One Piece: The True Codex

Sea Circle Calendar, Year 1508.

In the East Blue, inside a meeting room of a small newspaper office, a tall, skinny, balding middle-aged man stood before a blackboard, yelling at the top of his lungs, "News! News! I want exclusive news!"

"The sales have already plummeted below the red line. If this keeps up, the paper will go bankrupt, and I'll take you all out one by one before turning the gun on myself!" The middle-aged man's bloodshot eyes glared menacingly as his loosened tie dangled around his neck. He looked like a giant vulture, flailing his arms as if ready to pounce.

Perhaps it was the sheer terror of their editor-in-chief's appearance that made one of the editors raise his hand timidly, like a nervous student in class.

"Speak!" The vulture-like editor-in-chief gestured grandly with his hand.

"The sea train on the Grand Line has recently been completed..."

Before the timid editor could finish the word "completed," a piece of chalk flew straight at him, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"Next!"

"...The president of Dock No. 4 in Water 7 caused fifty deaths at sea due to a lack of resources while purchasing timber. This led to the collapse of Dock No. 4."

The vulture-like editor-in-chief stared at the speaking editor with a complex expression before asking, "What's the name of our newspaper?"

"...The East Blue Daily."

The editor-in-chief's face turned livid as he grabbed another piece of chalk and hurled it at the editor. One piece wasn't enough; he threw several more while cursing, "You know it's the 'East Blue' Daily, yet you keep bringing me news from the Grand Line! I'll give you Grand Line! I'll give you Grand!"

"I want news from the East Blue! Exclusive news! I want headlines so gripping that readers can't look away after seeing the first word!" After sparing the editor whose head was now covered in chalk marks, the editor-in-chief shouted, "Or something like last year's Mariejois incident—something universal, something that resonates with readers!"

For journalists, last year's Mariejois attack was indeed a godsend, especially for regional tabloids like the East Blue Daily.

First, the public took great delight in the Celestial Dragons being humiliated. Second, they were extremely curious about the Fish-Men, who were rarely seen in the East Blue.

Despite its formal-sounding name, the East Blue Daily was just a shameless gossip rag. During that time, the paper's editors capitalized on the incident by fabricating wild stories about the Fish-Men to ride the wave of public interest. This temporarily boosted their sales.

Unfortunately, no such divine blessing had descended this year!

Faced with the editor-in-chief's wrath, the editors in the meeting room could only lower their already not-so-proud heads.

Gesetta smirked slightly, feeling a sense of smug satisfaction. He had come prepared for this meeting.

"I've received information that the prohibition law in the Navia Kingdom has essentially become meaningless over the past year!" Gesetta tapped his pencil on his notebook to draw everyone's attention, including the editor-in-chief's, before confidently continuing, "According to my sources, apart from the capital city of Kalmar, where enforcement is still relatively strict, the underground black market throughout the kingdom has never stopped supplying alcoholic beverages."

"Not enough..." The editor-in-chief, now calmer, rested his chin on his hand and muttered to himself before fixing his gaze on Gesetta. "Do you have any more concrete details?"

Gesetta hesitated slightly before replying, "It's said that there's a complete network for the production, transportation, and sale of alcohol, with people providing protection for the smuggling operations."

"That's obvious!" The editor-in-chief retorted bluntly. "Of course there's such a network. I want something explosive!"

"How about the shocking profits from smuggling?"

"Or local officials colluding with smugglers!"

Other editors immediately chimed in with suggestions.

The editor-in-chief paced back and forth. While these ideas were enough for them to fabricate a series of stories, he still felt somewhat unsatisfied.

"Can we extend the topic to the King of Navia Kingdom?" Gesetta, unwilling to let others steal the spotlight, interjected.

The editor-in-chief clapped his hands in delight. "Yes! We can serialize it, gradually packaging him as a hot topic—a clown!"

He glanced around the room. "What's the general public's impression of him?"

"An idiot!" one editor with a bulbous, red nose said bluntly.

"Harsh," added another.

"Isn't he supposed to be a devout believer?"

"His ideas are completely out of touch with reality."

The editor-in-chief listened while jotting down words on the blackboard: "Harsh, devout believer, out of touch with reality..."

After putting down the chalk, he scrutinized the words on the board, lost in thought. The other editors gathered around, offering their own opinions:

"What about portraying him as a pious believer?"

"Too positive; readers won't buy it."

"Then a fanatic?"

"Still not quite there."

The editor-in-chief snapped out of his reverie and declared loudly, "A religious lunatic! From now on, in our articles, in the eyes of our readers, he will be a religious lunatic! A king who issued a prohibition law because of his fanaticism!"

The room fell silent for a moment before erupting in applause. Only one timid voice finally spoke up, "But the strict support for prohibition seems to be limited to a few branches of Protestantism, none of which have gained traction in the Navia Kingdom."

The room fell silent again. After a long pause, someone sneered, "People like you will end up chewing on tree bark. Who cares about such details except boring folks?"

The editor-in-chief gave Gesetta an approving nod and said, "Your information is good. Do you have any other leads we can turn into news?"

The others in the room looked at Gesetta with envy, which only inflated his ego. After a brief hesitation, he said, "There's one more piece of information, but it's just hearsay without any solid evidence. Apparently, the network for smuggling within the kingdom was established by a group of youngsters, most of whom aren't even twenty years old..."

Gesetta hesitated because this information was even less credible than the rumors about Norton I. It was all hearsay without a shred of proof.

But the editor-in-chief's eyes lit up. To attract readers, novelty and intrigue were all that mattered.

The editor-in-chief grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote a bold headline on the blackboard:

"Religious Lunatic and the Teenage Godfather," circling the word "teenage" for emphasis, regardless of whether it was accurate.

In the Navia Kingdom's capital, Kalmar City, the morning court session had ended as usual.

Arcadio walked out of the royal palace, his demeanor shifting from humble to confident.

What did it matter if the king nominally ruled over vast lands and seas? Born and raised in the palace, the king's daily interactions were limited to the people and affairs within its walls.

Everything else had to be described to him by his ministers. In this respect, Arcadio, as the Minister of Finance, was already exceptionally cautious.

Norton I was not the "religious lunatic" that the East Blue Daily's editor-in-chief was about to fabricate. He was simply overly idealistic. He genuinely cared about his country and its people. However, his impractical nature led him to enact the laughable prohibition law as a misguided attempt to "care" for his citizens and nation—a policy pushed by none other than Arcadio.

Those who linger on the fringes of politics, hoping to enter its core but failing, often resort to selling policy information for profit. But true statesmen like Arcadio would instead craft and implement policies to serve their interests.

Out of caution, even after successfully implementing the prohibition law, Arcadio refrained from immediately involving himself in the premeditated smuggling operations. He waited an entire year, allowing alcohol to almost completely disappear from Kalmar, the kingdom's largest market.

This served two purposes: to cultivate demand among the city's residents and to thoroughly deceive King Norton I, making him believe that his prohibition law was highly effective. This would divert the king's attention elsewhere.

Now, it was time for Arcadio to reap the rewards.

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