One Piece: The True Codex

William's understanding of the original story was not particularly detailed, but he did know about Devil Fruits. He had even gone out of his way to gather information about them, only to be left disappointed by what he learned.

These rare fruits, capable of granting their consumers strange and unique powers, were exorbitantly expensive. A single fruit could fetch a price of 100 million Belly, and even then, they were virtually impossible to find—something one could only hope to encounter by sheer luck.

In the East Blue, Devil Fruits were even rarer. Many people in the region, including those close to William like Aramis and others, regarded them as mere legends, nothing more than fanciful tales. Some had never even heard of them—a sentiment shared by a significant portion of the population.

Given this context, it was no surprise that the four men's expressions shifted upon hearing the mention of a Devil Fruit. Among them, only William, being a transmigrator, knew for certain that Devil Fruits truly existed. For Gin, Aramis, and Edmond—all born and raised in the East Blue—it was a shocking revelation. They had never seen such a fruit or encountered anyone who had consumed one, always dismissing them as myths. Yet now, they found themselves faced with the reality of a Devil Fruit user in their midst.

With his knowledge of Devil Fruits and his understanding of the East Blue's environment, two questions immediately surfaced in William's mind:

First, what was "Red-Beard" Barbarossa's Devil Fruit ability? Second, where did he obtain his Devil Fruit?

The second question, in particular, piqued William's interest.

William held no reservations about Devil Fruits. Perhaps individuals like Kuina, Koushirou, or Edmond, who aspired to be master swordsmen, would hesitate or struggle with the idea. But William was a pragmatist through and through.

Even with the assistance of the Plaza of Fate, William remained cautious and unwilling to become overly reliant on it. He didn't understand its origins or nature and feared it might one day vanish without warning. In contrast, his swordsmanship and the loyalty of companions like Gin were assets that would remain effective even without the Plaza of Fate.

The existence of Devil Fruits, unlike the Plaza of Fate, was something tangible and firmly rooted in this world. At the very least, they couldn't be easily taken away.

"Where did Barbarossa get his Devil Fruit?" William asked, lowering his gaze.

"I don't know!" Ward replied, trembling with fear. William's ruthless use of waterboarding had already broken him, leaving him too terrified to withhold information. He spilled everything he knew as if it were beans in a pot. "All I know is that the captain suffered a crushing defeat once. Only the first mate, Reis, and the navigator, Hayreddin, survived. It was during that defeat that he ate the Devil Fruit. So, aside from Reis and Hayreddin, no one else on the ship knows where the captain's Devil Fruit came from."

William furrowed his brow slightly. He could tell Ward wasn't lying, so he shifted his line of questioning. "That cargo ship you recently raided in the Navia Kingdom—do you know who ordered you to target it?"

"Which one?" Ward asked, looking confused.

William pressed further and soon learned that, as one of the top pirate crews in the East Blue, the Red-Beard Pirates had a busy "business" schedule, frequently raiding cargo ships along various routes.

Moreover, Ward revealed that an unknown faction often provided the Red-Beard Pirates with detailed intelligence on merchant ships. These reports were so precise that they included the exact times each ship left and entered port. This allowed the Red-Beard Pirates to intercept their targets with near-perfect timing, rarely returning empty-handed.

The ship carrying Edmond and Vallon, which had been attacked by the Red-Beard Pirates, was no different from the other merchant ships they typically plundered. The pirates had received information from an external source, Barbarossa had given the order, and Ward and his crew had carried it out.

It wasn't until William mentioned the prolonged storm that Ward recalled which specific ship he was referring to.

Once William had extracted all the information he needed, he, Gin, and Aramis left the room, leaving Edmond alone with Ward.

The three closed the door behind them. Moments later, blood began to seep out from under the door, pooling into the hallway where the three stood. Edmond emerged from the room shortly after, his expression betraying a sense of grim satisfaction.

William glanced at Edmond, who seemed to have finally calmed down, then shook his head and looked down at the newspaper in his hands.

The group was currently in an abandoned workshop on the outskirts of town. Dim oil lamps lined the hallway, casting a faint, flickering light. William read the newspaper under the weak glow for a while before snorting in amusement. "What a load of garbage!"

Gin, Aramis, and Edmond leaned in to take a look, their expressions turning equally strange as they stole glances at William's face.

The newspaper had been taken from Ward. After some prompting, Ward had managed to recall every suspicious detail about the attack on Vallon and Edmond's cargo ship. Among these details was the fact that, after the raid, the ship's crew had been handed copies of this newspaper by one of the officers, who instructed them to pay attention to the article's "main culprit."

The newspaper, titled East Blue Daily, featured an "exclusive report" on the so-called "Boy Godfather" who allegedly controlled the underground smuggling operations in the Navia Kingdom.

Just reading the headline was enough for William to know the paper was spouting nonsense. He was already an adult and far from a "boy."

Sure enough, the article confirmed William's suspicions. It included a description of his appearance, but aside from the details about his blonde hair and blue eyes, everything else was pure fabrication. It was clear the writers had invented most of it to fit their readers' romanticized image of the "Boy Godfather."

William flipped through the paper before tossing it to Gin, muttering, "What a load of trash! It's all made up!"

"It says here that you have a scar running diagonally from your brow to your jaw," Gin said, burying his head in the article. His expression grew increasingly animated as he read. "'Whenever he gets angry, the scar looks like it's about to bleed.' Who the hell are they talking about? Is there another smuggling ring out there? Maybe they're describing someone else?"

The group took turns reading the article, which read more like a novel than a news report.

Because his activities were illegal, William had always been cautious, following habits from his previous life. There were no photographs of him in circulation, and anyone wanting to describe his appearance would have to rely on eyewitness accounts or sketches based on second-hand descriptions.

East Blue Daily was not concerned with journalistic integrity or factual accuracy. Their goal was not to uphold the ethics of media professionals but to boost sales. The title "Boy Godfather" was eye-catching enough to draw readers, and whether or not William was actually a "boy" was of no concern to them. As such, any descriptions of William's appearance or behavior were crafted solely to captivate readers and pander to their imaginations.

If the newspaper had bothered to send reporters to the docks in the Navia Kingdom to interview the local laborers, they might not have gotten a precise description of William, but at least their portrayal wouldn't have been so wildly inaccurate. Clearly, however, they had no interest in doing so.

"Maybe I should thank these media friends of ours," William said with a chuckle.

"Or maybe you should thank those bastards for not taking us seriously," Aramis spat.

From what they had learned from Ward and observed so far, it was clear to William and his companions that neither "Red-Beard" Barbarossa nor the forces behind him regarded them as much of a threat.

~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~

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