Yosolin Heller was furious because William had reached his current status largely due to the significant contributions of him and Colonel Roy. They had helped William avoid a bounty initially, and later Nezumi assisted as well.
Under Laura Louise's probing questions, Heller revealed nearly everything he knew about William's exploits—from boarding a major pirate crew alone at eighteen, killing the original captain, and successfully taking over the entire ship, to colluding with local Marine officials to evade capture, befriending kingdom ministers to launder stolen funds and clean up his identity, seizing the opportunity to enter the kingdom's military, and ultimately becoming a high-ranking official wielding military and political power in a nation.
In some areas, such as collusion with local Marine officers, Heller spoke vaguely due to Roy's involvement, mentioning only Nezumi. In other areas, like William's actions after joining the kingdom's military or his smuggling activities before boarding the Red-Beard Pirates' ship, Heller knew little due to lack of direct involvement. He was aware, however, that William had become the governor of the Navia Kingdom.
This position was established by William himself, and while Heller lacked detailed knowledge, he understood that William essentially controlled the entire country, with all national matters needing his approval.
At some point, Louise had taken out a notebook and was diligently jotting down notes.
"You said he took over a pirate crew with a bounty close to twenty million Beli when he was just eighteen?" Louise paused her writing briefly, then circled the age-related words in her notes.
Heller nodded.
Much like the bald editor-in-chief of the East Blue Daily, Louise's journalistic instincts told her that age was a significant topic.
Being able to kill the previous captain demonstrated his strength; successfully taking over a major pirate crew showed his cunning. And he was only eighteen. Despite being on the Sabaody Archipelago, Louise had seen or heard of countless rookie pirates, but newcomers with such ambition and skill at this age were still rare. Most importantly, he hailed from the East Blue and had now almost seized control of a nation's government.
Moreover, what intrigued Louise the most was—
"He doesn't plunder local areas?" Louise finally showed surprise. "Why does he do that? And where does he get the funds to maintain his ship and crew?"
Louise understood well that pirates were universally despised because they were unproductive, yet a ship full of armed men consumed considerable resources daily, forcing them to plunder hardworking locals.
Are there exceptions among pirates? Certainly, but they are rare because the nature of piracy is unchangeable—they rely on looted goods and funds to sustain their "free" and carefree lifestyle.
The Sabaody Archipelago, where Louise resided, was the place where one could most vividly witness the ugliness of this group, as one of the primary suppliers to the slave auction houses was the pirate community.
The "goods" they sold to the auction houses were sometimes civilians captured by pirates, or simply fellow pirates taken prisoner during internecine battles.
All of this was for money.
"They specifically target other pirates nearby, living off robbing them. Additionally, they seem to be involved in some business," Heller said, not entirely clearly.
Nevertheless, Louise recorded this information, her curiosity now piqued.
"A righteous thief?" Louise murmured to herself.
Heller scoffed at this notion, saying, "Just buying people's hearts."
Louise paid no attention and continued her questioning, "How old is he now?"
"Twenty-two."
Louise wrote "Twenty-two-year-old kingdom thief" in her notebook.
Heller added, "But he became a high-ranking official two years ago."
"Twenty years old."
Louise paused her writing, looking up at Heller with some surprise. "You mean he went from being a pirate to a king in just two years?"
"He's not a king yet," Heller corrected.
"From your description, he might as well be," Louise remarked casually as she returned to her notes, "He's controlled that country for two years already? The people there must be suffering frequent pirate harassment."
Heller's expression turned somewhat unnatural, which Louise noticed immediately.
"What's wrong?" Louise asked curiously.
"Nothing," Heller replied, trying to cover up.
Louise knew Heller was lying but chose not to expose him, as the news had already sparked her interest, prompting her to decide on investigating it herself.
Consider these selling points: an eighteen-year-old rising to become a major pirate captain through Gekokujō, a twenty-year-old self-made kingdom thief, a country under pirate control for two years...
Especially since all this happened in the East Blue!
...
"What about happening in the East Blue?" In the editor-in-chief's office, the rotund editor-in-chief slowly clipped his nails. "Do you think all this is believable? And the Marine captain's words are unclear, with key points vague. It might just be a simple grudge. Just because the East Blue is Roger's birthplace, does every pirate there deserve our investigation and publication?"
"Moreover, he's accusing a high-ranking official of a World Government member nation without solid evidence. We are the World Economy News, not some third-rate local paper. Only real 'news,' not rumors, is worth publishing in our newspaper. Do you understand?"
Louise argued, "That's why I want to investigate personally, to see if what the Marine captain said is true or exaggerated. Editor-in-chief, please trust my instinct. If this news is true, it'll definitely be big news."
"News from the Grand Line is what qualifies as big news," the editor-in-chief dismissed. "Because the world's attention is focused here. The East Blue? Ha."
"That's precisely the point! Because the whole world thinks the East Blue is insignificant!" Louise said enthusiastically.
In William's previous life, John Bogart, the editor-in-chief of the New York Sun in the 1870s, had explained news as "Dog bites man is not news; man bites dog is news."
In short, it's about the unusual.
Only sufficiently novel news can attract attention.
No matter how many major pirates emerge from the Grand Line, it's hard to surprise people anymore, as it's "normal." But for the unremarkable East Blue, molded by the World Government and Marines as a peaceful exemplar, to suddenly produce such a kingdom thief, this contrast is bound to intrigue others.
That's the value of news!
It's also why Louise agreed to meet Heller and listen to what seemed like an unjustified accusation by a Marine captain against a high-ranking official of a kingdom.
She's a young journalist, and to stand out in the World Economy News, a major newspaper gathering talent from the entire industry, she must rely on big news!
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