One Piece: I am the Fleet Admiral?

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My new fanfic One Piece: The Marine of Straw Hat Pirates is now available on Scribblehub

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Free newspapers were bombarding the world once again.

But this time, it wasn't quite the same as before. The paper birds were instructed to deliver only to the kingdoms and towns.

Some places, particularly smaller villages and islands, were intentionally skipped.

After all, there are no nobles in tiny villages, and naturally, no one there would pay for the Big News Morgans paper.

In the inner city of one particular kingdom...

"Huh? A free newspaper?"

A middle-aged man in expensive clothing was shopping when suddenly, a daily newspaper was dropped right at his feet from above.

On the front page, rolled into a cylinder, the big word [Shock] appeared in plain sight.

"More sensational news, huh?"

The middle-aged man looked annoyed and muttered angrily, "It's probably the same old boring stuff again. I'm not falling for it this time."

With that, he waved his hand, stepped around the newspaper, and walked off.

Tap tap tap.

His footsteps gradually faded away.

The newspaper stayed on the ground, waiting for someone else to pick it up and read.

Ever since Rosinante, the "Chief of the Marine News Shock Department" with the authority to create eye-catching headlines, arrived in North Blue...

The peaceful lives of the civilians here, which had lasted for thousands of years, were suddenly disturbed.

All kinds of shocking headlines were designed to stir people into curiosity and rebellion.

Whenever people were drawn in by the headlines and bought the paper, excited to read more, they'd find the content to be disappointingly normal and dull.

To put it in the most vivid terms, the thoughts of people who bought these newspapers could be summed up as:

——"I got all hyped for 'this'?"

People had seen through the "shock headlines" by now.

Yet, despite this, the sales of the news department weren't significantly affected.

After all, people still needed to stay updated on world events through the newspaper.

And deep down, they still hoped that one day, the title might actually match the content.

Besides, a newspaper cost less than a pack of cigarettes, so the loss wasn't too much.

Before long, the same middle-aged man returned.

He bent down, picked up the paper, and muttered to himself, "I'll just take a quick look, just a quick look."

"Anyway, it's free. Might as well check it out."

As the man spoke, he fully unfolded the newspaper.

The headlines and content immediately stunned him:

[Unbelievable! Pirates broke in during the night, only to be overpowered by a group of burly men!]

[Shocking! The strongest pirate, Whitebeard, defeated by two iron fists!]

[My God! The safest place ever—Akatsuki estate! Even the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't break in.]

[Great news for the wealthy! Marine announces the construction of secure estates across the Four Seas and the Grand Line!]

[Don't miss out! This paper takes you deeper into the safety of Akatsuki.]

[...]

"This... this… not even the strongest pirates can breach Akatsuki?"

The middle-aged man's eyes narrowed as he meticulously read through the article.

He focused especially on the part where the Marine promised that powerful cloned security guards would be stationed at these estates, ensuring that no pirate could ever break into the villas.

His eyes lit up with excitement.

"If I lived there, I wouldn't need to worry about pirates raiding."

"When Akatsuki is built here, I'll have to get a place, even if I need to borrow money," he said, gripping the newspaper tightly, his mind made up.

---

Meanwhile, in Marineford...

"I'll leave things to you for now. I'm heading to Impel Down."

"Don't worry, if anything happens I'll call, or ask one of the Admirals to contact you."

"Understood."

In the office of the Fleet Admiral, Akira waved goodbye to his clone and stepped outside.

In the coming months, he planned to remain at Impel Down, sharpening his Haki as per his training regime.

Boarding his warship, Akira sailed off from the port.

---

"Huh? What's that?"

Not long after setting sail, Akira noticed a rapidly moving Sea King in the distance. Riding atop the creature were two figures.

He didn't recognize the middle-aged man in the tall hat, but the other figure—with a bruised face, almost unrecognizable—was all too familiar.

"Lu Feld? So, that guy's still alive," Akira muttered with a slight frown.

With no phone calls or news, Akira had assumed that Whitebeard had scrapped the plan. Turns out, Lu Feld was still alive—though he looked a bit worse for wear.

Despite the rough situation, since they had crossed paths and it seemed like their destination was Marine Headquarters, Akira decided to handle things himself rather than leaving it to his clone.

"Soldiers, bring the ship closer," Akira ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, the two ships met, and Lu Feld and the other figure boarded Akira's warship.

Akira stood on the deck, arms crossed, observing Lu Feld's condition. Although he looked beaten up, Akira could tell the injuries weren't severe.

"Fleet Admiral-sama, I've been through hell," Lu Feld whined, tears and snot running down his face. "You have no idea what happened that night—I thought I was done for!"

He continued, voice trembling, "I'm the only one who'd dare stand up to Whitebeard for the sake of the Marine. Anyone else would've run off in fear!"

Akira didn't interrupt, listening quietly as Lu Feld poured out his story. After all, this man had risked his life to fulfill a task Akira had given him. Denying him the chance to vent would be heartless. And truth be told, Akira was curious how exactly Lu Feld had managed to convince Whitebeard.

