Chapter 184: Big News

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The following day, the entire sea was shaken when the World Economic Journal published a special report accompanied by a broadcast recording. 

The footage began with the Night Organization's assault on the Donquixote Family. 

It clearly showed Doflamingo and his entire crew being annihilated by the Night Organization in a single strike—without even the slightest resistance.

The recording then shifted to the Marines' arrival. Vice Admiral Byakuya led his forces onto Dressrosa and confronted the Night Organization. 

Although Byakuya did not manage to capture any members of the Night Organization, his boldness in attacking them, coupled with the terrifying power of his sword strike, showcased both his immense strength and unshakable courage.

This act not only cleared Byakuya of all suspicions regarding his alleged connections to the Night Organization but also firmly established his integrity. 

From this point forward, no one would dare accuse him of colluding with them. 

As for why the Night Organization refrained from retaliating against Byakuya, this raised little controversy. 

Ever since the Night Organization had risen to prominence, there had been no reports of them targeting or killing Marines. 

This led some within the Marines to view the Night Organization as a lesser threat—an organization that only targeted pirates, saving the Marines significant effort.

After the Night Organization departed, the situation in Dressrosa reached its climax. 

Vice Admiral Byakuya eliminated every remaining member of the Donquixote Family, save for Doflamingo himself. 

When the last and most deeply hidden high-ranking officer fell, Morgans took flight to capture a wide-angle shot of Dressrosa. 

The recording revealed an astonishing sight: across the entire kingdom, every animated toy suddenly reverted to its human form.

The video captured the joyful cheers of those who regained their humanity and their bitter condemnations of Doflamingo. 

The recording confirmed a horrifying truth: the so-called "Land of Love, Passion, and Toys" was a facade. 

The toys were once real citizens of Dressrosa, transformed into playthings through the powers of a Devil Fruit.

This revelation struck a massive blow to the World Government. 

They had previously used Dressrosa and Doflamingo as shining examples to persuade other nations to join their ranks. 

Now, it was irrefutable that the so-called peace and prosperity of Dressrosa had been a fabrication orchestrated by Doflamingo, while the true citizens suffered under his tyrannical rule. 

This revelation trampled the reputation of the World Government.

The video concluded with Byakuya standing before former King Riku and tens of thousands of citizens, presenting the bodies of the Donquixote Family's high-ranking officers—criminals with combined bounties worth billions of berries—as proof of his resolution. 

He apologized on behalf of the Marines and uttered words that left countless jaws hanging in disbelief.

Though the recording wasn't particularly long, its contents sent unprecedented shockwaves across the sea. 

Hundreds of allied nations voiced their support for Byakuya's bold declaration and demanded the abolition of the Warlord system. 

Byakuya's open challenge to the World Government placed him squarely at the centre of worldwide debate. 

Everywhere, people were discussing the fearless Marine Vice Admiral.

Unbeknownst to Byakuya, his sword strike captured in the footage had caught the attention of none other than Dracule Mihawk, the World's Strongest Swordsman.

"I never expected the Marines to have such a powerful swordsman in their ranks. How intriguing!" Mihawk mused.

On a coffin-shaped boat, Mihawk set sail alone from the East Blue toward the New World.

Meanwhile, Byakuya had already returned to the G-5 Base. Sitting alone in his office, he was grinning like a fool. 

Anyone who saw the cold and domineering Vice Admiral from the video would be stunned by his current appearance.

But Byakuya couldn't care less. What was wrong with grinning like an idiot? If it meant gaining so much World Energy, he'd happily keep smiling every day!

As the broadcast spread, Byakuya's reputation skyrocketed as though propelled by rockets.

[Congratulations, Host! You've achieved the Reputation Milestone: Momentary Fame. Reward: 5,000 World Energy points.]

[Congratulations, Host! You've achieved the Reputation Milestone: Worldwide Renown. Reward: 10,000 World Energy points.]

[Congratulations, Host! You've successfully altered major plot points: 'The Straw Hat Pirates' first landing on Punk Hazard,' 'The alliance between the Straw Hat and Heart Pirates,' and 'Luffy's defeat of Doflamingo.' Reward: 30,000 World Energy points.]

[Congratulations, Host! You have earned the recognition of the Future Marine Admiral "Fujitora" Issho. Reward: 15,000 World Energy points.]

A string of system notifications rang out, leaving Byakuya grinning ear to ear. With a total of 60,000 World Energy points gained, it was a substantial haul.

[World Energy: 61,000]

The once "broke" Byakuya suddenly found himself wealthy. 

