Chapter 93: Compensating Barzab Seven?

Returning to the headquarters of the World Economic News, Morgens slapped the printed news release onto the face of the printing factory manager.

“Print it exactly as written—not a single character changed.”

“Print ten times more! Ten times more!!”

Why was Morgens so confident about sales? Because the events in the Sabaody Archipelago waters, no matter the era, qualified as explosive news—

First, Barzab Seven kidnapped a World Noble and successfully extorted the World Government.

Second, the former captain of the Giant Pirates, the giant Dorry and Brogy, who had bounties over 100 million eighty years ago, joined the Morning Star Pirates.

Third, the Marines launched a Shichibukai-style purge force composed of two current Admirals, the Marine Hero Garp, over ten Vice Admirals, twenty warships, and twenty thousand Marines.

The result: the Morning Star Pirates departed unscathed.

Eighteen Marine warships were overturned… forget it—change it to “the Marine fleet was nearly annihilated, with only two warships surviving,” since the photos from the scene were clear enough.

Fourth, the legendary pirate Golden Lion, captured alive by Barzab Seven not long ago, joined the Morning Star Pirates.

Fifth, everyone assumed Barzab Seven ate the Logia Thunder-Thunder Fruit—but who could have imagined it was actually the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Beast Type, Thunder God Form?

Whether this Devil Fruit existed or not wasn’t important.

What mattered was that Barzab Seven could control thunder, the sea, and flame—all evidence enough to generate sensational headlines.

Morgens crossed his arms, already imagining the newspaper being snatched off shelves again. Making money was secondary; what mattered was this profession.

The sheer thrill of manipulating public opinion—so satisfying!

The sense of control, of moving ink with his fingertips to easily stir the ocean’s tide of public perception and reshape what the world believed as truth, sent Morgens’ heart racing.

The sense of accomplishment this profession brought was the true reason Morgens was utterly enchanted by it.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

Marine Admiral Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi, rubbing his temples repeatedly—the sheer volume of reports from the Marines made his head feel ready to explode.

Garp suspected: Barzab Seven must have eaten three Devil Fruits to simultaneously control thunder, seawater, and flame.

Was this even a joke? How could a person possibly consume three Devil Fruits?

Everyone knew the basic rule of the Grand Line: one person, one Devil Fruit.

The Marines had run experiments before—any test subject who ate a second Devil Fruit died, and died horribly.

Yet according to the battlefield reports, Barzab Seven clearly controlled all three elements simultaneously.

Thunder, seawater, flame!

Garp’s report, the Vice Admirals’ summaries, and the photos taken by the messenger—all pointed to one thing: Garp’s theory made perfect sense.

Borsalino suspected: Barzab Seven likely possessed certain bloodline factors enabling him to control all three elements.

And he wielded an extremely bizarre attack: controlling the blood inside a human body.

Kizaru firmly believed element manipulation was the hallmark of a Logia-type Devil Fruit—so Barzab Seven must have eaten the Logia Thunder-Thunder Fruit; his control over seawater was likely due to ancient Fish-Man ancestry.

As for flame, only the Lunarian race could produce it.

Kizaru’s report claimed: Barzab Seven was very likely a hybrid of Lunarian and Fish-Man bloodlines; his blood control… no suspect had been identified yet.

But Sengoku knew: Lunarians had brown skin—completely unlike Barzab Seven’s pale, delicate complexion.

Besides, Barzab Seven had no wings on his back.

Fish-Man lineage was even more absurd.

Where on Barzab Seven was there even a trace of Fish-Man heritage? Not a single sign!

None of these were enough to give Sengoku a headache. What truly gave him one was—

Golden Lion, the legendary pirate who escaped from Impel Down months ago, had been captured alive by Barzab Seven—and then joined the Morning Star Pirates.

The photos sent back to headquarters were crystal clear.

In the images, Golden Lion walked one step behind Barzab Seven, leaving with an air of casual confidence—clearly the demeanor of a crewman toward his captain.

Sengoku knew: pirates had strict hierarchies. Even boarding a ship required the captain to go first, then the first mate, then officers, then crew.

Golden Lion’s behavior was irrefutable proof!

“You’ve even won Golden Lion over, Barzab Seven—you’re truly… terrifying.”

With control over three elemental forces, the elemental dragons he summoned were larger than islands, and a 3 billion bounty clearly no longer matched his power.

The only thing that gave Sengoku any relief was—

Barzab Seven kept his promise and returned the World Noble Elaine Saint intact to the Marines, sparing them from World Government censure.

Even though he overturned eighteen Marine warships, casualties were minimal—only a few unlucky Marines were killed by falling cannons.

Through these events, Sengoku finally understood.

The Five Elders’ claim of tampering with the coating was laughable.

With Golden Lion joining, Barzab Seven had no intention of following the usual path.

Moreover, the Morning Star Pirates had no desire to fully break ties with the Marines or the World Government. Perhaps kidnapping Elaine Saint was merely a last-minute decision?

According to Kizaru, Elaine Saint provoked first, and Barzab Seven merely retaliated.

Not only Sengoku thought this way—the Five Elders, upon receiving the purge report, thought the same.

Mary Geoise, the Palace of the Gods.

In the spacious, bright palace, the Five Elders arranged themselves in order. Satan Saint sat on the sofa, spreading the Marines’ photos one by one on the table.

“The purge failed.”

“Fortunately, Barzab Seven is a man of honor—he didn’t mistreat Elaine Saint. According to Kizaru’s report, Elaine Saint provoked first.”

“Elaine Saint himself admitted he took a gamble by insulting him, and Barzab Seven didn’t retaliate further.”

A wry expression flickered across Wochuli Saint’s face.

“So Barzab Seven merely followed the traditional pirate craft—decided on the spot to kidnap Elaine Saint and demand ransom from the World Government?”

“He only intended to pass through the underwater cave after the coating, heading to the New World?”

Satan Saint nodded reluctantly.

“It does seem that way now.”

“Barzab Seven had the power to wipe out twenty thousand Marines, yet only a few unlucky ones were crushed by falling cannons.”

“Wochuli Saint, your earlier suggestion was excellent—Barzab Seven is indeed worth recruiting by the World Government.”

“Controlling three elemental forces is truly unbelievable…”

In fact, Satan Saint had immediately thought of the ancient Lunarians—but aside from his white hair and flame control, Barzab Seven showed no trace of Lunarian traits.

Wochuli Saint interrupted.

“What’s strange about controlling three elements? I think Barzab Seven likely ate a Mythical Beast-type Devil Fruit.”

Having said that, Vochuli Sheng added further.

“How do we handle the aftermath of the purge?”

Satan Saint looked up in surprise, his face filled with confusion.

“Aftermath? What aftermath?”

The purge failed, but we rescued Elaine Saint, the descendant of that great one—what else needs handling?

It’s utterly nonsensical.

Nasu Shourou Saint, the Financial Divine who carried the first-generation Ghost Cutter, spoke calmly.

“The purge failed. Will Barzab Seven retaliate afterward? With his speed, if he lies in wait outside Mary Geoise and kidnaps World Nobles who venture out…”

“And he knows about the Flower Room. We can’t eliminate him quickly. What if, because of the purge, he leaks these secrets?”

Satan Saint finally understood: So you’re suggesting compensating Barzab Seven?

“Then… give him another Devil Fruit?”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”