Compared to the excitement of Morgans, the president of the News Coo, the other employees at the "Economic News" agency were voicing some concerns.
"President, if the people on that pirate ship really include Admiral Aokiji, he's probably on some secret mission, right? If we publish this news without thinking it through, won't it mess with the Navy's plans?"
"Also, the ability to control ice and snow isn't necessarily exclusive to Aokiji. Could there be another Devil Fruit like the Ice-Ice Fruit out there?"
"This 'Dimensional Pirate Crew' came out of nowhere. Before today, we'd never even heard of them. We know nothing about their captain or crew—like they just popped up from the ocean floor. Shouldn't we investigate further before reporting on them?"
"…You guys have a point," Morgans admitted.
As the "News King" of the One Piece world, Morgans was well aware of these issues. But holding back on such a juicy scoop? That was practically torture for him.
"Photo King, head out to where that battle took place and track down any trace of the Dimensional Pirate Crew," he ordered, rubbing his bird beak as a thought sparked in his mind. "The rest of you, start sorting through the intel we have and draft a report. As soon as we get photos, we're publishing this story!"
Deep down, he had a gut feeling. "…I've got a hunch this crew might just become a rising star on these seas."
---
Unbeknownst to Hikari, Morgans was racking his brain over how to spin their story.
Right now, she and Bulma's crew were sailing across the ocean, following the map they'd acquired earlier.
It had been a few days since the Jack incident. In that time, the Blue Planet had passed by four islands of varying sizes, stopping briefly at three of them. They'd also run into a few groups of pirates and bandits along the way.
How to put it… While the One Piece world did have some honorable pirates—and groups like Roger's crew, who were more "adventurers" than typical pirates—most who chose the pirate life weren't exactly saints. Burning, killing, looting, and worse were just another day at the office for them.
The Beast Pirates had done plenty of that in Wano, but out of consideration for Yamato, and because much of the mess there stemmed from Kozuki Oden's own mistakes, Hikari had chosen not to meddle further after defeating Kaido's crew. She'd even let Jack off the hook.
Now, though, with Bulma and the others around, Hikari had planned to ignore the riffraff pirates they encountered. But that plan went out the window when they witnessed a gang of vicious-looking pirates torching a village, then casually sailing off with stolen goods and kidnapped women in tow.
Scenes like this weren't unfamiliar in the One Piece manga—Arlong's crew had pulled similar stunts. But seeing it in a comic and witnessing it in real life? The impact was worlds apart.
As the pirates prepared to leave, they spotted the Blue Planet and, whistling and shouting crude remarks, turned their ship toward it, clearly looking to score another haul.
"…Are all pirates this brazen?" Bulma asked, frowning, clearly unsettled by the scene.
Hikari let out a soft sigh. "Yup. Why do you think they're called 'pirates'?"
She turned to Akame, giving her a quick nod. "Take care of them. All of them. Don't leave a single one."
"…"
Killing and saving people? That was Night Raid's bread and butter. No hesitation, no moral hang-ups—just business as usual.
Akame made quick work of the pirates, slicing through them with precision. Esdeath followed up, freezing their bodies and blood into solid blocks before tossing them into the sea to feed the fish. In mere moments, they'd handled everything from execution to "burial" in one seamless operation.
The women who'd been kidnapped by the pirates collapsed to the ground, too shaken to even breathe loudly. It wasn't until Kikyo and Tanjiro stepped in, offering kind words and returning their stolen belongings, that they shakily stood up, thanking the group profusely before leaving.
On the other side of the deck, Leone watched the women go, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Y'know, it's starting to feel like the people in this world aren't that different from the ones back in the Empire. Could there be someone like Minister Honest running things here, too?"
Hearing the blonde's musing, Hikari thought for a moment before responding casually. "Well, you could ask Brand—he'd probably know more. But if I had to say… this world might have a whole bunch of Minister Honests, except they've also got the traits of the Little Emperor. In theory, everyone in this world is their servant or plaything."
She paused, then added with a half-joking tone, "So, what do you think? Wanna spark another revolution here? You guys have experience now—maybe you'd do even better than last time."
"…Huh?" Leone's eyes widened, stunned.
The Celestial Dragons in the One Piece world were indeed a lot like Minister Honest. But the system here was completely different from the Akame ga Kill world, and explaining it in a few words was no easy task.
Leone hesitated, clearly mulling over how to respond.
Hikari had only thrown the idea out there casually. She flashed a grin. "Alright, let's drop that for now. We've finally come across a decent-sized island. Let's head into the town and check it out."
With that, she left a shadow clone behind to guard the Blue Planet while she and the others—Bulma, Esdeath, Eri, and Naruto—made their way through the docks to the bustling island.
The crowd here was noticeably denser. Traveling in a group of over a dozen people was a bit unwieldy, so at Bulma's suggestion, they split into two or three smaller groups, agreeing to meet up by the windmill in the town center at dusk.
Hikari stuck with Esdeath, Bulma, Eri, and Naruto as they wandered into the town together.