In recent days, Teach, captain of the Nightfall Pirates, had become the name spreading most swiftly across the seas. Young, terrifyingly strong, and capable of destroying a powerful nation, he represented a level of force far beyond what ordinary pirate crews could ever muster.
Morgans only amplified this storm. His bold endorsements, framing Teach as a potential overlord and a genuine contender for the title of an Emperor of the New World, awakened the curiosity of countless readers. Even those veteran powerhouses who had previously dismissed Teach began to pay close attention. They wanted to see whether this youth who had walked out of the Whitebeard Pirates truly carried the makings of a king.
Possessing Conqueror's Haki alone proved that his potential was real. In the New World, Conqueror's Haki users were not as rare as legends claimed. Among pirate captains with bounties above four or five hundred million, those independent of major forces frequently possessed it. They were not as numerous as fish in a river, yet still well over a hundred individuals.
Video watching had also become the main entertainment for pirates. With an event of this magnitude, no one intended to miss the newest release.
Morgans was all smiles. His newspaper sales had exploded. Five million copies printed, five million sold. It surpassed all previous records. With no true competitors in the market, he held absolute dominance. He had believed the issue would sell well, but the results overwhelmed even his highest expectations. He regretted not printing more.
Other news agencies scrambled behind the scenes, hoping to ride the wave. Morgans seized that window before they gathered themselves. He ordered another five million prints, filling the market before anyone else could react.
The profits would reach the hundreds of millions, possibly billions. Yet money was never his true pursuit. The thrill came from big news. With the newspaper already shaking the world, the next explosion was ready.
The edited video of Teach's battle had been completed after an entire night of effort by his newly formed professional video department. It was a full visual spectacle, composed of four shifting primary angles. Morgans only regretted that there were not more.
Two reporters had risked their lives to approach the battlefield. By the time they arrived, the fight was already raging, but their footage enriched the final presentation. Other angles captured the battles of several Nightfall Pirates cadres as well.
Music experts had composed a powerful score specifically for the confrontation. The World Economic Journal now housed reporters, scriptwriters, composers, and video specialists. Morgans was harvesting the world in every direction.
He deliberately separated the newspaper release from the video. If both had come at once, many would have rushed straight to the video and skipped the paper. Even cheap newspapers produced significant profit when sold in such volume. Morgans wanted revenue from both ends. Half of the video profits would be shared with the Nightfall Pirates.
The anticipation was enormous. The following day, at eight in the morning, the video would play worldwide. Those without their own video Den Den Mushi gathered in front of large screens. Officials had purchased the recording and connected it to projection shells. Others crowded around friends who had the devices. Video Den Den Mushi had sold out entirely.
To support the industry's growth, Morgans set a reasonable price for the recording. Thirty thousand Berries, equal to five plates of steak. Not cheap, not extreme.
The screen lit up. Teach appeared with the Nightfall Pirates' emblem, the three skulls crossed by bones like drumsticks.
The title shimmered in bold, enormous characters: Dark Emperor Marshall D. Teach. Morgans had chosen it personally. It fit Teach's darkness, his Devil Fruit, and the name of his pirate crew.
The video began with Teach and Gar standing atop the palace wall. Their brief exchange revealed that the Nightfall Pirates had invaded the Kraken Kingdom for a single objective. The audience already understood this meant the Devil Fruit hidden within the royal treasury.
Two figures faced twenty thousand elite soldiers. The contrast in sheer presence was immense. Yet Teach and Gar stood relaxed, unshaken.
Then the world seemed to erupt. A burst of Conqueror's Haki swept across the palace grounds. People watching the video widened their eyes. Even seasoned fighters inhaled sharply.
A massive army with a powerful aura, capable of intimidating an entire kingdom, collapsed in moments. Most soldiers hit the ground unconscious. Only a few hundred guards forced themselves upright, trembling, pale, some dropping to their knees. All of it had been crushed by Teach's spirit alone.
