One Piece Gunslinger

This could only have been resolved by the World Government's intelligence agency, CP; there's practically no one else in the world capable of such a feat. Smoker never imagined that, right under his nose, someone could secretly kill Colonel Rat within the base he was guarding.

Although he collapsed onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep after returning to base, his subordinates were not to be trifled with. According to them, not a single person was put in, and absolutely no one had entered or left the cell during this period.

Smoker was furious, his face turning ashen, but the Marine who had come to take the mortals to Enies Lobby for trial seemed to have anticipated this, showing no change in expression upon seeing the corpses. He said nothing, bid farewell, and then boarded his warship and departed. It seemed he was merely going through the motions, and that he wasn't actually needed.

However, this behavior also made Smoker disappointed with the Navy again. He was already somewhat wavering and actually hoped that the Navy could deal with this matter head-on this time, be flexible and resolute, admit their mistakes, and then correct them.

The result was that they didn't even have the courage to admit their mistakes, and they even tried to cover up the facts by various means, disregarding everything to save face.

Coincidentally, shortly after this "accident," Smoker saw today's newspaper and read the headline "Colonel Rat Shot Dead by Smoker." He realized that this so-called accident was actually premeditated; Colonel Rat's fate had been decided the moment the news was written. There was no accident at all. It would have been an accident if Colonel Rat were still alive.

The World Government's ability to shift blame is evident; they successfully pinned the problem on a pirate who doesn't even exist in this world. As for Captain Rat, he's, of course, a naval martyr brutally murdered by the pirate.

I wonder if the real martyrs, if they knew in the afterlife, would jump out of their coffins. But there was Colonel Morgan before, and perhaps many other such "martyrs." Colonel Rat might even make some friends down there.

"Sigh, whatever, this isn't the first time we've seen the World Government act like this. They've used this kind of trick far too many times." After finishing the newspaper, Li Ang returned to the ship. "Although it's a bit of a shame in the end that Captain Rat wasn't completely disgraced as a Marine, and the Marines successfully shifted the blame, at least Nami got some closure. Whether it was Arlong or Captain Rat, it's all in the past now, and the hatred in Cocoyasi Village has finally come to an end."

Chapter 196 Newspaper

"Wow, Colonel Rat is a pirate? That's a lie, right? This newspaper article is so shameless."

Inside the Revolutionary Army headquarters, Karina couldn't stand the Navy's attempts to shift blame and spoke up for Nami.

"It's alright, Karina. I'm satisfied as long as he's punished and Cocoyasi Village doesn't suffer from these misfortunes again." Nami, on the other hand, comforted the angry Karina.

"It's not too bad. At least the next issue of the Revolution Weekly can get on this train, and we've successfully added another piece of content. It doesn't matter if the World Government can't do it; we can add it later and reveal the truth about Koyashi Village." Koala sat in his office, casually tossing aside the newspaper he had just finished reading, and said to the two of them.

"What? The Revolutionary Army even has newspapers?" Sure enough, as soon as this was mentioned, Karina's attention was diverted, and she asked in surprise.

As many may have forgotten, this was mentioned before. However, due to limitations in hardware facilities, personnel, intelligence sources, and distribution methods, the Revolutionary Army's newspaper was only published once a week.

"Running a newspaper is difficult, but we have to keep going no matter how difficult it is. We can't let the World Government have all the power. We also need our own channels to speak out and let people see the truth. This is what has kept our teacher going all along. Like this incident with Colonel Rat, if we don't stand up and clarify the truth, then perhaps the whole world will still be kept in the dark by the World Government's tricks," Koala patiently explained.

These two had been here for two days, and having missed the publication time of the Revolutionary Army's newspaper, they hadn't seen it. Upon hearing that the Revolutionary Army did have a newspaper, they immediately became interested and asked Kerla for one.

"Oh, so you don't know. We actually had our own newspaper. Do you have any copies left? We'd like to take a look."

"Hey, wait a minute, let me look for it. I remember leaving the newspaper on the table last time. Emma's a bit messy." Kella readily agreed, even though finding it on this cluttered table piled high with all sorts of documents was a little difficult.

Several minutes later, Kerla finally pulled out two newspapers from the messy mountain of documents: "Here, this is from last week, and the week before last. If you want more, you can go to the library. They have more than a hundred issues of the newspaper that have been published for more than two years."

So Karina and Nami each took a newspaper and started reading. But as they read, their smiles and excitement gradually faded: "What is this? If I remember correctly, the content here is basically all events that have already been reported in the World Government's newspapers, and besides that, it's just some stuff about the Revolutionary Army."

