Chapter 81: A Newcomer to the Chat Group
Back in his office, Kizaru delivered the "justice" of his righteous baton, disciplining his treasurer, his young maid, and the newly arrived female pirate.
As it turned out, even with all three joining forces, they could only delay their inevitable defeat for a brief moment in the face of overwhelming absolute power.
Buru buru... buru buru...
Just as Kizaru was basking in the satisfaction of his victory, his office's Den Den Mushi rang at an exceedingly inconvenient time.
"Tsk, how troublesome... Hello, this is Kizaru. What do you need?"
Kizaru clicked his tongue in annoyance but still picked up the call.
"Gahahaha, it's me, Lord Kizaru."
To Kizaru's slight surprise, the voice on the other end belonged to none other than Big News Morgans—a voice so distinctive that once heard, it was impossible to forget.
Even though Kizaru and Morgans had a working relationship—and Kizaru even held a 30% stake in the World Economy News Paper—they rarely contacted each other directly.
Let alone the fact that Morgans had called Kizaru's office line.
Outside of the high-ranking members of Marine Headquarters, fewer than ten people in the world knew this number—and most of them were Kizaru's direct subordinates.
For someone like Morgans, it wouldn't have been difficult to obtain the number, but for him to call outright meant that this news was urgent.
"Morgans? What do you want?"
Kizaru raised an eyebrow, but he quickly pieced together what the big bird was after.
"Gahahaha! Wherever there's BIG NEWS, Morgans will NEVER be absent!"
Morgans' laughter was full of excitement.
The execution of Fire Fist Ace was, without a doubt, the biggest event in the past twenty years—second only to the execution of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
Back then, the World Economy News Paper had risen to prominence by reporting on Roger's execution up close.
Now, Morgans planned to use Ace's execution as the ultimate news event, solidifying his monopoly over the entire news industry.
"…You already know?"
Kizaru raised an eyebrow slightly.
The execution of Ace—even factoring in Whitebeard's involvement—wasn't enough to get Morgans this excited.
That bird never made a move unless there was something huge in it for him.
Even when Kizaru had helped fund the founding of the World Economy News Paper, saved Morgans multiple times, and backed him financially, he had only received a 30% stake in return.
"Gahahaha, that's business confidentiality, Lord Kizaru!"
Morgans wasn't about to reveal his sources.
His ability to secure exclusive big news came from his vast network of informants—a network that even Kizaru, in a way, contributed to.
After all, Kizaru had provided him with plenty of exclusive news leads before.
"Tsk, if you're already calling me, I suppose you must be pretty close to the truth… Fine, I'll confirm it—Fire Fist Ace is Roger's son."
Kizaru casually admitted it.
At this point, with less than two days left before the execution, keeping it a secret didn't really matter anymore.
"I just LOVE the Marines! What a shame the execution date isn't the same as Roger's…"
Morgans tested the waters.
Ace being Roger's son was already huge news—but to maximize its impact, he needed time to craft the perfect coverage.
"Keep dreaming. Unless you can convince the Five Elders personally or donate a few hundred billion Berries worth of supplies to the Navy, don't even think about making Fleet Admiral Sengoku change his mind."
Kizaru rolled his eyes.
Morgans was getting ahead of himself—if he dared to suggest changing the execution date to Sengoku's face, he'd be flattened into a feathered pancake in seconds.
Sengoku hated having his decisions influenced by outside forces.
If the Five Elders themselves ordered a change, that was one thing—but for a mere news tycoon like Morgans to even ask was nothing short of suicide.
"Gahahaha, what a pity… So few people understand the true power of the news! This could shake the entire world, but so much potential impact will be wasted!"
Morgans sighed in disappointment. If the Marines were willing to cooperate, he could have hyped up Fire Fist Ace's execution to an even greater level than the execution of the Pirate King, Roger.
Unfortunately, Morgans' connections hadn't yet reached the Five Elders, and there was no way he could donate hundreds of billions of Berries in supplies. Even if he sold his entire newspaper company, it wouldn't come close to that value.
