Chapter 259
The words "Five Elders" did not shock Sengoku, Tsuru, Garp, or Zephyr; they had already seen enough evidence to know that Kalles was not merely a rogue CP0 operation.
The reaction among the other Vice Admirals was different.
Only a handful had been cleared to hear the intercepted recordings, and the moment Tsuru explained that the shot against Gion's reconnaissance launch had come from the same island where Director Dapus's Aegis unit was waiting, several expressions changed.
"This stays in this room," Sengoku said.
No one argued.
Tsuru stood beside the large map of the New World and traced the sequence with one finger.
"The central harbor trap failed when Gion redirected the Oni Slayer. Soon afterward, her reconnaissance launch was disabled from shore and Big Mom patrol ships closed in from the north. Snack was already positioned nearby with her sheath and an invitation to Whole Cake Island."
Her finger stopped over Kalles.
"That is not coincidence. The abduction is the alternate bait Dapus referred to."
One Vice Admiral looked toward the Totto Land section of the map.
"And Kaido?"
"The Government already passed Zaraki's route to him once," Tsuru replied. "Our current reports place him moving again, but that does not mean Linlin and Kaido have suddenly become loyal allies. They are being given reasons to move around the same target."
Sengoku's anger had cooled into something much harder.
At Mary Geoise, the Four Elders who met him had spent hours discussing Marine discipline while avoiding the one subject that mattered.
Nusjuro's absence now provided an answer none of them had wanted.
"Twenty-two years ago," Sengoku said quietly, "the Government erased Ohara and then expected the Marines to carry the public weight of that decision."
The room became still.
He looked toward the officers around him.
"I am not allowing one of our Vice Admirals to become disposable bait in another operation we were never told existed."
His gaze shifted toward Tsuru.
"Go back to Mary Geoise."
Several officers looked surprised.
Tsuru did not.
"Officially?"
"As Marine Headquarters' liaison. Do not accuse anyone. Put the reconnaissance report, the Kalles recording, and Snack's possession of Konpira into the record, then ask who authorized cooperation with Charlotte Linlin."
A faint edge entered Sengoku's voice.
"They will understand why you are there."
Tsuru nodded.
"And you?"
"I take the New World intervention group toward Totto Land. No indiscriminate bombardment, no attack on civilian islands, and no engagement with Linlin's main force unless they prevent the rescue. Garp shadows Kaido's likely approach separately."
Sengoku straightened his coat.
"We are retrieving our people. Whatever political fight comes afterward can happen after they are alive."
Orders moved through Marineford immediately.
The mobilization was large enough to attract attention but remained an intervention force rather than a Buster Call.
Warships took on medical supplies, additional Den Den Mushi relays, and enough combat personnel to extract the Oni Slayer if the situation around Totto Land collapsed completely.
By late afternoon, Sengoku boarded the lead flagship.
"Set sail."
The formation pulled away from Marineford toward the New World.
News of the Fleet Admiral's movement began leaking almost immediately.
...
By the following afternoon, Whole Cake Island looked as cheerful as ever despite the storm gathering around it.
Chocolate fountains bubbled beside candy-colored streets, biscuit soldiers marched through the harbor, and the air remained thick with sugar and cream while ships carrying some of the Underworld's most powerful figures arrived for Charlotte Linlin's tea party.
Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District, stepped gracefully onto the dock in an elegant evening gown, her professional smile as polished as ever.
Behind her came Du Feld, the Loan Shark King; Drug Peclo, the Funeral Director; Umit, the Shipping King; and Giberson, the Warehouse King.
Morgans was already there.
He had transmitted the Zaraki story to the headquarters of the World Economy News Paper the previous day and then continued directly to Whole Cake Island, which meant he was now physically present to watch the story he had helped spread become even larger.
"Kwahaha! Big news keeps getting bigger!"
His camera flashed repeatedly as Perospero approached the arriving guests.
"Perorin♪ Welcome. Mama has been waiting."
Stussy glanced toward the chateau.
"I was beginning to wonder whether the invitation had been delayed for dramatic effect."
Perospero smiled.
"Not at all. We were simply waiting for one more important guest."
Morgans nearly shoved his camera into Perospero's face.