"Yes, yes, I thought there was something that wasn't in the newspapers over there."

After hearing their complaints, Koala cheerfully admitted, "That's right, it's basically all stuff that the World Government has already reported."

Of course, Kerr only learned various theoretical knowledge from Li Ang, and didn't learn everything, especially the god-level skill of "shamelessly admitting it," which is not something that ordinary people can learn.

Kella continued, "Then you must have only read the title and didn't read the contents carefully."

The headline of a news story basically summarizes its content. This applies to traditional news, not to the sensationalist headlines of today.

That's why Karina and Nami only read the headline; if it were just a quick glance, the headline would indeed be enough. However, the Revolutionary Army's newspaper is not that simple.

Yes, the Revolutionary Army does have a newspaper, and they work very hard to publish it. However, under normal circumstances, such a weekly newspaper is completely useless, utterly incomparable to the World Government's newspaper, and has no competitiveness whatsoever. This is because the world only has so many events happening each week, and if it's a major event, the World Government's newspaper has already reported on it.

Therefore, re-reporting something that has already been reported by others is just a lot of nonsense unless there is a significant difference or innovation in the content.

"Wait, something seems different, Nami." Karina finally noticed something and pulled Nami aside, saying, "Look here, the contents below are completely different."

Nami rushed over to see what was going on when she heard it. She saw that the news Carina was pointing to was "The Flame-Flame Fruit reappears in the sea, and Fire Fist Ace sinks a ship with one punch."

"Isn't this the news we saw several days ago? I remember watching it together on Li Ang's small boat." Nami asked, puzzled, after seeing the headline.

"Oh dear, it's different now. Look at the following content."

Upon hearing this, Nami also looked at the details below the title with suspicion. As she read, Nami's eyes widened: "Eh... so that's how it is."

“That’s right, that’s what makes our revolutionary army newspaper different, or rather, that’s the soul of our revolutionary weekly.” Kerla said smugly, seeing that the two of them had discovered the secret in the newspaper.

It turns out that in the World Government's newspaper, Fire Fist Ace was portrayed as a fierce and volatile pirate. Flames have always been associated with this image in people's minds, so it wasn't a big problem to portray Ace, who possessed the Flame-Flame Fruit, in this way; it was naturally accepted by the public.

However, that's not the case at all. The World Government's newspaper said that Ace attacked a city in order to steal the Flame-Flame Fruit, causing a huge disturbance. After obtaining the fruit, he used his power to fight his way through, sinking a large ship blocking his path before sailing away.

That's not actually the case at all, or rather, it wasn't as imposing as portrayed. The revolutionary army's newspapers reported the truth about it.

It turns out that Ace, with his inherent mischievous spirit, had come out and decided to eat at the most luxurious restaurant in the city. However, he didn't have much money on him, and more importantly, he didn't know that this luxurious restaurant was incredibly expensive; he simply chose it because of its lavish decor.

So what could he do but dine and dash? After finishing his meal, Ace didn't want to be caught, so he ran away. However, due to his troublemaking aura, he kept knocking over other people's spies and damaging their sheds during his escape, which resulted in more and more people chasing after him. This is the real reason why he caused such a huge scene.

Afterwards, Ace, in a panic, stumbled upon a hidden warehouse by sheer luck. This warehouse belonged to the gang that controlled the city's underground forces. It just goes to show how terrifying the protagonist's plot armor is; right in the center of the secret warehouse, a fruit covered in numerous pulsating patterns was concealed under a violent shield.

Ace, utterly curious, didn't care about the consequences and ate it in one bite. Only then did he realize it was the legendary Devil Fruit. This Flame-Flame Fruit was originally intended for an underground auction by the mafia a few days later. In the end, it all went to this guy.

In the end, of course, the gangsters couldn't let Ace go either. As Ace prepared to sail away, they blockaded the port. After this complicated turn of events, Ace finally sank a ship with a single punch and sailed away triumphantly.

"So this all started because of dining and dashing? How mischievous!" Nami remarked after reading it.

“That’s right, that’s the truth, and the essence of our Revolutionary Weekly,” Kerla explained. “All the news we publish is news that the World Government has reported with bias and that has distorted the facts.”

“I see, I understand now,” Karina said thoughtfully. “Instead of wasting a lot of manpower and resources to write newspapers every day like the World Government, it would be better to let the World Government’s newspapers work for us. That way, the World Government’s newspapers would also be our newspapers, and all we would have to do is find some problematic news and make corrections. How brilliant.”

