Morgans burst into laughter, his wings fluttering as he tossed aside the reports in his hands. Papers scattered across the room like startled birds.
"Haha! Finally, real news. These little scuffles in the New World were putting me to sleep. This one will shake the world."
On a remote island, inside the mobile headquarters of the World Economic News Agency, Morgans held a newly received visual feed. His grin stretched wide. For a man known as Big News Morgans, the dry spell of recent weeks had been torture. The New World war was reaching its end, the Marines had withdrawn almost entirely, and only the G1 branch remained as a symbolic shield for the Celestial Dragons.
The war had worn everyone down. The Marines were battered. Even the pirates were worn thin. With most top Marine forces gone, the sea had entered a strange period of calm. No grand battles, no massive swings of power, nothing but small clashes that barely deserved ink.
But Morgans refused to sit quietly. If other agencies scooped a major incident, it would be an embarrassment he could not forgive. As the leading voice of global journalism, he had to stay ahead. His own obsession with grand stories ensured he would never tolerate silence for long.
Fortunately, the world had changed. This age of great pirates had given him something new: country-toppling events, pirates rewriting the balance of power, and above all, the meteoric rise of Teach. It was Teach who had inspired Morgans to pursue something more vivid than simple photographs.
He had trained a new breed of reporter birds, elite ones with stronger bodies and keener intelligence. These birds carried cameras along with visual Den Den Mushi. They could broadcast battles live. They could record wars with cinematic detail. It cost an absurd amount of money, and the opposition within the agency had been fierce. But Morgans had pushed through.
And it worked. Properly edited, the story footage played like a film. Buyers across the world could pay to watch it on their Den Den Mushi, enjoying events moments after they happened. Pirates even watched them at sea to pass the time. Production of visual Den Den Mushi skyrocketed in response.
The industry was still young, but word was spreading fast. Once the right kind of footage hit the world, this new form of storytelling would take over entirely.
And now, Morgans had exactly what he needed: the complete recording of the Nightfall Pirates' clash in the Kraken Kingdom's capital. One of his elite reporter birds had been stationed on Kanosfa Island specifically because of Teach. When Teach released his controlled burst of Conqueror's Haki, the bird had avoided its effects and captured everything that followed.
It had transmitted the full recording back to headquarters before any other agency could get their hands on it.
Morgans held the visual Den Den Mushi above his head. "Everyone gather up! We have work to do."
Reporters, editors, typists, and analysts rushed toward him. Some grumbled under their breath, but none dared to ignore Big News Morgans when he used that tone.
"What is it this time, President?"
"I was polishing a piece about a minor brawl and now it is probably useless."
Notebook pages flipped open as they crowded around him. Morgans hopped onto a chair, puffing out his chest.
"Prepare yourselves. This one is real news. Divide into two groups. Half of you prepare to write. The other half watch and note the sections we can cut. We will shorten the footage then edit for maximum impact."
They nodded quickly. "Understood."
"Good. Stop everything else. We are working overtime."
He set the visual Den Den Mushi down. The screen flickered before an image formed: Teach and Gar facing the Kraken Kingdom's king in the rain. Raindrops clung to the lens at first, making the picture blur. Then the reporter bird flew under an eave and cleaned the lens with its dry feathers. The image became crisp.
"Look there. Another reporter is filming from a different angle," one editor pointed out. "That angle is perfect."
"Get that footage later and merge the two perspectives," Morgans said. "Transitions between angles will make it feel like a real feature film."
Nobody disagreed. The World Economic News Agency had reach, influence, and the power to obtain whatever footage they wanted. As the largest news organization in the world, their dominance was unmatched. Even the World Government feared Morgans' ability to control global public opinion.
The footage continued. Teach unleashed his Conqueror's Haki. Guards collapsed in waves. Weapons clattered on stone.
"This is Conqueror's Haki! Incredible!" Morgans cawed, wings flapping in excitement.
"Captain, calm down. There is more," an editor said.
The feed shifted into Teach's battle with Jones. From Jones's grotesque transformation into a sea monster to Teach's last stand, the screen captured every moment. Eventually Nelson arrived carrying the trigger of the entire incident: a Devil Fruit.
Teach ate the pale purple fruit in one bite.
"Pause there," Morgans ordered. "Check which Devil Fruit that is. And think of a headline."
One researcher flipped quickly through a thick Devil Fruit encyclopedia, comparing the patterns.
"Found it. Logia type. The Dark-Dark Fruit."
He showed the matching illustration. Perfect match.
Morgans' expression shifted into businesslike seriousness. "Before this footage is released, contact the Nightfall Pirates. Use my Den Den Mushi number. Teach will become a major figure in the future. Do not risk offending him. Even if the battle was streamed across the kingdom already, we need to handle compensation properly."
"Already dispatched someone," an editor replied. "They are still on Kanosfa Island."
The agency always shared profits from these videos. Characters involved in the footage received a percentage of earnings, split according to their prominence. It was a gesture of respect and a way to avoid unnecessary grudges. The World Economic News Agency had no intention of making enemies of powerful pirates or Marines.
Though publicly they claimed a fifty-percent revenue share, there were internal loopholes. If someone in the footage died, their share quietly returned to the company instead of going to surviving family members. Those funds became part of the agency's operational resources.
The system had already changed lives. Some Marine officers had become unexpectedly wealthy because they appeared in videos that portrayed their valor. Marine academies even played certain recordings to inspire new recruits, though those were filmed by Marines themselves rather than Morgans' organization.
Not every video was uplifting. Some showed pirates massacring civilians or destroying villages. Others captured Marines being wiped out. The world saw horrors they had never witnessed. A peaceful town could become a nightmare in minutes.
And that, Morgans knew, was why people kept watching.
The world craved truth, even the ugly parts.
And he was the one who delivered it.