Chapter 239: New World Rumors and the Lanternfish’s Secret

His tone was icy. “Pass this news along to the informant who sold us the intel. Tell him to refund our money. If he doesn’t, he’ll get to see just how sharp my blade really is.”

“Understood, Captain,” Ares replied, taking the report and heading deeper into the ship to contact the operatives running the intelligence network on Fishman Island via transponder snail.

When the agents on Fishman Island got the message, they could hardly believe it. The Navy supposedly establishing four forward bases in the New World? That shouldn’t have been fake news.

So, while telling Ares’s crew to wait for updates, the agent dispatched some fishmen to scout the New World and verify if the Navy still had a presence there.

As luck would have it, this very information post just happened to be under Shakky’s command.

Several hours later, the fishmen reported back. No Navy bases could be found on the seas. So they sent a small team to deliver 500,000 Berries straight to the Black Crow Pirates, then immediately reported everything to Lady Shakky.

Splash, splash!

Ares carefully counted the money—sure enough, it was 500,000 Berries. He glanced at Ryan. “Captain, this intelligence agency is at least honest. The second they realized the intel was bad, they gave our money back.”

He hadn’t expected to run into an issue buying intel for the first time. Thought for sure they’d never see that money again.

After all, now that they’d reached the New World, going back would be a massive ordeal. Even if the agency refused to refund them, there wouldn’t be much they could do.

Ryan scoffed. “Don’t think the people running these intelligence networks are that naive.”

“I’m sure the New World has plenty of their outposts. It’s just smart business—keeping things friendly means more future trade. They’ve got to know that much,” he said.

Ares mulled it over and gave a slow nod. These information brokers were nothing like the pirates, drifting from place to place.

They could survive anywhere, but the intel agencies usually stuck to one spot for the long haul. In that way, the brokers had to be more trustworthy than most.

“Alright. Since we’ve made it to the New World, there’s no time to waste. I’m going to be a real great pirate!” At Ryan’s signal, the Black Crow Pirates set sail deeper into the New World.

No one expected that the Navy’s retreat would make the rounds even faster, all because of the Black Crow Pirates.

Kong had already ordered Sengoku to speed up deployments in the first half of the New World, hoping to wipe out as many pirates as possible.

Right now, the Marine presence on Sabaody Archipelago was at its lowest ever.

“This is the kind of news Shiki will eat up,” Shakky remarked after confirming the tip. At Sabaody Archipelago, she promptly sold the scoop to the Golden Lion himself.

At the same time, in the Underworld, news of the Navy’s withdrawal from the New World was spreading like wildfire, raking in a huge sum of money.

“I’ve got no clue who caused all this, but I made a pretty penny off this story alone. If I ever meet them, dinner’s on me!”

“Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

“Now that’s what I call good news!”

Golden Lion Shiki, who spent a million Berries on the intel, immediately led his ships to the entrance of the New World, prepping to recruit more pirates.

Roger and his crew finally breathed a sigh of relief seeing Shiki leave.

“He’s a real mad dog, chased us for ages! Worse than Garp, if you ask me,” Rayleigh said, feeling a lot better after the Golden Lion was gone.

“Hahaha!”

“Alright, everyone! Since we’ve finally given Golden Lion Shiki the slip, let’s throw a party!”

Roger didn’t want that maniac at his heel. Sure, he could win the fight, but dodging random stuff falling out of the sky was more than enough of a hassle.

Little did they know, their relief would be short-lived—Garp was only a few hundred nautical miles behind.

With the New World in total chaos, probably only Garp had the guts to lead a ship and track Roger down.

Meanwhile, as he flew toward the North Blue, Karl was deep in thought.

His forces were getting out of hand—it was time to reorganize. If he wanted to take down Im in the end, he couldn’t let his crew run wild. They needed some restraints.

He decided to settle it all at the tea party.

Gazing intently toward the North Blue, he murmured, “Once I deal with the Lanternfish, I’ll gather everyone for a tea party. All my forces, in one place.”

“Time to plan the next move.”

After flying for several hours at top speed, he arrived high above the North Blue.

With directions from the fishmen in the sea below, he quickly found a remote deserted island. Karl, having fully unleashed his Observation Haki, instantly sensed the massive lifeform lurking beneath the waves—it had to be the Lanternfish.

The Lanternfish, also known as the Island-Eater, survives by devouring entire islands.

About a century ago, there was an island called Alchemi that radiated pure gold. The Lamp Lord—drawn by the glimmer—ended up swallowing two-thirds of Alchemi.

At the same time, the artisan Myskina Arshiya and his daughter Myskina Olga, both makers of Pure Gold, were swallowed whole. Ever since then, rumors say that whoever claims the Pure Gold could buy the world.

But the World Government heard about all this ages ago. Rumor has it, the Lanternfish’s lamp is packed with Pure Gold. They’ve been after it ever since, but since it always roamed the New World, even the World Government never had the strength to venture in and catch it.

Who would’ve guessed that after Karl failed to capture it several times in the New World, the Lanternfish would swim all the way to the North Blue?

After landing on the deserted island, Karl was met by an octopus fishman holding a tracker. “Lord Karl.”

“The Lanternfish is right beneath this island.”

Karl took the tracker, nodding with appreciation. “Good work!”

Hearing Karl’s kind words, the octopus fishman was moved to tears. His own brother had been eaten by the Lanternfish; to this day, he didn’t know if he was alive or dead.

“Your whole squad gets ten thousand contribution points each.”

With those points, he’d be able to take care of his missing brother’s family properly. “Thank you, Lord Karl!”

After handing over the tracker, the octopus fishman slipped back into the sea, waiting quietly.

Karl tossed the tracker up and down in his hand, watching the red dot on the screen. He walked to the other side of the island, then dove straight into the sea.

Diving three kilometers underwater, he soon saw a faint glimmer in the darkness.

Another three kilometers down, he finally saw the Lanternfish itself—its whole body covered in scars.

He hovered beside the creature, carefully studying the gigantic lamp at its front. The diameter was nearly forty meters.

Staring at that massive lantern, Karl couldn’t help feeling a rush of excitement. “So that’s the Lanternfish, huh?”

“If I remember right, in the movie version, the Lanternfish’s lamp was supposedly pure gold inside.”

“I’ve got no idea how much pure gold that actually is—but it must be an incredible fortune.”