Seeing Morgans looking like he was cooking up some bullshit,
Aus raised an eyebrow. Something felt off, but he let it slide.
This guy wouldn't dare play games with him. Otherwise, Aus would just tail the news birds back to headquarters and blow the whole place to hell.
Watching Morgans still lost in thought, Aus continued casually:
"Second thing...
I want to run the entire underground world.
You in, News King?"
"This..."
Morgans' cheerful expression froze solid.
He studied Aus's face—just quiet observation. No low, threatening tone. No intimidation.
Just that slight smirk and those contemptuous eyes that seemed to see straight through your soul.
"Ah... hahaha, would someone of your caliber really be interested in our little operation?"
"The underground world isn't little, Morgans~"
As someone who knew exactly how much business the underground kings controlled across every industry, Aus was crystal clear—
Entertainment, gambling, funerals, "special services," shipping, media manipulation, loan sharking, warehousing, arms dealing, brokerage...
This massive empire covering the world's most profitable sectors might not threaten the top-tier monsters,
but flipping the world's foundation? Easy as breathing.
"Think it over. You don't actually believe you can hide behind those birds forever, right?"
Aus's words carried natural authority.
Morgans went rigid, but he wasn't panicking—he had his hiding methods...
"Even moving your base to that airship won't help."
What the hell?!
Cold sweat leaked through his feathers, dripping to the floor. His bird face twisted ugly.
How could you possibly know...
"You're in intelligence, so you should understand me pretty well, Morgans. No need for long introductions."
Aus's eyes glowed red as he stared at the Den Den Mushi, radiating invisible pressure.
"I can always find you. Sky, sea, underground—doesn't matter.
Join me now, and I won't mess with your business. Hell, I'll protect you. Give you some world-class exclusive scoops."
"But..."
Aus's gaze went razor-sharp.
"Make me waste time hunting you down, and you really don't want to know what happens next."
He didn't spell it out.
Which made it infinitely more terrifying.
Morgans stopped smiling. Went dead silent.
Because he couldn't argue. The more he understood Aus's abilities, the more he grasped what kind of monster this was.
Hiding away publishing outrageous tabloids was shady enough,
but compared to Aus? He was playing in the kiddie pool.
As long as he wanted to spread news and grow his empire, he couldn't avoid this freak who could teleport anywhere without limits, whose Observation Haki could blanket ten thousand—hell, a hundred thousand meters.
As a world-class intel operative, he'd seen plenty of monsters on these seas.
But even those monsters would call "Black Gun" Doctor Aus a fucking monster.
And here's the thing—
he'd seen this coming.
All the intelligence pointed to it. "Mommy" Sami's red-light district expansion, that new underground broker "Joker"—
this guy's fingerprints were all over it. Others might miss it, but not him.
Every move screamed the same message: Lord Aus was dead serious about sinking his claws into the underground world's massive profit machine.
Not joining it. Owning it.
He planned to use his overwhelming power and impossible abilities to drag the chaotic, fractured underground market under one man's boot.
No one could resist. No one would dare.
Even the World Government would have to look the other way.
This was destiny.
Not some problem you could run from.
After a long moment,
Morgans cracked.
Fighting back required leverage, but his cards couldn't touch this Buddha who'd left the World Government bleeding in the dirt.
"In that case... I'm willing to serve under you, Lord Aus."
If this were Big Mom or Whitebeard, Morgans would've told them to go fuck themselves. But this guy was different.
His abilities were too broken, his potential too terrifying—raw power couldn't solve this equation.
"Don't sweat it, Morgans."
Hearing his surrender, Aus seemed pleased and actually offered comfort:
"I won't interfere with your business generally.
Spread whatever news you want—I don't care. Just get my messages out there, and you're golden."
"Plus, I can share some secrets..."
...
This really was the man even the World Government feared.
To know so many earth-shattering secrets...
And this was just the appetizer.
How many secrets had this monster uncovered with his abilities? What the hell did Roger discover?
Cold sweat trickled down his temple. Morgans felt thrilled and terrified in equal measure.
Following a king like this,
he'd definitely learn even more explosive news!
Without realizing it, his resentment evaporated, replaced by total investment in the bombshells about to drop.
Of course, Aus didn't give a shit about their loyalty. He didn't have Redfield's mind-reading Observation Haki.
As long as they obeyed, that was enough. He'd always relied on absolute strength, not hearts and minds.
"Oh, and don't forget to pass along a message to the other underground bosses—
tell them to hurry up and surrender. Hunting them down one by one and beating them into submission is a real time-waster."
As the call wound down, Aus added with a grin:
"Especially that rising star Stussy from Pleasure Quarter. If she's smart, I'll let her partner with Sami on this business.
If she's not..."
Aus's smile widened.
"Then I won't give a damn about the World Government CP organization's feelings.
Guess I'll just have to let Vegapunk have a personal chat with her."
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