Chapter 428: I Only Let You Out for Some Fresh Air, and You're Already Getting Cocky?
World Economic News Headquarters
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling over mountains of paperwork and the constant hum of printing presses.
Morgans sat perched in his massive, luxurious leather chair. His wings flapped with excitement, his beak snapping open and shut as his thunderous laughter echoed through the room.
"Gugagagaga—!!!"
"To think such a terrifying Devil Fruit ability existed! This is a power capable of destroying the world!"
"If I release this news, the entire world will tremble! Hahaha, this is what a real BIG NEWS looks like!!!"
He flapped his wings in a frenzy, his eyes reflecting the intoxicating vision of a world in shock.
However—
Beep— Beep—
The Den Den Mushi on his desk suddenly cut his laughter short.
Morgans furrowed his brow, flicked his wings, and pressed the answer button with extreme impatience.
"Hey! Who is it?! Make it quick! I'm about to publish a world-shaking headline!!"
In the next moment, the Den Den Mushi's eyelids slowly lifted, its mouth curling into a half-smile that didn't reach its eyes.
Then, a deep, ice-cold voice flowed from its mouth:
"...Morgans."
With just those two syllables, the air in the office instantly froze.
The voice wasn't loud, yet it carried the crushing pressure of the deep sea. It felt as if an invisible giant hand had clamped down on Morgans' throat, making him too terrified to even twitch a wing.
Morgans' pupils shrank violently. Every feather on his body stood on end with a sharp shing, and cold sweat dripped from his beak onto the desk.
"You—!!!"
The voice gave him no chance to argue: "Regarding that concert... you know what needs to be done."
Morgans felt the blood drain from his face as his legs turned to jelly.
He lunged out of his chair, bowing low with a tone that turned instantly and pathetically respectful: "Y-Yes!! I understand! I will handle it personally!"
"I absolutely won't do anything reckless! Hahaha, an honest, law-abiding citizen like me? Reckless? Never!!"
"Good."
The Den Den Mushi's eyelids slowly closed, its mouth clamping shut with a short clack as the line went dead.
The office fell into a sudden, deathly silence.
Morgans stood frozen, his chest heaving. He swallowed hard with a difficult gulp before collapsing back into his chair, looking as if he had just crawled back from the gates of hell.
"Whew—whew... that nearly cost me my life..."
However, a second later—
Another Den Den Mushi rang out.
It was a CP-exclusive Den Den Mushi from the World Government.
Morgans' eyelid twitched as he answered immediately. A cold, sharp interrogation came from the device: "Morgans! The live broadcast cut out at the critical moment. Explain yourself!"
Morgans didn't miss a beat. He flicked a wing, adopting a dismissive, flippant tone:
"Gugagaga, just bad luck! The broadcasting Den Den Mushi was suddenly interfered with by some unknown ability and fainted! There's nothing I can do about a blackout!"
"We're working on it urgently as we speak~"
"..."
The other end remained silent for several seconds before dropping a cold warning: "You'd better not be hiding anything." Then, they hung up.
Morgans patted his chest and let out a long, shaky breath before sneering under his breath:
"Idiots at the World Government... I know exactly who's more terrifying to cross."
He took a deep breath, grabbed his quill, and began frantically rewriting the headline draft.
"Gugagaga... Let's change the news—'Assassination Attempt on Diva Uta by Crazed Fan Fails; Marines Respond Swiftly to Subdue Culprit'."
Thud!
He slammed his seal onto the paper, his gaze dark, though a cold smile tugged at the corner of his beak:
"Heh... some 'Big News' is better left for the world to dream about."
Sabaody Archipelago · Concert Waiting Room
Due to the sudden "incident," the concert stage had fallen into brief chaos, and the performance had been forcibly halted.
However, under the roar of the audience and the pressure of a global broadcast, Uta's management decided to restore order as quickly as possible and continue with the later acts to complete the festival.
The clamor and applause of the stage felt thousands of miles away.
The air backstage was heavy enough to suffocate.
Law was kneeling beside Uta, a faint blue glow flickering in his palm.
The power of the Ope-Ope no Mi flowed through her body, painstakingly extracting the residual toxins of the "Wake-Shrooms" bit by bit.
After a few moments, he slowly withdrew his hand, let out a long breath, and stood up.
"The toxins have been cleared. Her life is no longer in danger."
His tone shifted as his gaze moved slowly toward Shanks, his eyes as sharp as a scalpel: "However... what she just did nearly plunged the entire world into catastrophe."
"We Marines will not let you take her away so easily."
Swoosh—
As the words fell, Luffy and Sanji moved almost simultaneously, quietly taking up positions that completely blocked Shanks' path of retreat.
The air in the waiting room solidified instantly.
Shanks narrowed his eyes, his red hair falling over his face as his palm slowly gripped the hilt of Gryphon.
A low hum of the blade rang out, pressing down until everyone's heart skipped a beat.
The air felt like it could ignite at any second.
"Wait... Wait a minute—!!!"
Gordon lunged forward, spreading his arms to stand between the two sides.
His voice was hoarse, trembling with urgency: "Uta is brilliant, but she lacks common sense entirely!"
He looked at Law, Luffy, and the others, explaining frantically: "She never went to school! She has no friends to talk to! Her understanding of society is nothing but a fragmented fantasy!"
"She doesn't understand what real change costs, and she doesn't understand the complexity of reality!"
"Everything she did was just innocence and kindness taken to a horrific extreme!!!"
Gordon's voice was nearly a roar as his eyes darted between the Marines and Shanks:
"Uta... she's a good child!!!"
After a moment of silence, Rosinante stepped slowly out of the shadows.
The red cherry of his cigarette flickered in the dim light, billowing white smoke into the air.
He held the half-finished cigarette between his fingers, his pace steady and unhurried. "The Marines do indeed have a high tolerance for children."
"We even make protecting them our primary directive."
He exhaled a cloud of smoke, his gaze suddenly turning as sharp as a blade, piercing straight through Shanks: "But that applies before she commits an error capable of destroying the world."
His voice dropped into a heavy, cold interrogation: "Can you guarantee it?"
"Can you guarantee that after you take her away, she won't go to such extremes again?"
The smoke cleared, and everyone held their breath.
Shanks remained silent.
He knew deep down that Rosinante was right.
He also knew that he had lost everything; he had no power to provide Uta with any security or guarantees.
But if Uta was taken by the Marines, she would lose all her freedom, locked away in an invisible cage.
—This was his only daughter.
How could he stand by and watch her life be bound by invisible chains?
His fingertips slowly reached for the hilt of Gryphon.
Zing—
Sword intent erupted, his red hair whipping wildly as his Haki surged out like a tidal wave!
Flash!!!
Luffy, Sanji, and Law leaned forward instantly, their combat stances fully engaged. Killing intent soared, looking as if the waiting room would explode in the next heartbeat!
Right at this moment—
"Hey, hey, hey—"
A lazy voice, laced with a hint of disdain and mockery, suddenly drifted from behind Shanks.
"I only let you out for some fresh air, and you're already getting cocky?"
The voice wasn't loud, yet it boomed like a thunderclap in everyone's ears!
Shanks' body violently jolted. His pupils shrank, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant!
His fingers froze on the hilt of Gryphon. Even though he was only half an inch away, he didn't dare move another muscle.
The waiting room fell into a terrifying silence, leaving only the crackle of the burning cigarette, sounding exceptionally harsh in the dead air.
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you