"Nani! So the Shichibukai Crocodile was the one behind the civil strife in Alabasta! His ambition truly knows no bounds—he even dared to usurp the kingdom itself!"
"Of course! I had long suspected that the man behind the Baroque Works organization was Crocodile. After all, there aren't many people in the first half of the Grand Line capable of leading such a massive syndicate!"
"Princess Vivi, you infiltrated Baroque Works for the sake of your kingdom and worked undercover for over a year. What a remarkable princess! Please, you must grant me an exclusive interview!"
"Hahaha! Naturally, Princess Vivi, don't worry. Everyone from Fairy Tail is central to this entire incident report. I intend to highlight that clearly!"
The news king, Morgans, spoke animatedly with Vivi.
As the so-called King of Darkness in the world of journalism, Morgans rarely showed such enthusiasm, even toward royalty. But his eagerness now was directly tied to Fairy Tail. After all, he anticipated frequent dealings with them in the future and wanted to establish good relations.
The interview on the Alabasta affair stretched on for over an hour.
"At this point, Guildmaster Sugisawa Yuuto, members of Fairy Tail, Princess Vivi—this interview is complete. I'll return to sort through the material and aim to have the report ready by evening!"
With that, Morgans bid farewell. Before leaving, he whipped out his camera and snapped multiple shots of the defeated Shichibukai Crocodile, lying battered on the ground. Satisfied with his photographs, he laughed boisterously and rode the wind away.
"What an enthusiastic man," Mirajane remarked with a smile.
"Hehe." Sugisawa Yuuto chuckled softly.
Others might not know, but as a transmigrator, Yuuto understood all too well the true nature of the so-called news king. For the sake of headlines, Morgans never hesitated to embellish or outright fabricate stories. Still…
As long as he didn't tarnish Fairy Tail's name, Yuuto had no problem working with him. In fact, Morgans' coverage of Fairy Tail's growing influence piqued Yuuto's interest.
"Speaking of which, Master, what should we do with these people down here?" Nami asked.
"Let's leave that decision to Princess Vivi," Yuuto replied, his gaze falling on her.
"I already contacted Koza an hour ago, and my father has also reached out to the Marines. Let these people spend the rest of their lives repenting in prison," Vivi declared firmly.
If the choice had been left to Yuuto, the heads of those who plunged the kingdom into chaos would have rolled without hesitation. But since this was Vivi's call, as their client, Yuuto had no objections.
Not long after, sand and dust rose in the distance. A cavalry unit thundered in from the direction of Yuba, led by the revolutionary commander Koza.
"Vivi! You summoned me so urgently—what's going on?" Koza asked, rushing forward.
Before Vivi could respond, his subordinates gasped.
"Wait, look!"
"That's… that's Crocodile himself!"
"The Shichibukai… he's been defeated?!"
"And those people lying there—they're the agents of Baroque Works!"
"They were all high-bounty criminals… and now they've been utterly crushed!"
"What?!" Koza's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That's right. It was Fairy Tail who defeated Crocodile and his entire syndicate," Vivi explained with pride, recounting the entire series of events.
Just yesterday, during negotiations, Koza and his men had listened politely but remained skeptical of Fairy Tail's reputation. But now…
Vivi could proudly declare them the true saviors of Alabasta!
As her words sank in, an overwhelming shock overtook Koza and his followers.
"So it really was all Crocodile's doing…"
"And yet… we falsely accused the King of these crimes…"
"Damn that Crocodile!"
Tears of regret and fury welled in their eyes.
"I am deeply grateful, Fairy Tail. I apologize for my disrespect yesterday. You are true heroes!" Koza said solemnly, bowing low in thanks.
"Don't worry about it," Yuuto replied with calm composure.
"Well then, since everything has been explained, I'll leave the rest to you, Koza. We'll return to Alubarna—my father is surely preparing the royal banquet by now," Vivi said with a smile.
"Let's go," Yuuto nodded.
With a wave of his hand, gravity magic surged, lifting Fairy Tail's ship into the sky once more. Their course—Alubarna, the capital.
Hours later, as the sun dipped below the horizon, a magnificent city came into view.
Alubarna—the jewel of Alabasta—stood proudly before them.
At the same time, at the World Economic News headquarters, printing presses roared without pause. Tens of thousands of newsbirds were loaded with freshly printed editions.
By six o'clock, the World Economic Evening News released its special coverage of the Alabasta affair.
Newsbirds flapped their wings, scattering the reports across every corner of the world.
And at that moment—the seas trembled!
"What?! The Shichibukai attempted to usurp a kingdom?!"
"Crocodile, a government-recognized pirate, tried to seize Alabasta for himself?!"
"But isn't the Shichibukai system supposed to protect allied nations?!"
"Forget that—what about Fairy Tail?!"
"Yes, Fairy Tail! Their captain had a bounty of eighty million just recently!"
"Aren't they pirates? How could they become national heroes?!"
"No, you've got it wrong! They're not a pirate crew at all!"
"They're a guild—taking on requests, solving problems, helping those in need. That's what Fairy Tail truly is!"
"Then I'll hire them myself! I want to send them a commission!"
All across the seas, discussions raged.
As Yuuto expected, the Alabasta incident completely flipped Fairy Tail's reputation. To the common people, they were no longer outlaws—they were heroes.
Of course, balance must be maintained. With Fairy Tail's rise in esteem came a corresponding decline in trust for the Marines and the World Government. Allowing a Shichibukai to nearly overthrow an allied kingdom would forever stain their credibility.
But that was none of Yuuto's concern.
If you make mistakes, you must take responsibility. If you're struck, you stand tall and bear it.
Sugisawa Yuuto was no father to the Marines or the World Government. Their failures had nothing to do with him.