The seemingly inexplicable concealment afterward may have been some kind of choice.
Just as he was thinking this, the Den Den Mushi rang.
Morgans froze for a moment, seemingly a little surprised.
He picked it up subconsciously, but the voice that came from the receiver made his brows lift.
"This is Ren. Want to talk?"
The sudden call made Morgans laugh.
Interesting.
Contacting him at a time like this?
After thinking for a moment, Morgans sat down in his seat. "Do you want to do the same thing as Alabasta again?"
"No. There's no need for me to keep a low profile anymore. For the time being, my enemies won't have the time to target me either."
"Then what do you want?"
"Cooperation. Or rather, an exchange."
Ren said calmly, "I imagine the World Government agents have already been dealt with by you, yes?"
"Hm?"
Morgans was a little surprised. He could not help glancing around.
There was nothing abnormal, and there should not have been any way to spy on him.
"You are a man who pursues news. A newsman. You wouldn't accept the World Government's demands."
Ren's tone was certain, as if he had seen what had just happened across space and time. "That is also the reason I called you.
"I imagine that when some unprecedented piece of major news happens, even if you face the World Government's threats, you still won't give up on publishing that news."
"You mean…"
"What do you think caused a Celestial Dragon to end up in Whitebeard's hands?"
"You mean…"
Morgans narrowed his eyes, waves rising in his gaze.
"Yes. It was my doing. I imagine a smart man like you would have noticed that.
"The difference is that I have admitted it in front of you, while outsiders will never receive my confirmation."
Ren chuckled. "This is my sincerity, and also a display of my bargaining chip."
"I understand. You're going to do something big afterward. Something the World Government will not allow to be disclosed.
"But it is something you want the world to see, which is why you want to cooperate with me—or rather, make an exchange."
Morgans immediately grasped the key point.
"I cannot deny the sharp instincts of the King of News."
Ren said frankly, "That is indeed the case. In the not-so-distant future, something like that will happen.
"So I need the power of public opinion that you represent, so the world can know that this great event has occurred."
"What bargaining chip are you offering?"
"Next, I will go to war with two of the Four Emperors. You will receive the first-hand information.
"Believe me, although it will be an edited version, battles between top-tier monsters of that level are not something just anyone has the ability to glimpse."
"Deal!"
Morgans agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Because that was indeed the truth.
He would not suppress his heart for reporting the news just because of the World Government's demands.
That was a baseline that would not change.
Under those circumstances, since he could receive benefits in advance, what was there to refuse?
"I'm glad we've reached a consensus. I'll provide a special contact channel. Goodbye."
Ren hung up the Den Den Mushi.
His conversation with Morgans was inevitable. The other party held the world's largest outlet for public opinion.
The importance of control over public opinion was extremely great.
For example, the World Government could declare itself justice, and make the privileges of the Celestial Dragons seem only natural.
It could erase the existence of God Valley, and even the existence of the Lulusia Kingdom.
In practical terms, it could deny the history of those two nations.
That was the terrifying power of hegemony over public opinion.
Black could be washed into white, white could be washed into black, and black could even be washed into a dazzling spectrum of colors.
In the absence of interconnected media, the side that controlled public opinion occupied the absolute commanding height.
Under those circumstances, if one wanted to shatter the golden facade of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, then merely relying on the incident of the Celestial Dragon becoming a hostage during the Marineford War was not enough.
There needed to be an even more powerful action, as well as a channel through which it could be disclosed to the entire world.
The former was the great event Ren said he was still preparing.
The latter was the World Economic Journal represented by Morgans.
Only by combining the two could they deal a heavy blow to the "wall" that the World Government had built over the past eight hundred years.
Only when the "wall" was about to fall would everyone push it together.
This was Ren's arrangement for the overall situation.
Of course, in a world where the strong were supreme, strength was the most important link.
For that, Ren had also made preparations.
One of the gains from the Marineford War was the Space-Time: The Creator card he had just recovered.
As the largest-scale war in the pirate world, with the highest quality of participating combatants, the number of people who died in the Temporal Mist was in the thousands, and the time units obtained from it were terrifyingly immense.
At the very least, it was enough for Ren's group to undergo another collective enhancement.
And that was not all.
In terms of external assistance, Ren had also made arrangements.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Revolutionary Army should have already begun acting."
Ren tucked the Den Den Mushi into his pocket and raised his eyes to glance at the sky.
Kuma had not arrived yet. After all, he had previously been in Wano, assisting the large team with their operations.
The Celestial Dragon had also been packaged and delivered by him ahead of time. Ren later took over, and only then did the scene of the hostage "just happening" to fall into Whitebeard's hands occur.
At this very moment, Ren and Hancock were waiting on an uninhabited island.
This place had already left Marineford's great triangular sea region, roughly between the Sabaody Archipelago and the Red Line.
When he looked into the distance, he could still see the vague outline of the Sabaody Archipelago.
