"Isn't this the Marine brat you let go, Boss? How did it turn into him single-handedly taking back a warship?"
The newspapers delivered by the News Coo weren't limited purchases. For a small pirate crew of just a dozen people, buying a single copy to pass around was enough.
But for someone like Nereus, who had quite a few subordinates, they usually bought several copies so that any interested crew members could read them.
Although the newspaper looked more like a children's picture book in Barbell's hands due to its size, that didn't stop him from reading the actual content.
"Other than the fact that the warship was brought back to the marine base, which part of this is even true? And who the hell is this reporter Morgans? How did this guy come up with all this nonsense in his head?"
The newspaper vividly described an heroic soldier who, after all the other Marines had already fallen, fought a battle of wits and courage against a group of vicious pirates and finally recaptured the warship.
But as one of the people actually involved, Barbell knew very well just how much of it was fabricated.
"Though that Marine kid didn't exactly tell the truth either. The pirates whom he snatched the warship turned into completely different people."
After returning, Dragon hadn't told the truth either. He had just made up a few excuses to brush things off. The Marine side didn't really care about it, nor did they investigate too thoroughly; they simply used it as material to promote their own image.
"News has always been like this. Information doesn't travel easily across the sea. What happens on the other side is something nobody really knows. Everything depends on how the newspapers choose to tell it.
If the World Government wants to twist black into white, it's not difficult at all.
Compared to this 'lone wolf' Marine, the stories about Hero Garp are even more exaggerated."
The report about Dragon was on the second page, while the front page had already been taken over by the destruction of the Rocks Pirates. Even then, the article skirted around the key points, never explaining where the remnants of Rocks Pirates had gone.
From start to finish, it described how Hero Garp defeated Rocks. As for Roger and Garp joining forces, or Nereus's actions, none of that was mentioned at all, as if they had never set foot on God Valley.
"So Dad, is everything written in the paper fake?"
"The outcome is real, but you don't need to believe the process. From now on, the name Rocks will gradually disappear from the seas."
Most of the newspaper space was devoted to praising Garp's achievements. Rocks's name was barely mentioned, and the name God Valley wasn't mentioned at all. The World Government had already begun to cover up the existence of the incident.
If Rocks hadn't been so infamous, the paper probably wouldn't even have mentioned his name.
"But… Nanamo, how many times have you counted those treasures already? Why are you still counting?"
"It's my first time seeing so many treasures. Just the various gold coins alone number over ten thousand. Its total value has to be measured in tens of billions of Berries."
Nanamo was rereading the inventory list she had tallied earlier, then pulled out a gold coin out of her pocket and admired the pattern on it in the sunlight.
These coins weren't simply gold molded into currency. Many were engraved with exquisite designs, and some were even remnants from kingdoms that had already vanished, making their market value far higher than their actual worth.
The coin in Nanamo's hand was part of her own share. That was the old rule: most of the treasures would be sealed away in storage for future development, but subordinates would still receive more or less a portion of their own.
Many of Nereus's subordinates had joined him after hearing his name, getting hotheaded and leaving Fishman Island to follow him.
Nereus's crew wasn't some absolutely safe haven. Battles happened frequently, and for those willing to risk their lives to follow him, he wasn't stingy about sharing a few Berries.
If someone became as greedy as John, wanting to swallow everything for himself, sooner or later he'd be devoured by his own greed.
"By the way, I heard that getting newspapers to write what you want costs quite a bit of money. This Morgans… he must have made a killing this time, right? Newspaper revenue plus the World Government's hush money… running a news agency actually sounds pretty profitable."
Nanamo counted on her fingers as she estimated Morgans's earnings, and in truth, it wasn't far from what she imagined.
As a journalist, Morgans had always been obsessed with big news.
Sometimes, in order to report on major events, he would stop at nothing; neither bribery nor death threats could prevent him from publishing the news.
At the same time, Morgans didn't mind exaggerating the facts or even fabricating parts of the story to grab attention.
It wasn't that Morgans didn't take money; he was just selective about it. If it was something he didn't want to report on, no amount of money would make him do it.
This time, Morgans's name had also indirectly spread across the seas. Nereus himself didn't care much about Morgans, but quite a few people who had personally experienced the incident were now cursing him nonstop.
For example, in the Sorbet Kingdom of the South Blue, Ivankov and the others who had left God Valley were now gathered in Kuma's former home, a slightly dilapidated church.
"Who the hell is this Morgans? And what's this about Hero Garp? This guy can really spin some bullshit!"
"Forget about him. Is there any news about Mr. Nereus? Did he make it out of there safely or not?"
Kuma flipped through the newspaper, trying to see if there was any information he was looking for. After all, without Nereus, he wouldn't have been able to save so many people.
"Stop looking, there isn't any. Not a single word about it…"
"Oh, don't worry. If someone with a bounty like Mr. Nereus had really run into trouble, the World Government and the Marines would definitely make a big show of it, using it to praise their own achievements.
Since there's no mention of it now, that means Mr. Nereus must have left safely."
Ginny's reasoning was accepted by everyone. They all hoped that Nereus was safe.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters, Marineford, the atmosphere was completely different.
As a Vice Admiral of Headquarters, Garp had his own residence in Marineford. At the moment, there were only three people in the room: Garp, Dragon, and Sengoku.
Because of Nereus's involvement, Garp hadn't been seriously injured and had already returned to his home.
At this time, the floor was littered with torn newspaper scraps; handiwork of Garp and Dragon. The father and son were both extremely displeased with the newspaper.
"Don't stop me! I'm going to have a proper talk with this guy called Morgans!"
"Forget it, Garp. The World Government must have paid him a hefty sum to get him to write this article."
Sengoku managed to stop Garp. Otherwise, judging by Garp's state, he really would have gone to 'talk' to Morgans with his fists. But in doing so, Sengoku successfully drew the fire onto himself.
"Sengoku, I have a question. About what happened at God Valley, you wouldn't happen to know absolutely nothing about it, would you?"
That sentence successfully caught the attention of Dragon, who had been sitting on the sofa in a daze.
[Do you think your higher-ups are aware of this matter?]
Nereus's words echoed once more in Dragon's mind. At this moment, Dragon also wanted to know exactly how Sengoku would answer.
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