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Bai Xing sensed the sincerity in Zhou Ze's words and immediately stopped crying and smiled, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

Zhou Ze opened his palm, and the mermaid princess's teardrop didn't turn into a puddle; instead, it twisted into a pearl the size of a fist.

Carefully manipulating a wisp of internal energy, Zhou Ze examined the teardrop before flicking his wrist, causing it to fall into the sea.

The moment it entered the sea, it did not stir up a single ripple. Moreover, the previously turbulent sea suddenly became calm and still, like a mirror.

As the mermaid princess who is the king of the sea, the difference between raging waves and shimmering waters is just a thought away. Even a single tear from her is enough to maintain the calm of the ocean.

Zhou Ze's gaze lingered on Bai Xing for a moment, then turned to the calm sea in the distance, and he sighed.

"To calm the storm?"

Bai Xing opened her eyes, confused. "Lord Zhou Ze, what did you say?"

Zhou Ze laughed heartily, his mood suddenly becoming much more cheerful.

Just then, a flock of seagulls carrying newspapers swooped down from the clouds high above.

"Rustling sound!"

As newspapers fell like snowflakes, the seagulls cried out loudly, climbing higher once more to fly to the next island.

Zhou Ze frowned. The last time he heard the seagulls that made such a sound was when the Warring States period announced to the world that the navy had won the Marineford War.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ze reached for a newspaper, opened it, and began to read.

The newspaper's front page headline, in bold and black, read:

Blackbeard is dead! The strongest naval officer in 800 years, Vice Admiral Zhou Ze, the Grand Strategist!

The subtitle reads: "The most outstanding genius in the history of the Navy, with unparalleled and unprecedented achievements!"

Next, almost every page published news about Zhou Ze.

So much so that some sections that usually feature 'life hacks from unknown old ladies' have become 'General Zhou Zezhong teaches you 100 tips for organizing and storing clothes'!

Zhou Ze quickly scanned the entire newspaper, then slowly reclined on the deck chair, his ears filled with the deafening cheers of the marines throughout the base.

Clearly, the sailors only noticed the newspaper's excessive praise of their vice admiral and were unaware of the danger lurking behind it.

A bone-chilling cold rose from the soles of his feet. Although Zhou Ze had known from the beginning that the World Government would definitely confront him this time,

He had indeed been waiting for the World Government to make a move, but he never expected that the World Government would know that he had killed Blackbeard.

Did one of those pirates deliberately leak the information?

This is what Zhou Ze is most worried about. After all, the World Government is the open enemy, and so are Big Mom and Kaido.

The only threat to him is the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, Crocodile and his ilk. In terms of strength, they pose no real threat, and in terms of influence, they are far from being able to compete with the Four Emperors' crews, let alone provoke the Navy.

However, as the saying goes, a toad lying on your foot may not bite, but it's disgusting.

If there's someone who seems harmless but is secretly sabotaging you, it's best to deal with them as soon as possible!

It couldn't have been Kuzan who leaked it, could it?

Zhou Ze's expression shifted between light and shadow as he lowered his eyes in deep thought.

At first, Shirahoshi, like the marines shouting from the base, thought it was a great thing that an entire issue of the newspaper was praising Lord Zhou Ze.

After noticing Zhou Ze's expression and discerning his inner emotions, she also felt a pang of resentment.

Zhou Ze pondered for a moment, then noticed Bai Xing's unusual quietness. He looked up at her and immediately understood what the girl was thinking.

He stood up, rubbed his face vigorously, and made a big smile.

"Haha, Shirahoshi, aren't I amazing! The whole newspaper is praising me!"

As he spoke, he waved the newspaper in his hand.

"Tsk tsk, he just stunned me with his breath. Has Morgans taken the wrong medicine?"

Bai Xing tilted her head, sensed Zhou Ze's emotions again, and then smiled.

"The newspapers are telling the truth, Lord Zhou Ze is indeed very strong!"

"Haha, that's right, I am indeed very strong!"

Zhou Ze laughed heartily.

"Let's go, Shirahoshi. Back to Fishman Island!"

"Ah, aren't you going to say goodbye to Tina and the others?"

Bai Xing asked in confusion, but her body honestly flipped into the water.

Zhou Ze hesitated for a moment, standing on the shore for a while, but ultimately did not turn back.

"No need, Tina... she knows everything!"

On the terrace of the base commander's office, Momousagi gripped the newspaper tightly in her hand and spoke in as calm a tone as possible,

"He left without even saying goodbye. What a bastard!"