"'It's not exactly brilliant; it's just a last resort, a compromise we only resort to when resources are scarce.' These are my teacher's exact words. That's how he answered me when I praised this plan as brilliant."

Nami and Karina exclaimed in surprise, "We didn't realize how terrifying that lunatic Leon was when we were together for the past few days. He can handle everything perfectly and make the most of limited resources."

Kella sighed, "Although he can be a little unserious at times, what's with this 'crazy person' thing?"

Being half a step ahead is genius; being a full step ahead is madness. Like Copernicus who was burned at the stake, it wasn't that Li Ang was insane, but rather that he always managed to see things from a modern perspective.

Nami held the Revolution Weekly newspaper for a long time, then, as if she had made up her mind, said, "Koala, could I write about Colonel Rat in the next issue?"

Indeed, Nami is the one who knows Colonel Rat best, and is also the one who knows best about the dealings between Colonel Rat and the Arlong Pirates. It would be best if she were the one to write this news article; there simply isn't anyone more suitable.

"But Nami, are you alright? Is this okay?" Karina asked worriedly when she saw Nami make this decision. After all, asking Nami to write all of this down again was like reopening a wound that had just scabbed over.

"It's alright, what's past is past. It was Li Ang who avenged me and saved Cocoyasi Village. I also want to do something for the Revolutionary Army, and besides, who's more suitable to write this news article than me?"

“Alright, since you insist, then this matter is yours.” Koala nodded in agreement to Nami’s request.

That's how it is in the revolutionary army. Everyone takes pride in contributing to the revolutionary cause and is willing to face anything, unlike the sister government which tries to shirk responsibility.

Only in this way can we maintain our upward momentum and go further.

Chapter 197 The Factory Dream

"Damn it, the climate in the Grand Line is really weird. Just a moment ago it was sunny and I felt like I was being roasted alive, but now it's snowing heavily."

While complaining, Li Ang put on a leather jacket. Fortunately, after his previous lesson, he had packed some clothes in his backpack, otherwise he would have frozen to death on the spot.

However, the storage space was limited. After packing all sorts of random things, it also meant that there wasn't enough room for everything Leon had brought from Loguetown: two new toy guns, a rifle slung over his back, and a pistol tucked into his waistband. Add to that his dark leather jacket and pants, and his messy hair, and you have to admit, the outfit did give him a bit of a Revenant vibe.

However, the fact that snow started falling overhead meant that Li Ang hadn't gone the wrong way; they were indeed sailing towards Magnum Island, where it was winter all year round.

"Alright, I see you're a bit cold. Just wait for me outside in a slightly warmer spot, and don't wander off, okay?" Li Ang said, untying the manatee Moo Moo's rope.

There was no way around it; modern engines are just too delicate. Overheating or undercooling is a problem. In order to properly maintain this hard-won fully automatic, environmentally friendly engine, Li Ang had no choice but to temporarily let it run and paddle the final stretch of the journey himself.

Look at that manatee's touched little eyes as it moos; it's Stockholm syndrome acting up! Li Ang, you can't cover up for your lousy master. You should take this opportunity to run away, silly boy.

No one knows what the manatee MooMoo was thinking, but after being beaten up by Li Ang, it became incredibly obedient. Not only did it decisively abandon its previous owner, Arlong, but it also became devoted to Li Ang. Even though it had a chance to escape in Loguetown, the manatee MooMoo still waited for Li Ang at the entrance to Reverse Mountain.

Li Ang himself was quite surprised by this. "Why didn't you leave? Why are you still here?" These were Li Ang's exact words.

Actually, for the poor little manatee Moo Moo, having been bullied since birth, it had long developed the habit of following whoever bullied it or defeated its previous master. It has to be said that it is truly a hero among masochists.

So at this moment, the manatee Moo Moo not only didn't hold any resentment towards Li Ang, but was actually a little touched by Li Ang's thoughtfulness in not letting it go to cold places to freeze.

However, this was a situation that Li Ang was not keen to see. He could keep these cats and dogs for a long time and still not get rid of them. How was he going to get rid of such a clever sea beast as Moo Moo the manatee?

The main problem is that Li Ang can't keep taking him to the Revolutionary Army headquarters. Once the business is done, he might just fly away from the sky.

Little Broken Ship: "Wait, so that's what you mean. So I'm going to be abandoned. What happened to the epic vehicle and legendary mount you promised? It turns out it was all a lie, or rather, a lie about the ship."

