Chapter 143: Interview
Sabo had gone his own way to meet with his revolution contacts in the city, while Cherry would go make the arrangements for the auction.
Cherry didn't need to hide her appearance to avoid attention in the kingdom of Kano, even though many people recognized her in the streets as she and the others walked by.
This was because there was no marine presence here. All law enforcement, or what little law enforcement one could find in such a lawless place, was performed by the Happo Navy. They being pirates themselves, weren't exactly chomping at the bit to capture criminals. So long as one didn't cause too much trouble, no arrests would be made here.
Kano was even more bustling with visitors these days, which included a number of high profile individuals with underworld connections who were here to observe or participate in the grand auction that the Chinjao family was holding.
One such individual was a certain journalist who happened to own the world's only world wide newspaper, Morgans. He appeared to be a hybrid of a man and an albatross. He wore top quality clothing, though his fashion sense could be said to be lacking.
Morgans was observing the comings and goings of the crowd, always searching for a story that needed telling even when he wasn't likely to find one. One never knew when something exciting would occur, and there was no harm in keeping an eye and an ear open.
It was for this reason that he happened to spot a small group of beauties easily pushing their way through the throngs of people. It was a welcome sight on any occasion to spot beautiful women, but he soon realized this was no ordinary group.
Because at the forefront of their group was one Harpin D. Cherry, perhaps the most mysterious of the super rookies in recent times and who seemed to simply disappear after her participation in the war at Marineford.
Morgans wasn't a man to miss a chance to talk to such a figure, so he quickly and rudely pushed his way through the crowd towards his quarry.
Cherry didn't miss the bird man attempting to catch up to her of course, as he was a devil fruit user which stood out even in the densest of crowds.
"Miss Harpin! If you have the time, I would love to do an interview for the World Economic Journal!" Morgans shouted over the rabble. He wasn't normally so polite, but it was a good way to make someone amenable before discussing business.
Cherry didn't know what to think of the man shouting about an interview. Robin saw the confusion on her face and decided to fill her in.
"That's 'Big News' Morgans, the owner of said World Economic Journal. He's also one of the Emperors of the Underworld." Robin explained, having had many dealings with the underworld in the past.
"Really? He doesn't seem all that strong to me…" Cherry commented.
"Well, he can probably hold his own somewhat, but he wouldn't compare to the powerhouses amongst the pirates and marines. His position is mostly of economic and political influence." Robin said.
"I can kind of understand why the weak rule over the masses, but how are the leaders of the underworld weak? That just doesn't make any sense at all." Cherry found the idea of a weak man ruling over a bunch of criminals and thugs laughable.
Cherry hadn't made up her mind whether to give the bird man his interview or not by the time he arrived next to them.
"Shall we go somewhere with some peace and quiet? Of course your friends are free to come along as well." Morgans spoke.
Cherry wondered how the man was so confident and without fear standing next to someone who could wring his neck in a split second. Her first thought was that he was a fool, but he surely couldn't be weak AND stupid if he was an Emperor of the Underworld.
Looking over the man, sizing him up, she realized he wasn't ignorant of the difference in strength between them. He may not have any fear, but there was caution, perhaps that's the reason behind his polite attitude.
Hidden a little deeper behind his eyes, though, there was a certain madness to him. A madness that drove him to seek excitement even if it got him into a lot of trouble from time to time.
Now intrigued, she wondered what sort of questions he wanted to ask of her.
Morgans was a perceptive man himself. He saw the initial disdain for him when she first laid eyes on him slowly receded and interest began to take its place. He knew that all he needed was a little push to get what he wanted.
"Naturally, you don't have to answer any questions you don't feel comfortable with. Many people are excited to learn more about the mysterious and gallant figure that appeared during the war and disappeared just as quickly." Morgans flattered.
"Alright, but I don't have all day, so don't waste my time." Cherry agreed, much to Morgans' delight.
Morgans led them to a secluded, but very upscale restaurant with very few patrons inside.
"Order whatever you like, it's all on me." Morgans offered generously.
He felt a chill go down his spine as Cabernet's eyes started to sparkle with excitement. He realized why when the waiter came to take their order as the lunarian woman ordered ten of everything. He could afford it of course, it wasn't even a drop in the ocean compared to his wealth, but it still hurt his miserly heart to part with his hard earned Beri.
Then it was Cherry's turn, who ordered the same thing to his tremendous horror. Even Nico Robin ordered far more than expected, though her meal was much more conservative compared to the previous two ladies. Morgans glanced at the last woman, Perona. She suddenly turned into an angel in his eyes when she only ordered regular portions.
Morgans managed to compose himself after reminding himself repeatedly that he would earn much more from the interview than he would lose from this particularly expensive meal.
"Let's begin with an easy question then, shall we?" Morgans prompted, trying hard to prevent his eyebrow from twitching at the sight of Cherry and Cabernet scarfing down luxury gourmet dishes like starving animals.
"What was your motivation for participating in the recent war between the marines and Whitebeard?" Morgans asked, prepared to take down notes as needed.
"Ace is Luffy's sworn brother, and Luffy is my captain. I don't need any reason beyond that." Cherry spoke without even looking at him.
'An expected answer, but I think there's more to it that she isn't telling me…' Morgans thought silently.
"Is it true that you're the daughter of Hawkeye? There is a striking resemblance between the two of you." Morgans asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Yeah, he's my deadbeat- I mean, Father. Ran off to pursue his dreams and didn't send a single Beri in child support, can you believe it?" Cherry said with a snicker.
Morgans was happy with that answer. It left plenty to the imagination while pointing in the direction of some juicy drama, he could work with that.
"What was it exactly that you did to Whitebeard? It was quite clear that something happened to him when you shook hands with him that made him return to the strength of his prime." Morgans asked one of the questions he'd been dying to know the answer to.
"I didn't do anything to Whitebeard, though? I respect the man and asked to shake his hand, that's all. Is he not always that strong? He is called the strongest man in the world for a reason isn't he?" Cherry lied while shoveling spoonfuls of caviar and various sauces into her mouth.
Morgans naturally knew she was lying, but he had anticipated that she would. So he moved on to other questions about her life before and during her time with the Straw Hat crew. Questions about what she has been doing during the war and where the other Straw Hats went off to.
Some of the questions were answered truthfully, some falsely, some dodged or even outright ignored. Morgans got plenty of information to write a lengthy article that was sure to sate the appetite of his readers and he was already cooking up some ideas for juicy gossip.
"This has been most enlightening and your company has been most appreciated Ms. Harpin." Morgans thanked her before going off to find his next scoop.
"He's certainly a character. I wonder if the other Emperors of the Underworld are as quirky as him?" Cherry wonder aloud.
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