For every 100 PS = 1 bonus chapter
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"Oi! Sengoku, that's cheating! How can you abuse your power for personal gain? The bet was supposed to be based on who could get followers by ability alone!" Garp grumbled, clearly displeased.
"Power is ability. If you want to use it, become Fleet Admiral yourself."
Garp was at a loss for words. "I…"
Alright, I admit defeat.
Reluctantly, Garp pulled out his food allowance for next month and handed it over to Sengoku.
"Hahaha! Fantastic!" Sengoku burst into laughter. At the same time, he opened TikTok and immediately saw Hancock's livestream announcement.
"Livestream? Hancock's going live too? 8 PM, huh…"
"Actually, this might not be a bad thing." Garp started to analyze seriously. "All those Pirates are definitely going to tune in. Watching a livestream won't turn them to stone, and it's the closest they'll ever get to Hancock. That way, they might not feel the need to loot and plunder."
Hearing this, Sengoku also nodded. "That makes sense. Ever since smartphones became widespread, crime at sea has dropped significantly. A lot of Pirates are glued to their phones all day and night, with no interest in fighting. That's a good thing. But…"
"But what?"
Sengoku frowned, a trace of concern in his eyes. "But who's behind the phones? What's his real objective? A revolutionary product like this couldn't have appeared out of nowhere."
Garp's expression also grew serious. "I've looked into it a bit. So far, only Morgans, the News King, is selling phones. I asked him, and he said the person behind them doesn't belong to any known faction. His only goal is to make the Pirate world less violent."
Sengoku's pupils shrank slightly. A wave of emotion surged through his chest. "To make the Pirate world less violent, huh…"
"If it doesn't conflict with our justice, there's no need to interfere for now. We just need to make sure information security isn't compromised."
After a moment of thought, Sengoku turned to his adjutant. "Was the phone delivered to Vegapunk? If possible, we must find a way to control such a pivotal product."
"It's already been sent, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Dr. Vegapunk should receive it tonight or tomorrow at the latest," the adjutant replied respectfully.
Sengoku nodded. "Good. If there's nothing else, you're dismissed. And don't forget to tell everyone to follow this old man's TikTok account. Smartphones really are useful. We should make good use of them too."
"Understood!" The adjutant saluted and left the office.
Once he was gone, Garp gave Sengoku a skeptical look. "Sengoku, you're not doing all this just for the bet, are you? What's your real angle with these phones?"
"Haha, of course not," Sengoku said, eyes burning with intensity. "Right now, smartphones have basically spread across the entire sea. People everywhere can connect through them."
"Garp, this isn't just some entertainment gadget. It's a massive communication platform."
Garp followed for the first few sentences, but then his eyes glazed over.
"Just watch. The Great Pirate Era that Roger kicked off is going to quietly fade away with the rise of smartphones," Sengoku said confidently.
Garp: …Can you stop being so dramatic?
Sengoku settled onto the sofa and checked his account. His follower count was climbing fast.
"Hahahaha! Garp, we've only been talking for a bit, and I've already hit 500 followers!" Sengoku said, beaming with pride.
"Hmph! So what? Having more followers is useless if you can't even post a TikTok dance," Garp scoffed, turning away to keep watching videos.
For him, the Amazon Lily girls dancing were much more appealing.
"Garp raised his drink to the beat, taking a big gulp.
…
News of Empress Hancock's upcoming livestream spread like wildfire across the entire sea.
The whole world was in a frenzy!
People who were busy suddenly had "nothing" to do.
People who were working stopped on the spot.
People who were watching videos—or planning to, were all now focused on one thing: the Empress's very first livestream!
Everyone got ready for the evening. Some even preloaded their accounts with Berries, hoping to stand out enough to get a shoutout from Hancock.
It didn't matter if they were tired, or broke—they'd do anything to make sure their goddess lived comfortably!
…
Cocoyasi Village.
The sun was setting, its golden light washing over the orange grove, making every fruit shimmer like treasure.
Officer Genzo was also preparing to tune in at exactly 8 PM, but before that, he had work to finish.
"Nojiko, all the oranges have been sorted and packaged by weight. You've really helped the whole village. A few more villagers will be bringing oranges tomorrow," Genzo said while still hard at work.
Nojiko was busy too.
Ever since her appearance on the livestream and the launch of her shopping cart, orders through her TikTok had surged. Business was booming.
Not only did she sell her own oranges, but she helped the entire village tap into this new sales channel.
The villagers didn't have phones and had no idea how TikTok or the shopping cart worked, but they trusted Nojiko. They let her handle the sales completely.
She insisted on sharing the earnings with them. Even when she tried to decline her share, the villagers would leave a cut for her anyway.
Because of this.
Nojiko had no choice but to accept a small portion.
But there were just too many oranges. She couldn't handle the entire village's crop on her own.
Thankfully, Genzo and the nearby neighbors all stepped up to help. Nojiko paid them for their labor.
"Genzo, everyone, thank you so much. I wouldn't be able to do this alone," Nojiko said sincerely.
Then, she handed out several envelopes, one for each helper. "Here's your pay. Business is doing okay, so the pay isn't much. But it's daily, so please don't mind."
Gen and the others looked at the money, grinning from ear to ear.
Where else could they have earned this much, and gotten paid daily?
That was unheard of before.
"How could we complain, Miss Nojiko? If not for you, our oranges would've rotted in the fields by now," one villager said gratefully.
"Exactly. We just came to help. Getting paid is more than we expected," another chimed in.
"Just let us know anytime there's work. We'll always show up," Genzo added.
After the others left, Genzo walked over to Nojiko and said, "Even though Arlong's gone, if anything happens, just video call me. I'll be there immediately."
"Mm. Thank you, Officer Genzo," Nojiko smiled warmly.
Genzo turned and left.
Once he was far enough away, he took out the envelope, set aside a portion of the money, and saved it for Nami.
So that when she came home after fulfilling her dream, she wouldn't be without spending money.
As for the rest?
He poured it all into TikTok.
"One hundred thousand Berries! Goddess Hancock, Empress of Amazon Lily, bearing the burdens of an entire nation. A woman of such strength and grace deserves all the support in the world!" Genzo declared solemnly.
"Ugh… Why is time crawling? Why isn't it 8 yet…"
(To be continued.)