"Conqueror's Haki..." Saint Nusjuro said with an unpleasant expression as he recalled the overwhelming aura from earlier. "I never expected that ninja brat to possess such talent."
This was completely beyond his expectations.
"This guy awakening Conqueror's Haki at such a time is not good news," Saint Saturn remarked.
The others pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Indeed... Who knows if that ninja brat might develop the desire to destroy us Celestial Dragons, just like... Rocks from back in the day!"
At this thought, their expressions grew solemn.
After a moment, Saint Warcury spoke up. "However, we don't need to be overly concerned."
When the other four looked at him, Saint Warcury continued, "That guy is already at the end of his rope. It's only a matter of time before we kill him."
In the Blood-Eyed Ninja's current state, there was absolutely no way he could survive against those five opponents.
"At the end of his rope..." Saint Mars recalled the intelligence report submitted by the Marines and said, "Is it possible... that the Blood-Eyed Ninja is holding back?"
"Holding back?" Saint Saturn raised an eyebrow. "Daring to hold back while facing so many powerful opponents? You must be joking."
These old veterans could clearly see whether the Blood-Eyed Ninja's true strength had reached the level of a Marine Admiral.
Frankly, if not for his Undying Body, this ninja would have been killed by those five long ago.
"I also find it unlikely," Saint Warcury added.
They had watched the entire battle and knew exactly what had transpired, so he didn't believe the opponent was holding back.
Seeing both his old companions say this, Saint Mars said nothing more.
"To be honest, I'm quite curious about this Blood-Eyed Ninja's purpose for coming to our Holy Land," Saint Shepherd remarked.
"Purpose..." The other four fell into deep thought upon hearing Saint Shepherd's words.
"Yes, purpose," Saint Shepherd nodded.
"Didn't he come to rescue those slaves?" Saint Warcury said.
From the current situation, his objective should be similar to that Fisher Tiger's.
Aside from this, Saint Warcury couldn't think of any other possibility.
"If he really only wanted to rescue these slaves, then why has he been fighting Borsalino and the others for so long here?" Saint Shepherd countered.
If it were merely about rescuing slaves, the Blood-Eyed Ninja could have left last night.
After all... those slaves who narrowly survived had already escaped last night!
Under such circumstances, did the Blood-Eyed Ninja have any reason to stay?
Absolutely none!
"That's an interesting point... it does seem rather odd," Saint Nusjuro frowned.
If the Blood-Eyed Ninja's goal was merely to rescue people, he shouldn't have stayed here fighting Borsalino and the others for so long.
"Is it possible he couldn't escape?" Saint Saturn interjected. Surrounded by so many powerful fighters, did this man truly have the ability to flee?
"That's also a possibility, but..." Saint Shepherd said, "Before this afternoon, had any of you ever seen this guy desperately trying to run away?"
This madman of a ninja seemed to have been constantly launching attacks since yesterday!
Hearing Saint Shepherd's words, Saint Saturn fell silent.
"If that's the case, this guy might indeed have other objectives," Saint Warcury remarked.
But what exactly those objectives were, they couldn't figure out for the moment.
Just then, Saint Nusjuro looked up and said, "Could it be for wealth?"
After the other old men turned their attention to him, Saint Nusjuro continued, "Don't forget, someone just reported the situation at Saint Maverick's residence."
"His treasury was completely emptied."
At these words, the other four old men were struck speechless.
To acquire enough treasure, he would launch a rebellion in the Holy Land?
Though it seemed somewhat far-fetched, it wasn't impossible.
After all... this Blood-Eyed Ninja was an utterly audacious fellow!
"While incidentally freeing slaves, also obtaining enough treasure?" Saint Warcury rubbed his forehead. "Really... for a moment, Saint Warcury didn't know what to say."
"Wait!" Saint Shepherd suddenly realized something. "That explanation doesn't hold up!"
"Why not?"
"If he were truly only after money, he could have escaped immediately after releasing those slaves," Saint Shepherd argued. "But as you can see from the current situation, I don't think that's very likely."
If his goal was simply to get money from the Holy Land, he could have used Earth Release Technique to leave Mary Geoise right after obtaining the treasure, couldn't he?
Therefore, he felt this probably wasn't the primary objective.
"But he did take the money," Saint Nusjuro pointed out.
Saint Shepherd gave his old companion an exasperated look. "Do you really expect a pirate to see money and not be tempted?"
"Taking money while carrying out their operations is just typical pirate behavior."
After all, that guy was still a pirate.
Saint Nusjuro paused at this, then muttered to himself: 'That does make sense...'
Pirates never pass up opportunities to accumulate wealth, so taking treasure when they see it is completely normal.
Then he asked, "So what do you think his objective is?"