However, his joy quickly dissipated when he noticed that he was still about 5,000 points short of advancing the integration level by another ten per cent.

As the integration level increased, the World Energy requirements became steeper. Byakuya couldn't help but sigh. 

The road to 100% was proving long and arduous. With most major plot points already altered, only the events of the Marineford War and Wano Country remained untouched.

At present, Byakuya has limited options to acquire a large amount of World Energy without resorting to mass slaughter. Three primary avenues remained:

1. Advancing his Marine rank: Becoming an Admiral or even Fleet Admiral would undoubtedly yield a significant amount of World Energy.

2. Boosting his reputation: By continuing to stir the waters and make waves in the world under his identity as Byakuya, he could further elevate his standing.

3. Utilizing Devil Fruits: This could involve leveraging the artificial Devil Fruits created by Caesar or gathering real ones. 

Currently, the production line on Skypiea had only just started, producing fewer than 15 artificial Devil Fruits per month—not even half the output of Punk Hazard.

However, the Night Organization had managed to obtain three Devil Fruits during their raid on the Donquixote Family. 

These were now awaiting Byakuya's decision on their use.

At the same time, Byakuya remembered something Lucci had mentioned—three Revolutionary Army members captured during the operation were being temporarily held on Skypiea, also awaiting his orders.

Byakuya began considering whether he should use these three Revolutionaries as a bargaining chip to establish contact with Monkey D. Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army and Luffy's father. 

Such an interaction might also yield a substantial amount of World Energy.

While deep in thought, the Den Den Mushi on his desk suddenly rang. Picking it up, Byakuya was greeted by the exasperated voice of Sengoku.

"Byakuya! What were you thinking?!"

Rubbing his nose, Byakuya leaned back in his chair, propped his legs up on the desk, and replied nonchalantly, "What? I didn't kill Doflamingo, did I?"

"You didn't kill Doflamingo," Sengoku snapped, "but the fallout from what you said in public is worse than if you had! Honestly, it would've been simpler if you'd just killed him outright!"

"Well, Doflamingo's still locked up in the branch prison. If it's such a problem, I could just kill him now and save everyone the trouble," Byakuya offered, half-joking.

"You little brat! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" Sengoku roared, his voice so loud that the soldiers outside the office could hear every word.

They exchanged uneasy glances.

"Is the Fleet Admiral on the phone with Vice Admiral Garp?" one whispered. "What else could get him this worked up?"

Sengoku, still fuming, continued, "I've already sent Tsuru and Momousagi to the G-5 Branch." 

"They'll take Doflamingo back to Marine Headquarters for trial and then transfer him to Impel Down." 

"You better not pull any stunts and kill him before they get there! If it weren't for me sticking my neck out to protect you, your Vice Admiral rank would've been stripped already." 

"Do you have any idea how many calls I've had from the Gorosei since this morning?"

Sengoku was at his wit's end. 

The plan had been straightforward: allow the situation in Dressrosa to fester and escalate until allied nations pressured the World Government into abolishing the Warlord system. 

The Marines would then publicly support the decision, shifting the blame to the Government while coming out looking like heroes.

But Byakuya had completely derailed that plan. 

His public declaration gave the impression that the Marines were directly challenging the World Government's authority, forcing them to shoulder the burden of abolishing the Warlord system. 

Meanwhile, the allied nations could simply stand on the sidelines, cheering the Marines on.

This was the first time the Marines had openly defied a World Government policy, and the repercussions were severe. 

Sengoku himself had been scolded endlessly by the Gorosei.

Sengoku had hoped that a stern lecture would make Byakuya realize the gravity of his actions. Instead, Byakuya's response nearly sent him into cardiac arrest.

"Uncle Sengoku, you're too timid," Byakuya said, sounding almost amused.

"Timid?! Me?!" Sengoku's moustache practically stood on end in fury.

"Let me ask you, Uncle. Who came up with the Warlord system?"

"The World Government," Sengoku replied hesitantly.

"And every time something goes wrong with the Warlords, who gets blamed? Who has to clean up the mess?"

"The Marines…" Sengoku admitted slowly.

"Exactly! The World Government made a terrible decision, and whenever it backfires, we Marines are left to fix it and take the heat." 

"Now, when we finally point out that the system is flawed, they accuse us of being troublesome. Is this any way to run things?"

Sengoku fell silent. Byakuya's words carried an uncomfortable truth. Still, the underlying implications were deeply unsettling.

<End Chapter>

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