Chapter 198: The Fourth Empress of the Sea?
The battle between BIG MOM and the Dawn Pirates, as well as the confrontation between Akainu and BIG MOM, spread across the world along with photos taken by the reporters on the Navy's warship.
As for why there were reporters following them, it was, of course, because Akainu had recalled what Eric had done earlier. He wanted to use the reporters' cameras to show the world that he would wash away his shame with the blood of Eric 's crew. However, he never expected...
The day after escaping from BIG MOM, Eric , who was on deck, looking at his hands that had been returned to him, got the latest edition of the newspaper.
"When Akainu and BIG MOM were in the middle of their battle, the remaining members of the Charlotte family led the Pirate Fleet to push Akainu back. The brave Akainu fought valiantly against BIG MOM's Pirate Crew but was ultimately outnumbered, unfortunately getting injured and retreating..."
"Heh, Akainu's really unlucky, huh? Getting sent to the hospital again?" Eric laughed, then picked up another special edition titled, "Navy Admiral Continues to Pursue the Terrible Pirates for Over Ten Days."
He couldn't help but mock, "This old man really was lying in wait for us at Fish-Man Island?"
The article detailed the events of Akainu waiting at the surfacing location, hearing news about Eric , continuously pursuing them, and then encountering them in the Totland Sea, relentlessly chasing them, with descriptions of Akainu's expressions, behavior, and mental state...
"Is this a newspaper version of 'Weekly Idol'?"
He couldn't help but wonder if Akainu would get depressed when he saw this special edition.
Perona floated behind Eric , her eyes bulging from her sockets, "The Empress of the Sea... Eric has become the Empress of the Sea?!"
After a brief surprise, she immediately burst into laughter, "Hahaha..."
Gin , like a little fanboy, was quick to flatter him, "As expected of Captain Eric , he's already become the Empress of the Sea!"
At that moment, a few new bounties fell out of the newspaper.
"Notorious Pirate" Darren Eric , bounty 1.5 billion Berries.
"Ice Queen" Esdeath , bounty 1 billion Berries.
"Dual Pistols" Kurumi Tokisaki, bounty 500 million Berries.
"Hunter" Akame, bounty 480 million Berries.
"Magic Spear" Scáthach , bounty 700 million Berries.
"Little Witch" Porche, bounty 50 million Berries.
"Demolition Expert" Deidara, bounty 120 million Berries.
"Ugh~" Porche blushed with excitement, covering her face with her hands, her words contradicting her actions, "Am I already famous? It's still too early, no, no..."
"But Perona, Porche, weren't you both knocked out earlier?" Akame's blunt remark interrupted their daydreaming and simultaneously struck a blow to their hearts.
The two lowered their heads, wilting like frostbitten eggplants.
Esdeath grabbed the back of their collars, "Come on, I'm giving you extra training. You can't afford to be knocked out by an enemy!"
"Nooo!"
"Ugh~!"
"Hey! Why is my bounty so low? How can I increase it?" Deidara complained, clearly dissatisfied with the title. "This title... What is this? My ability is art, hmm. These guys don't understand art."
"Just defeat more powerful pirates," Eric shot him a look. "You didn't contribute much in this war; you actually caused more trouble."
"Poof!" Deidara, struck by a sharp comment, immediately fell into despair.
'The World Government is starting to trouble me again... this meaningless title...'
...
"Gulala!" Whitebeard laughed and drank, watching the Navy Admirals suffer.
"Puhaha~" He put down his jug, unfolded the newspaper, "Escaping from BIG MOM's clutches isn't easy, this little brat."
"Yeah," Marco, the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, agreed. "This is not something a pirate crew that's been sailing for only a year can do."
However, some pirates yelled out in dissatisfaction, "But old man! The newspaper openly claims that the fourth Empress of the Sea has arrived, and is even on par with you, old man. That's too much!"
"Exactly!"
"BIG MOM and Kaido are both long-established pirate kings, and being called the Empress of the Sea makes sense. But a pirate crew that has been sailing for only a year is being called the same thing as you... When we see them, we'll teach them a lesson!"
This meant they were not pleased.
"Enough," Marco half-opened his eyes. "It's just a title. The sea speaks through strength."
"Exactly," the large-bodied Jozu crossed his arms. "And this super rookie doesn't really have a conflict with us."
"No matter who they are, everyone is a child of the sea. Gudu," Whitebeard shrugged off the title issue. "Everyone has the freedom to sail the seas."
"But since they've caused a ruckus in BIG MOM's territory, they might come and make trouble in ours. We can't ignore them."
"At least for now, these brats will settle down for a while." Whitebeard smiled. "Every time they cause a big event, they'll hide for a while. They're not like those reckless pirates."
...
"Oh, good job, these brats." Shanks smiled kindly while holding the newspaper. "The fourth Empress of the Sea... this New World is getting more and more interesting."
"But, boss," Lucky Roux, still chewing on meat, mumbled with his mouth full, "Aren't you aiming for the Empress of the Sea position too? Won't their appearance mess up your plans?"
"I sailed for freedom, not for a title." Shanks looked ahead, smiling, "But a title can't make someone the Empress of the Sea. It requires the recognition of pirates, the Navy, and the world."
"Exactly," Ben Beckman, calmly analyzing, added, "The reason why the World Government is calling the Dawn Pirates the Empress of the Sea is probably to support them only to destroy them."
Hearing the vice-captain's words, the pirates all showed confused expressions.
Beckman explained, "We've clashed with the Whitebeard Pirates, BIG MOM Pirates, and Beast Pirates. If we only fought one of these big pirate crews and came out unharmed, would we be called the Empress of the Sea by now?"
"Yeah!" The others suddenly realized, as they had been gradually losing their fear of the Empress of the Sea after fighting these old pirate crews over the last year.
"There are still many well-known old pirate crews in the New World, and now a rookie crew is rising above them, they must be unhappy."
"Even for the Empress of the Sea title, they'll challenge the Dawn Pirates and bring them down. This is the World Government's goal: using pirate power to destroy the Dawn Pirates they hate."
"I see, as expected from the vice-captain!" A subordinate praised, still with some doubts, "But will these pirate crews really fall for what the World Government wants so easily?"
Ben Beckman glanced at him and firmly said, "Fame and power can drive people crazy. They'll definitely make a move on the Dawn Pirates."
But in his heart, he thought, 'If you all had normal brains, I wouldn't be so tired.'
Ben Beckman looked at his reflection in the sea. His once beautiful hair now had some gray strands mixed in.
'Already gray hair... This is too early...'
(END CHAPTER)
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