Chapter 004: The Newspaper Sold Like Crazy!
Robusta took the model shop owner away, while James stood by the side, visibly excited! Why was he so excited? Because in his previous life as an illustrator, James had drawn countless One Piece illustrations! Luffy and his eight crew members were characters he could sketch effortlessly!
Now, seeing one of them in real life—of course he'd be thrilled! Otherwise, why would James be dumb enough to offend that obviously unfriendly middle-aged man? It was because he saw his idol being bullied and got fired up!
"Thanks, James! My name's Franky—Cutty Flam!"
Franky extended his hand. James smiled, and the two shook hands firmly.
Click!
Suddenly, the sound of a camera shutter went off beside them. James looked up—hey! Isn't that the guy he just saw at the newspaper office? What was his name again?
"Mr. James, hello! I'm Mikkel, a reporter from Lucky Star Weekly!"
The newcomer introduced himself. So he's a colleague! James smiled and shook his hand. "That photo just now—what's it for?"
Mikkel replied happily, "I want to document your act of bravery and publish it in the next issue of Lucky Star Weekly!''
James thought to himself: Isn't this kind of trivial stuff a bit too minor to report? No wonder the paper wasn't selling well. But then again, this world didn't seem to have many forms of entertainment. Different places had different customs—like how some regions enjoyed opera. Moria's subordinate Hogback even had a mummified opera singer named Sindora, who was once famous.
Here in Water 7, the biggest form of entertainment was surfing! Other than that, people mostly relied on food and bars for enjoyment. So maybe what he found boring, others might find fascinating. Better to trust the professional reporters.
"Sure! Just make the story exciting!" James replied.
After Mikkel left, James turned to Franky. "If you're not busy, how about grabbing a meal together?"
Franky grinned. "That's really kind of you! But seriously, I know a fried rice place with amazing taste—the chef's skills are top-notch. Once you try it, you'll never forget it!"
Watching Franky modestly say "no need," while at the same time putting his arm around him and dragging him toward the restaurant, James couldn't help but grin. Now that's the Franky I know!
Meeting Franky had definitely lifted James' mood. Back home, he made himself a cup of coffee and sat down to start drawing.
Although creating manga could already earn him loads of cash, James couldn't stop thinking about the system's lottery feature. He was drawing Doraemon, after all—what if the lottery gave him a time machine? If he got one, and returned to a year ago, would it be to the time before Gol D. Roger's death, or back to the world he came from?
I really want to try the lottery soon!
The rest of the day passed with the soft, steady sound of pencil on paper.
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The Next Morning – Water 7
At the newsstands, people across the city were stunned to see a newspaper with a completely different art style from the rest! Some long-time readers of Lucky Star Weekly could still recognize it—wasn't this the paper that was about to go out of business? What's with this new style?
"Mommy, buy this one!"
A little girl tugged on her mother's hand.
Apparently, this character design was really appealing to kids. The newsstand owner took 50 Berries, handed over a copy of Lucky Star Weekly, and the little girl eagerly opened to the second page…
The same scene played out at newsstands all over Water 7. Adults scoffed at first. What is this nonsense? We've seen pictures of Sea Kings, but never goofy little characters like this. Yet as time passed and they listened to their kids' genuine, joyful laughter, the adults couldn't resist. They leaned in, curious, and started reading along.
---
At the Lucky Star Newspaper Office
Duranda sat in his office, anxiously waiting for news. The entire morning had gone by—1,000 newspapers had been distributed—but not even a ripple of feedback. It made him extremely uneasy.
Suddenly, there was a frantic knock at the door!
Duranda opened it. Huh? Wasn't that Luke? Why was he panting like he'd been chased by pirates?
"Duranda! Hurry up and print more copies!" Luke shouted between gasps.
"What? Reprint? We sold all 1,000 copies?" Duranda couldn't believe his ears. In his ten-plus years working at the paper, they could count the days they sold out on one hand—and today they sold out completely? And they needed more?
"Hurry! If we don't reprint soon, we won't be able to leave the building!" Luke shouted.
"What do you mean? Explain!" Duranda was still confused.
Luke grabbed Duranda's hand and dragged him along. "I'll explain on the way. We need to save time!"
---
Once at the print shop, Duranda finally got the full picture.
Today's issue had sold out before noon! And this was a weekly paper, meant to sell over the course of seven days!
1,000 papers at a wholesale price of 40 Berries per copy—that's 40,000 Berries! After subtracting labor, material costs, and the 10,000 Berries payment to James, they still made at least 20,000 Berries in profit! And if they reprint? That's almost all pure profit!
The two quickly mobilized some workers and got to printing. This time, they ordered a reprint of 10,000 copies!
---
After the print run finished, the two stepped outside the factory—and were instantly stunned.
In front of the print shop, there was a full row of people with tricycles, all sent by newsstand owners to pick up more copies!
"Boss! I want 500 copies!"
"I want 800 copies!"
"I'll take 300 copies!"
One cartload after another, they distributed the entire 10,000 print run on the spot. Holding 400,000 Berries in hand, Duranda felt like he had never been this happy in his life! Mr. James' manga is incredible! He reminded himself: tomorrow, he must call James in and sort out his ownership certification at the city hall. You've got to cling tight to a golden goose like this!
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Tom's Shipbuilding Company
Iceburg was sitting on the deck of a ship, reading the Lucky Star Weekly and laughing like an idiot. Franky passed by and was surprised—his usually serious senior brother was acting weird. What's going on?
He looked down and caught a glimpse of the paper. Iceburg tossed it over. "Today's Lucky Star Weekly is amazing! This Doraemon comic is just too good! Read it now—and give it back when you're done. I want to read it again!"