Google search TWKAN
Absalom actually has a bit of a journalistic talent.
In the original timeline, he used the alias Absa and submitted many articles to the World Economic News Agency in exchange for royalties to take care of the dejected Moria.
Thanks to the power of the Clear-Clear Fruit, he can infiltrate many places that ordinary people cannot reach, thus possessing a great deal of firsthand information.
Although he's not currently working in this field, he has some potential in it.
Whether there were other reporters on the island, Absalom didn't know, but he certainly took a lot of photos while Lyriana and Whitebeard were fighting.
While authenticity, timeliness, and accuracy are undoubtedly the three essential elements of news, sometimes these elements are not enough to grab attention.
Taking things out of context, fabricating stories, exaggerating, and shifting the focus are the best ways to grab attention.
With these photos in hand, there is a great deal of room for public opinion to discuss what exactly happened on Portoch Baralta Island.
Whether it's the cultural promotion during the Brook Island whale tour or the Power Gear's patrols in the surrounding area, it's all about waging a war of public opinion.
The benefits are not necessarily tangible land and money; some things that may not seem to generate immediate income are the ones that can continuously generate revenue in the future.
What may seem like a losing proposition can actually yield big returns with a small investment. The reputation gained from spending money upfront can naturally be exchanged for sufficient gains when needed.
Absalom, having always been by Oran's side, naturally knew how to do this. If these photos were used well, the value of this aircraft could be further enhanced.
"I hadn't noticed before, Abu, your photography skills are pretty good."
Taking the camera from Absalom, Leliana was very satisfied with the photos. Absalom had found good angles and the proportions of the people and the scenery were just right.
He neither turned people into stick figures nor made any abstract films; with this skill alone, he could be appointed to a position in the Navy's intelligence agency.
"It's just a little hobby, nothing much. What are your thoughts, Your Highness?"
"Give me the photo, I'll go talk to Morgans in a bit."
Aren't you going back? Your injury...
"It's just a minor injury. That old man was overthinking things. He didn't fight for very long, so this injury is nothing. But if he continues fighting, he won't be able to gain any advantage."
Zoan-type Devil Fruits offer the most direct and comprehensive enhancement to the body. While the Tremor-Tremor Fruit is incredibly destructive, the advantages of Zoan-type Devil Fruits only become apparent in prolonged battles.
Whether it's enhancing physical attributes or strengthening recovery abilities, Zoan-types are top-tier, not to mention the most unique Mythical Zoan species.
"I understand why Dad doesn't like fighting on home soil now. If we really fought on Firefly Island, I wouldn't be able to fight as freely. By the way, who's the other party in this deal?"
"I am a revolutionary army, but judging from the looks of it, I probably won't be able to get through. You don't need to worry about that, I can handle it."
When they sold the gas cylinders, Bear and Ginny had mentioned to Ivankov that they should use the underground channels themselves, as the trading channels here were too chaotic. Although the weapons originated in Oran, no one could say for sure how many hands they had passed through.
Selling it through normal channels wouldn't have any other impact, but at this moment, as Whitebeard left, the Oliver family members approached again.
"Please wait a moment."
"What do you want? I'm already being lenient by not bothering you. What else do you want to say?"
"No, that's not what we meant. We meant, do you need a place to stay in the New World? Portochybaralta Island is conveniently located and is a good place."
Half of the island was destroyed, and even though Porto Tsibalta Island has excellent ports all around, the loss is still enormous.
But they didn't come here to investigate; they came here to curry favor with powerful figures.
In Whitebeard's mind, his decision to retreat stemmed from concern for the other crew members, as being surrounded in this situation was not a good thing.
Even if he could easily destroy the fleet surrounding this place with the tsunami caused by the earthquake, his high-end combat power would still have irreversible consequences for the Whitebeard Pirates.
There was no reason to fight to the death, so retreating was perfectly justifiable.
But the Oliver family saw it differently; in their eyes, it was Lyliana alone who repelled the Whitebeard Pirates.
The collapse of the island was already a devastating loss; if Whitebeard were to come back for revenge afterward, they would be completely finished.