It was very lively there right now. Many reporters were rushing around busily, and Cipher Pol agents were also in action.
They seemed to want to seal off the news of the Marineford War.
But that action was meaningless. The single breach that was Morgans was enough to tear apart the World Government's information blackout.
"What do you plan to do next? I imagine I have lost my status as a Warlord of the Sea."
Hancock leaned against the great serpent, her elegant brows furrowed in worry. "They all saw me leave together with you. They will treat me as a traitor too.
"Although I believe those fools have no right to decide where I belong, there will definitely be a reckoning next, won't there?
"If anything happens to Kuja Island, don't expect me to obediently listen to you!"
"A reckoning is inevitable, but the current World Government does not have the energy for it.
"Or rather, the blades they possess do not have enough ability to deal with every problem."
Ren naturally walked closer, then kicked the great serpent.
Amid the latter's aggrieved movements and Hancock's disdainful gaze, he sat down on the middle section of the serpent's tail.
He lazily rested his head against Hancock's long, fair, beautiful legs.
The latter's red lips twitched, but in the end, she said nothing.
Because this was work—a lap pillow.
Ren said indifferently, "There are too many things they need to do.
"First and foremost are the Whitebeard Pirates, who kidnapped a Celestial Dragon as a hostage and exchanged him for Roger's son, Ace.
"The nature of those two matters is too vile. The World Government must resolve them as quickly as possible.
"But the current Whitebeard is in his strongest state. At the very least, he can continue like this for more than a week.
"As for Marine Headquarters, it suffered a heavy blow because of its defeat in the war.
"And it was in that kind of manner, almost like surrendering, that they handed over Ace.
"Their internal ideology will have to face a collapse.
"For at least two or three years, the middle and lower ranks of the Marines will be in an extremely unstable state.
"The upper-middle ranks will also need to face many troubles.
"The current Fleet Admiral will have to take responsibility for this defeat. There is a ninety-nine percent chance he will step down.
"The successor will be chosen from among the Three Admirals. Kizaru is the least likely, so the competitors will be Akainu and Kuzan.
"In that regard, it will take at least half a month to a month to complete.
"And I will make certain interventions during that period.
"In other words, in the short term, the Marines do not have enough power to sweep away every problem.
"What the World Government can currently mobilize are the shield of the Cipher Pol Agency and the spear of the God Knights.
"However, the direction in which those two forces will inevitably be used is against the Whitebeard Pirates, who still hold a Celestial Dragon hostage.
"The negotiations, games, and battles between the two sides will also take time.
"Only after resolving that problem will they have spare strength to deal with so-called traitors like us.
"So there will be a gap of at least two to three months."
"That is still only two or three months."
Hancock clenched her fair hand into a fist, enduring her discomfort as she pressed on. "What happens after that?"
"There's nothing to worry about."
Ren smiled, his gaze somewhat cold. "Two or three months is enough for me to complete several plans.
"By that stage, the initiative will no longer be in the World Government's hands.
"If you are truly afraid and worried, I will provide a suitable solution."
"I am not afraid! How could an emperor worry about petty villains!"
Hancock's voice rose by several degrees. Clearly, she was still in a state of stubborn denial.
But in reality, after witnessing a truly grand scene, she understood that her own strength was insufficient to face the reckoning crisis that would follow.
A single admiral alone was already beyond what she could handle.
For now, what she could rely on… was still this detestable, utterly hateful man before her.
That was also the reason Hancock continued enduring the other party's offenses.
It was absolutely not because she had accepted her fate. Absolutely not!
At this moment, Hancock's expression kept shifting.
Ren, who was receiving the lap pillow, took all of this in, and could not help shaking his head.
He could roughly understand the change in Hancock's mindset.
Summed up in one sentence, it was anxiety over gains and losses.
The gain referred to what she had witnessed regarding the Celestial Dragons.
For Hancock, who had once been a slave in Mary Geoise, her true mortal enemies were undoubtedly the Celestial Dragons.
It was just that in the past, there had been no possibility of revenge. She could only curl up in a corner and lick her wounds, growing a hedgehog-like shell of spikes to protect herself.
But now, she had seen the Celestial Dragons truly suffer a disastrous reversal.
And she had discovered that in Ren, she could truly see hope for revenge.
The loss was fear. Fear of the destruction that would come if they failed.
If following Ren did not lead to victory, Kuja would inevitably face the fate of national destruction.
The entire nation might even be reduced to slavery.
Most importantly, this direction was something she could neither decide nor control.
It had been forcibly achieved by Ren.
That was also the reason Hancock had not become lovestruck after Ren actually took action against the Celestial Dragons.
These were two separate matters.
But conversely, it was also because Ren had actually taken action against the Celestial Dragons
that he could lean against Hancock's thigh without being attacked or resisted out of instinctive trauma.
Of course, the reason on the surface was definitely that she had lost the previous bet, and this was the lap-pillow work he had obtained.
A proud emperor would not go back on her word.
(End of Chapter)