Chapter 92: Morgans' Big News—The Fifth Emperor!
[Red Line - Marijoa - The Chamber of Authority]
The meeting of the highest power in the world was drawing to a close. The air in the room was stale, heavy with centuries of stagnation and absolute authority.
"As for who wins or loses between the pirates and the Marines... does it truly make a difference to us?"
The bald Elder, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, polished his glasses slowly. His reflection in the lenses was cold and distorted.
"The Marines are a tool. Tools break. Tools are replaced."
"I second that," Saint Shepherd Ju Peter said, his voice devoid of empathy.
"I second that," Saint Topman Warcury agreed, closing the file on the Enies Lobby incident.
A cold resolution echoed within the cavernous room.
They didn't care how terrifying that rising new force truly was. They didn't care about the lives of five Vice Admirals or the humiliation of Garp. To them, who had witnessed countless eras change and civilizations rise and fall over eight hundred years, everything happening on this vast sea was merely an unending play for their amusement.
A game of chess where they controlled the board.
"Then it is settled."
Nusjuro stood up, sheathing his Kitetsu sword with a soft click. He walked to the massive window that overlooked the sea of clouds, symbolizing the World Government's rule over everything below.
"Raise the bounties. Inform the world. Let the fear spread."
He looked down at the world beneath his feet.
"And then… let the Marines stay away from them for a while. We will not waste more resources chasing ghosts. Let them enter the New World."
"In the quagmire of the New World," Saint Jaygarcia Saturn rasped, "with their strength and arrogance, they won't stay quiet. They will naturally stir up trouble. They will clash with Kaido. They will provoke Big Mom."
"Just a rather feisty mad dog," Saint Marcus Mars concluded, a cruel smile touching his lips. "Let him bite around a bit first. Let him bleed the other Emperors dry. And when he is weak... we will put him down."
[Grand Line - Somewhere in the Sky - World Economy News Press Headquarters]
The floating news airship was in a state of absolute pandemonium.
"President! President! Big news! Truly big news!"
A News Coo, wearing a tiny reporter's hat and a satchel, stumbled into the president's office. It tripped over a stack of papers, still clutching a waterproof film canister soaked by the sea breeze in its beak.
Following closely behind was a Carrier Bat belonging to the World Government, bringing an urgent, wax-sealed official document stamped with the Fleet Admiral's heavy seal.
The entire news agency headquarters was already a chaotic mess of ringing Den Den Mushis ("Buruburu!"), shouting editors, and the rhythmic, heavy thrum of the printing presses warming up in the belly of the ship. The smell of fresh ink and ozone filled the air.
"What's all the fuss about?! Has the sky fallen?! Did Big Mom eat another island?!"
A colossal figure rose from behind the mahogany desk.
He had the white feathers, wings, and talons of an albatross, but wore a dapper suit and top hat.
"Big News" Morgans. The King of the Underworld of Information.
He snatched the film canister and the official document with greedy talons. He skillfully developed the photos in the darkroom in seconds, his eyes scanning the Marine's official announcement simultaneously.
The next second, the office fell into an eerie silence. Even the printing presses seemed to hold their breath.
Then…
"Hahaha! WAHAHAHAHA...!"
Morgans' penetrating laughter exploded, nearly tearing the roof off the entire office!
He was so excited that his feathers bristled, puffing him up to twice his size. His wings flapped wildly, sending stacks of documents and coffee cups flying everywhere.
"This is it! This is it! The scoop of the century!"
He held up the photos, his beak trembling.
One photo captured the astonishing scene of the handsome young man, Suzaku, clashing fists directly with Marine Hero Garp. The black lightning of their Haki split the sky in the background. It was a picture of a god fighting a titan.
Another showed Ulquiorra, his black wings spread like a demon, standing over the corpse of a Vice Admiral while holding off Admiral Kizaru's lasers with a single hand.
And the Marine's official document provided the most authoritative annotation for this insane scene.
[CLASSIFICATION: EXTREME EVIL FORCE]
[THREAT LEVEL: EQUAL TO YONKO]
[DIRECTIVE: DISENGAGE UPON SIGHT]
Morgans' hand trembled. Not from fear, but from an emotion that had reached its peak—pure journalistic ecstasy.
"This isn't just a rookie rising," Morgans whispered, his voice shaking. "This is a declaration of war against the old world order!"
"The Marines have admitted defeat! They have as good as acknowledged the birth of a new Emperor!"
He slammed his wing onto the intercom button.
"EVERYONE! GET IN HERE! STOP THE PRESSES!"
Morgans roared, his voice booming through the entire airship.
"Typeset! Immediately re-typeset! Throw out the story about the King of Alabasta! Remove the noble scandals! Burn the weather report!"
"Front page! Cover! Use the largest layout we have! I want this photo to cover the entire page!"
He spread his arms wide, like a conductor standing center stage of an apocalypse.
"The title will be — 'FIFTH EMPEROR BORN!'"
He paused.
"No! Not enough! It needs to be more explosive! It needs to scream!"
"Call it… 'OVERLORD OF THE NEW ERA! THE FIFTH SEA EMPEROR SURPASSES THE YONKO AND REIGNS OVER PARADISE!'"
"And the bounties! Print their new wanted posters! Print them in the brightest, blood-red ink! Put them in the center!"
"I want every literate person in the world—from the North Blue to the New World—to remember their names and faces! I want them to know that the world has changed today!"
