"Of course, I'll write my real name, but are you really not planning to come up with a catchy nickname? This is a great opportunity to become famous throughout the world. If you don't like Dragon Princess, how about Scarlet Despair? Cherry Blossom Warhammer? Or the Strongest Creature in the World?"
Morgans still hasn't given up on this matter. Whether it's the Navy or pirates, eye-catching codenames are an important part. There's even an admiral in the Navy who specializes in giving nicknames to others. His hobby is creating codenames, and most of the names used in the Navy today are his creations.
Morgans' news releases are mostly related to pirates or the navy; he always felt uneasy without a code name.
Were there any princesses or kings with nicknames in the past?
"There aren't many, but no princess has ever been able to fight the world's strongest man head-on."
"Forget it, I'm not interested in your weird titles, but I'm curious, how did you come up with 'Crimson Despair'? Does the color suit it?"
"It doesn't really fit on its own, but the color looks right when the enemy's blood stains your hair. And most importantly, it sounds nice."
Weapons, appearance, abilities, personality, pirate crew affiliation, fighting style—that's basically how nicknames on this high seas come about.
"If we don't make a decision about Princess Leliana first, people will start giving her nicknames, and who knows what kind of rumors will spread about her."
Morgans was still working hard for the naming rights, even though they had no real value, but they gave him a strange sense of satisfaction. Unfortunately, Leliana had no interest in them, so he had to give up.
"Then, Princess Leriana, would it be convenient for us to do an exclusive interview? That would enrich the content of the newspaper."
Morgans took a pen and paper from a reporter standing nearby, his eyes full of anticipation.
"You really don't care at all whether things are true or false."
"Hahaha, although I'm a miser and not exactly a good person, I'm a journalist. Sometimes I'm a word DJ who tricks people with lies. I decide what goes in the newspaper. Here's the photo, this is definitely big news!"
As we all know, there is no Photoshop technology on this sea, and the photos and newspaper articles have high credibility. With the evidence brought by Leriana, Morgans has a lot of room to maneuver.
Moreover, he didn't think anyone would use Whitebeard to prove to him that having a status that didn't match his strength was a good thing. Without Conqueror's Haki and good luck, the final result would be like Kid being drowned at sea.
In reality, it wouldn't matter even if it were fake. Morgans doesn't have any moral standards; he just has a slight insistence on his identity as a journalist.
Even if this story is false, Whitebeard can't trace it back to him. He just reported a news story, and if anyone wants to cause trouble, they can't find him.
For Lyriana, this wasn't a big problem. Ultimately, it was just a comparison of strength, and Whitebeard, who had fought Lyriana, knew her strength very well.
Leriana didn't kill his entire ship of sons in person, so Whitebeard couldn't possibly lead his men across the Red Line to Piltover to fight just because of this one report.
With his status as a Shichibukai and a member state, Whitebeard's actions were tantamount to a direct declaration of war against the World Government. They couldn't handle even the local armed forces on Firefly Island, let alone the support of the Navy.
Not counting the Navy, there's also retired Redfield living in seclusion there, something Whitebeard knew very well.
Leriana had considered this issue when she approached Morgans to arrange the headline problem.
Whitebeard wouldn't have made any more irrational decisions if he hadn't continued his death struggle with her on the island; that was Lyliana's own judgment.
"Princess Lyliana, what do you think of Whitebeard as an opponent? And how do you evaluate his title as the strongest man in the world?"
"It is indeed very strong, but the world's strongest cannot be judged solely by strength. I think intelligence is equally important."
"I heard that this battle ended inconclusively. If it had continued, what do you think the outcome would have been?"
"Although he has been famous for a long time, I don't think I will lose. The future belongs to the young."
During the interview, Morgans changed his way of addressing people, and he seemed to have become more confident. Leliana didn't seem to care about these minor issues, and even asked for Morgans' manuscript after the interview.
Ginny and Xiong had a bad first impression of Morgans because of the God Valley report, and Piltover had its own intelligence channels, so they were very disdainful of some of Morgans' exaggerated reports and also had some dissatisfaction with the World Economic News Agency.
Leriana knew very well that her words might be rearranged in Morgans' hands, and the published content might become that Whitebeard was a brainless old man who should have retired long ago.
Hostility and insult are two different concepts. A little exaggeration is fine, but going too far is not acceptable. Only after confirming that Morgan's newspaper was still within the scope of normal reporting did Leriana leave.
"President, shall we publish the newspaper according to this layout?"
