Most of the Nightfall Pirates had gathered along the shore, and Azer's arrival immediately drew their attention.
Dozens of eyes followed his every step with open curiosity.
Under their gazes, Azer felt a chill creep up from his feet. Still, he had already come this far. Turning back was no longer an option.
"Come up," a pirate standing at the bow called out, waving lazily. "Our captain wants you aboard."
"Oh. O-okay." Azer nodded quickly.
He had spent the entire trip worrying about how to convince them to let him board. Instead, the invitation came just like that.
Before he could fully process it, Azer found himself stepping onto the Nightfall Pirates' main ship, the Lucky Goddess, with no resistance at all.
Climbing the stairs to the deck, he froze.
The deck was spacious and lively. Some pirates played cards, some trained, others leaned against the railings enjoying the view. Yet most of them stood toward the front, naturally forming two lines.
Between them sat two figures.
Just seeing them made Azer's heart pound violently.
At the center sat the Dark Emperor, Marshall D. Teach.
To his left was Shadow Dragon Redyat.
They were seated, relaxed, yet an invisible pressure weighed heavily on Azer's body and mind.
He swallowed and stepped forward, stopping several meters away. Instinctively, he lowered his head, not daring to meet Teach's gaze.
"Speak," Teach said with a smile. "What does Morgans want you here for?"
Teach already knew the answer.
No other news organization would dare send someone here. Only Morgans had the reach, the information, and the nerve. During their journey from Skypiea to Long Ring Long Land, they had encountered no one else, only Morgans's reporter birds.
"Yes, Mr. Teach," Azer replied quickly.
Hearing Teach say Morgans's name eased his nerves a little. At least he was not alone. His boss really did have ties with the Dark Emperor.
And Teach did not seem hostile at all.
Reality was far gentler than Azer had imagined.
"Our president hopes to conduct an exclusive interview with you," Azer said, bowing slightly. "He wants to ask about the Golden City. Whether it truly exists, whether you obtained it, and… roughly how much. Even a small hint would be enough."
He hesitated at the end.
This request could easily be rejected. Revealing anything about the Golden City could invite endless trouble.
Several nearby crew members sneered.
"Dream on," someone muttered. "You think we'd tell outsiders about that?"
Two golden mountains worth of treasure. How could that ever be spoken of openly? If exposed, the Nightfall Pirates would become the target of the entire world.
"You can," Teach said calmly.
The deck fell silent.
Teach was not foolish. Concealment had its place, but so did misdirection. Letting others stare blindly at the Nightfall Pirates was worse than guiding their attention elsewhere.
This interview was the perfect tool.
Teach already knew what was happening around Jaya Island. The Dark Council had informed him. Even he had not expected the Golden City to cause such a massive chain reaction.
In the past, only the Roger Pirates truly knew the truth.
Now, even without confirmation, most people already believed it. Some had even analyzed video footage frame by frame, identifying gold artifacts on the Nightfall Pirates' ships.
Whether Teach denied it or not no longer mattered.
If he stayed silent, rumors would only grow wilder.
So he would speak.
They had obtained the Golden City's treasure, yes. But how much they obtained was entirely up to them to define.
Enough to inspire envy and ambition.
Not enough to drive the world into madness.
That balance mattered.
The Nightfall Pirates were strong, but not strong enough to stand against the entire sea. They had no true base yet, no fully established sphere of influence.
Money could build that power.
After all, money truly did make the world go round.
"R-really?" Azer's eyes lit up. "Then when can the interview begin?"
"Anytime."
"Great." Azer nodded eagerly. "May I conduct it here?"
"Do whatever you like," Teach said.
Azer immediately unpacked his equipment. A video Den Den Mushi, a microphone, notebooks.
Before he could begin, Teach turned his head slightly.
"Bring up the gold from the holds."
The order stunned everyone.
"Captain?" Clemence asked, confused.
Laffitte adjusted his hat and chuckled softly. "Naturally, we're letting the world see all the gold the Nightfall Pirates brought back from Skypiea. What an astonishing fortune."
All of it.
Eight hundred tons of gold, worth trillions of Berries, displayed openly by the Nightfall Pirates themselves.
That number would stick.
Even skeptics would only suspect a little more. A thousand tons. Fifteen hundred, perhaps.
No one would ever guess thirty thousand.
Perception had been successfully guided.
Those who coveted the gold would choose cooperation over confrontation. The Nightfall Pirates were strong enough to make that choice obvious.
Azer's breathing grew uneven.
He had not expected this.
An exclusive interview was already unbelievable. Witnessing the Golden City's treasure with his own eyes was beyond imagination.
He knew better than to question motives. His job was to record, not to understand.
Some truths were poison. Knowing too much could get you killed ten times over.
The crew moved quickly.
Gold was brought up from multiple holds and piled openly on the deck. With Nelson present, even more gold appeared as if pulled from thin air.
Azer stood frozen.
The light alone was blinding.
Five small golden mountains rose before him.
His throat tightened as he swallowed.
To him, the gold did not shine like metal.
It shone like the sun.
Hands trembling, Azer raised his camera, then hesitated. He glanced at Teach.
"Go ahead," Laffitte said lightly. "That's why we brought it out."
Relief washed over Azer.
In that moment, he forgot that this polite man was once known as the Demon Sheriff.
Angel and devil, wrapped in the same skin.
Azer began shooting feverishly. Wide shots. Close-ups. The gold on the Lucky Goddess. The gold on the other ships.
He forced himself to remain professional, even as his body shook.
Once finished, he cradled the camera protectively. The footage inside was priceless. Losing it was unthinkable.
Only then did the interview truly begin.
Teach sat alone on his throne. Azer stood before him, microphone in hand. The video Den Den Mushi blinked awake, eyes wide, mounted on a stand angled to capture them both.
"Mr. Teach," Azer began, steadying his voice, "there are rumors across the sea that the Golden City truly exists, and that the Nightfall Pirates went to Skypiea specifically for it. Is the Golden City real?"
"It exists," Teach said calmly. "Four hundred years ago, it was part of Jaya Island before a massive Knock Up Stream sent it into the sky. We went to Skypiea to find it."
"Then… was it found?"
"Heh. Of course."
"May I ask how much gold was obtained?"
Teach smiled and said nothing.
Azer pressed a button. The Den Den Mushi rotated, filming the golden mountains behind them. Its eyes widened further, reflecting the dazzling light.
The camera returned to Teach.
"Unfortunately," Teach said with a faintly regretful smile, "we only recovered this much. And a Golden Bell."
Azer nearly cursed out loud.
Then Teach continued.
"Most of the Golden City was scattered into the sea around Jaya Island by the Knock Up Stream. Some was taken over the centuries." Teach chuckled. "If we had obtained everything, I suspect we could buy out the Navy."
Joke or not, the implication was terrifying.
Azer swallowed hard. "Then… how much gold do you believe is scattered in the sea?"
Teach's eyes gleamed.
"More than ten thousand tons."
The words landed like a thunderclap.
Azer gasped.
Ten thousand tons.
He did not truly understand the number, only that the sea was about to erupt.
Gold.
Treasure.
This was why countless people went to sea.
And now, the world had its answer.