"Perhaps... it's revenge."
"Revenge?"
"Yes," Saint Shepherd nodded. "Haven't we issued several orders to eliminate the Straw Hat Pirates?"
"So I suspect this guy came to Mary Geoise to cause destruction out of retaliation."
After speaking, Saint Shepherd paused, then pointed at the destroyed eastern district and said, "The ruined eastern district and the dead Celestial Dragons are the best proof!"
Hearing Saint Shepherd's words, the other four old men fell into deep thought.
Upon careful consideration, this possibility was not small.
"Did he come to destroy Mary Geoise just for revenge...?" Saint Mars said with a grim expression, "That bastard truly deserves to die!"
Just for this bastard's selfish desires, their Mary Geoise suffered such immense losses... This Blood-Eyed Ninja truly deserved to die!
"He does deserve to die," Saint Saturn said with a grim expression. "But... if we can obtain his abilities, we won't be at a loss."
After all, the Holy Land could be rebuilt, right?
As for the money needed for reconstruction... let the lower classes handle it. That's what they had always done anyway!
And what about the few dead Celestial Dragons?
If it could make the Celestial Dragons stronger, sacrificing a few of them was no big deal!
"Hmm, indeed."
Recalling the Blood-Eyed Ninja's bug-like abilities, Saint Mars nodded in agreement. "If that power could be used by us, these losses would mean nothing."
Once they created some Ninja Warriors capable of controlling the seas, then... no one in this world would be their match!
Thinking of this, Saint Mars couldn't help but smile. "By the way, where did that Blood-Eyed Ninja hide the money?" Saint Nusjuro said.
If they could recover the treasures of those Celestial Dragons, it would make up for some of the losses.
Hearing this, Saint Shepherd felt somewhat helpless. This old friend in charge of finances was truly sensitive about money.
"He probably transferred it away before the battle," Saint Warcury speculated.
With that man's abilities, transferring the money away before the battle wouldn't be a problem, after all... he knew Earth Release Technique!
"But weren't Saint Maverick and the others killed just yesterday?" Saint Nusjuro said. "Did the Blood-Eyed Ninja transfer the treasures away in a single day?"
Wasn't that a bit too fast?
That was the treasure of several Celestial Dragons!
"How do you know he only arrived yesterday?" Saint Warcury said. "Don't forget, that guy knows Hypnosis!"
If he used Hypnosis Technique to control Saint Maverick... he could have hidden it for as long as he wanted!
So they had no way of determining when this Blood-Eyed Ninja arrived in Mary Geoise.
"Hypnosis Technique..." Saint Nusjuro frowned. "What a disgusting ability."
If that was the case, they truly couldn't determine when that guy arrived in Mary Geoise.
After all... the Summit War had ended over ten days ago!
"If you really want to recover those treasures, send people to investigate," Saint Warcury said. "You'll find some clues eventually."
"Investigate?"
"How?"
Saint Nusjuro shook his head. "Unless we can get the whereabouts of those treasures from the Blood-Eyed Ninja's mouth, don't even think about it."
Those treasures bore no special markings, and the Berries had no distinctive symbols, so there was no way for them to investigate.
It could be said that this time, they could only resign themselves to their misfortune.
Of course, if they could actually capture the Blood-Eyed Ninja, there was still hope of recovering those treasures.
However... Saint Nusjuro didn't hold much hope.
"Alright, let's not dwell on this," Saint Mars said. "Just consider this money as if it were spent by the Celestial Dragons."
The amount squandered by the Celestial Dragons each year far exceeded what was lost now, so he felt there was no need to obsess over such matters.
This time, Saint Nusjuro merely nodded without saying anything more.
Just then, a sudden knock echoed at the door, followed by a man's voice.
"Reporting to the Five Elders, I have important news to report!"
The five old men exchanged glances upon hearing this, and then Saint Saturn said, "Enter!"
Creak~
The door swung open, and a man in armor rushed in, holding a newspaper in his hand.
"Speak, what is it?" Saint Saturn demanded.
"Five Elders, the events that occurred in the Holy Land yesterday have been published in the newspaper!!" the guard said, bowing his head.
As he spoke, he unfolded the newspaper in his hands, allowing the Five Elders to clearly see its contents.
"What did you say?!"
Hearing the guard's words, the five old men immediately rose from the sofa, their faces contorted with fury.
"Bring it here for us to see!"
"Yes!"
The guard stood up and quickly approached them, placing the newspaper on the table.
He then returned to his previous position and knelt once more.
"It's really..."
Staring at the headline that read [Shocking, Holy Land Mary Geoise Actually...], veins bulged on Saint Saturn's forehead, and his eyes began to redden.
"How dare that bastard do this?" Saint Warcury roared.
