"Vice Admiral Garp, please cooperate, otherwise, it will be difficult for us to handle things later...."
"Not interested. If you have time for this, you might as well investigate something else."
A few people timidly surrounded Garp, hoping he would cooperate with their actions, but the outcome was not as they wished. No matter what they said, Garp had no interest in dealing with them.
These people were not agents, but journalists from the World Government.
Unlike Morgans' World Economic News Agency, these journalists are the World Government's mouthpieces. They write whatever the World Government wants.
As for where their pieces are published, besides some official internal newspapers, the World Economic News Agency is one of the channels. Morgans, besides having his subordinates write reports, also accepts external submissions.
The attack on the G-1 Branch has already happened. The smoke from the battle here could be seen even on the Red Earth Continent, and soldiers present, as well as ships passing by nearby waters, saw everything clearly.
Now they need to rebuild the G-1 Branch, console the injured soldiers, and pay compensation to the families of the fallen. What happened here cannot be hidden. Since it cannot be hidden, they have to cover it up properly.
Kaidou attacked a Navy branch, caused some casualties, and then left in public. Of course, they couldn't report it like that.
If Morgans were writing the report, he would make it as sensational as possible, without caring about the impact it might have. However, in a place like the G-1 Branch, there are no journalists, so the Navy has the final say.
The evil Kaidou was plotting something, and the brave Navy soldiers discovered his scheme and thwarted him. An enraged Kaidou attacked the G-1 Branch in retaliation. During the courageous resistance of the Navy, the Navy hero Monkey D. Garp arrived at a critical moment.
Aokiji from the Headquarters also followed closely. They were initially about to capture Kaidou, but the cowardly Kaidou used the soldiers' lives as a threat and finally fled in a panic. They already had the story outline prepared.
The process of the event wasn't an issue, as they couldn't distort the reality of what happened. They simply told it differently. Soldiers who hadn't seen the enemy died due to an unknown AOE or heroically sacrificed themselves in a brave struggle. Although both end up in death, the meanings are entirely different.
Garp didn't object to this, as such a narrative could benefit those soldiers who had died. However, he wasn't willing to condone those people's actions.
To better depict the heroism of the Navy, they hoped Garp would cooperate by taking a few photos within the ruins to promote better. Although the damage to the G-1 Branch wasn't light, proper propaganda could yield excellent recruitment results.
Ultimately, these journalists couldn't have their way, as Garp ignored them and returned to the still-intact section of the base under the pretext of tending to his wounds.
A little scratch was nothing, and after eating a few donuts, the wound would be as good as healed. Kaidou was testing some new techniques this time, and the individual power wasn't particularly strong. They still had plenty of trump cards left after just a few hours.
But Garp was very clear; he hadn't gained much, and the Navy this time had suffered a substantial loss for no reason. He couldn't accept standing on the ruins for those people to take fake photos.
...
"What should we do? Without photos, the expressiveness will be significantly weaker."
They didn't have the authority to force Garp. Although he deservedly was a Navy hero, the glimmer of this title allowed Garp to act quite willfully. He could even be more cheeky towards the Heavenly Celestial Dragons compared to others, especially since those he rescued included the Heavenly Celestial Dragons.
Not all Celestial Dragons are mindless dimwits. Those like Garp, who are exceptionally powerful and have also saved them, are accorded some privileges.
Faced with someone like Garp, they had no means. While ordinary Navy personnel might care about their opinion, depending on these Navy scribes to actually influence someone's reputation, Garp was different.
Anyone daring to slander him would be slapping the Navy itself in the face.
"Don't worry, I've already prepared something."
At this time, someone suddenly returned holding a camera. None of the people beside him noticed how he appeared, but no one found it odd.
"Hmm?"
"I got here before you guys. These are photos of Vice Admiral Garp dealing with those meteors earlier, as well as photos of Kaidou 'fleeing'. There's also a photo of him rescuing soldiers in the ruins.
Plus, there's already surveillance footage inside the base from the Radio Snail. It should be enough."
He pulled out several photos that included Garp shattering large Draco Meteors with his fists, casually grabbing cannonballs to block flying meteors, and even lifting debris to drag out soldiers who were buried.
Kuzan and Kaidou also appeared within his camera.
"Oh, now we can hand over the materials."
"As usual, I'll take the photos, and you go write up the copy."
"Rest assured, rest assured, we understand."
Within the journalist team, photographers are undoubtedly the most critical, especially Navy photographers, who are elusive and omnipresent. Whether it's the Seven Warlords of the Sea or the Four Emperors, whether icebergs, deserts, or deep seas, where there's a major conflict, they will undoubtedly be there.
Being incognito, disguising, lurking, mingling, these are their bread and butter. There's a rumor that some young photographers are even recruited by the CP Department, trained to become powerful intelligence operatives.
Secretly taking photos of Garp after a battle, such a task was a piece of cake.
Therefore, what the Hundred Beasts pirates saw on Ghost Island were the beautified newspapers, entirely singing praises of Garp's heroism, significantly downplaying the effects of the branch being attacked.
However, the impact of this incident wasn't merely this simple. On the Red Earth Continent, a new wave of undercurrents was surging.
Meanwhile, inside the Hundred Beasts Fruit office, ordinary employees were continuing their usual work. Yet, some keen individuals noticed that the usual leaders were nowhere to be seen, leaving only Tesoro in charge.
And he was just tidying up his suit, seemingly ready to head out.
"Stella, don't worry, those people won't do anything. Governor Kaidou and Lord Arceus are fine. If they planned on a mutual destruction scenario, they wouldn't bother to talk."
The earphone linked to the Rotom on his ear was used in communication with Stella.
"Then why did you have the others leave temporarily?"
"Just in case, and it's good news that they can leave smoothly... wait a minute, there's a call from Ghost Island. Let me deal with this and I'll get back to you."