Early the next morning, explosive news about the Nightfall Pirates erupted without warning, dominating the front page of the World Economic News.
"Marine Fleet Completely Annihilated. Nightfall Pirates Achieve Total Victory with Zero Casualties!"
"Vice Admiral Falls. The Nightfall Pirates Display Absolute Dominance. How Will the Marines Respond?"
"Dark-Dark Fruit vs. Crush-Crush Fruit!"
"The Most Vicious Devil Fruit. The True Bane of Ability Users!"
"The Dark Emperor's Path to Kingship Is Unstoppable!"
"Only Two Figures in the Marines Are Feared by the Dark Emperor!"
It was not just the World Economic News. Newspapers across the globe, all operating under the World Economic News Agency, released synchronized reports. Every headline exalted the Nightfall Pirates and their captain, Marshall D. Teach.
In stark contrast, the Marines were mercilessly criticized. Their failures were magnified, their incompetence laid bare. Photographs showed decks piled with Marine corpses, while the Nightfall Pirates stood unscathed. Not a single casualty.
No embellishment was required. The outcome alone was enough to shake the world.
The Nightfall Pirates had once again announced themselves. They had taken the head of a Marine Vice Admiral, and not just any Vice Admiral. Brom was a user of the Crush-Crush Fruit, a terrifying Paramecia whose destructive power was detailed extensively in the paper.
Anyone who read the report understood immediately. This was a top-tier Devil Fruit, one capable of erasing matter itself, comparable to Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, or at least not far behind it.
Even more chilling was the exposed information about the Dark-Dark Fruit.
A Devil Fruit that nullified other Devil Fruits.
A Devil Fruit that preyed upon ability users.
For countless pirates and powerhouses around the world, especially those who relied on Devil Fruits, those words alone were enough to inspire dread.
At the very end of the paper, in bold print, a single line sealed the anticipation.
"Full battle footage will be broadcast today at 4 PM."
Compared to before, Morgans's organization had grown larger and more refined. Their efficiency had reached a frightening level. Millions of copies were printed overnight, sold out instantly, and more presses were already running.
This footage was destined to be watched.
As the world consumed the news, people began to truly grasp how violently their era was changing. Even those who once ignored such matters now followed every update closely, eager to witness how the balance of power would shift.
This included the great pirates of the New World and the hidden monsters scattered across the seas. The majority of them were Devil Fruit users. Only a rare few relied purely on martial arts or swordsmanship.
The phrase "bane of ability users" struck especially hard.
They wanted to see it with their own eyes.
At Marine Headquarters, fury and pressure filled the room.
"That rotten bird," Sengoku roared, slamming his palm onto the camphorwood table. "He dared to publish everything. This intelligence is priceless, and he just leaked it to the entire world. Teach shouldn't want his abilities exposed either."
"No," Tsuru replied calmly, shaking her head as she pointed to the headlines. "With footage circulating at this scale, secrets like this cannot remain hidden forever. Techniques are always exposed eventually. This only proves one thing."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Teach no longer cares. He believes he has fully matured."
A Marine officer sneered. "Arrogant. Conceited. Does he really think he understands the Marines after sailing for just a few years?"
"The Marines' foundation is not something pirates can comprehend," another added firmly.
They were the rulers of the seas. Neither the Whitebeard Pirates nor the Flying Pirates could stand against the Navy alone. Only an alliance of monsters could threaten them.
"We already prepared ourselves mentally for Brom's fleet to be wiped out," Tsuru said evenly. "The Nightfall Pirates leave no survivors. What matters now is how Brom was defeated, and how far Teach's strength has truly advanced."
Her final words confirmed what many had suspected.
Teach had grown.
"One thing must be acknowledged," Tsuru continued. "The Dark Emperor himself is a monster. He does not sleep. He trains constantly, enduring the pain of sleeplessness to sharpen himself. He lacks neither willpower nor charisma. He is already fully formed, and yet he continues to grow at an alarming speed."
Silence fell across the room.
This was not fearmongering. It was fact.
No one doubted that once the Nightfall Pirates entered the New World, Teach would carve out his dominance with frightening ease.
"Why did such a monster have to become a pirate?" someone muttered bitterly.
"Relax," another officer said, forcing a smile. "We still have Sakazuki and the other two. And we have the future."
The Marines' new generation, led by Sakazuki and the other Logia candidates, consisted of elite graduates from Zephyr's training camp. Many had already demonstrated exceptional talent.
Those words brought some comfort.
In the New World war, the Marines had lost countless soldiers and several Vice Admirals. Without Zephyr's elite training camp filling the gaps, the Navy would have faced a severe talent crisis.
It was precisely for this reason that Marine leadership had spent an entire year persuading Zephyr to return. With encouragement from old comrades like Garp and Sengoku, he had finally emerged from his self-reproach and resumed training the future of the Marines.
Even so, pirates were no less monstrous.
Every New World Overlord was a beast in their own right.
"Brom died," a commodore said quietly, clenching his fists. "And he took five thousand elites with him. Four captains. Eight commodores."
Especially those officers. The backbone of the Marines. Among them could have been future Vice Admirals.
They had all died for nothing.
The room fell silent.
Far away, in the New World, a pirate ship cut across the sea.
"This guy's really been active lately," Route muttered, staring at the newspaper.
At the bow stood a tall man holding the paper, deep in thought.
"Has he reached this level already?" Erik murmured.
Acid Man Erik, now a rising Overlord candidate, had grown rapidly over the past four years. His bounty stood at 1.146 billion Berries. He had once fought Teach himself.
In the New World war, Erik had faced two Marine Vice Admirals alone. One died. The other was crippled beyond recovery.
Even so, Erik knew the truth.
Teach had surpassed him.
He was already standing at a height Erik could only reach after years of accumulation.
Across the world, countless eyes turned toward the broadcast.
The scale of Brom's punitive fleet was now public. A Vice Admiral with a top-tier Paramecia. Four Rear Admirals. Eight Commodores. Five thousand elite Marines.
And yet, the Nightfall Pirates had annihilated them without a single loss.
How?
The footage began.
The clash erupted immediately, violent and unrelenting. Teach's Black Hole devoured Brom's Crushing Impact, a sight that stunned viewers worldwide.
In close combat, the two seemed evenly matched. Brom even held the advantage, yet he could not harm Teach.
The footage slowed, revealing every exchange in brutal clarity.
The Crush-Crush Fruit's destructive power was horrifying. Air shattered. Seawater vanished. It evoked memories of Whitebeard himself.
Then the tide shifted.
Dark gravity crushed the battlefield. Marines were slaughtered below as the Nightfall Pirates advanced with overwhelming force.
Viewers finally noticed the shadow armor coating the pirates, blocking fatal blows.
Attention then turned to a single figure.
Redyat.
He sat calmly at the bow of the Lucky Goddess, untouched by battle. Sharp-eyed viewers immediately sensed it.
This man mattered.
When Brom turned his final attack downward, everyone held their breath.
Teach did not move.
Then a shadow flashed.
"Dragon's Breath."
A black pillar of light erupted upward, colliding with the Crushing Impact and erasing it completely.
The world froze.
In the Barbarossa Kingdom, Kaido stopped drinking. Beside him sat a young Yamato, both staring in shock.
A Mythical Zoan.
Another one.
The Nightfall Pirates were no longer just Teach.
They had begun to reveal their fangs.
As the footage ended, darkness swallowed the screen, with Teach standing atop Brom's fallen body.
The world understood at last.
The Nightfall Pirates had arrived.