"Hey! Over here."
Sensing a news seagull flying ten thousand meters away, Orin casually waved his hand, and a newspaper appeared in his palm.
In the past, the seagull might have been startled and flapped its wings reflexively at the sudden situation.
But now, it was a newly trained model.
Not even a second of delay...
Salute!!!
It didn't even know which direction to salute in, so it went with a full 360-degree bow.
"Interesting."
Orin chuckled softly, leaned back in his chair, and opened the newspaper. His eyes were immediately drawn in.
"Turbulent Seas: The Rise of the Three Emperors and One King!!!"
"A Mere Sea Emperor? That Man Rules the Dark World!!!"
"Whole Cake War: The Black Emperor vs. Beasts & BIG MOM—A Complete Victory!!!"
Seeing the increasingly exaggerated headlines, Orin's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
What the hell?
How was that a complete victory?
Reading through the article, it mostly analyzed the current balance of power across the seas and pointed out the most active pirate overlords right now.
The rest focused entirely on the Whole Cake War.
Very cleverly, there wasn't a single mention of Orin being injured or weakened—those moments were completely and deliberately avoided.
Instead, scenes like him grabbing Linlin and slamming her into Kaido, or his four clones suppressing both Emperors, were all included in vivid detail.
Combined with some clever wordplay, it gave off a powerful illusion—
As if Orin had effortlessly and stylishly defeated two of the Emperors.
The final lines even described Big Mom and Kaido collapsing in exhaustion after their final blast of Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
"This time, the hype might just rival Captain Roger himself..."
Whether it was Big Mom or Kaido, both were massive forces in the New World with enough territory and power to be crowned Emperors. Their bounties ranked among the highest in the world.
And now both of them had been beaten so badly by Orin that they couldn't even stand.
Especially those mysterious instant clones...
Just one Orin was already despair-inducing.
Facing four?
Even if it were Edward Newgate, the world's strongest man—Whitebeard himself—he might've had to leave half his life behind to escape!
"Are newspapers always this good at blowing smoke? No wonder they're your lapdogs."
Crocodile bit down on a cigar, standing behind Orin with narrowed eyes as she looked at the newspaper.
She might've let it slide before, but this time she had been there in person. She could tell at a glance how different the report was from reality.
That's why she teased Orin.
She admitted Orin didn't even use his full combat power or techniques that could push his abilities to the limit.
But still, saying he soloed two Emperors without a scratch? That was stretching it.
Orin simply shrugged.
"Wasn't my doing. My subordinates just know what's expected."
"Besides..."
Orin glanced at Crocodile, then pulled two sheets of paper from under the newspaper with a smile.
"Rather than fussing about that, why not check out the new bounty posters?"
"Bounty posters?"
Crocodile took the posters. The first one bore her own image, oozing dark underworld queen energy.
Crocodile
Logia-type: Suna Suna no Mi (Sand-Sand Fruit)
Bounty: 1,564,000,000 Belly
Crimes: Extremely Dangerous – Dead or Alive
"Quite a jump. The Navy and their usual pants-down nonsense."
Though she grumbled, the slight upturn of her lips gave away her mood.
For pirates, a rising bounty was the clearest recognition of strength and threat level—a symbol of one's standing across the seas.
"Is that so... Then take a look at the next one."
Orin laid his head back, one eye lazily open as he watched the smug expression on Crocodile's face.
As expected—
The next second, her expression instantly changed.
"N-NANI!!! That damn Mihawk!!!"
Crocodile's face darkened, black lines and veins popping on her forehead as she crumpled the poster in her hand.
Wanted Poster
Hawk-Eye Dracule Mihawk
Great Swordsman, Master of All Three Haki Types, Unrivaled Swordsmanship
Bounty: 3,318,000,000 Belly
Crimes: Extremely Dangerous – Dead or Alive
"Instead of whining about others, maybe look inward—did your bounty rise? And by how much?"
"In the Whole Cake battle, you barely made an impression compared to our little hawk. Just played support."
Orin's razor tongue struck again, pushing Crocodile's temper to the brink. Her cigar nearly snapped in half.
Her flushed face spoke louder than words.
"If it weren't for Katakuri and his damn Observation Haki pestering me, I wouldn't have let Mihawk steal the spotlight!!!"
"But little hawk took down King with just one slash."
"..."
Snap—
The cigar broke completely, dissolving into a swirl of sand.
Crocodile's face darkened even more. But faced with Orin's words, she had no idea how to refute them.
She knew Orin could be absolutely infuriating at times—but her temper always got the better of her.
She had thought her bounty increase was something to be proud of.
But it wasn't even half of those two. Thinking back on the pride she had felt earlier only made her feel like a complete clown.
Faced with Orin's taunts,
She didn't argue further. But in her heart, she silently swore—
Next time there's a fight, she would prove herself!!!
...
Just as Orin expected, this news instantly reignited the long-quiet seas.
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
The Room of Power.
"Based on the footage from the scene, even without fully merging his abilities, Orin's raw power is already comparable to an Admiral..."
Five shadowy figures sat or stood, each holding a copy of the newspaper, waving off the CP0 agent who had brought the intel.
"That's right."
"But that's not even the most concerning part."
Saint Marcus Mars narrowed his eyes, picking up another intelligence report from the table. His expression darkened.
It was intel sent back by their agents planted in Morgans' organization—and what it contained was even more troubling:
A call from Orin, the undisputed king of the underworld, summoning a "Dark World Summit."
This information far outweighed any petty pirate battle.
After reading the full report, the five Elders fell into complete silence.
To be honest, even they found this upcoming meeting a serious headache.
"So? Should we act? The underworld holds plenty of economic interests for the World Government. If we hand it all over to Orin..."
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, gripping his long sword, made the suggestion.
"It's not viable!"
The moment he finished, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter spoke up in firm opposition, face grim.
"That kind of move would be a direct break with Orin, with no chance of reconciliation. The cost would far outweigh any economic losses!!!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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