No matter how immersive the newspaper's content was, there were still details that outsiders could never fully grasp—especially when it involved the Holy Land and the Celestial Dragons.
As long as they could contact Maude, they would be able to understand this major incident from start to finish.
Sunny's suggestion made Sabo somewhat tempted.
At that moment, Luffy and the others, startled by Morley's scream, were approaching from a distance.
Sabo instinctively folded the newspaper and turned to look at the incoming group.
"I smell stew!!!"
As soon as Luffy got close, he sniffed the air, his nose twitching slightly. His sense of smell, rivaling that of a dog, caught the aroma wafting from the galley of the mast ship.
Sabo was about to introduce Luffy to Koala and Sunny, but before he could speak, Luffy had already stretched out his rubber arm toward the ship.
Whoosh—!
Luffy's hand shot forward, grabbing the railing of the ship's deck with pinpoint accuracy. In the next instant, he catapulted himself onto the mast ship, charging straight for the kitchen.
Sabo scratched his cheek helplessly and then introduced him with a smile: "That's Luffy, my younger brother."
Koala glanced at Luffy, who had just bolted into the kitchen, and hesitated before saying, "Your brother... really resembles you, Sabo."
"Huh?"
Sabo was briefly stunned.
Sunny, with her usual sharp tongue, remarked, "Like a monkey."
"..."
As Nami and the others arrived, they looked at Sabo's group with apologetic expressions.
"Huh? Is that today's newspaper?"
Nami, ever sharp-eyed, immediately noticed the newspaper in Sabo's hand.
"Ah, this is—"
"Let me see!"
Before Sabo could make an excuse, Nami, driven by the opportunity to get a free newspaper, snatched it from his hands at lightning speed.
"!"
Sabo was taken aback by Nami's sudden burst of speed.
Lowering her head, Nami scanned the newspaper. A moment later, her eyes widened in shock.
"Nami, what's wrong?"
The Straw Hats, puzzled by her reaction, crowded around to look at the newspaper.
When they saw the reports and photographs of Maude attacking the Holy Land, they couldn't help but display expressions of utter astonishment.
"Just a few days ago, he fended off Admiral Aokiji at the Sabaody Archipelago…"
"What an absolutely fearless man."
Nearby, observing the Straw Hats' reactions, Sabo thought for a moment before abandoning his plan to contact Maude.
His time and energy needed to be focused on training the Straw Hats.
...
Calm Belt – Amazon Lily.
In the royal palace of the Nine-Headed Serpent Castle, Boa Hancock clutched a newspaper in her hands. Her fingers, unconsciously gripping too tightly, crumpled the pages.
"How… how could there be such a man in this world…?"
The newspaper's content and the image of the Celestial Dragon being lifted like trash in Maude's hand struck a deep chord in Hancock's heart.
In a world where defying the Celestial Dragons was an absolute taboo, she had never seen a man dare to assault the Holy Land and lay hands on a Celestial Dragon.
Even her great benefactor, Fisher Tiger, when he rampaged through Mary Geoise, had done so solely to free the slaves—he had never directly harmed a Celestial Dragon.
"..."
As her thoughts wandered to the bleak and hopeless memories of her past, Hancock's body began to tremble involuntarily.
But the newspaper in her hands… quickly steadied her.
"Bacardi Maude…"
Flashes of Maude's figure from the Summit War surfaced in her mind.
She had only spared him a second glance back then, but now, he had accomplished something that shook the world.
Not only had he attacked Mary Geoise, but he had also abducted a Celestial Dragon!
"Onee-sama, is this real?"
Sandersonia and Marigold, their eyes shadowed by painful memories, looked at their sister, Hancock.
Hancock instinctively bit her thumb.
Was it real?
Something she once thought utterly impossible had now actually happened, making it feel almost surreal.
"That greedy 'albatross' may love money, but when it comes to news, he values accuracy above all else…"
"So, this report is mostly true. That man named Bacardi Maude has indeed done something that disgraces the World Government."
The voice of Amazon Lily's former Empress, Gloriosa, cut through their doubts.
For once, Hancock did not lash out at Gloriosa, who she usually treated with disdain.
Gloriosa, though not a masochist, found Hancock's silence unsettling.
"That man is truly extraordinary…"
Gloriosa gazed at the newspaper in Hancock's hands with deep emotion.
...
Marineford – Fleet Admiral's Office.
Sengoku sat at his desk, hands clasped beneath his chin, his expression solemn as he stared at the three CP0 agents before him.
Thud, thud.
Tapping the newspaper on his desk with his fingers, Sengoku's temples pulsed with visible veins as he spoke in a low voice, "So this is what you call an 'insignificant' pirate."
"..."
Were it not for their masks, Sengoku would have clearly seen the CP0 agents' ugly expressions.
They had remained in Marineford for two days, waiting for Maude to contact them so they could take full control of the mission to acquire the Ope-Ope no Mi.
But instead of a call from Maude, they were greeted with an earth-shattering headline.
Maude had attacked the Holy Land.
Maude had abducted a Celestial Dragon.
The once-proud figures beneath their white robes now seemed ever so slightly hunched.
Sengoku rarely had the chance to see CP0 suffer a setback, but this time, he found no joy in it.
From the moment Maude took a Celestial Dragon hostage, he held absolute control over the situation.
"He's a man capable of anything… Ensuring the safety of the Celestial Dragon? Easier said than done."
Sengoku sighed and picked up the Den Den Mushi on his desk.
Without hesitation, he dialed Maude's number.
A few moments later, the call connected.
Before Maude could speak, Sengoku's voice rang out coldly: "Bacardi Maude… how dare you…?!"
"Sengoku, you wouldn't have called just to say that, would you?"
The Den Den Mushi, mirroring Maude's expression, spoke in his voice.
Sengoku's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the receiver. "What you've done is tantamount to declaring war against the World Government. Do you really think you can stand against them?"
There was silence on the other end.
After a few heartbeats, Maude's voice returned.
"Oh, how terrifying."
In that instant, the Den Den Mushi's eyes sharpened, becoming as keen as Maude's.
"Did you really think a few threats would let you take back control?"
"..."
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