The Nightfall Pirates continued sailing toward the location Teach had indicated.
At the same time, far away in the New World, the headquarters of the World Economic News Agency stood atop the highest peak of an unnamed island. The air was thin, the terrain steep and dangerous, making it a natural fortress and an ideal hiding place.
With the arrival of the new era, especially the rise of video media, the workload of the World Economic News Agency had exploded. Their staff expanded rapidly, and the entire organization grew busier by the day.
Their headquarters reflected that growth.
The massive flying airship that served as their base, shaped like an enormous hot air balloon, had been upgraded again. It was larger, more stable, and far more luxurious than before.
Compared to the past, the World Economic News Agency was now truly wealthy.
The entire world had become their source of profit, harvested endlessly and continuously renewed.
In earlier years, even with strong revenue, they still needed to carefully manage funds. Bribes, maintenance costs, and keeping relations smooth with the World Government all required Belly.
Now, they had more money than they knew what to do with.
Influence expanded outward, while internally, large sums were spent improving working conditions. Compared to just a few years ago, it was like stepping into a new generation.
The old chaos was gone.
No more people crammed together at small tables, papers piled everywhere, documents scattered across desks and floors. Everyone now had their own workstation. Hot coffee was always available.
They were still busy, but no longer irritable or exhausted.
This was progress.
In one section of the headquarters, video feeds poured in from all over the world. The area was divided into two main zones.
One was smaller, staffed by fewer people. This section handled footage sent directly by the World Economic News Agency's reporter birds. These videos were usually high quality and focused on major events.
The other section was far larger. Videos here were categorized into combat, travel, food, war, and countless other labels.
This footage came from everywhere.
Not all videos could be broadcast immediately. Each one had to be reviewed, filtered, and categorized by professional staff.
As the video era developed, meaningless and low-quality content was no longer acceptable. Quantity mattered, but quality came first.
Complaints had already surfaced. Even the Marines had voiced dissatisfaction after repeatedly being forced to watch disgusting or pointless footage.
The News Agency took it seriously.
They publicly announced stricter review standards and began aggressively filtering submissions.
Even so, the volume was overwhelming.
Watching every video in full was impossible. If they did that, some footage would not air until days later, which defeated the purpose of news.
Video needed to be faster than newspapers.
In practice, reviewers skimmed.
Like grading thousands of exams, speed was everything. Only a few seconds were extracted from most videos. Anything that failed to catch attention was discarded immediately.
In the smaller, direct-report section, a reviewer lounged on a chair reclined at a forty-five-degree angle. Several buttons beside him controlled the incoming feeds.
Next.
Next.
Rejected.
Next.
The routine was monotonous, yet oddly engaging.
Then a new video appeared.
Blue sky. White clouds. A view from extreme altitude.
His eyes lit up instantly.
The next moment, his pupils shrank, and he shot upright from the chair.
Five pirate ships were descending from the sky.
Giant octopuses clutched the ships with massive tentacles, their heads swollen like balloons as they slowed the fall.
The ships drifted downward steadily from the clouds.
He rubbed his eyes hard, convinced he must be seeing things.
Then excitement flooded his brain.
It was the Nightfall Pirates.
As a professional, he recognized them instantly. The silhouettes, the ship designs, the flags. Even partially obscured by octopus tentacles, the skull insignia was unmistakable.
These were the pirates who had vanished after heading to Skypiea.
More than half a month, gone without a trace.
The quiet room erupted as he shouted and jumped to his feet.
"What's wrong?"
"Look at this. Hurry. The Nightfall Pirates. They're back from Skypiea!"
He rewound the footage and replayed it from the start as colleagues rushed over.
"What?"
"That's huge news."
"Notify the President. Immediately."
The scene was undeniable.
Pirate ships descending from thousands of meters above the sea, returning from Skypiea via Octopus Balloons.
The footage reached Morgans almost instantly.
At that moment, Morgans was attending Big Mom's annual tea party.
The location was Whole Cake Island, the headquarters of the Big Mom Pirates.
Every year, the tea party served as both celebration and assembly. Nearly all of the Big Mom Pirates' power gathered on the island during this time.
Whole Cake Island, already terrifying on its own, became a fortress of overwhelming strength.
Combined with its intelligence network, which could be described as omnipresent, any outsider stepping onto the island was noticed immediately.
Those invited to the tea party were kings, underworld magnates, and individuals valued by the Big Mom Pirates.
An invitation could not be refused.
Refusal meant offending Big Mom.
And offending Big Mom meant destruction.
Even before formally becoming an Emperor, Big Mom was already one of the most terrifying figures on the sea. A former member of the Rocks Pirates. A monster who destroyed an Elbaf village and killed giants at the age of five.
As her influence expanded, her ascension to Yonko status was only a matter of time.
Morgans froze mid-bite.
He felt a faint vibration.
Video transmission.
With technology advancing rapidly, video Den Den Mushi were being upgraded constantly. New versions appeared every year, sometimes every few months.
Morgans's Den Den Mushi was special.
Custom-bred. Not available on the market. Several generations ahead of standard models.
Small, discreet, durable, and far more advanced.
He glanced around, then casually pulled it from an inner pocket and concealed it in his palm.
The projected image was small, but that was enough.
The moment he saw it, Morgans's eyes widened.
"Hm. Hahahaha…"
He laughed before he could stop himself, then quickly covered his beak.
Too late.
The sudden reaction drew attention instantly. Underworld figures at the same table and nearby Big Mom Pirates all turned to look at him.
Pressure pressed down from every direction.
Habit had betrayed him.
He had forgotten where he was.
"Haha, my apologies," Morgans said smoothly as he stood. "I got a bit carried away. Every tea party is such a unique experience."
Stussy, seated beside him, took another bite of dessert and smiled faintly.
"Don't pretend. I saw your little Den Den Mushi. What were you watching? Something interesting?"
With Observation Haki common in the New World, his attempt at secrecy had been obvious.
No one had called him out earlier out of courtesy. Morgans's status as the world's greatest newsman carried weight, especially in the video era.
But his reaction had sparked curiosity.
"It's a video anyway," Umit said with a grin. "The whole world will see it sooner or later. Let us watch it first. Think of it as saving a little Belly."
Umit, the Shipping King, was no small figure.
His influence stretched across the New World, the first half of the Grand Line, and even the Four Seas. He controlled most of the New World's shipping routes.
In a place like the New World, that kind of control required power, connections, and ruthless efficiency.
Very few pirates dared touch his ships.
Those who did were hunted down relentlessly.
Umit maintained careful relationships with every major faction, ensuring his empire remained intact.
"I'm not the star of today's show," Morgans said lightly, glancing toward Big Mom. "This is her tea party."
He did not actually mind.
As Umit said, the video would be broadcast soon anyway. Preparations were already underway.
"It's nothing sensitive," Morgans added. "Just footage of the Nightfall Pirates returning from Skypiea."
In truth, he had been watching them closely.
He knew what was happening on Jaya Island. Pirates were gathering. Everyone was waiting.
All that was missing was a spark.
And that video was more than enough to ignite the world.