"Enough nonsense. You didn't call me just to complain, did you?"
Kizaru spoke impatiently. If it weren't for Morgans' valuable intelligence network, he wouldn't have wasted this much time talking to him.
"Gahahaha, as sharp as ever, Lord Kizaru… I want to arrange an exclusive interview with Fire Fist Ace. I need you to escort my journalist for a brief meeting with him."
Morgans finally got to the point after sensing Kizaru's irritation.
At the same time, a news bird—wearing a baseball cap and glasses—landed on the balcony of Kizaru's office and lightly tapped its beak against the glass.
Clearly, this was the journalist Morgans had sent. Unlike other newspapers that had to rely on human reporters, Morgans' World Economy News Paper had a distinct advantage, allowing it to become the world's largest news organization.
"Tsk, you really came prepared for this, huh?"
Kizaru clicked his tongue in annoyance. Morgans must have been confident that he wouldn't refuse.
"Gahaha, I even sent a little gift along with my reporter..."
Morgans chuckled slyly.
The next moment, the news bird outside pulled a pink card out of its small backpack.
With Kizaru's experience, he instantly recognized it—it was a top-tier invitation card to Pleasure Street.
On the highest levels of the underground black market, the starting bid for this card was a staggering 300 million Berries, and even at that price, it was often unavailable.
Of course, if Kizaru really wanted one, it wouldn't be hard to get—but it was the gesture that mattered.
"Ahem, I appreciate the gift."
Kizaru coughed lightly and glanced toward his bedroom, making sure that little Nami and Hancock were still asleep.
Only then did he unlock the glass door, allowing the news bird journalist inside.
This journalist bird was larger than the average news bird, standing about knee-high compared to Kizaru. However, it couldn't speak—instead, it carried a writing board for taking notes, ready for a written interview.
Tucking away his gift, Kizaru let the news bird perch on his arm and set off for Marineford's prison.
—
Shortly after the public announcement of Ace's execution, Fleet Admiral Sengoku had transferred him from Impel Down to Marineford's underground prison.
Although Marineford's prison wasn't as large as Impel Down, its security was just as tight—if not more so.
Being directly beneath Marine Headquarters, any attempted break-in would immediately alert the Navy's top brass.
Even if a Yonko were imprisoned here, escaping on their own would be next to impossible.
However, to Kizaru, these security measures were meaningless.
With just a few face checks and minor identification procedures, it took him less than ten minutes to reach Fire Fist Ace's cell.
—
"Still not done lecturing me, old man? I already told you—I have no regrets."
Inside the cell, Ace yawned.
He was shirtless, wearing only a tattered pair of pants. His wrists were bound by heavy Sea-Prism Stone cuffs, and his legs were chained to a massive boulder.
Compared to being locked up, the real torment was listening to Garp's lectures every day.
"Just hold on for one more day—then it's execution time… Oh, and Ace is Vice Admiral Garp's adopted grandson. Morgans can know about it, but he is not allowed to make it public."
Kizaru spoke casually before turning to the news bird journalist with a warning.
Regardless of anything else, Vice Admiral Garp was a symbol of justice to countless people.
As a Marine, Kizaru wouldn't allow Morgans to tarnish Garp's reputation just to sell more newspapers.
Garp himself probably wouldn't care, but the image of a Navy hero couldn't be damaged.
"Gaha."
The news bird nodded, placing its writing board on the ground before pulling out a notebook from its bag.
Then, it looked up at Kizaru with big, round eyes, signaling that it was ready to begin the interview.
"Huh? Admiral Kizaru? What are you guys doing?"
Ace finally noticed that the person standing in front of his cell wasn't his grandfather but Admiral Kizaru and an oversized news bird.
"Before your execution, someone wants to interview you. Just think of it as having a casual chat."
Kizaru explained. He hadn't interacted much with Ace. If this had happened when he first transmigrated, he might have considered saving Ace to make up for past regrets.
But decades had passed since he arrived in this world. At this point, whether it was Ace or even Luffy, they were nothing more than "familiar strangers" to him.
