed regretfully. "Too bad I can't help. Otherwise, I totally would."
"I appreciate the thought, but while the workload is heavy, it's nothing I can't handle."
Maude smiled at her.
"Oh, is that so?"
Meeting Maude's gaze, Perona instinctively turned her head, looking toward the overgrown roadside grass, muttering softly.
"Of course."
As he spoke, Maude materialized his shadow, forming a duplicate of himself.
In less than a second, the shadow clone fully took on Maude's appearance.
"I'll leave the zombie labor creation to you."
Maude patted the shadow clone on the shoulder.
The shadow clone nodded before striding forward.
Above them, Perona, who had initially felt regretful about not being able to help, now stared in stunned silence at the departing shadow clone.
This works too?!
Watching the shadow clone vanish into the distance, Perona slowly withdrew her gaze and then looked at Maude with a lingering expression of disappointment.
"So this is your major project…"
"Of course."
Maude smiled. "But thankfully, I have my shadows."
"..."
Perona fell silent.
...
World Economy News Agency – Mobile Press Base.
"Hiss—"
In the slightly disorganized office space, a collective gasp rang out.
The seasoned news staff, who had seen it all, were now staring in utter shock.
The culprit responsible for their reactions? Several freshly faxed reports and over a dozen photographs spread across the desk.
"Is this even possible? Am I dreaming?"
A reporter, staring at a photo of Maude holding the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, muttered in disbelief.
Beside him stood a rather helpful colleague.
Slap!
Without hesitation, the helpful colleague raised a hand and smacked him.
The stunned reporter inhaled sharply from the pain.
"Good! You're not dreaming!"
Relieved by his reaction, the helpful colleague exhaled.
These faxed documents were the kind of world-shaking news that could send shockwaves across the globe multiple times over in a single night!
If this were a dream, it would be a tragedy for the news industry.
"Oh my god, I'm not dreaming! This is real! This is real!!!"
The slapped reporter, still clutching his cheek, suddenly erupted with excitement like a 400-pound child.
"This is the kind of headline that needs to be published immediately!!! I can already picture the world's reaction!!!"
"Where's President Morgans?"
"No idea, I was too busy looking at the photos just now."
"I think he went to Dada's office…"
"Huh? That's not like President Morgans at all! The biggest news of the year is right here on the table!"
"He's probably consoling Dada… After all…"
One of the reporters picked up a high-definition, perfectly framed photo of Maude and sighed. "It's always been Dada who brings us the biggest scoops about this dazzling man, but this time, Habbakak beat him to it..."
"If it were just that, President Morgans wouldn't have gone out of his way to console Dada. The key point is, according to Habbakak-san, these explosive revelations were handed to him personally by Maude!"
"I see... then Dada must be feeling pretty heartbroken right now."
As the crowd discussed, the door to Dada's office was suddenly flung open.
Morgans stepped out, striding purposefully towards the desk where the detailed report on the Dressrosa Incident was placed. Under the watchful gazes of his subordinates, he picked up the report personally written by Habbakak in one hand and, in the other, a photo of Maude holding the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. His expression was one of uncontainable excitement as he swept his gaze across the room.
"This is BIG news."
His wings ruffled slightly as he declared, "Same as always—we're running a double front-page layout. But this time, it's going to be different. Tomorrow's newspaper, front and back, will be entirely dedicated to Maude. So, my friends... let's look forward to the world's reaction tomorrow! Hahahaha!"
"LONG LIVE PRESIDENT MORGANS!!!"
"Oi, you got it wrong."
A sharp glint flashed in Morgans' eyes as he pointed at the subordinate who had just cheered, correcting him in a stern tone: "It's 'LONG LIVE BACARDI MAUDE!!!'"
"Oh, right! LONG LIVE BACARDI MAUDE!!!"
The enthusiastic shouts of the reporters echoed through the gaps of the mobile news agency, carrying far into the wilderness beyond.
That night.
The world's leading news agency, the World Economy News, worked tirelessly through the night.
Per President Morgans' orders, tomorrow's newspaper would feature a double front-page layout, both sides exclusively covering stories about Maude. Such an extraordinary level of focus was unprecedented in the history of the newspaper, and not a single detail could afford to be sloppy.
The following morning.
The fruit of an all-nighter's labor took flight in the form of newspapers, spreading to every corner of the world.
...
Sabaody Archipelago, Marine Base.
A group of fully armed Marines rushed out of the base, expressions tense as they headed toward Grove 13.
Ten minutes later.
Upon arrival at Grove 13, the Marines were immediately on high alert, their eyes fixed on three figures standing beneath the massive roots of the mangrove tree.
"The left and right hands of the Pirate King Roger... Silvers Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban..."
"And the Phantom Sniper, Sol..."
"Why are these three here?!"
The Marines gripped their weapons tightly, beads of sweat forming as they stared at these legendary figures from the Roger Pirates.
Rayleigh lifted his gaze to where Shakky's bar once stood—now reduced to rubble. After a moment, he withdrew his eyes and casually swept a glance at the Marines surrounding them.