However, Tina, who was standing beside him, didn't say anything for a long time. Momousagi, who had been avoiding looking at Tina's expression, couldn't help but turn her head away.

Tina was seen rubbing the base of her right ring finger, her expression calm.

"His hesitation just now was already a farewell, wasn't it? Gion!"

Knowing that her friend Momousagi would try to cover for her verbally, Tina spoke again, a different kind of expression on her face.

"He's been waiting these past few days, and so have I..."

"Now, he got what he was waiting for, and so did I. Isn't that great?"

Momousagi stared at Tina's profile in silence.

Chapter 436 So tall? So tall!

It is quite unusual that the World Economic Herald dedicated an entire issue to Zhou Ze.

Those unaware of the inside story can only see the surface, but discerning people can see the danger hidden behind this 'praise'.

The front page of the newspaper seemed to report on Blackbeard's death, but it did not mention the time, place, or details of the battle between Zhou Ze and Blackbeard.

Even if it occupies the front page, it is still unbelievable to most people!

The reason for doing this was simply to find an opportunity, an opportunity to "praise Zhou Ze to death".

Many people can see that this is a case of "praising someone to death," but clearly, there's more to it than that.

At least, the naval leadership realized that it was aimed at the navy.

No one doubts Zhou Ze's strength, but based on the knowledge of the naval officers, he is at most slightly inferior to an admiral.

With this kind of strength, talking about being the 'strongest in the Navy' is simply laughable. Where do you put the Navy Admirals and Fleet Admirals?

However, a series of recent news from the Navy, such as the so-called "Zhou Ze's Sayings," have emerged.

For example, Zhou Ze compiled "Why We Fight," a book aimed at strengthening the psychological qualities of the navy.

These factors have had a real impact on the navy.

Now that Morgans has suddenly pulled this stunt, it's hard not to think that this is a move with ulterior motives.

Zhou Ze was worried that someone might take advantage of his name to stir up trouble in the navy and misinterpret this incident as a signal that Zhou Ze was trying to seize actual control of the navy!

Zhou Ze believed that those new generation naval personnel, those young naval personnel, were really easily fooled!

Its heart is awkward!

This is also one of the reasons why Zhou Ze decided to return to Fishman Island immediately!

Since the opponent has already played their card, you certainly can't hold back!

On the contrary, Zhou Ze didn't care which way the pirates would interpret the matter.

Of course, he knew very well that the pirates would definitely 'read' some information from this newspaper!

Otherwise, all that effort and 'hype' from those old guys, the Five Elders, would be completely meaningless!

As for pirates, right now, there are only a handful who can be considered top-tier by Zhou Ze.

Like Lord Im and the Five Elders, they are all enemies whose cards are out in the open. No matter how much the odds are stacked up, Zhou Ze only has one life. How could he possibly lose?

"Let me see if you old devils have the guts to personally take to the field!"

Zhou Ze sat cross-legged on the back of his pet shark, Mecaro, murmuring softly.

Hundreds of meters away, Princess Shirahoshi moved at lightning speed, leaving a white trail in the seawater and barely creating a ripple.

It seems that the inner bay of G4 base is far too cramped for this newly awakened mermaid princess.

The little girl was extremely excited to finally be able to roam freely in the world.

A melodious and ethereal song rang out from Bai Xing's lips, and a gentle breeze swept across Zhou Ze's face, making him feel exceptionally warm.

As Bai Xing's singing continued, the warm feeling gradually became somewhat...powerful and...rustic!

Zhou Ze shook his head. What's going on?

The system didn't issue him a warning, and he didn't feel anything unusual in his body, but that feeling... was very real!

Zhou Ze looked up at the sky. Although the weather in the first half of the Grand Line was not as unpredictable as in the New World, it was not exactly regular either.

But now the sun is shining brightly and there isn't a cloud in the sky!

The shark beneath him, Mecaro, trembled with excitement, tears welling in its eyes.

Where Zhou Ze could not see the deep sea or the calm zone, countless sea beasts and giant sea kings ceased their movements, quietly listening to the voice of the 'King'.

The voice of the white star, using a specific frequency and the sea as a medium, spreads across the world!

After a while, Bai Xing stopped chanting. She seemed to understand but not quite, only feeling as if she had just accomplished something important.

"Lord Zhou Ze, just now, I...!"

Zhou Ze looked Bai Xing up and down for a while, and after confirming that she was normal, he smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I heard it too. Your singing was really good!"

These words made the shark Mecaro's eyes widen, and it turned around to look at Zhou Ze in surprise.

Zhou Ze was considering whether or not to ask Bai Xing for more details.