The world was stunned. Teach's Conqueror's Haki did not simply surpass the ordinary. Its quality approached the presence of the strongest men alive.
Those who knew Teach watched with complicated emotions. Mobius and Voss from Beast Island. Mostima's group on White Sand Island. Annie and her father on Seth Island. Monica and Modi on Arkas Island. The Whitebeard Pirates aboard their scattered fleet.
Modi narrowed his eyes. He could no longer measure Teach's depth. That alone revealed how far Teach had surpassed him.
The battle shifted to Teach and King Jones. Teach dominated early, suppressing Jones in physical combat and both types of Haki. Jones possessed Conqueror's Haki as well, yet it shook uselessly against Teach's overwhelming will.
Forced into a corner, Jones revealed his hidden power. His Ancient Zoan awakened into a colossal giant Kraken. Countless tentacles whipped violently. His monstrous regenerative abilities made him nearly immortal. Teach's raw attacks could not tear him apart, and Jones still failed to land meaningful damage. The two entered a burning stalemate.
The footage changed. Pito and Kaguya appeared, two children no older than twelve or thirteen. Their overwhelming combat power left viewers speechless. With fluid, terrifying skill, they mercilessly crushed their opponents.
People muttered in disbelief. How could children be this strong? Many began questioning what they had been doing with their own lives.
Pito, user of the Cat Cat Fruit. Kaguya, wielder of the Bone Bone Fruit. Two prodigies whose future potential frightened even New World veterans.
A chorus of odd chatter rose as viewers admired how strikingly cute Pito looked or how handsome Kaguya would become as he grew. The comments spread like a strange epidemic, yet somehow most people agreed.
The scene shifted once more to Pouf. His devil Fruit immediately caught the eye of experienced fighters. Its potential was immense. His bursts of wind pressure and violent currents were powerful enough to shake the air and tear into the ground. His development path was clear. Many compared its structure to Whitebeard's Tremor model.
Viewers fell silent as his face filled the screen. Golden hair, light build, butterfly wings, long antennae. His expression was focused, striking from every angle. Miles, fighting below him in hybrid form, was just as eye catching.
Pouf became an instant idol. From elderly grandmothers to young girls, and even a surprising number of men, hearts began to flutter.
Miles' performance impressed many as well. His tail delivered stealthy killing blows, turning what most had considered a useless limb into a deadly advantage. Zoan users everywhere began reconsidering their own biology. His tail whip technique even incorporated Rankyaku, doubling the force and giving him an overwhelming edge.
Pouf broke through during the battle, releasing a clean and powerful slash that ended the fight decisively.
The camera swung to Wallace next. The battlefield had stretched from the palace courtyard to all four gates of the capital.
Wallace confronted two skilled bounty hunters alone, one of them a Devil Fruit user. As a Steel Steel Fruit user, he crushed them with sheer strength. His molten steel fists distorted the air and forced both of his opponents to retreat under overwhelming heat and power. He defeated them with ruthless efficiency.
A flicker of motion pulled the screen toward Lafitte. Blood shadows flashed across the sky as gunshots echoed. His bat wings carried him across the rooftops. Very little footage existed, since gunfights in the dark offered reporters almost nothing to capture.
The image shifted again. Nightfall Pirates clashed with the kingdom's guards. The battle was brutal. Despite being outnumbered, Teach's crew held the advantage everywhere. Their average strength was leagues above typical pirates.
Two figures stood out. Clemons and Daz Bonez, the young monks.
Clemons shouted joyfully as he spotted himself on screen. Muscles rippled so absurdly that many felt their jaws loosen. Bullets flattened against his chest. Swords skidded uselessly off his arms. He plowed through the guards like a living cannonball and caught every hidden attacker with precise control of his muscle fibers.
Daz Bonez transformed into a blade human, carving a path forward with a razor edged body. His attack patterns were wild and relentless.
Two more Devil Fruit users. Two more prodigies. They were still limited by age, yet so far beyond their peers that viewers could only shake their heads.
Only monsters like Big Mom had stood at such a level while still children.