I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Hale almost collapsed to the ground; he was exhausted.

He is an ability user; after transforming into cockroach form, he can fly for a short period of time, making it difficult to dodge the giant wave's attack.

"Haha...haha..." He let out a low, tired laugh from his throat.

"I survived again."

After catching his breath, Hale watched the fleet disappear into the distance and silently made up his mind:

"Sig is too dangerous. Running into him always ends badly! We absolutely must never have anything to do with him again!"

"Wherever he goes, I'll hide and run away... I'll never be in the same place as him!"

Among the fifty-six emperors, Hale was not the only survivor.

The most powerful among them, including Lone Red and World Destroyer, survived.

Many of these people harbored resentment towards Sieg.

The old grudges from the Wang Xige era, and the new hatred that forces them to kneel... These once-powerful pirates of the old era will never swallow this insult!

"Revenge is a must!"

"Also, that person must be the Pirate King Roger! Since Higuma wants to keep it a secret, we absolutely cannot let him succeed..."

"I know Morgans, the king of news. That guy's always looking for a big story. If I tell him this, he'll probably go crazy with excitement..."

"After all, this is an unprecedented event!"

.......

"Breaking news! This is an unprecedented event!"

At the headquarters of the World News Agency, Morgans was waving a newspaper sample in his hand, looking like he was going crazy.

He had been desperately seeking big news, and now he had achieved two in one go!

The true identity of Higuma, the Pirate King of the Sea: the most mysterious pirate of the old era, and Rocks' first mate!

This news story is enough to grace the front page of the World Economic News and shock the world.

But there's another thing, the biggest news of all!

Morgans' only worry was... whether he could save his own life once the news was announced.

Chapter 853 Unprecedented Big News

The true identity of Higuma, the Pirate King of the Sea: the most mysterious pirate of the old era, and Rocks' first mate!

"Pirate King Roger may not be dead; he appears in Water 7 and teams up with Higuma in battle."

Day two.

The World Economic Herald, through Newsbird, disclosed these two major news items in its newspaper.

These two news items tell the same story from different perspectives: that Sig and Roger joined forces to defeat the alliance of the Fifty-Six Emperors.

The newspapers sold out that day, and the whole world was shocked by these two news items.

Prior to this, Higuma was already a pirate with a bounty of 28 billion, which, apart from his own weaker power, was enough to reach the level of the Four Emperors.

It's worth noting that Blackbeard Teach, the future Yonko of the original work, was the first person in history to possess two Devil Fruits, the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and he recruited prisoners from Impel Down's Infinite Hell... His bounty was 2,247,600,000 Berries.

And Wang Xige?

Decades ago, during the Rocks era, as the first mate, he already had a bounty of 20 billion, roughly on par with Whitebeard, Shiki, and others in his early years.

"So that's how it is. Higuma wasn't a newcomer at all... No wonder he was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Whitebeard and Shiki, and orchestrate the Impel Down war in one fell swoop..."

"Wait... Rocks' first mate, along with his former right-hand men Whitebeard and Shiki, attacked Impel Down? And released a large number of prisoners from the old era?"

Most of the great pirates in this world come from the Rocks Pirates, who once dominated an entire era.

The current Four Emperors of the New World, plus the newly crowned Sky Emperor Shiki, are a total of four from the former Rocks Pirates and one from the former Roger Pirates.

To take it to an extreme... Shanks was born in the year of the God Valley Incident, so he might even have some kind of connection to Rocks...

More than a decade later, when Wang Xige's name reappeared in the sea, it reminded many people of that bygone era.

As for the second major news item...

Because it was so shocking, it aroused skepticism and great controversy.

Among these, conspiracy theories abound that Roger did not die and that ONE PIECE is a fake treasure.

At the heart of all these conspiracy theories, there is an inextricable link to another man.

The return of the two kings, and their immediate appearance together to fight against the enemy, inevitably leads to much speculation.

"One Piece? That can't be real, right?"

"If the Pirate King were still alive, what about ONE PIECE?"

