"Hey, Morgans, remember that 'big news' I promised you last time?"
Inside Shakky's Rip-off Bar, Naruto fiddled with the five newly acquired Devil Fruits while using a Den Den Mushi to contact an old friend.
After his battle with Golden Lion Shiki, Naruto's figure had been captured by the World Economic News Paper's camera birds.
Thanks to his connection with Morgans, Naruto successfully negotiated for his identity to remain hidden, with only his back was published, in exchange for the promise of future 'big news'.
Of course, this didn't make much of a difference.
As the saying goes:
Those who knew Naruto would recognize him from just his back. Those who mattered already knew.
While those who didn't know him would, at most, glance at his bounty poster, exclaim, 'So many zeros!' and then go about their day.
This was just to avoid causing a commotion when passing through areas populated by ordinary civilians. After all, using Transformation Technique too often could get tedious. Naruto much preferred walking around openly.
"Oh! If it isn't Naruto?"
Morgans's voice crackled through the Den Den Mushi, his beak stretching into a wide grin.
Naruto was one of his favorite clients, a man who always delivered groundbreaking news.
It's not just because the other party makes him rich.
Though Morgans often called himself a 'miser', his thirst for sensational stories far outweighed his greed for wealth.
Bribing him to suppress information was nearly impossible.
"If you're talking about the incident on Sabaody Archipelago, I already know about that. That doesn't count as the news you owe me."
Hearing this, Naruto chuckled lightly.
Given how explosively things had escalated between him and Akainu, and considering Sabaody Archipelago was a major hub where multiple routes of the Grand Line converged, it was no surprise the news had spread like wildfire.
Not to mention the group of omnipresent photographers under Morgans, even the most clueless pirate on the Sabaody Archipelago could recount the events in detail by now.
An attack on the Celestial Dragons. A Navy Admiral clashing with a criminal, obliterating an entire island in the process.
The news had already spread.
"I know."
Naruto pulled out a Visual Den Den Mushi, one he'd taken from Golden Lion Shiki's stash. He hadn't expected to use it like this.
"But what if I told you someone attacked Mary Geoise and slaughtered a bunch of Celestial Dragons?"
"..."
The voice on the other end suddenly stopped, leaving only silence in the receiver.
Then, Morgans burst into a sharp, grating laugh.
"Hahahaha! That's so like you, Naruto! I knew it couldn't be that simple!"
When it came to understanding Naruto in this world, aside from Roger's crew, Morgans was undoubtedly one of the most knowledgeable.
He instantly grasped the deeper meaning behind Naruto's words.
Who is Uzumaki Naruto?
He is the same reckless fool who had stormed Mary Geoise over a decade ago. With the 'ability to clone himself', of course he could strike in two places at once!
'This made sense! This was more like it!'
"Quick! Tell me everything in detail!"
Morgans's excitement wasn't without reason.
His network of informants spanned the entire sea, but the Holy Land atop the Red Line was an exception… getting close was nearly impossible.
News Coo that approached would be shot down instantly, and his undercover reporters couldn't infiltrate it.
Or rather, it wasn't that they couldn't sneak in, and it was that they couldn't get out.
The best way to enter was to be sent in as a slave.
And once a slave entered Mary Geoise, the chances of escaping were practically zero.
Even if his subordinates shared their willingness to risk their lives for a story, they still needed to be alive to deliver the news.
As for whether this would provoke hostility and threats from the World Government… Morgans admitted he was taking a gamble.
At the very least, he had to spread this news before the World Government could pressure him.
This was the biggest story in decades… truly, in every sense of the word!
Keeping it a secret would be more painful than death itself.
"Send your people to the Shakky's Rip-Off Bar. I'll hand over the Den Den Mushi with the footage directly."
"You even recorded it?!"
This was an even greater surprise.
Originally, Morgans had assumed Naruto would only provide some details about the attack, which he would then spin into ambiguous reports.
By using words like "allegedly" or "possibly," he could still defend himself if held accountable.
But now-
He was all in!
Morgans's men quickly arrived at the bar.
They had operatives stationed on every island in the Sabaody Archipelago.
After handing over the Den Den Mushi that contained footage of him killing a member of the God's Knights, Naruto specifically warned the man to be careful.
"Perfect-"
On the side, Rayleigh and Shakky watched Naruto's bold move and looked at each other in amazement.
While waiting earlier, the two had already heard Naruto explain the whole story.
"So, you confronted that 'Imu' directly?"
As one of Roger's old crewmates, Rayleigh had long known about the existence of the figure behind the World Government.
But precisely because of that, he was even more shocked.
"Probably-"
"Then you really are something else, Naruto."
As he spoke, Rayleigh raised his glass.
Naruto clinked his cup against the older man's, and the two burst into laughter before downing their drinks in one go.
Beside them, Shakky let out a helpless sigh.
"Then you'd better set off quickly. The World Government has probably already started moving."
"That's what I was thinking… that's why I came to pick up the ship."
For an ordinary coater, coating a medium-sized ship would take at least three days.
But if an old-timer with special techniques handled it, the time could be shortened even further.
Plus, Naruto's Gale Breaker was small, so the coating work was already finished… now, they just had to wait for the resin to harden.
That part couldn't be rushed any further.
"It'll probably take a few more hours."
Hearing this, Naruto wasn't surprised. He then laid out the five Devil Fruits he had casually picked up in Mary Geoise in a neat row.
He recognized two of them.
"Uncle Rayleigh, do you recognize these three fruits?"
As he said this, he pointed at the remaining ones.
"Hmm… not really."
After scrutinizing them for a while, Rayleigh couldn't recall any relevant information from memory.
That wasn't surprising, After all, the Roger Pirates only had one or two Devil Fruit users in their crew, and one of them had eaten theirs by accident.
"Is that so… It's okay."
Pulling out a sealing scroll, Naruto sealed the three fruits inside under their curious gazes.
[Dog], [Bird], [Ink].
This was the limitation of the sealing scroll's cheat-like trick… it could only display the general nature of a Devil Fruit.
But at least it confirmed that two were Zoan-types, while the other was a Paramecia, most likely the Inku Inku no Mi. (T/N: Ink-Ink Fruit, but shouldn't be Kanjuro's fruit since Kanjuro is not dead at this time.)
'What exactly could this fruit do, though?'
Naruto pondered but didn't underestimate it.
After all, as everyone knew, the Devil Fruits with the highest potential on the seas were the Paramecia types.
You never knew what kind of absurd abilities their users could develop.
'Hmm… but giving it to Sasuke or Karin for a gamble wasn't necessary. They needed fruits that could directly boost their combat power.'
'How about giving it to Jiraiya-sensei?'
Leaving aside Naruto's 'happy dilemma', Morgans had already started drafting the latest issue of the World Economic News Paper.
The Den Den Mushi was still on its way to headquarters, but Morgans didn't need to see it to know that this next big story would blow everyone's minds.
As for how long it would take for the news to be forcibly 'erased' due to pressure from the World Government… that wasn't something he needed to worry about.