No one could have imagined...
That Karl would use public opinion to whitewash himself, taking the moral high ground to condemn Mariejois and the Marine Headquarters.
With the help of Morgans, a dark king who held a near-monopoly on the newspaper industry, even Mariejois and the Marine Headquarters were helpless.
Especially when Morgans, in the following days, went out of his way to interview some of the guests who had fled Gran Tesoro, confirming from their own mouths that the Dragon Rider Karl's words were not false.
That birdman, Morgans, went even further down the path of courting death, never to return.
Right at the bottom of the interview, he launched a tirade against Mariejois and the Marine Headquarters, accusing Mariejois of being shameless and the Marine Headquarters of being corrupt.
A bounty hunter of good character, because of a sudden stroke of fortune, was forced into opposition by Mariejois. The Marines, the force of justice that maintained order on the seas, had become an accomplice to darkness.
Not only did they define him as a pirate, but because a lapdog of Mariejois was killed, they launched a Buster Call against a 15-year-old boy.
Fortunately, he was strong enough to save his own life.
In the first two instances, he had only blocked the Buster Call's advance. It was only when he was finally cornered by the Marines that he was forced to fight back.
And afterwards, his bounty was to be raised by the Marines, making him a target for countless bounty hunters and pirates.
A bounty hunter who specialized in hunting pirates, who never oppressed any ordinary person, who would even compensate for any damage he caused and notify innocent people to leave before a battle, was forced into the camp of evil by so-called justice, becoming one of the great pirates he hated the most.
[Morgans: He's just a 15-year-old boy, a child! Can your conscience rest easy?]
This final, masterstroke of a sentence concluded the special report.
Everyone who read this article felt the same way.
It was unknown what Mariejois thought, but Sengoku at Marine Headquarters was so angry he almost ascended to heaven on the spot.
A child?
What kind of bullshit is that!
Could a child be as black-hearted as that bastard?
Taking advantage of his intelligence superiority, he tricked them into launching the largest-scale Buster Call, then held up their two top combatants, allowing that unbeatable combination to crush the Buster Call. And finally, he continuously used his ultimate moves to block the two top combatants while he and Gran Tesoro made a stylish getaway.
His side didn't lose a single soldier, only a bit of gold, in exchange for the lives of several thousand Marine soldiers and a few officers.
And afterwards, he stood on the moral high ground with an innocent face, condemning Mariejois and the Marine Headquarters...
This bastard birdman calls him a child?
If Morgans hadn't been in front of him, Sengoku would have definitely transformed into a giant Buddha and flattened him into a meat patty with a shockwave palm.
But no matter how angry Sengoku was, and no matter how Mariejois tried to clarify afterwards, the world would not believe their words.
They only believed what they saw, not the official news that Mariejois always used to placate them.
The guests who had gone to Gran Tesoro had all admitted it.
The Dragon Rider Karl had indeed given them time to evacuate before the fight started. Could that be false?
Wasn't Gild Tesoro, the world's richest man, a lapdog of the Celestial Dragons?
The Celestial Dragons had their eyes on Karl's crew's golden bell and were killed. The Marines had immediately sent an Admiral and warships to surround them afterwards, but they had escaped.
Mariejois had only lost one lapdog, and the Marines had immediately launched a Buster Call.
Some of the deluded people of the world, who had been sympathetic to the Marines and biased against Karl's crew, were now cheering for him.
This was all because of the Celestial Dragons.
The people of the world were filled with hatred for the Celestial Dragons.
As the biggest lackey of Mariejois, the Marines could not wash away this stain now.
Because no one would believe their and Mariejois's clarifications.
Therefore...
The two true rulers of the sea, for the biggest winners of this incident, Karl and Morgans, held a deep-seated hatred.
The bounty had been issued too early!
A bastard as black-hearted as him should have started at at least three billion.
And that birdman Morgans, he'd better not appear in front of him, or he would not only pluck all his feathers but also roast him on a spit until he was well-done.
