The "Buddha" clearly wasn't just a play on words.
What did it mean to "stand firmly with the Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha"? It's more than just a declaration of his life philosophy, Yahn was subtly trying to reveal his identity.
Like saying: My old man is the Fleet Admiral, got it?
But when it came to Adjutant Hope—or rather, the generally bizarre thought processes of men on this vast ocean—Yahn had already given up on trying to complain. He had started to accept this strange setting as it was.
Maybe he'd just realized that trying to explain things wouldn't help; worse, it might only lead to further misunderstanding.
This was one of those situations: Adjutant Hope thought he was playing five-dimensional chess, assuming Yahn was in the stratosphere... when in reality, Yahn was just chilling on the first level.
"Adjutant Hope, is there any issue with reporting it like this?" Yahn asked, focusing on what mattered.
"Of course not," Hope replied matter-of-factly. "As a Navy officer expressing one's stance on justice, it's completely allowed."
Just then, a News Coo flew across the sky and dropped a newspaper onto the deck of the warship.
"Huh? Don't you usually have to pay for these things?" Yahn asked, a little confused.
"Not at all," Hope said with pride. "We're a partner organization of the World Economy News Paper. Naturally, we don't pay."
He caught the falling newspaper midair and was about to hand it to Yahn when he accidentally glanced at the headline—and let out a shocked yelp.
"Eh?! Huhhhhhhhhh?!"
"What is it?" Yahn asked, puzzled.
"It's... It's huge news, Lord Yahn! Earth-shattering stuff!"
Hope was practically slack-jawed in shock.
"That dramatic? Did Mary Geoise get blown up or something?"
Yahn casually took the newspaper and glanced at the front page headline. And even he was stunned.
Though, for very different reasons than Adjutant Hope.
> "Ten years of life and death, two realms apart. I try not to think of you—but can't forget."
— A hidden, heart-wrenching connection between two legendary pirates is revealed.
"...What?"
Yahn's head started to ache. He already had a rough idea of where this was going.
> "Shock! Recently, reporters obtained startling information from within the Navy itself.
The reason 'Golden Lion' Shiki stormed Marineford alone all those years ago?
It wasn't reckless impulse. It wasn't blind rage. It was all premeditated.
But Shiki's goal wasn't to conquer the seas.
No—he wanted to save a man who was deeply important to him: none other than the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
...
When Shiki finally learned of Roger's death, he was devastated.
He left behind only a single quote:
'Ten years of life and death, two realms apart. I try not to think of you—but can't forget.'
Then he vanished from the world, never to be seen again."
Yahn skimmed the article and quickly confirmed: the so-called "Navy insider" was either Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself, or Vice Admiral Tsuru. No one else would've had such detailed information.
The report practically transcribed yesterday's Den Den Mushi conversation word for word, except with a few touches of narrative polish to make it more cohesive.
Ostensibly, the article was an exposé revealing the emotional backstory between Gol D. Roger and Shiki. But between the lines, it conveniently glossed over the earth-shattering fact that prisoners had successfully escaped from Impel Down.
If anyone brought up the legendary, unbreachable Impel Down being breached, it wouldn't come across as Navy incompetence. No, it would simply look like the "Golden Lion" had long premeditated everything.
In fact, the Navy even came off as having seen through Shiki's plan—heroically thwarting his attempt to rescue the Pirate King.
And while they were at it, they threw in a reminder of how the Navy had executed Gol D. Roger, reinforcing their image of righteous power against the ever-growing pirate threat.
"Brilliant. Seriously... what a masterstroke."
Yahn couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. He even felt a twinge of pity for Shiki's legacy.
That lion had always been so proud…
If he found out the Navy had twisted his name like this, would he be so furious he'd crawl back from the depths of the sea?
---
Meanwhile, it wasn't just Yahn who was stunned.
This carefully crafted piece of news spread like wildfire across the world, leaving countless people speechless.
"The Navy really is regressing. Using this kind of low-grade trick to smear Roger's name?"
In a region of the New World, aboard the Moby Dick—a ship even larger than the Navy's war-beast vessels—an unimpressed Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, scoffed.
He clenched his five fingers into a fist—Boom!—and instantly shattered the newspaper into dust using the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"What's up with Pops?" some crew members quietly asked Marco, the "Phoenix," who was lounging on deck with a drink.
"Nothing much. Probably just pissed off," Marco chuckled.
"Hell I'm not, you dumb brat!"
Whitebeard barked back, then grabbed a barrel of wine nearby and began drinking heavily.
For a moment, the crew stared at the giant man's almost childish tantrum—then burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
---
Elsewhere, the reactions from those who once sailed with the Pirate King were… strange.
Shanks didn't believe it for a second.
Buggy just scoffed.
Crocus fell into deep thought.
And as for Silvers Rayleigh—the "Dark King" and Roger's right-hand man—he sat in silence, cigarette in hand, staring at the article, as though caught in the grip of an old memory.
---
In the end, what could've been a major PR disaster—the unprecedented prison break from Impel Down—was neatly swept under the rug.
The only lingering problem for the Navy?
No one could confirm the current whereabouts of the "Golden Lion" Shiki. It was as if he had completely vanished into the sea.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had repeatedly asked Yahn for details, hoping to deduce Shiki's likely direction.
But alas, the spot where Yahn had left the corpse was an unmarked patch of open ocean. So all Yahn could do was truthfully report that he had no idea where Shiki might be now.
---
Currently at chapter 370 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27
patreon. com/Sami_27