Originally, they just wanted to curry favor with Whitebeard, and because of Whitebeard's power, they made an unjust decision. Now that they have seen someone whose strength is no less than Whitebeard's and who has more influence to trade with, they naturally have to take the initiative to come to him.
As long as there is protection from a strong person, these things that have been lost can still be recovered.
"I destroyed half of your island."
"It's nothing. The harbor just happened to be too narrow, so this expansion has increased its area. We should thank you for helping us enlarge the harbor. Please accept this small fee for your services."
In the current state of the new world, if you lack the ability but possess a large amount of wealth, you have to find a backer, and even if you are humiliated, you have to actively seek someone else to retaliate.
"Abu, what do you think?"
Lyliana is unaware of the situation in the New World; aside from Oran herself, Absalom is the only one who truly understands it.
"Your Highness, we do lack an outpost in the New World, and this location is quite good. However, we are not pirates and do not collect protection money to protect islands."
If we could take a stake in the business here, that would be perfect.
"No problem! We can discuss this slowly; everything is negotiable."
The demand for a shareholding is far more excessive than simply collecting protection money, but for the Oliver family, it is much better than the other party being uninterested in them or wanting to wipe them out outright.
Only by relying on such protection can one have a chance to survive.
"As expected, you still have to use your fists to deal with the physics of the ocean. Abu, you handle things here, I'm leaving now."
The Oliver family didn't have this attitude before Leriana fought Whitebeard.
Having entrusted this trivial matter to Absalom, Leriana took to the skies again, making contact with others along the way.
"Sister Stussy, this is Leriana. Do you have any news about Morgans? I need to talk to him."
Morgans' locations are quite flexible, with multiple branches and backup headquarters around the world, and the headquarters it is currently using is a special building that can be moved by air at any time.
After all, the work he did was quite dangerous. Sometimes after the news was reported, people would try to make him disappear. That's how Morgans developed his skill in running away.
But he is also a member of the underworld. Although we can't locate him at any time, we can find him a temporary place to stay.
Otherwise, the people sent by the World Government wouldn't have been able to reach Morgans so easily. It can only be said that Morgans has a pretty good grasp of the red line, keeping him in a position where the World Government dislikes him but doesn't want to completely eliminate him.
In addition, Morgans would occasionally cooperate with the World Government's actions, and in the end, they persisted in this way.
As the current queen of the entertainment district and a mole planted by the World Government in the underworld, she has some intelligence to her name.
"Morgans? Wait a minute, if he hasn't moved, he should be near Broccoli Island right now."
Stussy, who was studying a beauty magazine, thought for a moment, then gave Leriana an address, and before she could say anything, the call was disconnected.
"Broccoli Island? It's not far. Thanks, I'll hang up now."
Morgans' intelligence network is somewhat exaggerated; to be precise, everyone on the high seas knows that Morgans will spend a lot of money to buy photos of big news stories.
Even if there is no solid evidence, it is fine to just make something out of nothing.
As for contacting Morgans by phone.
It's possible, but not very meaningful. Morgans' personality is sometimes like a split personality; he can report fake news to grab attention, or he can ignore the demands of the World Government to report real news, even releasing Nika's photo.
Or perhaps his purpose has always been simple: to report big news from beginning to end. To communicate with this guy, you need to use some special methods, and face-to-face meetings are the best option.
As Leriana set out to search for Morgans, the G1 branch's navy completed its assembly.
Because of the existence of the Red Line, the navy would not go to great lengths to hoist its massive warships over the Red Line.
Marineford and the G1 branch are the two gateways protecting Mary Geoise, located in Paradise and the New World respectively. When operations are needed in the New World, the Navy only needs to send a suitable admiral there, and then they can directly change ships and set off.
They're all standard warships anyway, so there's not much difference between them.
"Garp, there's no need to go. The mission has been canceled."
Garp, who had just crossed the Red Line and arrived at the warship, received a new order from Sengoku.
"What do you mean? You're the one who sent me here, and now that I've just boarded the ship, the mission is canceled? Sengoku, are you saying..."
"There's nothing I can do; it's beyond my control. New intelligence has come from Portochino Baralta Island—Whitebeard has already..."