"Gaban, Sol... seems like we old-timers are still quite popular."
"Should we feel honored?" Gaban took a leisurely drag from his cigarette.
Sol, also holding a gilded pipe between his lips, exhaled a puff of smoke and said expressionlessly, "What I care about is... where's the booze?"
"The bar's gone. No booze to be found."
Before Rayleigh could respond, Gaban answered in his stead.
Rayleigh sighed in exasperation. He had planned to bring his old friends here for a taste of Shakky's rare collection, but now both the bar and Shakky were nowhere to be found.
"There's a tavern on the island with some decent liquor, though it's a bit pricey. We could head there instead."
"Sounds fine. But... do you have any money?"
Sol shot Rayleigh a sidelong glance, getting straight to the point.
Rayleigh's old face broke into a carefree smile. "Nope."
"..."
"..."
The three old men continued their idle chatter, completely ignoring the tense formation of Marines around them.
"Dark King Rayleigh! Why have you come to Sabaody Archipelago?!"
The leading Marine officer called out, his expression grave as he locked eyes with Rayleigh.
Rayleigh tilted his head, turning toward the officer.
Sol and Gaban also looked in his direction.
With three legendary figures staring him down, the Marine officer felt an immense pressure weighing upon him. His throat went dry, and his heartbeat quickened.
"Do you have any money on you?"
Rayleigh fixed his gaze on the Marine officer and suddenly asked.
"W-what?!"
The officer, already on edge, was utterly dumbfounded by the question.
Rayleigh spoke seriously, "We're short on liquor money. Thought we might borrow some from you."
"???"
The Marines collectively froze in disbelief.
"Hahahaha! Borrowing money from the Marines? Rayleigh, after all these years, you really haven't changed at all!"
A hearty, familiar laugh rang out from afar, making Rayleigh and Gaban smile—though Sol, on the other hand, visibly scowled at the voice.
They turned towards the source of the laughter and saw a man striding towards them, clad in a Marine coat.
"A troublesome fellow has arrived."
Gaban sighed lightly and shot a glance at Sol. Seeing no reaction from him, he felt somewhat relieved.
Rayleigh also let out a quiet sigh.
"It's Vice Admiral Garp!!!"
The surrounding Marines immediately perked up at the sight of the Marine hero, feeling a sudden sense of reassurance.
Under their gazes, Garp passed through the crowd and approached Rayleigh's group. His eyes scanned over Rayleigh and Gaban before lingering a little longer on Sol.
Sol narrowed his eyes, meeting Garp's gaze head-on.
The air between the two old men crackled with invisible sparks as their eyes locked.
After a brief silence, Sol was the first to sneer. "Still alive, old man?"
"That's my line."
Garp raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "Must be tough without a leg, Phantom Sniper."
"Heh. Not as tough as missing an arm."
Sol's gaze drifted toward Garp's empty left sleeve as he sneered, "I'd love to know what was going through your mind when Maude took your arm."
"..."
A vein bulged on Garp's forehead, but he had no desire to banter further. Instead, he turned toward Rayleigh.
Just as he was about to question their presence, a few newspapers drifted down from the sky.
Both Garp and Rayleigh caught a copy each. As they unfolded the papers, the first thing that caught their eyes was a massive image of Maude holding the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, taking up nearly half the front page.
"This is..."
Even two battle-hardened veterans like Garp and Rayleigh couldn't hide their shock at the headline.
Seeing their reactions, Sol and Gaban leaned in curiously to read the article.
"Defeated Jack the Drought and the highest-ranking officers of the Beasts Pirates, declared war on Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, repelled the Whitebeard Pirates, annihilated the Blackbeard Pirates and the Donquixote Family, and seized the Gura Gura no Mi..."
Both Sol and Gaban stared blankly at the words.
Moments later—
Sol burst into roaring laughter, his voice echoing across several neighboring groves.
But within seconds, an overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki swept through Grove 13, abruptly cutting off Sol's laughter.
And the one who released it—wasn't Garp.
"Thud..."
The surrounding Marines collapsed one after another, knocked unconscious by the overwhelming force of Conqueror's Haki. Even their commanding officers were not spared, succumbing to its might and falling to the ground.
In just a second or two, only four people remained standing within the scene—Garp, Rayleigh, Sol, and Gaban.
"Hmm?"
These four veterans of the old era instinctively turned their gazes in the same direction.
A towering, powerfully built man strode forward, clad in a military uniform with a pair of earmuffs covering his head. In his hand, he held a newspaper, casually gripped between his fingers.
As they took in the sight of the man approaching, ripples of emotion surfaced on the faces of Garp, Rayleigh, Sol, and Gaban.
Drawing closer, the man made no effort to restrain his Conqueror's Haki. On the contrary, he unleashed its force brazenly, directing it straight at these four legendary figures of the old era.
Yet, beyond serving as a provocation, such a display was incapable of having any real effect on them.
"It's been a long time, Rayleigh, Gaban, Sol."
The man slightly raised his chin, his gaze descending upon them from above.
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