Meanwhile.
A voice played in the video, and the camera zoomed in: "Guys, today's star is one of our Marine Headquarters Base beauties, and the goddess in every Marine's heart—Rear Admiral Hina!"
"Hehe, I bet you're all dying to know what she's having for lunch today!"
"Leave a comment down below. Press 1 if you want to see it, press 2 if you really want to see it. Based on the vote count, I'll decide whether to upload the rest of Rear Admiral Hina's lunch video slower or faster."
As the camera zoomed all the way in, the phone screen was filled with a stunning close-up of Hina's elegant side profile.
The video ended there.
"Damn it!!!"
Smoker was furious. He slammed his fist on the table, took a sharp drag from his cigar, and exhaled a cloud of smoke with the intensity of a warship cannon.
"That bastard! Daring to film the private lives of Marine HQ personnel so blatantly... Isn't this leaking classified intel?!"
Tashigi looked at him, utterly confused. Wasn't it just a video of someone eating lunch?
Did it really warrant this level of rage?
"Hmph! That bastard didn't even upload the whole video and plans to release it in parts? Outrageous!" Smoker glared at her like a wild beast. His expression was so intense it startled Tashigi into sitting straighter in her seat.
"Tashigi! I order you to go into the comments and press 2, immediately!"
Tashigi: "…."
Still frozen, she watched helplessly as Smoker snatched the phone from her hands, angrily tapped out a wall of 2s in the comments section, muttering to himself the whole time.
"Hurry up and upload the rest!"
"You bastard, don't let me find you. I'll head to Marine Headquarters tomorrow and drag you out myself!"
"Post it already, you damn bastard!"
Tashigi watched the increasingly unhinged Smoker, thinking it was probably best not to ask for her phone back just yet. She'd wait until he finished the video.
Meanwhile, back at Marine Headquarters Base, Helmeppo was checking the comments under his video. Seeing the flood of 2s rolling in like a tsunami, he was ecstatic.
"Hahaha! I'm a genius!"
"Keep pressing, keep pressing. Burn through your phone batteries if you have to. I'll drop the second part tomorrow!"
Helmeppo was thoroughly enjoying his newfound fame. In just a few days, his follower count had hit 1,500—which, for this world, was insane!
"I'm gonna go check on Coby. Weird... I haven't seen him all day."
"He's not still glued to his phone, is he? Tsk, if Coby slacks on training because of me, that'd be a terrible sin!"
…
Phones were selling like hotcakes around the world, and on some islands, they were even being scalped at ridiculous prices!
From 200 Berries to a jaw-dropping 20,000 Berries!
Some nobles even started hiring people to keep watch for News Coos in the sky. As soon as one was spotted, they'd intercept it and buy every phone it carried.
Some nobles had gone as far as trying to bribe News Coos, offering them special perks and building resting stations to lure them in, just to get early access to phones.
Because demand far exceeded supply, some newsstands could only sell 100 units per day, with the lucky ones managing 300 max. This led to massive crowds forming at dawn outside every stand.
Morgans was at a loss.
Delivery capacity was maxed out, and 200 News Coos had collapsed from overwork yesterday alone.
If they hadn't been physically unable to fly, they'd still be delivering. The commissions were just that good.
"Boss, we need a solution. Phones are going crazy in East Blue, West Blue, South Blue, even the damn North Blue! We're sitting on a gold mine here!" a subordinate urged.
"Yeah, if air transport's maxed out, let's go by sea. Merchant ships will bite, though they'll charge a fortune," another offered.
"No sea transport!" someone else countered. "These phones are more valuable than gold right now. Pirates will be all over them!"
"That's true. Phones really are worth more than gold at the moment!"
"So what now? Are we just gonna miss out on this cash wave?"
Everyone turned toward Morgans, hoping for a miracle plan.
"Transport is definitely a headache," Morgans said, eyes gleaming. "But that's not a problem… it's actually the key to our entire strategy."
Not a problem?
Everyone blinked in confusion, then looked at him like he was nuts.
"That's right," Morgans said, rubbing his beak with smug satisfaction. "We need to keep the market hungry. If we flood it, people get full and stop eating. But if we feed them slowly… they'll keep coming back."
Pacing slightly, he pulled out his phone, opened his messages, and started a video call with Ron.
A moment later, the call connected.
"Ron! Good news! The phones are selling out everywhere! Just like I predicted!" Morgans beamed.
"I already know," Ron replied calmly. "Just keep selling. Don't worry about the price-gougers. We have more than enough. I don't care how much money we make, what matters is that everyone can afford one."
"I know you're not in it for the money. Don't worry. Morgans is always reliable."
Then he laughed, a sly grin spreading across his beak. "You may not care, but I do. I can't stand those nobles. This time, I'm going to screw them over good!"
"Oh?" Ron raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"They're hoarding phones and jacking up prices to get rich, right?"
"Then I'll pump out a huge batch and dump it all on them. Let them think they've cornered the market. Then, a day or two later, I'll release three or four times as many phones—with a big discount promo."
"Our sales will skyrocket, and those nobles? They'll be stuck with overpriced stock they can't sell. I'll bleed them dry."
Morgans looked thrilled, as if he could already see the nobles going bankrupt in real-time.
"Alright. Do it. Shake things up."
Ron told Morgans to notify him before inventory ran out so he could return and produce another batch. After chatting a bit more, the call ended.
Over the next few days, phones continued to dominate the seas, with sightings popping up all over the map.
Foosha Village, Cocoyasi Village, Loguetown, the floating Sea Restaurant Baratie where Sanji trained…
Anywhere a News Coos could land, there were phones.
Thanks to simple user manuals, even folks from remote islands figured out how to use them. Many even registered TikTok accounts and began uploading their own content.
The app, which started with just a few videos, suddenly exploded with life—feeding into a wild, ever-growing loop of creation, views, and chaos.
(To be continued.)