"Are you trying to get rid of me so you can sneak away and eat senbei all by yourself?!"
Snap!
The microphone in Garp's hand went dead. Sengoku had accidentally crushed the microphone in his hand. Then, Sengoku skillfully took out a new part from the drawer of the table, installed it on the Den Den Mushi, and then dialed the phone again.
Judging from the speed and skill with which he replaced the parts, this was not the first time.
"Sengoku, what did you say about Whitebeard?"
Sengoku was about to reprimand Garp, but Garp's tone suddenly became serious.
"Whitebeard seems to have been repelled, but the specifics are still unclear. In any case, you don't need to go there anymore. You just..."
Beep—
The busy tone of the Den Den Mushi indicated that Garp had hung up on it again, accompanied by a crisp sound, and another batch of broken parts appeared on the table.
"Kuzan, it's me. You're in Piltover, right? Ask Dr. Sidiller how the pacifists are progressing."
This time, Sengoku did not contact Garp again. As long as he was sure that nothing serious happened, Garp dared to refuse to answer directly.
Instead of continuing to sulk, it's better to see if there's any good news.
During this period, we have accumulated quite a few finished parts, which may be used to assemble some model machine. Even if it cannot be put into actual combat, it can still be used for the time being.
As the events on Portochybala Island began to unfold, Leliana arrived near Broccoli Island, having borrowed the permanent pointer from the Navy's G12 branch.
The branch lieutenant general here happens to be Brugras. This lieutenant general, who was originally in charge of G6 branch affairs, has now been transferred to the New World. She is also quite familiar with Lyriana, and borrowing a pointer is just a matter of a word.
Near the island, Leliana also spotted many newsbirds.
Based on this alone, the fact that so many newsbirds gathered here was enough to prove that Stussy's intelligence was sound. Following the trail of those newsbirds, Leliana quickly found the headquarters of the World Economic News Agency.
"Ugh, another day without any big news. Hey, no new information? How can this kind of news grab people's attention? Who did this layout? A mere pirate worth tens of millions being captured deserves a whole page?"
And this? A famous singer's new song is making headlines? You might as well report that the King of Soul slipped while leaning at a 45-degree angle!
Morgans was criticizing his reporters when a knocking sound came from outside the window.
"President, I think someone might be looking for you."
The reporter, who was being scolded, pointed behind Morgans. Due to her size, Leriana couldn't get in here, so this was the only way she could get in.
"hiss!"
Morgans gasped when he saw Leriana, and all the feathers on his body stood on end.
"Princess Leliana, what brings you here? Did you come alone?"
Morgans was unaware of the situation on Portoch Baralta Island, but as a regular attendee of the tea parties, he had the privilege of witnessing how Leriana treated Charlotte Linlin during her food cravings.
It was unwise to provoke the two most difficult groups in the underworld at the same time, and besides, Morgans didn't consider the matter big news, so he didn't report it.
Morgans didn't know what Leriana wanted when she came to him, but he knew very well that running away was not an option at this point.
As he opened the window, Morgans looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he didn't see the little white cat. At least it wasn't there to do its accounting.
"This is great news. I'm here to deliver some big news. Take a look at these."
Leriana handed over a stack of photos.
A cracked sky, shattered islands, and Leriana and Whitebeard locked in a power struggle.
"This is..."
"Whitebeard's men stole our stuff, and I taught them a lesson. Whitebeard came over later, but ultimately chose to retreat. How about that? Enough for you to write a report, right?"
"That's enough! You're a lifesaver! I was just worried about not having any headlines to use tomorrow. How much do you want for the rights to these photos?"
"I'm not interested in the money, but I want to review the content of the report, and I'd like to specify some other content."
It's unrealistic to try to tempt Leliana with money; for example, the Oliver family might not even have as much money as Leliana receives as New Year's money.
Morgans understood what Leriana meant and did not refuse her; as long as such big news could be reported, a little error was acceptable.
"Of course, you're the person involved, so you can certainly take a look. But at this point, it's best to have a catchy nickname, how about Dragon Princess?"
"No interest, just write your name. I'm not a pirate. Oh, and remember to write your full name, it's Sidiriel Lyriana."
Now there is nothing left.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"