Chapter 145: Someone Turned On a Map Hack
If it were in the past, pirates attempting to force their way across the border wouldn't even have the chance to choose; they would be sunk directly.
Those crossing through Fish-man Island were inherently pirates and people from the underworld. Normal member nations wouldn't take this route at all; even if it meant paying a higher price to cross the Red Line, the safety was much higher than doing this.
And for pirates, there was a specific way to communicate with pirates.
Precisely because he had once stayed on Beehive Island (Hachinosu), Nereus knew exactly how to communicate with pirates.
If weakness and begging could exchange for peace, Fish-man Island would have ushered in an era of peace and prosperity long ago.
Currently, they were at a juncture with special circumstances. Therefore, he didn't sink them directly. Right now, Nereus needed more pirates to stay alive to bring the news back and accelerate its spread.
"C-Captain... how about we... turn back..."
In the eerie silence, a pirate cautiously voiced the request to turn back.
His lips were purple, his legs were trembling, and his stuttering tone fully revealed the terror in his heart.
Although the bubble film was transparent, it still sectioned off an independent space for the pirate ship from the deep sea. In the silent deep sea, a confined space would inherently bring an invisible pressure to people.
The nature of the bubble film originally allowed the people on the ship to better observe their surroundings, but this "panoramic transparent" field of view now became the source of their fear.
Massive Sea Beasts surrounded the ship, so close that the pirates on board could clearly see the patterns on their bodies.
The weapons in the hands of the Neptune Army gleamed with an eerie light, and their terrifying masks seemed to solidify their identities as phantoms of the deep sea.
Size, numbers, environment—pirates from the surface held no advantage here whatsoever. Both sides knew very well that once a fight broke out, the bubble film protecting the ship would shatter instantly.
In the deep sea, they would instantly turn into lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
"D-do you all want to turn back?"
The captain of this ship swallowed hard. Usually dictatorial and arrogant, he had lost all his high spirits from the surface. Only by truly coming to the deep sea and facing this kind of terror head-on could one understand what kind of pressure it was.
"Y-yeah, Captain. Those guys number at least ten thousand. On average, each of us has to fight over three hundred of them. No matter how you look at it, it's impossible to win..."
"Let's go back first. Maybe they'll let us pass tomorrow?"
"Alright, I respect your opinions. We are turning back!"
Even though he was scared half to death himself, he chose to preserve his last shred of pride, using this situation as an excuse to issue the order to return.
This wasn't only happening on the side facing the first half of the Grand Line; the New World side was the same. The difference was that the New World side was overseen by Babel and Nanamo, along with a small number of elite troops.
On the first day the sea ban was issued, scattered ships were forced to turn back. They didn't have the courage to challenge the other party in the deep sea.
On the second day of the sea ban, Morgans's follow-up newspapers also spread across the world. Other newspaper agencies that had seen the live broadcast were also reprinting this news.
Naturally, the people who saw this news included Harding himself.
"Commander Harding! It's a wanted poster issued against you by the Ryugu Kingdom. They placed a 100 million Berry bounty on your head..."
At this time, they had just left the Red Line, changed ships, and were sailing in the waters of the New World. The news was delivered by a News Coo.
"Hmm? A bounty on me?"
Harding, who was eating, wiped his greasy mouth and took the newspaper with a look of disdain. After reading Morgans's recounted contents, he directly laughed out loud.
"Hahaha, did these guys soak their brains in the water? Do they really think someone will risk their lives for them? Ignore it, continue sailing normally.
Because of this guy, the Kingdom is short on resources. Being able to bring back some high-quality goods this time is what's best."
Harding casually tossed the newspaper aside, completely unbothered. However, he failed to notice that the News Coo from just now had a human-like smirk on its beak, its eyes locked onto him the whole time.
After that, the News Coo didn't continue looking for targets to sell newspapers to, but quickly returned to the nearest stronghold to relay the information.
"President! The News Coos in Sector D-176 have discovered Harding's trail!"
Not long after, the reporters at the main office received this information and reported it to Morgans, who was calmly drinking tea nearby.
"Excellent. Notify the News Coos in that area to keep a close eye on him. Let this matter brew for a while longer, and then we will publish that guy's location in the newspaper. When the time comes, our papers will definitely sell like crazy!"
Hearing this, Morgans's expression turned smug, as if everything was going according to his plan.
News Coos were inherently spread all over the sea. Normally, they were just diligent paper delivery birds, but their intelligence wasn't low at all. If Morgans wished it, these News Coos would become his eyes and ears.
Relying solely on spreading rumors and selling newspapers wasn't enough to secure a place in the underworld. This intelligence network covering the entire sea was another reason Morgans could establish himself in the underworld.
"President, why not just hand this information directly to Him?"
The reporter nearby had a puzzled look on his face. Even if Morgans's forces couldn't take down Harding, directly selling the intelligence should still yield quite a bit.
"No, no, no, you vastly underestimate this 'Undying King'. It's not that he lacks the ability to hunt down the target.
The reason our Majesty Nereus is doing this is purely to announce to the whole world the price they have to pay for laying hands on his citizens.
Many people will ignore this right now; after all, what does it have to do with them? But given Fish-man Island's location...
It won't be long before the pirates on the Grand Line can't sit still anymore. They will either try to forcefully break through Fish-man Island, or they will find the person he wants. Which one do you think is easier?"
Morgans looked at his subordinate with a grin. On second thought, this guy was too young; he didn't understand what a peak powerhouse of an era truly meant.
"Forget it, you don't need to know all this.
Anyway, the location information of that guy Harding is a treasure trove. Just keep an eye on him. For the next few days, even if the newspaper only prints that single sentence, people will buy it."
Just as Morgans said, initially, not many people cared about this declaration from Fish-man Island.
Over the past three years or so, human trafficking cases on Fish-man Island had nearly vanished. Not a single person who attempted to do these things lived to see the sun on the surface.
People assumed that this time would be like the past, and it wouldn't be long before it faded into obscurity.
But as time passed, the people on the Grand Line gradually realized that this matter was starting to become closely related to every single one of them...
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