Chapter 19: The Spread of the News -17
Robin noticed her gaze, set the book aside, revealing her calm face, which looked even more attractive than usual.
"Oh my, our Vice President looks quite lively today."
"It seems last night's event was a success. We must maintain that energy tonight too~"
"Who said I intend to continue doing anything with you?! Stop making decisions about me without my permission, understood, new Vice President?!"
As memories of the previous night surfaced, Mikita's smile vanished instantly. She jumped up and responded angrily.
But then, she froze—as if she had realized something odd.
"Vice President? Me?" she asked, pointing at her nose in disbelief.
Robin nodded calmly, confirming it.
"Yes. Before you woke up, the President and I officially promoted you to the position of Vice President—equal to my own."
"Wooooh~~~!" Mikita gasped, nearly bursting into tears from emotion.
"That's amazing! If this is the result of the bang-bang we did yesterday, then it was totally worth it!"
She quickly regained her usual cheer, tossed the half-eaten fruit out the window [Don't do this in our world, kids. While leftovers might help fertilize the soil, it's not always good.]
She rushed to Peter's side, pressing her chest against his arm, and said seductively:
"Mr. President, I feel like I'm in peak condition right now! I still have so much more to give for Baroque Works!"
Peter felt her chest against his arm, and his expression twisted in discomfort. He gently pushed her head back and grumbled:
"Hey, enough of that. If you keep this up, you'll exhaust yourself completely.
You're the Vice President now, yet you still act like you're aiming for a promotion. Are you planning to take my seat too?
Go back to your spot and stay quiet!"
Also, you're weak! You barely lasted ten minutes last night! If it weren't for Robin, you would've passed out in the first minute!
After being scolded, Mikita sat across from Peter, her face full of sorrow.
Peter massaged his temples and sighed in frustration.
'I thought having one more person would improve things, but after all that yesterday, my combat power only went up by four points!'
Robin hadn't recovered fully and couldn't go all out.
And Mikita relied entirely on her Devil Fruit—her physical strength was far too poor.
"When we reach Rainbase, both of you need to stick to a regular training schedule.
Especially you, Mikita. If you want to keep your title as Vice President, you'd better train hard.
Otherwise, your term in office will be very short."
"Oh no! Are you serious?! I just got the title!"
Mikita was devastated. She had barely taken on the role, and Peter was already threatening to replace her.
But Peter was serious—he wasn't joking.
Even Robin remarked dryly, "Too bad. Barely ten minutes as Vice President and already about to be fired."
It's true. Only ten minutes!
"You… you disgusting woman! Don't forget we're equals now! Don't talk to me like that!"
"Haha. Only for now." Robin smirked and went back to reading.
Mikita's face turned red with anger. If she could use her powers inside the carriage, she would've shown Robin what her Kilo-Kilo Fruit could do.
"Alright, enough arguing. Let's finish the discussion we left off yesterday."
Peter interrupted. He wasn't fond of women bickering endlessly.
"Mikita, you won't need to go on field missions anymore.
When we reach Yudi, you'll be responsible for building Happy Street and recruiting members.
Robin will assist you for a while—learn as much as you can from her."
"Happy Street?! You mean that Happy Street?" Mikita asked, suspicious.
Peter confirmed without hesitation.
Immediately, the color drained from Mikita's face, as if she'd been shaded in gray.
Vice President… yet responsible for managing a brothel? Compared to Robin, who ran a casino? That's totally unfair!
Robin glanced at Peter, then flipped another page in her book.
"President, aren't the women around you enough already? Do you really need to open a place like that too? If you keep going like this, you'll end up like a human-shaped dildo—drained to death!"
"What kind of stupid metaphor is that?! And have either of you ever satisfied me to begin with?!"
Peter sighed and explained:
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not that kind of guy—I have principles.
This is just a method to collect intel. Do you realize how much information flows through a place like Happy Street?"
"What a clever plan, President!" Robin commented, her face expressionless.
As she continued reading, her book was suddenly snatched from her hands!
Startled, she looked up to see Peter standing before her, looking annoyed.
Suddenly, Robin sensed something was off.
"Mr. President, may I ask… what can I do for you?"
"Yes… I'm very hungry right now."
Robin: (⊙_⊙)
Mikita: (灬♥ω♥灬)
....
As the group continued its journey toward its next destination, the news of one of the Shichibukai—Crocodile—being defeated by Peter finally spread worldwide.
Naturally, the first to receive this news was Morgan, the King of Journalism and editor-in-chief of the globally renowned "World Economic News."
In his usual excitement for hot topics, he called in his entire staff for overtime and personally wrote the headline for the next day's front page.
Even more surprisingly, he had obtained a recent photo of Peter and planned to publish it alongside the article.
News Coo birds began their flight early in the morning, distributing the papers.
And thus, news of a mysterious man named "Peter" defeating one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea reached every corner of the world.
"Boom!!"
In the Admiral's office, Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed the newspaper onto the desk.
"Morgans dared publish this kind of article—damaging the government's reputation—without authorization.
Even worse, the Navy didn't even realize Crocodile had been defeated!
Where the hell is our intelligence division?!"