Through Lu Feld's story, Akira pieced together what had transpired that night.

At first, when Lu Feld approached Whitebeard with a proposal to use his name to collaborate with the Marine, Whitebeard's initial reaction was pure fury. His sons reacted even more aggressively than him.

Before Lu Feld could even get a second sentence out, Marco and the others rushed him, beating him mercilessly. The next thing Lu Feld remembered was waking up from unconsciousness, with everyone else gone, and Whitebeard alone in front of him.

"You have half an hour to convince me," Whitebeard had said, giving Lu Feld a glimmer of hope.

Lu Feld realized that Whitebeard's anger had softened. If the old pirate wasn't interested, he wouldn't have given him a chance to speak at all.

Despite the pain coursing through his body, Lu Feld knew this was a rare opportunity. He quickly laid out the detailed pitch he had prepared, explaining the coming global upheaval and offering the promise that the Marine would stop targeting Whitebeard's crew. At the very least, they'd reduce their pressure.

However, as time passed, Whitebeard's expression remained unreadable. No matter what Lu Feld said, it didn't seem to land.

As the half-hour window drew to a close, Lu Feld began to panic. He knew Whitebeard's reputation—if he said half an hour, it meant exactly that, no more. If Lu Feld couldn't say something that truly moved him, the deal would be off.

In desperation, a sudden idea flashed in his mind.

"Whitebeard, you're in your fifties now. In twenty years, you'll be old… You don't want your precious sons to be hunted down by the Marine after you're gone, do you?"

That was the last thing Lu Feld remembered before a massive fist, wrapped in the power of Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, came crashing toward him.

When he woke up, Whitebeard had led his sons to complete the deal with the Bertomy Passion Kingdom's sea mansion.

Akira, now fully aware of the ordeal, smiled, clearly impressed.

"You did well!" Akira praised, pulling a cigar from his coat and tossing it to Lu Feld. "I'm very satisfied."

"As long as you're happy, Fleet Admiral-sama," Lu Feld said, catching the cigar and biting down on it, rubbing his palms together with a flattering grin.

Akira chuckled, "Alright, tell me what you want."

"Well, about that... I'd like to join the business of Akatsuki. What do you think?"

"Sure," Akira agreed without hesitation. He had anticipated Lu Feld's request.

Though Lu Feld—known as God of Fortune Lu Feld—was an illegal businessman, he was still a businessman at heart. What he wanted was simple: a chance to profit. Akira had his reasons for handing over the real estate project to him.

Marine, being an official and powerful organization focused on catching pirates, couldn't handle the global development of Akatsuki, on its own. It would require vast manpower and resources. Involving Marine too deeply would draw constant attention from the Five Elders, and that wasn't something Akira wanted.

Akira's plan was to handle the 170 franchise nations directly, while outsourcing the real estate projects in non-affiliated countries to Lu Feld. This outsourcing ensured Marine remained invincible. Lu Feld would handle the risks of building villas in those countries, and any losses would be his responsibility. Marine wouldn't be affected.

More importantly, Akira knew that with the impending end of the Great Pirate Era, the demand for safety, which was Akatsuki's key selling point, would decrease. Right now, the real estate market could generate massive profits, but once things calmed down, the business wouldn't be as lucrative.

"The franchise nations are Marine's priority, so stay out of those," Akira explained. "You can focus on the non-affiliated countries."

With a wave of Akira's hand, a mass of transforming leaves—newly developed without the Three Laws—materialized at Lu Feld's feet.

"These are designed to ensure the safety of the villas' residents," Akira said. "Take them, and get started. Marine will continue to support the narrative and prioritize the villas' security."

Lu Feld's eyes widened as he looked at the growing pile of transforming leaves. He trembled with excitement. In a world where land and houses were abundant, it wasn't the property itself that attracted kings and nobles—it was these powerful transformation leaves.

Buying a villa worth billions and having guards at the level of Admiral Akainu? It was the ultimate sense of security. No pirate, rioter, or threat could breach the villa. The wealthy wanted safety above all, and whoever controlled the transforming leaves controlled that security.

Lu Feld swallowed hard and finally tore his gaze away from the leaves to look at Akira.

"Fleet Admiral, what if we run out of these transformation leaves?"

"I'll supply you with an unlimited amount of these special leaves," Akira reassured him. "No one else has access to them for now, so you won't have any competition."

"This… This is so generous," Lu Feld stammered, pretending to be humble. 

"You don't need to do be polite, after all, we are a partner, and every villa you sell in the future will have 3-7 divide of the profit with me.

"I don't deserve such a privilege, but I'm deeply grateful for your kindness, Fleet Admiral-sama."

Akira raised an eyebrow, chuckling, "What are you on about? I'm taking 70%, you're getting 30%."

Lu Feld blinked, stunned. He had misunderstood, thinking he'd receive 70% of the profits.

"Ah… I see," Lufield muttered, scratching his head awkwardly.

Umit, who had been standing by silently, couldn't help but share in the moment's awkwardness.