As soon as Anna stepped into the room, she heard Marco's voice — calm but slightly strained — coming from across the table. He was speaking into a Den Den Mushi, its snail eyes mimicking his expression exactly.
"Dad, it's just a rumor. Nothing actually happened."
From the receiver came a booming, familiar laugh."Gurararara! Don't worry, my son. If that red-haired brat really dares to steal my daughter-in-law from you, I'll pound him into dust!"
Marco's brow twitched. "Dad, I told you — it's just a rumor."
Whitebeard's voice only got louder. "Marco! Don't you worry, all your brothers will back you up!"
At the same time—
"I told you all already, it was just a coincidence!" Izo said helplessly, surrounded by his crewmates' suspicious looks.
Sachi, however, had a completely different attitude."Don't worry, sis! I'll help Marco take down that red-haired Shanks myself! Brothers, prepare to celebrate our victory!"
"Now that's reliable!" someone shouted back. "We'll be waiting for your good news!"
Meanwhile, chaos had broken out inside the tavern. Beckman was juggling Den Den Mushi calls from every direction.
"Yeah, yeah, calm down! There's no war going on — no, we don't need reinforcements!" He hung up, only for the snail to ring again immediately. "No, really, we're fine! You don't need to come help!"
All around them, the Red Hair Pirates were answering similar calls, trying to explain that the story in Morgans' newspaper was completely fake.
Anna stood by the counter, staring at the scene, feeling as if she were watching a storm she accidentally caused. How did things get this out of hand?
Marco, noticing her, turned the Den Den Mushi toward her. "Dad, Anna's back."
The snail's face transformed into Whitebeard's trademark grin. "Gurararara! Little girl, be my daughter-in-law for Marco, will you? Don't go near that red-haired punk again! And if you don't like Marco, I've got plenty of other sons to choose from!"
Anna froze like a statue. Her mouth opened — no words came out.
Marco noticed her expression and quickly stepped in. "Dad, please, stop saying weird things."
The Den Den Mushi's face scrunched into a teasing smirk. "If you weren't so useless, boy, I wouldn't have to help you!"
"DAD!"
"Gurarara! My son, no need to be shy! You'll find a wife sooner or later!"
Marco muttered darkly, "Why don't you find me a mother first, then?"
There was a loud click. The line went dead.
Marco sighed in relief, while Anna stood there, blinking in confusion.
"Don't worry, Anna," Marco said, patting her head gently. "We'll stay here for a few days, just in case some idiot pirates get any ideas."
Anna tilted her head toward the Den Den Mushi, whose face still looked faintly traumatized from the shouting. "But… is everything okay with your dad?"
"It's fine," Marco replied, looking a little embarrassed. "Most of this is just rumor. The real problem is you — you're the one in danger now. A lot of pirates are probably going to come looking for you."
"Looking for me?!" Anna blinked, completely puzzled. She touched her face, then glanced down at herself. "Why? I'm not that beautiful, am I?"
Izo, who had just hung up his own call, chimed in from across the room, "Marco's right. Every idiot with a bounty and a ship will be after you now. You're officially the woman two of the Four Emperors are 'fighting' over."
Marco nodded, expression serious. "Exactly. Which means we're stepping up your training starting tomorrow."
Anna looked at the thick training manual in Marco's hand and felt a wave of dread settle over her. Great. Just great.
Across the Seas… The World Reacts
Beasts Pirates – On Onigashima
"Hah! If the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates actually go to war, I'm in!" Kaido laughed thunderously, lifting a massive jug of sake.
"But honestly, it sounds fake," King muttered, reading the same paper. "Two Emperors going to war over a woman? Even Morgans isn't that stupid… or maybe he is."
"Boss, boss!" Queen shouted, holding the paper up to the light. "You can't even see her face! It's all covered by Shanks and Marco! C'mon, how beautiful do you think she is? If there is a fight, can I go snatch her for myself?"
Big Mom Pirates – Whole Cake Island
"This damn Morgans is getting more and more ridiculous!" Big Mom grumbled, chomping down on a towering cream puff.
"Why can't it be true, Mama?" Charlotte Cracker asked, reading over her shoulder.
"Mamahaha! If those two idiots really go to war over a woman, I'll gladly bite off a chunk of both their territories!"
Katakuri crossed his arms, frowning. "There's no way two of the Four Emperors are that foolish. Still…" He turned to his subordinates. "Check with our underground networks. I want confirmation."
An hour later, the reports came back: false story. Morgans had exaggerated again.
Marine Headquarters – Marineford
"Hahaha! Two of the Four Emperors fighting over a woman! You can't make this up!" Garp burst out laughing, senbei crumbs scattering over Sengoku's desk.
"Garp, stop making a mess." Sengoku brushed the crumbs aside with a sigh. "What worries me is if this fake story ends up causing a real fight."
"Want me to go check it out?" Garp grinned. "Kinda curious to meet this girl myself."
"No. Kizaru's already in that area on a mission — he can handle it."
Akainu slammed his fist on the table. "Why waste the chance? If the two pirate groups start fighting, we should wipe them both out! Pirates shouldn't exist in this world."
"You're too radical," Sengoku said sharply. "We don't even know if they'll actually fight."
Kuzan leaned back in his chair, pulling down his blindfold. "Let's just wait and see. I'm heading out."
Revolutionary Army – Headquarters
"Wow, this girl must be something special!" Ivankov said dramatically, holding up the newspaper. "I'd love to meet her!"
Dragon didn't even look up from his papers. "That news is clearly fake. Worry more about the countries still at war."
Ivankov threw his hands up. "Ohhh, don't ask me! My head's already big enough from this nonsense!"
Sabaody Archipelago – Shakky's Rip-Off Bar
"Oh my, Rayleigh! Come look at this!" Shakky called out, holding the newspaper.
Rayleigh barely looked up from his drink. "You're not seriously believing that, are you? Even that red-haired kid isn't stupid enough to start a war over a woman."
"Really?" Shakky raised a brow. "You trust him that much? Love makes people do crazy things, you know."
Rayleigh chuckled, draining the last of his sake. "Hahaha! Doesn't matter. I'm long retired. Let them do whatever foolish things they want."
He stood, setting his empty bottle down.
"Where are you going?" Shakky called after him.
"The wine's gone," he said over his shoulder. "Time to go earn some more money."