Morgans' eyes shone with a manic light. He looked at the photo of Suzaku.
"Suzaku kid… you really didn't disappoint me! You are gold! Pure gold!"
"The era of the Yonko is too old; it's stagnant! It's time for me to personally crown you, and unveil the most magnificent and chaotic chapter on this vast sea!"
"FLY, MY PRETTIES! FLY!"
Under Morgans' personal supervision, the hangar doors opened.
Countless News Coos flew out from the Sky Island headquarters. They obscured the sun like a swarm of locusts, carrying a storm capable of overturning the world. They flew to the Four Seas, to the Grand Line, to every corner of the New World… carrying the news of the Fifth Emperor.
[Kuraigana Island - The Ruins of the Muggy Kingdom]
Inside a damp, gloomy ancient castle, silence reigned.
"Hawkeye" Dracule Mihawk, the World's Strongest Swordsman, sat alone on his velvet throne. He was wiping his beloved Supreme Grade Great Sword, Yoru, with a soft cloth.
Flap flap.
A News Coo flew in through the broken window and dropped a newspaper at his feet.
Mihawk sighed, bored. "More noise..."
He picked it up. He ignored the exaggerated "Fifth Emperor" title. He didn't look at the astronomical bounty numbers.
His sharp, hawk-like golden eyes were immediately drawn to a specific bounty poster photo.
It was Ulquiorra Cifer.
In the photo, the stern-faced, green-eyed young man was holding a blade of pure light—Luz de la Luna.
That stance. That sense of aloofness and indifference. That gaze as if viewing all things in the world as nothing but dust.
Mihawk's motion of wiping his blade paused for the first time in years.
"A swordsman?" Mihawk murmured. "No... something else. But that pressure..."
The newspaper listed his name and title: "Wing of Disaster" Ulquiorra Cifer.
Mihawk didn't speak, but he could feel it. His long-calm heart had rippled almost imperceptibly. It was the faint stir of interest.
He slowly picked up "Yoru," placing it across his lap. He closed his eyes.
"The world is getting interesting again," he whispered. "I will wait. Perhaps... a worthy opponent has finally appeared."
[New World - Dressrosa - The Royal Palace]
"Fufufufu…!"
On the balcony of the King's Plateau, Donquixote Doflamingo sat with his legs crossed on the railing. He was reading the newspaper, but his smile—usually wide and manic—was somewhat stiff.
"This is truly something else!"
"One Captain. Two Executives. A Giant division. Their combined bounties are almost five billion Berries?!"
Doflamingo's grip on the paper tightened, crinkling the edges.
"Is that 'Suzaku' really that powerful? To make the Marines retreat?"
Trebol, sticky and slimy, leaned over beside him, dripping mucus.
"Ne, ne, Doffy! This isn't good news! This isn't good at all!" Trebol whined. "An unpredictable new force will disrupt all our plans! The SMILE production! The deal with Kaido-san... if a new Emperor disrupts the balance..."
"SHUT UP!"
Doflamingo's smile completely vanished. A vein throbbed violently in his forehead.
"Of course, I know this is trouble!" he hissed.
"A crazy pirate crew with terrifying power and the title of 'Fifth Emperor'… it's practically the most unstable powder keg on this vast sea!"
He crumpled the newspaper into a ball and incinerated it with a string of heat. His hidden eyes behind the sunglasses were sinister.
If Suzaku entered the New World, the intricate web of underground deals Doflamingo had built could be torn apart.
"The Joker doesn't like wild cards," Doflamingo growled. "This 'Suzaku'... fills me with a sense of unease I haven't felt in years."
[New World - The Red Force]
The sea was calm, but the mood on the ship of the Red Hair Pirates was anything but.
"Red Hair" Shanks sat on the deck, holding the newspaper. His usual goofy smile was gone, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness that made the rookie crew members shiver.
"Boss," Benn Beckman said in a deep voice, puffing on his cigarette. The smoke drifted over the wanted posters spread out on the table.
"The Marines have officially acknowledged the existence of the 'Fifth Emperor'. They gave the order to retreat. This is no small matter."
Beckman pointed at the photo of Ulquiorra. "This guy... he took a magma punch and regenerated. And the Captain... he clashed with Garp."
Shanks placed the newspaper on the table. His gaze was profound as he looked out at the distant sea, his hand resting on his sword, Gryphon.
"Just over a month..." Shanks murmured. "From the East Blue to reigning over the Grand Line. From a nobody to an Emperor."
He looked at Beckman.
"Beckman, this era is changing faster than we imagined. The wind is blowing a gale."
"I just worry..." Shanks' eyes darkened. "That this overly rapid force will drag everything into an uncontrollable vortex. If he clashes with Kaido or Big Mom now... the war that starts won't stop until the world is burned."
"Is he the one we're waiting for?" Beckman asked quietly. "Joyboy?"
"No," Shanks shook his head. "He feels different. He doesn't bring a dawn. He brings a storm."
Meanwhile, every corner of the world was buzzing over this newspaper.
In taverns across the four seas, countless pirates who had laughed at the rookie's name instantly sobered up in fright. Their earlier clamoring voices were abruptly silenced by the bounty numbers.
Civilians discussed in fear, whispering about what kind of disaster this "Fifth Emperor," who sounded even more terrifying than the Yonko, would bring to the world.
The name Suzaku was no longer just a name.
It was a legend.
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