"Fuffuffuffuffu... This time, Mariejois and the Marine Headquarters have truly lost all face."
In the kingdom of Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the special feature Morgans had sent him. "These two audacious fellows not only reaped the fruits of victory but also stood on the moral high ground and threw mud at them. Aren't they afraid of completely enraging Mariejois and attracting those pervasive mad dogs?"
Though he said that, Doflamingo was cheering inwardly.
He would call this move by Karl and Morgans—a checkmate!
Just as Sengoku had thought, in all these years, Doflamingo had never seen anyone as black-hearted as Karl.
He wanted the tangible (the City of Gold) and the intangible (prestige and a good reputation).
This was the first time Doflamingo had seen someone with a Marine bounty who could whitewash themselves, kill several thousand Marine soldiers, and still win the favor of the public.
This was all because of one sentence: He's a child!
Of course, it was also because Karl usually held back, compensated for any damage, and dispersed the crowd before a fight.
With these coincidental pieces of evidence and the help of Morgans's great weapon of public opinion, Mariejois and the Marine Headquarters were completely cornered, unable to voice their grievances.
"...The City of Gold will reopen in a month?"
Seeing the decision Karl had announced to the world, Doflamingo's smile froze for a moment, then his lips curled back into a grin. "He's not going to be a pirate? That's great..."
This news was indeed great news for Doflamingo.
If Karl had followed the Marine Headquarters' bounty and formed a pirate crew, with the prestige he had accumulated in two weeks, he would only need to give a shout in this sea, and countless pirates and die-hard fans would flock to him.
The weak would hope to live under his prestige; the strong would hope to make a name for themselves with the help of a top-tier combatant.
A person whose strength stood at the pinnacle of the world could easily form a large force.
Especially since Karl was not alone; he had a Blue-Eyes White Dragon whose strength was also abnormally terrifying.
This combination was equivalent to the captain and first mate of one of the ruling powers.
The most important components of a pirate crew were already there.
He would only need to recruit some strong executives and a large number of low-end combatants, and in just a few years, he could, like Red-Haired Shanks, truly ascend to the top in the New World and become the fifth ruler.
At that time, the Dragon Rider Karl himself would probably only be around 20 years old.
In that case, it would be difficult for Doflamingo to gain Karl's friendship, perhaps even harder than reaching the heavens.
Because once Karl formed a pirate crew, his status would be infinitely close to that of the four rulers. With just a few more achievements, he could basically establish his position as a ruler and become the fifth Sea Emperor.
It would be difficult for Doflamingo to gain the favor of such a major figure, and even more difficult to establish a cooperative or allied relationship.
The former could be exchanged for a price, but the latter...
Even if Karl was willing, Kaido would not be.
Kaido wouldn't care if Doflamingo befriended someone inferior to him.
But Kaido, who had a close cooperative relationship with Doflamingo, would absolutely not allow him to "betray" him by allying with someone of equal status.
So...
The fact that Karl was not going to be a pirate but chose to be a merchant (a dark king) was, for Doflamingo, a piece of good news where he could have his cake and eat it too.
"Fuffuffuffuffu... I have a month. It seems I need to prepare a hefty gift and make a trip myself."
Unaware that Karl also wanted to get to know him, Doflamingo muttered to himself.
The news that Karl had decided not to be a pirate but a dark king spread throughout the New World.
Countless weaklings who had banded together, or strong alliances of great pirate crews, and even the rulers themselves, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Those pirates who had hoped to use Karl's crew's combat power and prestige to survive and make a name for themselves in the New World were filled with disappointment.
On the other hand, the dark kings other than Morgans and Doflamingo all felt a tightening in their chests, a feeling that a wolf was at the door.
Although Karl had only replaced Gild Tesoro and had lost all his industries except for Gran Tesoro, and no longer had the support of the behemoth that was Mariejois, he seemed weaker than Gild Tesoro.
But...
This sea ultimately respected the strong. It was a world where whoever had the biggest fist could do as they pleased.