To publish such a newspaper without their orders... Does Morgans have a death wish?!
Does he want to die?!
"That scoundrel Morgans is growing more and more lawless," Saint Nusjuro said angrily.
To dare print something like this in the newspaper... Has he grown tired of living?!
"It seems we were too lenient with him last time," Saint Shepherd said with a grim expression.
If they didn't teach this bastard a lesson, he would truly think the World Government was made of pushovers.
Saint Saturn took a deep breath to calm himself, then waved his hand at the guard, signaling that he could leave.
Once the door closed and the guard was gone, Saint Saturn declared, "The top priority now is to resolve this trouble."
If they could retrieve the newspapers, they could still mitigate the impact.
Hearing Saint Saturn's words, the other four old men gradually regained their composure.
Then, Saint Shepherd took out a Den Den Mushi and said, "Then let's contact that bastard Morgans."
With those words, Saint Shepherd dialed the Den Den Mushi and began connecting with Morgans.
Purupurupuru~
Purupurupuru~
Purupurupuru~
Click~
"Is this Morgans?" Saint Shepherd said coldly. "This is Saint Shepherd."
Hearing it was the voice of the Five Elders, Morgans raised an eyebrow and immediately sat up straight from his executive chair. "May I ask what instructions the Five Elders have for suddenly contacting me?"
"Do you really not know why we're contacting you?" Saint Warcury roared angrily. How dare this bastard have the nerve to counter-question them?
Upon hearing this, Morgans put on a "confused" expression. "I don't understand what you mean."
"Today's newspaper!" Saint Warcury said. "Why did you publish such content? Don't you know how much impact this will have on the World Government? Have we been giving you too much leeway?"
This bastard was still pretending not to know... Did Morgans really have a death wish? If he wanted to die, they could have Stussy locate him and deal with him immediately!
"Today's newspaper?" Morgans wiped the spit from his face. "What about today's newspaper?"
Saint Warcury: "..."
Was this bastard genuinely ignorant or just pretending?
Seeing that the Five Elders had fallen silent, Morgans turned his gaze to Mosser nearby. "Mosser, bring me a copy of today's newspaper."
"Yes, Chairman."
Taking the hint from Morgans' look, Mosser immediately scurried out of the room. Moments later, he returned with a newspaper.
"Here you go, Chairman."
Taking the newspaper, Morgans glanced at the content and then displayed a 'shocked' expression. "What? The Holy Land was invaded? When did this happen?!!"
"According to the newspaper, it should have been yesterday," Mosser replied.
Morgans fell silent for a moment before 'angrily' slamming the table. "Who authorized the publication of this newspaper?!"
"I don't know either, Chairman," Mosser said with a 'headache'. "I've been here on vacation with you since yesterday and had no idea what was happening at headquarters."
"Investigate this immediately! I want to know who had the audacity to publish such information!" Morgans ordered.
"Yes, Chairman!"
Receiving the command, Mosser nodded, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he turned and left.
Five Elders: "..."
The Five Elders listening to their conversation all darkened their expressions. Was this cunning birdman treating them like fools?!
"Morgans, there's no need for this act," Saint Warcury said coldly.
"I genuinely didn't know about this, Five Elders," Morgans said with 'helplessness'. "I'm on vacation, I simply..."
"Enough, we can't be bothered with this nonsense," Saint Saturn interjected. "I'll ask you directly: can the newspapers be recalled?!"
"It's already afternoon—it's impossible to recall the newspapers now," Morgans shook his head. Even he couldn't retrieve the newspapers at this point, which was precisely why he insisted on publishing early.
Crack!
Veins bulged on Saint Saturn's forehead. The same old excuses... Had this bastard calculated this from the start, acting so brazenly because of it?
"Speak, how do you wish to die?" Saint Warcury said coldly.
"Five Elders, you must be reasonable," Morgans said with a headache. "I didn't even know about this matter, how can you blame me?"
"Whether you knew or not, you know in your heart."
"I really don't..."
"Enough, stop with this nonsense. None of us are fools," Saint Nusjuro coldly interrupted.
Did he really think he could fool them with such methods?
What a joke, you bastard!
This time Morgans didn't argue loudly, only muttering quietly to himself.
Complaints about how difficult things were for him, how his subordinates didn't listen - hearing this made Saint Nusjuro's forehead vein bulge.
Ignoring Morgans' reaction, Saint Nusjuro exchanged glances with his four colleagues and quickly reached a consensus.
Dealing with Morgans could wait - the urgent matter was finding a way to mitigate the impact of this incident!
At that moment, Morgans said: "Anyway... I'll give you gentlemen an explanation later."
"How do you plan to explain?"
"Of course by sending that audacious fellow to you gentlemen!" Morgans said. "Such a person deserves the death penalty!"
