"Hey! Over here."
Spotting a News Coo flying past ten thousand meters out, Aus flicked his wrist. A newspaper materialized in his hand.
Before, the seagull might've freaked out for a second, flapping around in panic.
But now? Trained professional.
Less than a second of confusion...
Salute!
Didn't know which direction, so it went full three-sixty.
"Nice."
Aus chuckled, leaning back in his chair as he cracked open the paper. His eyes locked on immediately.
"Turbulent Seas—Three Emperors and One King!"
"Mere Sea Emperors? That's the King of the Dark World!"
"Totto Land Throwdown: Black Emperor VS Beasts & Big Mom—Total Domination!"
Staring at headlines that got more ridiculous by the second, Aus's mouth twitched.
The hell?
Total domination?
Skimming through—aside from analyzing the sea's power structure and calling out the active pirate overlords—
The rest was pure Totto Land hype.
Real perceptive too. Not one shot of Aus injured or gassed. Cleverly dodged all that.
Instead? Him grabbing Linlin to smash Kaido, punching him into the dirt, four clones crushing both Emperors—every damn moment front and center.
Wrapped up in slick language that created this illusion—
Like Aus fighting two Sea Emperors was a casual Tuesday.
Hell, at the end there was even a shot of Big Mom and Kaido sitting exhausted after their final Conquering Seas blast.
"This time the hype might actually match Captain Roger's..."
Big Mom and Kaido both controlled massive New World territory—great pirates with Emperor potential and world-class bounties.
And two monsters like that got beaten bloody by Aus.
Especially that mysterious instant clone technique...
One Aus was already nightmare fuel.
Four?
Even if the world's strongest man showed up—Whitebeard Edward Newgate himself—he'd probably lose half his life just escaping!
"Papers can hype this hard? Your lapdog's really earning his keep."
Little Sand had a cigar between his teeth, standing behind Aus with narrowed eyes on the paper.
Before was whatever, but this time he'd watched the whole damn fight. Whether it matched the paper? Crystal clear.
That's why he was giving Aus shit.
He'd admit—maybe Aus didn't use the fighting style that maxed out his power.
But still. One guy crushing two Sea Emperors without a scratch? That was laying it on thick.
Hearing that, Aus just shrugged.
"Didn't tell him to. My people just get it."
"Plus..."
Aus glanced at Crocodile, smiling as he pulled two papers from under the newspaper.
"Instead of worrying about that, check the new bounties."
"Bounties?"
Little Sand grabbed the poster. Right there—his own face with that underworld queen vibe.
Sand Crocodile - Crocodile
Logia - Sand-Sand Fruit User
Bounty: 1,564,000,000 Berries
Extremely Dangerous - Dead or Alive
"Decent jump. Marines always doing pointless shit."
Little Sand's mouth showed disdain, but those slightly upturned lips gave away his mood.
For pirates, bounty increases were the ultimate recognition of strength and threat—proof of status on the seas.
"Yeah? Check the next one."
Aus rested with his hands behind his head, cracking one eye to watch the smug Little Sand, tracking his expression.
Sure enough,
Next second his face completely changed.
"Wha—What?! That Mihawk bastard!"
Crocodile's expression shifted hard. Black lines and veins popped on his forehead. The paper crumpled in his grip.
Wanted Poster
Hawkeye - Dracule Mihawk
Great Swordsman, Master of All Three Haki, Unmatched Sword Talent
Bounty: 3,318,000,000 Berries
Dead or Alive - Extremely Dangerous
"Instead of trashing others, look at yourself. Did your bounty go up? By how much?"
"Totto Land battle—you stole way less spotlight than Little Hawk. You just played support."
Aus's poisonous tongue kicked in again, making Crocodile flush red. The cigar nearly snapped in his mouth.
The girl's broken defense and blushing said everything.
"If that Observation Haki bastard Katakuri hadn't tied me up, I wouldn't have let Mihawk steal the show!"
"Little Hawk cut King with one full-power strike though."
"..."
SNAP—
The cigar broke clean. With a flash of sand, he vanished.
Little Sand's face looked like death, but against Aus's words, he had zero comeback.
Even knowing Aus could be infuriating, his temper always made him blow up.
Thought his bounty jumped a ton. Turned out it wasn't even half theirs. Remembering his earlier smugness, he felt like a complete clown.
Facing Aus's mockery,
He didn't argue anymore. Just silently swore—
Next fight, he'd absolutely prove himself!
...
This news, just like Aus figured, instantly reignited the seas that'd been quiet too long.
Mary Geoise, the Holy Land
Room of Authority
"According to footage from the scene, even without fully integrating his ability, Aus's raw combat power alone already matches a Marine Admiral..."
Five figures sat or stood, each gripping a newspaper, waving off the CP0 messenger.
"Correct."
"But that's not the real problem."
Saint Maz narrowed his eyes, picking up another intelligence report from the desk. His expression clearly wasn't pretty.
This was intel from CP operatives planted with Morgans. The content concerned him way more—
The "Dark World Conference Summons" issued by Aus, sole King of the underworld.
News like this mattered way more than any war between great pirates.
After reading the report, all five of the world's highest authorities went silent.
Honestly, this conference emerging made even them feel troubled.
"What's the move? Do we act? Underworld interests include plenty of World Government shares. If we hand it all to Aus..."
Saint Nusjuro, gripping his long blade, suggested.
"Won't work!"
Words barely out before Saint Saturn shot it down, face grave.
"That action would tear our relationship with Aus beyond repair. No coming back.
The cost would far exceed those shares!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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