[ ????? POV ]
Ambition.
In the Great Age of Piracy, ambition is what separates the strong from the weak. Ambition is what led one individual to travel across the world and claim something that many believe to be a myth.
Personally, I believe that ambition can even grant an individual great powers. The result of this is the third and rather the most superior form of Haki compared to the other two Haki: Conqurer's Haki.
I knew of several individuals who possessed this ability and their powers. Two of them ended up being my leaders, or should I say family members. Together, we have had many experiences and faced battles together. As a result, we forged even closer bonds than most groups within the sea.
We are strong, and few dare to mess with us.
As for me as an individual, I consider myself pretty strong as well. Through my journey with them, I have found ways to grow as an individual. I even got a title as a result of my escapades.
Looking at the wasted and unconscious pirates that lay on the ground, I sighed and began stretching my limbs. We had thrown quite a large celebration welcoming a child into the family. The leader couldn't help but chuckle in joy as he welcomed her into the group.
It was a great celebration, and everyone, myself included, managed to have a good time. However, one person had always caught my interest whenever we met each other. He had always had a stoic expression, always alert for any potential danger that might target us.
I slowly walked up next to him before slumping right next to him.
"That party was insane last night; I don't even remember how much liquor I had drunk before I passed out," I remarked.
"Ha! You drank about five to ten mugs of strong liquor, but it was far from what others had been drinking," The young man, Marshall D. Teach, replied.
"What the fuck are in their stomachs? Holes?" I asked agitatedly.
Teach laughed a bit before downing the remaining liquor he had held in his hand.
"There's no need to be too frustrated; enjoy what you can!" Teach laughed out loud.
"Hm? You have quite the carefree philosophy for a stoic individual," I remarked calmly.
"I simply believe that there's no fun taking everything seriously, especially in pursuit of a dream," Teach replied.
I slowly heard people begin waking up from wherever the hell they had been sleeping in. It also didn't help that the previous thrashing that Stussy had given everyone in the previous afternoon was still dealing some damage in addition to their incredible hangover.
"Ah, looks like they're waking up.....I wonder what shenanigans we're going to get ourselves into today," I remarked curiously.
"There's nothing to be curious about. It's probably going to be the same drinking and partying that we do on a normal basis....It frankly gets boring, if I am to be honest," Teach replied.
"How so?"
"One thing that Pops always has is strength, but he damn sure doesn't have any more ambition. Every day, just wanting to be his family," Teach replied, bored, "don't you get sick of it? Trudging every day without pursuing anything."
"What kind of dreams do you have of pursuing?" I asked curiously.
"I want to find it, the One Piece!" Teach's eyes flashed with a determined glint as he stared right at me.
"Then what the hell are you doing in the Whitebeard Pirates? Wouldn't it make more sense for you to create your own Pirate Crew?" I asked.
"That comes later on in the future; at the moment, the plan is to wait," Teach replied.
"What exactly are you waiting for? Anyone can literally find the One Piece at any point in time," I remarked; this entire conversation wasn't making much sense to me.
"You'll have to wait and see in the future, but that's gonna be a secret for now. Unless....." Teach let out a chuckle before getting up from where he had been sitting down.
"Unless?" I asked curiously.
Teach laughed and walked away, leaving me in wistful suspense.
I shrugged and promptly got up myself. I was curious to know what was going on in his mind, but now wasn't the time to worry about him. It looked like there was another party going to go down in the future.
[ Third Person POV ]
Grandline
The news birds responsible for delivering the World Economic News flew right from their Headquarters to their designated delivery spots. The members of the World Economic News rushed to and from different offices as they sorted out different potential stories that could make the news.
The one leading them, the Albatross human known as Big News Morgans, carefully sorted out different stories that crossed his desk as he rated their relevancy in different tiers.
The World Government was very discreet when it came to delivering news, but this time it was different. It was the World Government itself that gave Morgans this piece of information.
Moreover, this information had the potential to shake the entire world because it hid an intention that would establish a new world order.
"President!" A woman broke into his office with a piece of paper, "There have been reports of a huge clash between the Marines and the Demon Heir Douglass Bullet!!"
Morgan's eyes flashed as he snatched the piece of paper from her. His eyes ran through the paper as he carefully took out the important parts of the article.
"This is a big piece of news, but it'll come second only after this," Morgans placed another piece of paper on the table.
The lady didn't read the paper as her eyes slowly began to widen.
"T-This is nuts...Why would the World Government recruit Pirates?!" The lady exclaimed as she double-read the article.
"Indeed, it seems that this is their form of retaliation against the Great Age of Piracy," Morgans muttered excitedly before slamming the table.
"Prepare to publish the two articles as headliners!! By the end of tomorrow, I want the entire world to flip over its head!!" Morgans demanded.
The lady immediately left the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Morgans alone with a transponder snail.
He waited until he was sure that nobody was eavesdropping on him before he started dialing a certain number on the transponder snail.
Although they had already put out a release for the day's news. The members of the World Economic News once again got to work creating new articles for the day to come. Working and negotiating different stories that had the potential to align correctly with the theme of the news article that was to come.
The transponder snail rang for a bit before the other end of the line connected. It was then that Morgans began talking.
"So, what of it? Did you get it?" Morgans asked.
"Yeah, it was hard as hell to keep a low profile around without getting caught by the Marines, but sure enough, I had managed to get some photos. However, pictures of the Celestial Dragons were unattainable because they were already dead before I could get any pictures."
"That's fine; the picture of the attacks will prove to be viral. We'll review the photos once you get back here safely," Morgans assured.
"Indeed, I'll call you once I get out of here safely."
Once the end of the line disconnected, Morgans leaned against his chair before taking a deep breath. Excitement coursed through his veins as he imagined how the World would react upon hearing the sudden news that was to come.
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