Since the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, the endless wave of pirates has caused immense trouble across the world.
And almost every earth-shattering event in recent history could be traced back to the hands of these pirates.
Over time, newspapers and other news sources began treating pirates as their primary subjects of coverage.
And if there was one individual who had dominated the headlines for the past two years, it was undoubtedly Bacardi Maude—the man who shocked the entire world during the Summit War.
Not long ago, he had orchestrated an unprecedented event: attacking the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, abducting Celestial Dragons, and executing them. A crime unheard of in history.
And now, today, he had caused yet another upheaval in Dressrosa!
"Bacardi Maude... In all my years as a journalist, I've never seen a pirate as outrageous as him."
A middle-aged reporter muttered to himself.
Forget the Donquixote Family, which had lost its power after Doflamingo's death, and ignore the conflicts between the Blackbeard Pirates and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates…
Just the fact that Maude had taken down Jack the Drought, one of the All-Stars, and Ulti of the Tobiroppo was explosive news that would capture the world's attention!
After all, not too long ago, the Beasts Pirates had just declared war on the Maude Pirates.
And now, Maude had made his move against two of Kaido's top officers.
Could this be his response to Kaido's declaration of war?
Furthermore, just a while back, Maude had also slain Charlotte Smoothie, one of the Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates, on Fish-Man Island.
As the middle-aged reporter mentally pieced together the major events surrounding Maude, he couldn't help but take several deep breaths.
"He's provoked two Yonko in succession… Is the Maude Pirates planning to make an enemy of the entire New World?"
His hands trembled as he set down his telescope and picked up his notebook, scribbling down his thoughts with a shaky hand.
No matter how this story unfolded, it was bound to be the biggest scoop of his career—perhaps even bigger than everything he had ever written combined.
"I finally understand…"
The middle-aged reporter stared at his own messy handwriting, his voice trembling with realization.
"That's why Dada plastered his office walls with enlarged photos of Maude…"
"If I had someone this capable of generating headlines at any given moment, I'd be worshipping him too!!!"
Setting down his notebook, he could barely contain his excitement as he imagined handing in this bombshell of a story to his editor-in-chief.
This was money!
"My idol! Hurry up and take down the All-Star and the Tobiroppo already!"
In less than thirty seconds, the reporter's thoughts had shifted dramatically, and he now referred to Maude as his idol.
With renewed enthusiasm, he picked up his telescope and refocused on the port.
"Eh?!"
Through the lens, he could still see the intense battle raging at the port… but Maude was nowhere to be found.
"Where's my idol?"
The reporter quickly adjusted his angle, sweeping his view across the battlefield, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't find Maude. His face filled with surprise.
"You looking for me?"
A deep, magnetic voice—unmistakably familiar—suddenly spoke from behind him.
"!!!"
The moment he heard the voice from behind, the middle-aged reporter shuddered violently.
Relying on his extensive experience, he reflexively shut his eyes and immediately collapsed to the ground, pretending to have fainted from shock.
Watching the man "faint" so decisively, Maude raised an eyebrow.
"…"
After a moment of silence, Maude deliberately pressed his thumb against the hilt of his sword, Shusui, and flicked it slightly, producing the crisp, unmistakable sound of a blade being drawn.
The sharp noise made the reporter's body twitch ever so slightly, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Maude had originally expected the sound to wake the man up, but he had clearly underestimated the depths of the reporter's "ostrich" mentality.
"You're a reporter, aren't you?"
Maude looked down at the man, who was still feigning unconsciousness, and spoke directly.
"!?"
The reporter's body trembled once more, but he continued his act.
Anyone unaware of the situation might have mistaken him for the user of an Ostrich-Ostrich Fruit.
"Quit the act. I know you're awake."
Maude's gaze remained fixed on the reporter, and he slowly released an ominous killing intent.
The air turned heavy with the scent of blood, as if invisible arrows of malice were piercing into the reporter's senses.
His entire body jolted, and he reluctantly opened his eyes, cautiously turning his head to look at Maude.
