When it came to who had the most reliable information on the seas, you went to one man: Morgans, the president of the World News Co., better known as "Big News" Morgans.
Right now, as the morning sun glittered across the waves, one of his news ships was speeding toward Whole Cake Island.
On the deck, a plump bird-headed man was buried in a thick stack of papers.
"Hey, Morgans, do you ever sleep? You were in that exact same spot when I went to bed last night."
A voice as smooth as silk drifted out from the cabin.
Tap, tap, tap.
A woman with a stunning figure appeared before him.
She had a white mink shawl draped over her shoulders and wore a pair of tiny hot pants that showed off her long, slender legs.
Pink high heels clicked on the deck as her hips swayed with each step.
The bird-man looked up, revealing dark circles under his eyes.
He looked dead tired, but his bird-like eyes were still as sharp as ever.
"Stussy, just because you're hitching a ride doesn't mean you own the place."
This was Morgans—the man with the best intel in the world, the biggest troublemaker, and the guy who loved nothing more than poking the World Government.
Morgans lived by one simple rule: where there's big news, he'll be there.
He didn't pick sides.
World Government, Revolutionary Army, pirates—it didn't matter.
The bigger the mess, the better the headline, and he was a master at spinning the facts to make them even juicier.
Think about it.
Twenty years ago, when Roger was executed, Morgans turned it into a global broadcast.
Sure, the World Government ordered it, but when Roger shouted those famous last words, Morgans could have easily cut the feed.
He didn't.
Instead, he printed millions of papers with that iconic moment and spread them to every corner of the world.
You could say Morgans was partly responsible for kicking off the Great Pirate Era.
Lately though, he'd been completely obsessed with the Straw Hat kid, chasing down every little story about him.
He didn't just report on Luffy; he hyped him up, exaggerating every single one of his fights.
When the Straw Hats barely escaped Totto Land, Morgans printed headlines that made it sound like a massive victory, declaring that Luffy had 'slapped Linlin right in the face'.
That move cost him dearly.
The Big Mom Pirates, who had been a major sponsor, cut all ties and Linlin was so angry she swore she'd take his soul.
But even with a Yonko threatening him, Morgans didn't stop.
He became Luffy's unofficial hype man, as devoted as any super-fan.
Maybe it was just his reporter's instinct, but Luffy never let him down, creating one incredible story after another.
He fought Big Mom, crushed Doflamingo, and kicked Kaido's teeth in on his way to becoming an Emperor of the Sea.
Morgans was thrilled.
He even had giant, high-definition photos of Luffy's Sun God form plastered all over his office walls.
His fanboy behavior got so intense that some of his own journalists started joking that he was secretly Luffy's long-lost mother.
But the good times didn't last.
The sudden rise of the Beast God Pirates stole the world's attention.
Their captain, Barbarossa Caesar had returned with a vengeance.
In his first battle, he wiped out 90% of Wano's forces.
Luffy, the brand-new Emperor, was left beaten half to death.
The other two big shots, Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law were captured and their crews were completely annihilated.
In his second battle, Caesar dealt a massive blow to the Marines.
The hero Garp was forced into a bloody retreat, Admiral Kizaru was left knocking on death's door, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku was killed in action.
When Morgans first heard the news, one thought screamed in his mind: Rocks is back!
He knew a headline like that would sell like crazy.
But he was too angry.
He had put all his chips on Luffy, and he resented Caesar for ruining his golden boy's story.
So, he let the World Government's official papers run wild, allowing them to paint the Beast God Pirates as a crew of bloodthirsty, evil monsters.
Morgans knew a man like Caesar wouldn't stay quiet for long.
Sure enough, as soon as Caesar sent out invitations, the world went nuts.
Pirate crews from all over flocked to the New World, turning everything upside down.
Old legends that everyone thought were dead crawled out of the woodwork and gathered near Totto Land.
Guys like "Red Count" Redfield and "Withered Sword King" Ganzui showed up, showing off insane strength that blew everyone away.
Even the Roger Pirates, who had been silent for twenty years made an appearance, their ship, the Oro Jackson, soaring through the skies and putting the World Government on edge.
And now, all these infamous pirates were gathering for a "Tea Party."
The Beast God Pirates claimed it was just a friendly get-together to drink tea, eat sweets, and talk shop.
"Bullshit," Morgans muttered to himself, staring at his notes.
"This Caesar wants to unite all the pirates. If he does that, he won't even need to find Laugh Tale to become the Pirate King! No… he'd be something even bigger. He'd be…"
"The King of the New World!"
The woman who had spoken was Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District.
It was a business that thrived wherever pirates gathered.
Men who lived by violence needed an escape, and she provided it with wine and women, earning her tens of billions of berries a year.
But that was just her cover.
In reality, Stussy was a top agent for CP0, planted in the New World by the World Government to spy on the pirates.
She was the reason the Marines always knew what was happening before it even happened.
This time, she had crashed the party on direct orders from the top.
Her mission: get close to Caesar and find out what he was planning.
"Here, take a look for yourself," Morgans said, tossing a stack of papers to her.
His brow was furrowed with worry.
"This is the latest intel. If this gets out, the world is going to be in an uproar all over again."
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