"Sigh, well, we can only take it one step at a time. We can worry about this kind of troublesome thing later. Let's deal with the situation on Drum Island first." Li Ang sighed as he watched the manatee Moo Moo's retreating figure.

So why did Li Ang come to Drum Island? Was it just to rub against Chopper's fluffy little face?

It has to be said that getting close to Chopper is indeed very tempting, but Leon isn't that superficial. His main purpose in coming here is singular: to obtain the enormous treasure sleeping on Drum Island.

This treasure is none other than the Gluttony Fruit that the current King Wapol possesses.

Speaking of the Gluttony Fruit, its power is truly overpowered. Wapol may be mentally challenged, but he's incredibly clever. Whether it's the throne or the Gluttony Fruit, he obtained all of these things simply because he was the son of the previous king, nothing more.

Therefore, as long as this hereditary system of kings ascending to the throne based on lineage rather than ability persists, there will always be a constant stream of mentally challenged kings on the seas. In so many countries around the world, there will always be a few mentally challenged kings who harm their countries and people, and of course, many more who are not mentally challenged but still harm their countries and people.

Leon was determined not to let this Devil Fruit slip through his fingers. Besides, if he didn't get it now, he might never have another chance; it would be terrible if Blackbeard got his hands on it.

Indeed, Blackbeard also coveted the Gluttony Fruit. After obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, when Blackbeard was being chased and attacked by Ace, he passed by Drum Island and chased Wapol out of the country, leaving Wapol unable to return home and forced to become a pirate.

If Blackbeard hadn't needed to make a quick escape and didn't have much time to waste on Wapol, he might have already obtained the Gluttony Fruit.

So Leon's goal this time is to take the Gluttony Fruit before Blackbeard does. After all, Leon has changed so many plot points that nobody can say for sure whether Blackbeard will catch Wapol the moment he arrives.

Alas, poor Wapol. Let us pause for two seconds to mourn for him. The king of a nation was reduced to a mere running Devil Fruit, something Leon and Blackbeard could use at will. How tragic.

So what's so special about Wapol's Gluttony Fruit? It must be incredibly powerful to attract the attention of both Blackbeard and Leon.

And that's exactly the case. While Blackbeard may not see the great use Wapol's Devil Fruit in it, Leon thinks it should be renamed the Factory-Factory Fruit. Eating it is merely a means of putting raw materials into a factory; it's not a manifestation of the power itself. The real power lies in the processing and synthesis that occurs after the raw materials enter the stomach.

In the manga, Wapol went through a miserable period after being blasted away by Luffy's cannon. However, this period was short-lived, and Wapol quickly turned things around using his abilities.

He swallowed the trash people discarded under the bridge, then turned it into toys and sold them to children. The toys became an instant hit, his business grew exponentially, and he even started a toy company and married a beautiful Miss Universe.

This plot looks exactly like a story of a nobody's rise to power, from having nothing to becoming incredibly wealthy, from being down and out to gradually growing into a successful CEO, marrying a beautiful and wealthy woman, and finally reaching the pinnacle of life.

And all of this was brought about by a Devil Fruit.

If Li Ang were to obtain this fruit, would he also be able to get a promotion and a raise, and eventually reach the pinnacle of his life?

Of course, this was a huge waste of talent. In Li Ang's view, this fruit was the only way for the Revolutionary Army to catch up with the World Government in terms of military strength.

The World Government has money, power, and a wealth of talent, including a large number of scientists like Vegapunk researching various types of weapons for the World Government. They even have a scientific force that relies on high-tech warfare. How could a group of peacekeepers possibly lose? Let alone those high-tech weapons, the Revolutionary Army would be at a disadvantage even with conventional weapons.

The revolutionary army also wanted high-tech weapons, but they had no money or manpower, so where could they get these high-tech weapons?

The rich rely on technology, the poor rely on mutation.

So this is where the Gluttony-Gluttony Fruit comes in. The World Government has high technology, so my Revolutionary Army has advanced technology.

In Li Ang's opinion, it was a complete waste for Wapol, that idiot, to get the Gluttony Fruit; all he could do was make small toys. But if those toy cars and toy robots could be enlarged, wouldn't they become tanks, like Gundam?

Imagine this scenario: a giant mouth opens wide, swallowing all sorts of metals and raw materials in one gulp, holding it inside for two minutes, and then, with a final "duang," pulls out Megatron—how awesome would that be? If this were feasible, we'd have to ask a whole bunch of Megatrons how they could possibly lose in a head-on assault.