Half an hour later, Jack, who was already severely injured, finally fell in battle under the combined efforts of Broye and Custard.
In their final clash with Jack, Broye's sword pierced Jack's neck from the left side, while Custard's sword directly stabbed through Jack's heart.
Although Jack was dead, Broye and Custard weren't in much better shape.
Broye's left arm hung limply, clearly broken.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth... As for Custard, a large wound on her left rib gushed blood like a spring, quickly staining her clothes red.
Anyone could see she had been critically injured.
If she had dodged even a moment slower, she might have been cut in half.
"Excellent... absolutely excellent."
The reporter from the World Economic Journal, clutching his camera, was so excited he nearly jumped for joy.
He had perfectly captured the moment when Broye and Custard simultaneously thrust their swords into Jack's body.
And the scene of Jack counterattacking, slashing his dual sickles at Broye and Custard, was perfectly captured by his camera.
For this single scoop, he could receive a reward of at least a million Berries!
But that wasn't the most important part.
Whether it was Jack, Broye, Custard, or the Rear Admiral beside him—all had highly sensitive identities.
And now these three parties had become entangled.
This was absolutely explosive news, enough to shake the entire world.
Most importantly, it might even alter the existing global power structure.
With such groundbreaking news in his hands, he wouldn't merely receive a standard monetary reward.
There was a high probability he would be promoted... Even if he couldn't become the head of the first half of the Grand Line, he would undoubtedly secure a significant position there.
This wouldn't just bring him greater future compensation but also grant him very high status and authority within the World Economic Journal.
At the very least, in the first half of the Grand Line, he would wield considerable influence.
At this thought, he turned to look once more at the Rear Admiral beside him, for all of this was brought about by this marine officer.
Having witnessed the man's capabilities firsthand, he understood clearly that this Rear Admiral's future achievements within the World Government and the Marines would undoubtedly be remarkable.
"Hah..."
He took a deep breath, then looked directly at Lancelot and said frankly, "Rear Admiral Lancelot, thank you for this. In the future, if there's anything you need that I can assist with, I won't hesitate."
"How interesting..."
Hearing the reporter's words, Lancelot's lips curled into a slight smile.
Originally, he had only intended for this guy to spotlight Broye and Custard's killing of Jack's crew to serve his own purposes.
But now... it seemed there might be additional benefits.
After all, he was someone who understood the nuances of social dynamics. How could he miss the underlying meaning in those words?
His gaze softened involuntarily as he asked, "I don't believe I caught your name?"
The reporter replied, "Mike."
"Mike?"
Lancelot nodded. "I'll remember you... From now on, if there's anything I can disclose to you, or when I'm planning to stir things up... I'll notify you first."
Mike's eyes lit up instantly. "Thank you, Rear Admiral. In return... any intelligence about you within the World Economic Journal, as long as it's within my authority, I'll relay to you immediately."
"Tsk tsk..."
Lancelot chuckled softly.
In their exchange, neither had explicitly stated what the other would receive. Instead, they directly highlighted what they could offer each other.
This was the most straightforward way to form a preliminary alliance... What kind of place was the World Economic Journal? The world's largest intelligence network.
This was just the beginning. If he could eventually achieve intelligence sharing with the World Economic Journal—even if only regarding the first half of the Grand Line—it would be tremendously beneficial to him.
...
"This..."
In the headquarters of the World Economic Journal, Morgans' eyes widened enormously.
His expression first showed disbelief, followed by shock, and finally excitement.
"Excellent, excellent..."
Morgans laughed heartily.
Ever since Shanks became an Emperor, he hadn't released any news capable of altering the world's power structure—a torment for a newsman who lived for groundbreaking stories.
After the excitement faded, he fell into deep contemplation.
"The one who provided this news is Mike, the million-level journalist from the first half of the Grand Line, right? This time, he really managed to get a massive scoop... Reward him with five million Berries and promote him to Senior News Correspondent of the World Economic Journal. He will be responsible for all matters in Sector One of the first half of the Grand Line."
The reason he could develop his World Economic Journal to its current scale, aside from his unique ability to control News Coos, was his strict adherence to rewarding and punishing his subordinates fairly.
His gaze then returned to the photograph in his hand.
Tsk tsk...
A Rear Admiral, alone, defeated the Big Mom Pirates—the three siblings led by Snack, one of the Four Sweet Commanders.
Then Broye and Custard defected to the Rear Admiral, while Snack returned alone.
Or was he released?
Does that mean Snack, Broye, and Custard, representing the Big Mom Pirates, reached some kind of agreement with this Rear Admiral?
As he pondered, he continued reading the intelligence.
Lancelot intervened, decisively and severely injuring Jack... His eyes then fell on Lancelot's photograph.
A Rear Admiral!?
'Heh...'
'With strength like that, even the elite Vice Admirals of the headquarters are far inferior to him, aren't they?'
Is he at the level of a Candidate Admiral?
No...
To so easily defeat Snack, Broye, and Custard, and severely injure Jack—he must already be at the level of an Admiral.
A Rear Admiral possessing the Marine's highest combat power?
'Interesting...'
And this guy actually managed to make Broye and Custard attack and kill Jack.
So, have Broye and Custard truly defected?
Those two are members of the Big Mom Pirates. They represent the entire Big Mom Pirates...
He really has the guts!
'Sigh!'
'I'd love to see what expression Kaido will have when he sees these photos in my newspaper!'
'What choice will he make then? Directly declare war on the Big Mom Pirates?'
'And what will the Big Mom Pirates choose? Go to war with the Beasts Pirates? Or, to appease the Beasts Pirates' anger, capture Broye and Custard and send them to Onigashima to give Kaido an explanation?'
'And what is this Rear Admiral scheming in all this? Trying to make the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates fight each other?'
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