"An additional issue of the world economic newspaper!"
"Important news, important news!"
"The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, has surrendered to the authorities!"
Newspapers fell from the sky, and the news of Roger's voluntary surrender spread with incredible speed, covering the entire world in half a day. Ordinary people, pirates, lookouts - everyone, regardless of their status, picked up this special edition with expressions of incredible surprise on their faces.
— Why did the Pirate King surrender?
- If Roger had not surrendered voluntarily, the Marines would never have been able to capture him!
- What difference does it make, this terrible era will finally end!
- This criminal will get what he deserves!
Different positions produced different attitudes. Some were jubilant, others were despondent, others could not believe it, and some simply laughed it off.
The historical canvas slowly unfolded on this day, and many were destined to remember it forever...
....
Above the waters of one of the seas, high in the clouds, a huge fleet was drifting smoothly.
Numerous medium-sized ships surrounded an incredibly large pirate ship. On top of it fluttered a pirate flag, glittering gold in the sun, and on the bow of the ship towered a huge golden lion's head, majestic and unwavering.
Suddenly, a roar of disbelief was heard on deck.
- Bullshit! How can such news be true? Do you even know who you're talking about?! It's Roger!
A furious cry came from a man whose body was covered in golden fur. It was Shiki the Golden Lion, the commander of a huge air pirate fleet, one of those who stood at the top of the pirate world.
He had seen many storms and tempests in his life. And even in the most brutal battles, when the winds and waves raged, ships were wrecked, and the steering wheel of his ship, having come off, was stuck in his head, he only laughed. But now the veins on his forehead bulged, and he looked with distrust at the newspaper in his hands.
- Boss, calm down, it's definitely true, there are even photos in the newspaper! - several subordinates tried to convince him.
- Then explain why Roger gave up?
- Well, that's...
- What an incredible man! No... I must ask him personally! - The Golden Lion threw the newspaper aside and was about to take off.
- Captain, where are you going? To Marine Headquarters? To Impel Down? You can't go there!
- Shut up and don't bother me!
Hearing the Golden Lion's words, his subordinates immediately tensed up and tried to block his path.
Bang!
In his anger, the Golden Lion could not be stopped. And in the end, one of his subordinates fell to the deck, bleeding from a shot...
Although they had long been accustomed to the cruel nature of the flying admiral, this shot still made them flinch. In fear, they no longer tried to physically stop him, but continued to admonish him.
"We really don't know why Roger gave himself up, but he's acting of his own free will, isn't he? If you get caught, what will happen to us?"
Shiki, who was about to step off the deck, stopped abruptly. He frowned deeply, thinking carefully about what he had said.
He didn't care about the lives of his subordinates, but there was meaning in their words. The man he respected had acted of his own free will - he hadn't been caught or tricked. And if so, Roger certainly had his own motives.
Realizing this, the Golden Lion gradually calmed down. How funny that in a fit of anger he almost went to storm the Marine headquarters alone. Usually he was a man with carefully thought out plans, preferring to act only after thinking everything through!
But what could he do, Roger was the man he recognized!
- Roger, whatever your goal is, I will wait and watch for it! Jehahahaha!!
...
New World.
Belous' territory.
- Father, big news! Roger has surrendered to the authorities.
Marco, with a worried and confused expression on his face, clutching the newspaper tightly, not paying attention to the few hairs fluttering in the wind, hurriedly ran up to Belous.
"So he did it after all!" Whitebeard showed no surprise, as if he had expected it. He looked at the photograph in the newspaper, where Roger, surrounded by many marines, was chatting cheerfully, as if it was not he but the marines who were surrounded.
- Ah! Father, you already knew about this?!
- Gurararara! Let's wait for the new era to come!
Belous didn't answer Marco, he just laughed, looking into the distance, as if expecting something and at the same time regretting something.
.....
Somewhere at sea, no one knows where, a telephone conversation was in full swing.
"Morgans, how dare you?! You owe me an explanation!" came a furious voice on one end of the line.
"What a misunderstanding! What happened to make you so angry, Mr. Spandine?" Morgans' voice was full of surprise, as if he was puzzled by the accusations from the World Government.
"Don't play dumb! Why was the news of Roger's surrender published?!" Spandine said through clenched teeth.
When the World Government needed to use newspapers as its mouthpiece, it was he who was responsible for contacts with Morgans, and this publication clearly went beyond the permissible limits, which could not help but affect him.
— You didn't emphasize that there was anything that couldn't be reported. I simply compiled all the available leads and information for the report, and then issued an urgent addendum, as you requested.
The answer was calm - Morgans knew exactly how to deal with this man.
"That's because I didn't think you'd know about his surrender. If I'd known, I would have definitely warned you! But you've been working with the government for many years, and you should know how to properly cover such events!" Spandine said angrily.
"That's your problem. I'm a press guy, and naturally I try to give as much information as I can within the limits of what's acceptable," Morgans replied, rolling his eyes.
- Asshole, then tell me where you got these clues from? Especially the photos from the place where Roger surrendered!
The photographs were another key point. The fact that someone could obtain information from Marine headquarters seemed incredible to both the CP agents and the Marines themselves.
On that road, the patrols found many hidden Den-Den-Mushi, but unfortunately, they found no clues. After all, those Den-Den-Mushi did not contain any information, and in the end they simply had to be destroyed.
However, information about this still reached Spandine, and since he had failed in his duties in communicating with Morgans, he now hoped with all his might to rectify the situation.
Unfortunately, he was out of luck.
"Hmm... this was provided by a concerned citizen," Morgans replied.
- Do you think I'm an idiot? Where are there any concerned citizens at Marine Watch headquarters?! Who leaked the information, tell me!
- Actually, we also tried to contact this citizen again, but unfortunately we couldn't. If Mr. Spandine has any leads, you can let me know.
- Bastard, I'm telling you, this isn't the end! Just get into my hands!!
Bam!
The current head of CP9, Spandine, threw the phone down angrily. Although he liked to abuse power and seek glory, the fact that he held this position meant that he was not stupid. He knew very well that Morgans was just throwing him off, but he didn't have time to deal with it now.
This omission had enormous consequences...
Before talking to Morgans, he was scolded by the most powerful and strong man in the CP organization. Although the tone of the interlocutor did not express anger, Spandine was still very scared.
As far as he knew, the man simply didn't show his emotions, which didn't mean he'd just give him a reprimand. So now Spandine was only thinking about how to keep his job, and then he'd do everything else...