What truly mattered to Kizaru was the justice of the Marines, which he had upheld for decades.
Even knowing that Ace would be executed the next day, he felt nothing in particular.
"This is such a hassle… Grandpa isn't here to nag me for once, and I just want to get some sleep…"
Ace pouted. He didn't think there was much to say. He had volunteered to go after Teach, only to be defeated.
Before this, Teach had just been one of his subordinates. For someone as proud as Ace, suffering such a loss was a heavy blow.
"If you agree to the interview, I can show you this newspaper with news about Straw Hat Luffy."
Expecting Ace to refuse, Kizaru had come prepared. He casually pulled a newspaper from his pocket.
Even though the World Government tried to suppress it, the news about Straw Hat Luffy attacking a Celestial Dragon had spread across the seas in no time.
It wouldn't be long before Luffy's bounty skyrocketed.
Considering his involvement in the Revolutionary Army's assault on Impel Down, Luffy's bounty might even surpass Ace's 550 million berries in one go.
"Huh? Huh?! News about Luffy?"
Ace's face lit up with excitement. He moved closer to the cell bars, trying to get a clear look at the newspaper.
"Will you accept the interview?"
"No! I just want to see the news about Luffy!"
"Then accept the interview."
"No!"
"Then no newspaper for you!"
"I want to see the newspaper!"
"Then accept the interview!"
"No!"
…
After a pointless back-and-forth, Kizaru was at a loss. He wasn't sure if it was Roger's genetics or if Garp had influenced him too much, but Ace's stubbornness was definitely on par with Luffy's.
"I'm done here. He's all yours. If you want him to accept the interview, it's up to you…"
Feeling exasperated, Kizaru handed the newspaper to the news bird reporter. He had done more than enough—this was worth at least a premium pass to Morgans' entertainment district.
"Squawk?"
The news bird took the newspaper and hesitated for a moment before simply opening it and showing Ace the news about Luffy.
Seeing this, Kizaru's mouth twitched. Was Ace really this single-minded?
"Hahaha! That kid Luffy really did something amazing! Whoa, his bounty is almost catching up to mine… Hahaha! He actually punched a Celestial Dragon?! That's awesome! If I'd known, I would've smacked one when I passed through Sabaody!"
Ace devoured every word of the article, laughing heartily. He was completely unfazed by the fact that he was imprisoned and scheduled for execution.
After reading the article several times, he finally sat back, satisfied.
Knowing that Luffy was safe and doing well, Ace felt relieved. Death was never something he feared.
"Squawk…"
The news bird lifted a board over its head. Written on it was: "Would you be willing to answer a few questions?"
Ace looked at the board, then nodded casually.
"Sure, go ahead."
Kizaru facepalmed. So Ace hadn't actually refused the interview—he just needed to see news about Luffy first to start thinking straight.
Garp had a similar quirk. If he wanted to sleep, not even the highest authority could stop him from closing his eyes.
The news bird quickly wrote its first question: "Do you know that your biological father was the Pirate King, Roger?"
"My father is Whitebeard!"
Ace answered without hesitation. He would never acknowledge that man as his father.
To Ace, only Whitebeard was his true father. As for the Pirate King Roger? He meant nothing.
The news bird nodded and wrote its second question: "Do you think Whitebeard will come to rescue you on the day of your execution?"
"…I hope he doesn't."
Ace fell silent for a moment before replying.
"You guys carry on. The guards will take you out when you're done."
Kizaru wasn't interested in Ace's interview. He left the news bird reporter in the cell and returned to his office.
The three girls were still fast asleep. Bored, Kizaru opened the Dimensional Chat Group to see if any of the chaotic members were up to something.
[Ding! Welcome, Xiao Mei, to the Dimensional Chat Group!]
However, what Kizaru didn't expect was that just as he opened the chat group, he saw a notification for a new member joining.
It hadn't been long since Esdeath joined the chat group, yet another newcomer had arrived. What was once a nearly empty group with only a few members had now welcomed its eleventh member.
°°°
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