"…Whoa! Idol?!"
Upon seeing Maude standing behind him, the reporter momentarily froze before blurting out the word idol.
Maude's expression turned slightly strange.
It had been a while since he had heard anyone call him that.
"Uh… I think I must have fainted just now… Probably because I skipped breakfast, hehe…"
The reporter awkwardly stood up, desperately trying to cover up his earlier act of playing dead.
Maude couldn't be bothered to argue with him and simply asked, "Which news agency do you work for?"
"I'm a reporter for the World Economy News Paper! Our president is none other than 'Big News' Morgans!"
The reporter straightened his back, hurriedly mentioning Morgans' name in an attempt to make Maude recognize him as "one of his own."
After all, journalists working on the front lines always had their own set of survival strategies.
But Maude had no interest in the reporter's self-preservation tactics. His gaze drifted downward, settling on the Den Den Mushi camera that had fallen to the ground. A thoughtful expression crossed his face.
Noticing where Maude was looking, the reporter panicked, assuming that Maude disliked being secretly photographed.
"M-Maude-sama, I swear… I didn't take any pictures! Without your permission, I would never take photos of you!"
The reporter stammered in alarm.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Maude glanced at him, completely indifferent, before shaking his head. "That's pretty unprofessional of you. Any other reporter would've taken dozens of shots by now."
"???"
The reporter was utterly dumbfounded.
Maude pointed at the Den Den Mushi camera. "Pick it up. I'll let you take a few pictures."
"Huh???"
The reporter was completely stunned.
"Did you not hear me?"
"N-No! I heard you! I'll take them right away!"
Still reeling from the absurdity of the situation, the reporter quickly picked up his camera.
Maude then reached into his Shadow Casket and retrieved the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"W-Wait… Is that…?"
Upon seeing the Devil Fruit in Maude's hand, the reporter's eyes widened in shock.
"What, you don't recognize it?"
"N-No…"
"This is the Gura Gura no Mi."
"WHAT?!"
The reporter's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and in his shock, he dropped the camera again.
"The G-Gura Gura no Mi?!"
He stared intently at the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, a storm of emotions surging within him, his face frozen in disbelief.
Ever since Whitebeard's death in the Summit War, factions across the world had vied desperately for this Devil Fruit, which possessed the power to destroy the world itself.
Until recently, word had spread that former Marine Vice Admiral Vergo had consumed it.
And yet now, this Devil Fruit, the object of countless ambitions, had ended up in Maude's hands.
But wait—hadn't Maude just killed Vergo?
So how was the Tremor-Tremor Fruit now in his possession?
What exactly was going on…?
Maude observed the middle-aged journalist's reaction but paid it no mind.
Now that his wings had fully spread, he no longer needed to be overly cautious in his actions.
"Spreading the news that 'the Gura Gura no Mi is in my hands' should be an easy task for your newspaper, right?"
Holding the fruit in his grasp, Maude smiled at the journalist, who was still too shocked to speak.
As someone on the verge of claiming four Nine-Star bounties, the moment Maude noticed this journalist's presence, he immediately decided to use him to broadcast this news to the world.
Not only would this serve as the perfect prelude to the upcoming Pirate Festival, but it would also lure a horde of reckless challengers straight to him.
"N-No problem at all! But, Maude-sama… do you really want to—"
"Don't ask. Just do it."
Maude cut him off bluntly.
The journalist flinched, nodding vigorously.
He had nearly forgotten who Maude was, lulled by his deceptively composed demeanor.
Not daring to ask further, nor overthink it, the journalist swiftly took several photographs as instructed.
Once the photos were taken, Maude put the Tremor-Tremor Fruit away.
He had briefly considered displaying all the Devil Fruits in his possession at once, but it was best to take things one step at a time.
If he revealed them all at once, the world might just go insane.
Come to think of it, Maude suddenly felt like he was stepping directly into Blackbeard's shoes.
At that thought, he chuckled and shook his head, brushing it off. He then patted the journalist's shoulder and said earnestly, "Take as many shots as you like later. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's headline."
