Garp still acted as if he didn't care. After the God Valley Incident, he had come to terms with certain things.
When it came to dealing with pirates, he would never show mercy. If Kong ordered him to fight Nereus, even if he found it troublesome, the other party was still a pirate. Garp would move out all the same.
But when it came to being promoted to Admiral, he simply couldn't do it.
Whether it was rotating duty guarding the Holy Land or handling emergency missions to protect the Celestial Dragons, he wanted no part in it.
Yet Garp had no intention of leaving the Marines to start something of his own, so things ended up in this awkward situation.
"Boss Kong, please calm down. I'll talk to him about it later."
"Yeah, Fleet Admiral Kong, Garp just doesn't like that sort of thing. You know what he's like, always so laid-back."
Sengoku and Zephyr smoothed things over, bringing the unpleasant meeting to an end, then pulled Garp out of Kong's office.
With the Fleet Admiral killed in action, if Kong and Garp started fighting at Marine Headquarters, the Marines would truly become a laughingstock.
"Congratulations to you two on being promoted to Admirals. Sometimes I envy people who don't know anything. I'm off, I still have to chase Roger. I need to see where that guy has sailed to."
On the way out, Garp suddenly said something that Zephyr couldn't understand.
"What's he talking about?"
"Who knows? Probably some nonsense again."
"Yeah… I'll head off too. My family's waiting for me."
Marine Headquarters had its own residential districts, housing senior officers and their families. Zephyr was no exception.
Although Garp refused the promotion, the newspapers reported it as usual.
The paper first announced that Marine Fleet Admiral Salazar had heroically fallen in battle while resisting vicious pirates who invaded Mariejois, expressing deep condolences and giving the late Fleet Admiral full honors in death.
[A momentary setback will not make justice retreat.]
Though the Fleet Admiral had died in battle, it would not affect the Marines' resolve to hunt down pirates. After his death, a new Fleet Admiral would be chosen. Such tactics would never make the Marines back down.
The article then went on at length about the Marines' determination to combat evil. Not only would they expand their forces, but the positions of Fleet Admiral and the long-vacant Admirals had also been filled.
Sengoku the Buddha, Black Arm Zephyr, and the humble Garp.
At that moment, Garp felt like he had become illiterate.
The words in the newspaper were written clearly, but when strung together, Garp couldn't make sense of them.
It said that their Marine Hero, out of humility, felt he was not yet qualified to take on the position of Admiral and had refused the promotion, choosing instead to yield the seat to more outstanding colleagues.
The Marines would temporarily reserve the position for Garp; as long as he was willing, he could be promoted at any time.
Of course, the more important reason for doing this was that, within the current Marine ranks, they couldn't find a fourth person capable of filling the vacancy.
"When did I ever say something like that? Just how much dirty money did that b*stard Morgans take?!"
By now, Garp had become increasingly skilled at tearing up newspapers. There was no helping it; the real reason he refused to become an Admiral couldn't be made public. This report was essentially giving him a convenient way out.
Garp only grumbled in private, but with his extensive experience in ripping up newspapers, he could clearly tell that the thickness of the one in his hand felt off. It was much thicker than usual.
Newspapers at Marine Headquarters were delivered directly to the door, so Garp didn't have to buy them himself. Otherwise, he would have realized that this time, Morgans had published two full editions.
The first edition covered the Marines' response, the very part Garp barely glanced at before tearing it to shreds.
The second edition, however, was…
[The Worst Criminal in History! Storms Mariejois Alone! The Marines' Nightmare, the Demon from the Deep Sea — Nereus!]
Morgans would never let a headline like this slip by. To gather big news, the World Economy News Paper had even put bounties out for sensational stories.
Salazar's death in battle was information released by the World Government. As for Nereus's attack on Mariejois, that had been quietly sold to Morgans by certain agents stationed there.
After all, something like this couldn't be covered up forever. Sooner or later, the World Government would raise Nereus's bounty, and the truth would come out anyway.
Since exposure was inevitable, Morgans figured he might as well make a profit from it.
On this matter, Morgans also took certain liberties. Though the overall outcome remained the same, the process was very different.
For instance, actions that had originally been carried out by a team were all attributed solely to Nereus. In Morgans's view, individual heroics were far more eye-catching.
So he selected what he considered the most exciting parts from the information he received, cut out the boring sections, added a bit of his own embellishment, and ultimately crafted a brand-new report.
Because there was simply too much content to fit into a single issue, Morgans published two editions this time, and bundled them together for sale, increasing both quantity and price.
The World Economy News Paper, once a minor publication that first made its name during the God Valley Incident, had grown over the past two years into a giant in the news industry, wielding considerable influence.
The newspapers weren't expensive, and even with the added content, most people could still afford them.
Even though Morgans, following the World Government's wishes, placed the news of Marine personnel changes and related matters in the first edition, it was the second one that drew far more attention.
For ordinary civilians, the Marine report could offer some reassurance. But for the pirates sailing these seas, Nereus's actions were, in a sense, inspiring.
If a pirate could storm Mariejois and even kill a Marine Fleet Admiral, then what did they have to fear?
They failed to realize that it wasn't that the Marines had grown weaker; it was simply that Nereus was overwhelmingly strong. Unable to accurately judge such power, some of these pirates even banded together and launched proactive assaults on Marine branches.
But this was not the post–Summit War era, when Marine bases were weakened by troop redeployments.
Most of these ignorant pirates simply ended up as medals for the Marines.
Some went even further, entertaining a strange idea.
"He took away all the slaves… So now, there aren't any slaves in all of Mariejois."
"The World Nobles won't give up using slaves… If someone could provide the slaves they want right now, they could sell them for an astronomical price."
After hearing the news, the thoughts in the hearts of slave traders weren't limited to fear. Some were actually excited, even eager to try their luck.
In their eyes, Nereus's actions had instead left behind a massive market vacuum, a golden opportunity to make a fortune.
As long as they avoided Nereus and delivered slaves to Mariejois, they could become rich overnight, earning more than they ever had before.
As for those who had once belonged to the Rocks Pirates, now counted among the great pirates of these seas, they found their ambitions reignited…
Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 25 chapters on my pa*reon.
Tiers-
1$- 10 chapters of OPUK
3$- 12 chapters
5$- 15 chapters
10$- 25 chapters