An hour later.
A CP0 agent, clad in a pure white uniform with a mask covering his face, stepped into the office and placed a sealed document onto Kong's desk.
"Commander-in-Chief Kong, Saint Saturn ordered that this item must be presented to you immediately."
Kong tore open the seal; inside was only a brand new wanted poster.
The moment his gaze fell upon the wanted poster, Kong's brows furrowed, and he sharply gasped:
"The Most Evil Criminal in History: Griffin D. Wade"
Below was a hand-drawn color photograph, Wayne's face clearly visible.
Bounty: 5,000,000,000 Berries
Dead or alive!
"A first bounty of five billion?!" Kong suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on Mariejois above the Red Line, and exclaimed, "What the hell did this guy do in Mariejois?!"
Originally, he should have been stationed at Mariejois, but because that madman Golden Lion Shiki attacked the headquarters, he was temporarily transferred to Marineford to oversee and command. He never expected such an earth-shattering event to occur right under his nose last night!
He had not yet received detailed information on the specific damage to Mariejois, but this unprecedented wanted poster was enough to indicate that the severity of the problem far exceeded imagination.
Kong's fingers unconsciously tapped on the desk as he fell into deep thought.
He stared at the young face on the wanted poster, feeling an immense pressure, like a storm was brewing.
"It seems... I can't wait any longer," he thought to himself. He had originally planned to further temper Sengoku for a couple more years, allowing him to accumulate more experience before completely taking over as Fleet Admiral.
But with Roger's last words before his death, a new wave had begun to sweep the world, and time was running out for the navy.
The navy must have a strong commander, and the Admiral positions must be filled as soon as possible.
Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan, these three young men dubbed as "monsters," possessed immense potential, but their current strength and experience were still a considerable distance from being able to stand alone as Admirals.
A period of transition... Kong sighed in his heart, but the current situation was pressing. If absolutely necessary, he would have to push them into action.
World Economic Journal Headquarters
"President! President!" An editor excitedly waved a stack of photos as he rushed into Morgans' office, "We got them! We got them all! The devastation of Mariejois! Absolutely shocking first-hand material! When do we publish? Should we lay it out and print it immediately?!"
Morgans was leisurely preening his feathers, and at the sudden sound, he merely raised an eyelid and casually flapped his arms, appearing remarkably calm.
"What's the rush?" he said unhurriedly, a shrewd glint in his eyes. "Now is not the time."
The editor was taken aback: "Ah? President, this is a huge news story! The whole world is waiting for news!"
"Idiot!" Morgans poked the editor's head with the tip of his arm-wing. "What good are just photos? We don't even know who the main character is who turned Mariejois upside down! If we publish news like that, readers will only think we're making things up! It's not explosive enough! Not sensational enough!"
The editor scratched his head, then suddenly his eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh. "I understand! President! You're waiting... waiting for the World Government's official wanted poster?!"
"Guahahah!" Morgans let out a satisfied laugh. "Not bad, not bad, you're finally catching on! Just think about it."
Morgans spread his wings. "Holy Land Mariejois destroyed! The noble Celestial Dragons suffered heavy casualties! For news like this, if there isn't a clear, officially certified 'devil' as a target, where will the public's curiosity vent? How can our report become the 'truth' that ignites the world?!"
He paced like a bird, his feathers trembling slightly with excitement:
"So, we must wait, wait for that wanted poster with an astronomical bounty to be issued! By then..."
"The photos in our hands will be irrefutable evidence of the devil's crimes! At that time, no matter what else is behind the truth, we can use this illustrated report to finalize this earth-shattering event! To make the whole world go crazy!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another editor burst through the door, waving a freshly printed wanted poster: "President! President! Marineford emergency fax, wanted criminal 'Wade', bounty five billion Berries!"
After a moment of stunned silence, Morgans immediately let out a "Guahahah" laugh. "It really does come when you talk about it!"
Then, Morgans snatched the wanted poster, looking at the young face on it and the suffocating string of numbers below. Morgans' smile at this moment was harder to stop than an AK.
"What a Most Evil Criminal in History, it must be him! If it weren't for him, I couldn't imagine the reason for such a high bounty."
With an excited heart and trembling hands, Morgans seemed to already see the entire sea boiling over because of the World Economic Journal's report.
Morgans suddenly turned, letting out an excited roar. "Everyone, drop everything you're doing and go into a state of maximum readiness! Once my personally crafted report is finished, I want today's newspaper to spread to every corner of the world at the fastest possible speed!"
Let the notorious name of this Most Evil Criminal in History spread throughout the world!!!
Half an hour later...
Morgans carefully held up the front-page proof, which still carried the fresh scent of ink.
"Guahahah, perfect, absolutely perfect!"
Then, he suddenly turned and pointed at all the editors, who were already standing by in full alertness. "What are you waiting for?! Start all the printing presses immediately! Our readers are waiting to see our report!!!"
Moby Dick Deck
"Pops! Pops!! Something big has happened!!"
The 21-year-old Marco, his oval face still bearing a hint of youth, was now flushed crimson with extreme shock. He tightly clutched a newspaper and rushed towards Whitebeard, who was having a drink, drawing curious glances from many crewmates around.
Whitebeard, Edward Newgate was leisurely holding a giant sake bowl. Seeing Marco's panicked expression, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Gurararara! Marco, how old are you, boy? Why are you still acting like a clumsy kid?"
Whitebeard swirled his sake bowl. "Go on, what news has you so flustered this time?"
Marco abruptly unfolded the newspaper, pointing at the headline that occupied the entire front page, and exclaimed:
"It's Mariejois! Holy Land Mariejois was attacked by a guy named 'Wade'!"
"The newspaper says many Celestial Dragons died, and half of Mariejois was destroyed!"
"What did you say?!"