Chapter 37: The Journalism World Cannot Exist Without Morgans
"Isn't this that Marine brat you let go, Big Bro? How did it turn into him single-handedly snatching the warship back?"
Newspapers delivered by News Coos weren't limited in quantity. If it were a small pirate crew of a dozen people, passing around one copy would suffice.
But for someone like Nereus, who had many subordinates, he usually bought several copies to let interested crew members circulate them.
Although the newspaper looked more like a pocketbook in Babel's massive hands, it didn't affect his ability to read the actual content inside.
"Aside from bringing the warship back to a naval port, not a single thing in here is true! Who is this reporter Morgans anyway? How did this guy hallucinate such a story?"
The newspaper vividly described a heroic soldier who, after all other Marines had fallen, battled fiercely with wits and courage against a group of vicious pirates, finally reclaiming the warship.
But as a party involved in the event, Babel knew exactly how much of this was fabricated.
"But that Marine kid doesn't seem to have told the truth either. Even the pirates who hijacked the ship have been changed to other people."
After returning, Dragon didn't tell the truth either. He just made up a reason to brush it off. The Marines didn't seem to care about the details, nor did they conduct excessive verification; they simply used it to promote their own image.
"News has always been like this. Information transmission on this sea is inconvenient. No one knows what happened on the other side of the ocean; they rely entirely on what the newspapers say.
If the World Government wants to, turning black into white isn't difficult.
Compared to this 'Lone Wolf' Marine, the content about 'Hero Garp' is even more nonsensical."
The report on Dragon was on the second page, while the front page was dominated by the annihilation of the Rocks Pirates. Moreover, the content avoided the important points and dwelt on the trivial, making no mention of where the remnants of the Rocks Pirates had gone.
The entire article described how Hero Garp defeated Rocks. As for Roger and Garp teaming up, or Nereus's actions, they weren't mentioned by anyone at all, as if they had never been to God Valley.
"So, Papa, is everything in the newspaper fake?"
"The result is true, but don't believe the process. From now on, the name 'Rocks' will also gradually disappear from the sea."
The newspaper articles were basically all promoting Garp's achievements. Even Rocks's name was barely mentioned a few times, and the location name "God Valley" wasn't mentioned a single word. The World Government had already begun to cover up the existence of this event.
If Rocks's fame hadn't been so widespread, the newspaper probably wouldn't have even mentioned his name.
"But... Nanamo, how many times have you counted those treasures? Why are you still counting?"
"It's my first time seeing so much treasure! There are over ten thousand gold coins alone. The total value must be calculated in tens of billions of Berries."
Nanamo was currently re-reading the list she had tallied earlier. Then, she took a gold coin out of her pocket, admiring the pattern on it under the sunlight.
Those gold coins weren't simply minted from gold; many were carved with exquisite patterns. Some were even remnants of vanished kingdoms, making their market value far higher than their material worth.
The coin in Nanamo's hand was part of her share. This was an old rule: most of the treasure would be sealed in the warehouse for future development, but subordinates would also receive a share that belonged to them.
Many of Nereus's subordinates had left Fish-man Island to follow him in a moment of passion after hearing his name.
Nereus's crew wasn't exactly a safe haven; battles happened frequently. For these people willing to risk their lives to follow him, he wouldn't be stingy and refuse to share even a few Berries.
If he were truly as greedy as Captain John, wanting to hog everything, sooner or later he would suffer a backlash.
"Speaking of which, I heard it costs a lot of money to make newspapers write what you want. This Morgans... must have made a fortune this time, right? The revenue from the newspapers plus the hush money from the World Government... feels like running a newspaper is quite profitable."
Nanamo counted on her fingers, estimating Morgans' earnings. In fact, it wasn't far from what she imagined.
As a news practitioner, Morgans had an obsession with big news.
Sometimes, to report major events, he would disregard everything. Neither bribes nor death threats could stop Morgans from publishing the news.
But Morgans also didn't mind exaggerating facts or even fabricating content to grab attention.
It wasn't that Morgans didn't take money; he just took money selectively. If it was content Morgans didn't want to report, he absolutely wouldn't take the money.
And this time, Morgans' name had indirectly resonated across the sea. While Nereus didn't care much about what Morgans said, many who had personally experienced the event were constantly cursing him.
For example, in the Sorbet Kingdom of the South Blue, Ivankov and the others who had left God Valley were gathered in Kuma's original home, a slightly dilapidated church.
"Who is Morgans? And what is this 'Hero Garp'? This guy is spouting too much nonsense!"
"Forget about him. Is there no news of Mr. Nereus? Did he leave that place safely or not?"
Kuma flipped through the newspaper, looking for the news he wanted. After all, without Nereus, he wouldn't have been able to save so many people.
"Stop looking. There isn't any. Not a single report..."
"Oh, don't worry. If something really happened to a wanted person like Mr. Nereus, the World Government and the Marines would definitely publicize it for a while to flaunt their achievements.
Since they haven't mentioned it, Mr. Nereus must have left safely."
Ginny's deduction was accepted by everyone. They all hoped for Nereus's safety.
Meanwhile, at Marineford, Marine Headquarters, the scene was quite different.
As a Vice Admiral of Headquarters, Garp had his own housing in Marineford. Currently, there were only three people in this room: Garp, Dragon, and Sengoku.
Because of Nereus's participation, Garp wasn't injured too badly and had returned to his residence long ago.
At this moment, the floor was covered in shredded newspaper scraps—the masterpiece of Garp and Dragon. Both father and son had big issues with the newspaper.
"Don't stop me! I'm going to have a good chat with this guy named Morgans!"
"Forget it, Garp. The World Government must have paid a lot to make him write this article."
Sengoku successfully stopped Garp. Otherwise, judging by Garp's appearance, he really would have gone to exchange blows with Morgans. But this also successfully drew the fire onto himself.
"Sengoku, I have a question. About the God Valley incident... don't tell me you knew absolutely nothing?"
This sentence successfully caught the attention of Dragon, who was sitting on the sofa in a daze.
[Do you think your higher-ups know about this matter?]
Nereus's words echoed in his mind again. At this moment, Dragon also wanted to know how Sengoku would answer.
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