Hearing Morgans' words, Saint Nusjuro showed an exasperated expression.
Even if he sent someone, it wouldn't be one of his own people - most likely some unknown pirate dealt with and sent to them. But what would be the point?
Before they could speak, Morgans continued: "Besides that... I'm willing to offer a compensation amount that will satisfy you gentlemen."
Saint Nusjuro raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Was this a sign of surrender?
This attitude was quite satisfactory to them.
The five old men exchanged glances, then Saint Nusjuro nodded: "Then send the money directly to the Holy Land when it's ready."
"As for the person... just kill them directly, no need to send them over."
Since whoever was sent wouldn't be the real culprit anyway, whether they came or not was meaningless.
As for the money Morgans mentioned... the amount didn't matter - what they wanted was Morgans' attitude!
As long as this guy was willing to surrender, they would have more ways to control him!
'They're taking the money so readily...' Morgans raised an eyebrow, thinking: 'These guys are still as unceremonious as ever.'
Then Morgans said: "Good, I'll guarantee your satisfaction~"
Although this wouldn't completely extinguish the Five Elders' anger, at least they wouldn't immediately move against him.
That... was enough!
Saint Warcury nodded, then said: "Then... now we need you to publish a newspaper."
"What newspaper?"
"A newspaper reporting that the Blood-Eyed Ninja has been killed," Saint Warcury said solemnly. "If the content of this newspaper satisfies us..."
Saint Warcury didn't finish, but Morgans understood his meaning.
If they were satisfied, they would temporarily let slide the matter of this newspaper publication.
But Morgans didn't believe such words - after all, he knew exactly how the World Government operated.
Given the opportunity, they would definitely settle accounts later!
However, to avoid escalating the situation, Morgans didn't mind making a small compromise with the World Government.
Then, he said, "Publishing this newspaper isn't a problem, but... did you really kill him?"
"What, can't we publish this newspaper if we didn't kill him?"
"I am a qualified journalist and will not report false news," Morgans said seriously. "Otherwise, the reputation of our World Economic News Agency would be ruined."
His newspapers sold so well precisely because the news he reported was sufficiently truthful!
Although some of the papers might contain exaggerated elements, the content was mostly factual!
Therefore... Morgans didn't want to publish false news this time.
"Rest assured, that Blood-Eyed Ninja is doomed," Saint Nusjuro said coldly. "Soon, we will provide you with photos of his death."
"Then I have no objections," Morgans nodded.
If the Blood-Eyed Ninja truly died in battle at Mary Geoise... that would indeed be shocking news enough to shake the world.
So Morgans was quite willing to publish this edition, as it would also bring him substantial profits!
"Very well, await the news," Saint Nusjuro said indifferently.
"Understood," Morgans nodded.
Click~
Watching the disconnected Den Den Mushi, Morgans' expression gradually calmed.
"Hmph, those five old men..."
Mosser, who had just entered through the door, overheard and asked, "Boss, are we really going to pay up?!"
"Yes, pay it," Morgans nodded. "This will help ease the tension between us and the World Government."
It was just a matter of spending some money—Morgans could afford it.
After all... he was indeed very wealthy!
"But won't we be taking a huge loss?"
"It's not that exaggerated," Morgans waved his hand. "Ultimately... what the World Government wants is just a gesture from me."
Those five old men knew better than to push him too far, which was why they let the matter drop so easily.
"A gesture..."
"Exactly," Morgans nodded. Seeing Mosser still looking troubled, he added, "Don't overthink it. Just know that spending this money will help us earn even more."
His money wasn't so easily taken!
He would eventually recoup every bit of it from the World Government!
This time, Mosser said nothing more and simply nodded in acceptance.
Then he asked, "What about the newspaper on the Blood-Eyed Ninja...?"
"Draft a preliminary version," Morgans instructed. "If the Five Elders really send the photos, we'll finalize and publish it."
A hero who stirred up chaos at Mary Geoise meeting his end—such news would still capture widespread attention.
"And what about the payment promised to the Blood-Eyed Ninja?" Mosser inquired.
Their boss had previously agreed to pay the Blood-Eyed Ninja.
"Follow the usual procedure," Morgans waved dismissively. "If he's truly dead, give it to the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates."
The Straw Hat Boy was likely still alive, so paying him would serve the same purpose.
"Yes, I understand!"
Mosser nodded and turned to leave.
Watching him go, Morgans sighed with a complex expression. "What a pity..."
If possible, he would have preferred the Blood-Eyed Ninja to survive—that would have generated even more sensational headlines!!!
But from the World Government's tone, it seemed the man wouldn't make it.
With that thought, Morgans heaved a silent sigh.
"Ah.
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