"What is this thing?"
"A 'Justice's Morning Star: Michael' merchandise body pillow."
"And...what's this?"
"A 'Justice's Morning Star: Michael' merchandise poster."
Michael wandered around the ship, his expression as grim as if he'd lost both parents...
Who the hell was buying this stuff? And who was selling it?
Noticing Michael's expression, Ginny asked curiously, "Wait, you seriously don't know about 'Justice's Morning Star: Michael'?"
"...Should I?"
"It's been one of the most popular serialized comics in the World Economic Journal for years...how long has it been since you last read that paper?"
"Years...since most of the intel in the World Economic Journal comes from me anyway. Why would I bother reading it?"
Michael sighed.
Using him as the protagonist for a comic was one thing...but they'd even created all sorts of merchandise?
These merchants really knew how to do business!
"Where are these merchandise items being sold from?"
"You don't know that either?" Ginny looked at Michael in shock.
"This is one of Fish-Man Island's hottest product lines!"
Fish-Man Island!?
Michael's expression gradually blanked.
"Was I supposed to?"
"Isn't Fish-Man Island under the joint protection of your Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates? Don't they show you business reports when distributing profits?"
"...Well, yeah, they do." Michael's head started aching just thinking about it. "But do you have any idea how massive Fish-Man Island's trade volume is? A single quarterly report could pile up into a half-person-high stack in front of me...How bored would I have to be to scrutinize those reports?"
"You find making money a hassle!" Ginny rolled her eyes.
Though these matters were trivial, when they fell on individuals, it was still quite exasperating.
Especially since Michael had somehow become an idol in the eyes of a certain group.
And those merchandise... tsk tsk, some of them were downright unsightly.
Particularly the replaceable pillowcases for the body pillows—some versions made even Ginny blush.
So the two of them tacitly retreated from the cabin back to the deck.
At that very moment, an irritated female voice rang out from outside the ship.
"Hey! You lot! Who gave you permission to board someone else's ship without permission?"
Hearing this, Michael and Ginny turned to see a girl dressed in what resembled a naval uniform charging towards them.
The girl had gradient-colored hair, transitioning from white at the roots to green and then blue at the tips.
And atop her head were a pair of fiery red demon horns.
"Well, well, Michael, looks like this is one of your fans," Ginny said with an amused chuckle, patting Michael on the shoulder.
"Seems like a pretty girl, too."
Though Yamato was already over two and a half meters tall at this point, her face and demeanor clearly marked her as a youthful and minor.
Her figure, however, seemed to defy expectations in quite the opposite way.
But Michael wasn't happy just because Yamato was a beautiful girl.
Instead, he pointed at her from afar and said, "What kind of fan brings such a huge spiked club to meet their idol!?"
"She doesn't recognize you right now. Drawing a weapon against a suspicious person boarding her ship isn't entirely unreasonable."
Michael sighed and was about to say something when Yamato, now well-fed, suddenly raised her spiked club named 'Aken' and leaped towards Michael and Ginny with a mighty jump.
"Wow, she's really imposing... Michael, you handle the mess you created yourself," Ginny said while naturally stepping aside to watch the show.
After giving the woman an internationally friendly gesture, Michael looked up with a slightly solemn expression.
It had to be said—Yamato, as Kaido's biological daughter, had undoubtedly inherited her father's terrifying talent.
This powerful strike would have been hard to block back in the day when he only had vice-admiral-level strength.
But now...
Michael sighed.
The Morning Star at his waist remained sheathed.
Against an opponent of Yamato's caliber, he didn't even need to draw this Supreme Grade Sword.
"Raidon... Hakke!" Yamato shouted, her spiked club Aken wreathed in lightning and Armament Haki as it came crashing down toward Michael.
This was her father Kaido's signature move.
Though she despised her father's identity, she had spared no effort in mastering his techniques to break free from him.
Despite their strained relationship, Yamato had inherited all of Kaido's true teachings.
Such was the nature of their father-daughter conflict—both fierce and tender.
Watching the massive spiked club hurtle toward him, Michael simply raised his right hand and effortlessly caught the 'Raidon Hakke'.
Yamato, stunned that her attack had been stopped with one hand, was about to strike again when Michael finally lifted his head, revealing his face beneath his platinum hair.
Instantly, Yamato froze—forget attacking, she even dropped Aken from her grip.
"Y-you... you're Michael!" Her voice trembled with excitement.
"Sigh... Yes, I am indeed Vice Admiral Michael, Grand Inspector of Marine HQ," Michael said with another sigh before continuing,
"But, Miss 'Angel D. Yamato,' I don't recall having a child like you in my family."
Hearing his words, Yamato stiffened in sheer embarrassment.
Putting her idol's surname before her own name—getting caught in such an extreme fan act by the actual person was the absolute worst kind of social death!
"Yamato! Slow down! Who'd even think of stealing this cringe ship? Who'd be crazy enough to take this thing?"
"Nee-san, stop rubbing salt in Yamato's wounds!"
"Huh? Did I just hit a sore spot? But I was just telling the truth."
"Ugh... fine."
Just then, two kids came running over from the direction Yamato had come from, stumbling along the way.
Michael took a distant glance and immediately recognized their identities from the horns on their heads.
Kaido's adopted son and daughter—two of the original 'Flying Six'.
With a complicated expression, Michael turned to Yamato, who looked rather embarrassed, and said.
"Wait, you came out here to chase after your idol… and brought the whole family along?"
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