As dark kings with industries and networks all over the world, they naturally wouldn't believe that Karl was a good person like the people of the world did.
Starting with the Celestial Dragons, killing Gild Tesoro, crushing the Buster Call, and throwing mud at Mariejois and the Marines...
Karl's series of actions had all been analyzed.
A supremely intelligent youth with a black and dirty heart.
If not for the fact that he was only 15, he would be a man with a deep and calculating mind.
Even so, this youth was enough to make these major figures feel a chill.
Except for Doflamingo, who was backed by Kaido and Mariejois, and Stussy, who was backed by Mariejois and Charlotte Linlin, the other dark kings all felt that another big boss was about to appear above them.
This big boss possessed absolute and powerful strength.
Having completely offended Mariejois and the Marine Headquarters, he probably feared no one except the rulers of the New World.
Including these so-called dark kings!
Which meant... they absolutely could not afford to offend him.
Like Doflamingo, the other dark kings, seeing that Gran Tesoro would reopen in a month, all prepared hefty gifts to be sent by their subordinates.
Even the rulers of the New World prepared gifts to be sent to Gran Tesoro by their executives in a month.
Since Karl was not planning to form a pirate crew and compete for a piece of the New World cake, the rulers of the New World, who had seen Karl's crew prove themselves, would not offend them if they could avoid it.
Offending them was a small matter, but forcing them to the side of one of their other rivals would be disadvantageous.
A mere gift and a gesture of goodwill—the rulers could afford to give it, and were willing to.
This was true even for Kaido, who coveted Karl's Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Charlotte Linlin, who was greedy for his bloodline.
As for Whitebeard and Shanks, there was even less need to say.
Since the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, this was the first time they had seen such a junior.
If not for being busy, they would have really liked to get to know Karl and have a drink with him.
After Karl's crew completed their ascent and stepped onto the highest stage of the New World, the so-called "Twin Stars of the East Blue," including Morgans, were no longer mentioned by anyone.
Karl had proven himself in the New World.
Unless Ace's Spade Pirates also proved themselves in the New World, perhaps the "Twin Stars of the East Blue" would be mentioned again by the people of the sea.
Otherwise, even if Ace joined the Whitebeard Pirates and quickly became the commander of the second division, as in the original story, he would not be qualified to be compared with Karl.
While the people of the world were condemning Mariejois and the Marine Headquarters, and the major figures of the New World were preparing to show goodwill to Karl, on the top floor of the Gran Tesoro hotel, Karl's crew, who had redecorated the top floor, were sitting on the sofa in the luxurious living room, discussing the matter of a "new crew member."
"Although the Float-Float Fruit can also control everything in the City of Gold, in terms of controlling gold, it's still not as good as the Gold-Gold Fruit."
Karl looked at the Gold-Gold Fruit in his hand and said to Karina and the others, "So, my golden ship must have a 'helmsman'."
"But..."
Karina said helplessly, "Except for you, we're all ability users, including Baccarat."
Hearing this, Baccarat had no reaction.
Clearly, in this period of time, she had learned that Karl's Rumble-Rumble Fruit was shared from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's racial talent.
"Why don't you eat it, Karl?" Nami suggested, her beautiful eyes turning into the shape of a berry as she looked at him.
"You idiot, your intentions are too obvious."
Karl couldn't help but roll his eyes at Nami. "If I wanted to eat it, I would have eaten the Float-Float Fruit back then."
After speaking, Karl looked at the girls other than Karina and said, "What I mean is, is there anyone you trust who is a non-ability user?"
"..."
Hearing this, the girls fell into silence.
After a while, except for Baccarat, who had not fully integrated, the gazes of Robin, Perona, and even Karina all shifted to Nami.
"Eh... me?"
Nami was slightly stunned and then pointed at herself.
"Except for you and Perona, we're all alone. Where would we find someone we trust?"
Karina said with a smile, "Uhuhuhu... if I remember correctly, you should have an older sister who is a non-ability user, right?"
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