"Of course, it's not good to go back on a promise once it's been made. I don't want her to come knocking on my door again unless there's another big news story like this."
Negotiating with people requires skill; pointing a gun at Morgans and throwing him a check to order him to publish false information wouldn't be effective.
But if you give him a fake big news story, Morgans will cooperate fully, such as the false information that Doflamingo has withdrawn from the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Now that Leriana herself has delivered big news and even done an exclusive interview, how could Morgans possibly still be up to something behind the scenes?
"However, this location has already been exposed! Pack your things, it's time to move!"
With the help of countless news birds, a giant balloon carrying the teapot-shaped headquarters flew into the sky.
If Leliana can find this place, it means others can too. This place is no longer safe, and staying any longer is not a good idea.
People in the underworld have a lot of enemies. Morgans' fighting ability is not the worst, but it is not as exaggerated as Charlotte Linlin and Leriana's. Timely relocation is the key to survival.
The finalized layout was sent to all parts of the world via fax, and Newsbird was busy.
[One man repelled the enemy, Whitebeard retreated! The strongest nation truly lives up to its name!]
[The dawn of a new era, Siddirel Leriana!]
A person's name is like a tree's shadow; how to grab attention doesn't require anyone to teach you. Initially, Morgans wanted to use Whitebeard's disastrous defeat as an example.
However, Whitebeard's power was already widely known, and his name had been heard in every place with advanced intelligence throughout the world, so they eventually restrained themselves somewhat.
And so, as the rumors spread, some outrageous stories began to emerge.
"Have you heard? That white-bearded guy who could stop a child from crying failed."
"I heard that. It's said that a whole ship full of people was driven back by a woman—no, a girl. Young people are really scary."
"Perhaps it's not that the young man is strong, but that the white-bearded man is weak?"
Such discussions were not uncommon. Whitebeard's reputation was so great that, rather than believing that a sixteen-year-old girl had defeated the world's strongest man, people were more inclined to believe that Whitebeard was somewhat undeserving of his fame.
Those who believed such statements paid the price.
"Phoenix Seal!"
In the New World, near the Moby Dick, Marco kicked over the ship of a pirate who came to challenge him.
"With this kind of strength, you can't even see our king, you rookies!"
Watching the pirates being swallowed by the sea, Marco flapped his wings and returned to the deck.
"Dad, is that girl really that strong? Since this newspaper came out, there have been more guys coming to provoke us."
"Gulalalalala, aren't there always some reckless young lads every year? It's nothing special. But that girl... she's definitely not ordinary. She has that guy's shadow in her."
Whitebeard didn't take these rumors seriously. He wasn't dead yet, and it would only take a little while for him to tell these guys on the high seas that it wasn't that he was weak, but that the situation wasn't suitable for a fight to the death.
Leriana's strength doesn't mean they are strong.
In time, someone will naturally use their own blood to prove Whitebeard's strength once again.
"That guy? Dad, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
"It's him. My feeling is right. There's no doubt about her talent to be able to hurt me at this age."
Marco had followed Whitebeard for a long time and was deeply trusted by him, becoming like a right-hand man. In Marco's eyes, Whitebeard was no different from his own father.
Marco had many roles, including ship's doctor and navigator. As a child, he studied nautical charts diligently, striving to assist the team in other ways as well.
Marco was quite familiar with Whitebeard's past experiences. Whitebeard had more than one powerful figure who left a deep impression on him, but the only one he could say that about was Rocks.
"How's things going with Gameño?"
"It's been confirmed. Gameno was indeed in violation of the rules. He stole goods from people trading on that island after they had already offered us their protection."
Whitebeard didn't dwell on things like Lyriana or Rocks.
The sea is a place where talents emerge in abundance. Whitebeard wished he could have such a successor under his command. That was his thought.
After changing the subject, Whitebeard asked about the cause of the matter.
When it happened, Whitebeard didn't care what Gamenne had done; after all, he was his son. But once he got home, he had to find out what really happened.
How to handle things behind closed doors is a family matter.
"I see. Let's do it the old way."
The Whitebeard Pirates also have their own rules, but things like this, which don't involve much loss, don't usually cause any major problems. At most, they'll just give them a small lesson. But what Gameneo thinks is another matter entirely.
As the other party involved, Whitebeard did not feel angry, but some people were not satisfied.
For example, Crocodile was extremely annoyed by the statement that even the Seven Warlords of the Sea were not on par with him.
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