Roger was an unprecedented Pirate King who achieved unparalleled feats, and even at the moment of his execution, he was able to usher in the Great Pirate Era with a single sentence.

His influence and fame far surpass any other pirate; his very existence shakes the order of this great pirate era.

.........

Naval Headquarters, Marshal's Office.

"Roger can't possibly still be alive! He's not that kind of person!"

Karp argued stubbornly, slamming his hand on the table, his old face turning red.

The table of the Warring States was covered with various documents and newspapers from the World Economic Daily, and his face was very grim.

Following the Buster Call battle in Water 7 a few days prior, newly appointed Marine Admiral Akainu went missing, and the remaining fleet was forced to evacuate Water 7, leaving Sengoku in a state of utter chaos.

Regardless of whether the matter is true or false... their navy and the world government were unable to obtain firsthand information, and they only learned the truth after the World Economic News disclosed it.

“After Roger turned himself in, I went to see him and we talked about some old things from back then... The Roger from back then couldn’t have been a fake!”

Karp's tone was resolute.

Roger entrusted his son to Garp while in prison, and after Garp was executed, he went out of his way to find Roger's widow, Rouge.

As a naval hero, he ensured Rouge's safety during her final months of childbirth...

If Roger were still alive, how could he possibly put on such a show of abandoning his wife and children?

If it were a powerful figure like Rocks or the Golden Lion, perhaps he might do something like this, but Roger would never do it!

This was what Garp was thinking, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"You and Roger talked about some old things from back then..."

Sengoku noticed Garp's unusual behavior and said:

What did you talk about?

"It's nothing... it's just that I almost arrested him several times back then," Garp replied.

He appears rough on the outside but is actually meticulous. He became much more careful after the matter of Roger's orphan came into play; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to keep Ace's affairs a secret until now.

"Oh?" Sengoku narrowed his eyes.

Just as he was about to press further, the door was suddenly pushed open.

A man wearing a comical smiling mask walked in:

"Navy, the problem now is not whether Roger is still alive."

"The most urgent task is to dispel the rumors!"

Zhan Guo's face darkened.

"This isn't your CP0 office. And you're denying it?" The Warring States period debated:

"Whether Roger is alive or not has a huge impact. Are we going to deny it before we even know the truth?"

The smiling mask's voice was calm:

"That's right, that's what the World Government wants."

Sengoku stared at him for a while, but finally looked away.

Both the Navy and CP0 are subordinate agencies of the World Government. The Navy is more powerful and influential, but CP0 is closer to the Celestial Dragons.

"Besides that, shouldn't we deal with the person who raised the issue next?" Karp asked with a hint of sarcasm.

He has never had a good impression of CP0.

“You’re right, our people are already on their way to find Morgans. If he doesn’t budge on this, News King will be caught too,” the smiling mask said calmly.

"In addition, Marshal Zhan Guo, please prepare for a press conference organized by the World Government to refute the rumors and accept interviews from reporters."

"A press conference?" Zhan Guo frowned.

“I am the Fleet Admiral, and the Navy is a military institution. This matter should be handled by officials of the World Government.”

"The World Government is high and mighty, and the people only know you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, so you are more suitable." The smiling mask paused, then continued:

"This is also what the World Government wants."

“But I have absolutely no experience with this…” Sengoku instinctively wanted to refuse.

He has his own principles of justice, and he dislikes debunking rumors before the truth is revealed.

"It's alright, the speech will be drafted by CP0, no problem at all, we can teach you."

The smiling mask's eyes narrowed into crescent moons, seemingly smiling, as it handed a speech to the Warring States period.

“Give a speech is very simple. You just need to shout ‘Sig!’ ‘Sig!’ a few times, preferably a dozen or twenty times, and you can create a stereotype.”

"Don't people love conspiracy theories? Then let's seize on a contradiction and pin the blame on that notorious conspirator..."

Chapter 854 FAKE NEWS!

"FAKENEWS! It's fake news!"

Facing reporters from various newspapers, Marshal Sengoku read aloud the speech prepared by CP0:

"The Pirate King Gol D. Roger was publicly executed 12 years ago, and this matter has long been settled."