With that, he disappeared into thin air, vanishing just as silently as he had arrived.
The journalist stood frozen, staring at the empty space before him, as though caught in a dream.
"Tomorrow's headline…"
Muttering to himself, a spark of excitement flickered in his eyes.
He could already foresee the chaos this news would ignite across the world.
After entrusting the journalist with this "headline mission," Maude swapped places with his shadow and returned to the port.
In the few minutes he had been away, the battlefield had shifted significantly.
Catarina Devon, the Crescent Moon Hunter, who wielded the Mythical Zoan Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit, had finally exposed a flaw under the relentless assault of Maude's crew.
Normally, a single moment of vulnerability wouldn't be enough to alter the tide of battle so quickly.
However—
Maude's crew included Perona, a reality-defying ability user.
Under normal circumstances, even ten Peronas wouldn't be able to land a hit on Catarina Devon with her Negative Hollows.
But with teammates providing support, it was a different story.
The moment she was pressured into making a mistake, Perona didn't waste the opportunity. Her Negative Hollows struck true, bringing a swift end to a battle that could have otherwise dragged on indefinitely.
Stricken with crushing negativity, Catarina Devon collapsed in frustration.
With her down, the full force of Maude's crew turned toward Shiryu of the Rain.
It had to be said—this former Chief Warden of Impel Down, now a master swordsman empowered by the Venom-Venom Fruit, exhibited combat prowess that nearly rivaled an Emperor.
Perhaps due to his deep understanding of Magellan's poison-based abilities, Shiryu had mastered the Venom-Venom Fruit in record time after consuming it.
In terms of raw combat power, the fruit was already terrifyingly effective in direct confrontations. Coupled with Shiryu's extraordinary swordsmanship, it made him a near-unmatched force in close-quarters combat.
The reason he had failed to gain the upper hand against Maude earlier was largely due to Maude's mastery of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit—developed to such an extreme that it could even counteract the highly corrosive Venom-Venom abilities.
Lafitte and the others, however, were a different story.
Without an effective antidote on hand, they had to tread cautiously to avoid Shiryu's deadly poison, limiting their ability to go all out.
That was the inherent, invisible threat of the Venom-Venom Fruit.
But as Perona and the others arrived, Shiryu's pressure increased dramatically.
He had considered exchanging blows, sacrificing himself to take down an opponent, but Maude's crew fought too cautiously, denying him any such opportunity.
Even when he did manage to seize an opening, Law's Op-Op Fruit negated the danger, while Brook, immune to poison, constantly threw himself in the way.
As the battle dragged on and his comrades fell one after another, cracks finally began to form in Shiryu's once-unshakable composure.
"It's over."
Maude watched expressionlessly as Shiryu, now surrounded and struggling, reached his limit.
Though this victory was achieved with superior numbers, Maude considered it a display of remarkable restraint on his part.
Had he entered the fray himself, using his Shadow-Shadow Fruit to directly suppress Shiryu's poison, the swordsman wouldn't have even had the chance to put up a fight.
Minutes later, Shiryu fell in bitter defeat.
Once again, the finishing blow came from Perona's Negative Hollows.
As long as her teammates provided the setup, all she had to do was sit back and unleash her ghosts at will.
When the moment was right, a single Negative Hollow could bring an end to any opponent.
"Horohorohoro~"
Perona's delighted laughter rang out as her attacks landed perfectly.
However, she was well aware that this victory had been made possible by her teammates.
Through this battle, she finally understood why Maude had pushed her so hard to train physically.
Without allies supporting her, close combat was the only way to ensure her Negative Hollows would hit their mark…
With Shiryu defeated, the Blackbeard Pirates were effectively wiped out.
Now, only one enemy remained: Marco the Phoenix.
As the Whitebeard Pirates' second-in-command and strongest division leader, Marco could hold his own even against an Admiral.
But…
Given the circumstances, no matter how resilient he was, he could not turn the tide alone.
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