"Important enough to keep the rulers of the Underworld waiting? Give me a name!"
"You'll see soon enough."
"And the broadcast?"
Perospero's smile widened.
"Mama has decided the opening of today's gathering may be transmitted after the final guest arrives."
Stussy's eyes sharpened slightly.
That was new.
If Linlin intended to turn the tea party into a public spectacle, whatever happened next could no longer be treated as a private negotiation between pirates.
Before anyone could ask more, a commotion erupted near the entrance to the harbor.
The gingerbread soldiers maintaining order were forced apart as pirates and workers surged toward the water, shouting over one another.
Perospero's expression stiffened.
The final guest had arrived.
...
The disturbance spreading through Whole Cake Island's harbor did not come from some separate supernatural force rooted in blood or gender.
Boa Hancock simply possessed the kind of beauty that made weak-willed men forget themselves, and the restrained pressure of her Conqueror's Haki did nothing to make the crowd calmer.
Stussy's practiced smile tightened slightly as she turned toward the harbor entrance.
An extravagant Kuja vessel was approaching without relying on wind or engines, pulled through the water by two enormous Yuda.
The emblem of the Kuja Pirates decorated the ship, and standing at the bow was a woman who needed no introduction.
Boa Hancock's long black hair fell down her back, framing a face celebrated throughout the world as almost impossibly beautiful.
Her posture was imperious even by the standards of the people gathered to meet an Emperor, and she regarded the crowd waiting on the docks as though their excitement were a personal inconvenience.
"H-Hancock-sama!"
"It's really her!"
The front ranks of the harbor broke formation.
Dozens of pirates and workers surged toward the Kuja ship, several already wearing the ridiculous lovestruck expressions Hancock had seen far too many times before.
Umit caught himself staring and quickly looked away, while Du Feld muttered something profane beneath his breath.
Hancock's eyes narrowed.
"Disgusting."
She raised one hand and formed a heart-shaped bow.
"Slave Arrow."
A storm of pink arrows swept across the people who had rushed closest to her ship.
Those struck directly froze in place as stone spread over their bodies, leaving several dozen statues scattered across the front of the harbor.
The rest of the crowd stopped immediately.
Hancock's ability did not continue radiating through them, nor did it compel anyone from a distance. The effect had already made its point.
"MAMAMAMAMA!"
Linlin's laughter rolled down from Whole Cake Chateau, followed by a heavy pulse of Conqueror's Haki that drove the remaining gawkers back and restored order among the guards.
The petrified victims remained stone.
Umit drew a slow breath and decided that looking at Hancock again was unnecessary.
Her gaze lifted toward the chateau.
"Charlotte Linlin. Is this how you receive guests? By allowing filthy men to crowd around my ship?"
Several people nearby sucked in a breath.
Perospero's expression darkened.
"Watch your mouth. You dare speak to Mama that way, perorin—"
"Enough, Perospero."
Linlin sounded more entertained than angry.
"Hancock is an invited guest."
The Pirate Empress raised her chin, clearly considering that the minimum acceptable recognition.
Linlin continued.
"And now that everyone is finally here, we can begin with something more interesting than introductions."
That caught the Underworld guests' attention immediately.
"Smoothie."
"Yes, Mama."
Charlotte Smoothie stepped away from the edge of the gathering.
"Bring out the little gift we prepared for Zaraki."
The harbor quieted.
Morgans lowered his camera by a fraction.
"A gift?"
Linlin laughed again.
"Mamamama! Something that should make sure our Marine guest doesn't lose his way."
Smoothie disappeared into the guarded section beneath the chateau.
Stussy's expression remained pleasant, but her eyes had become much sharper.
She knew enough about CP0 operations to recognize when a public spectacle was beginning to expose something that had originally been designed to remain deniable.
If the "gift" was what she suspected, Nusjuro's arrangement with Linlin was no longer under Government control.
Smoothie returned several minutes later.
This time two armed Charlotte officers accompanied her.
Between them walked Gion.
Her long dark hair was disheveled, one side of her face carried a fading bruise, and bandages were visible beneath the torn shoulder of her Vice Admiral's coat.
Heavy reinforced restraints bound her wrists and ankles, some incorporating seastone simply because the material was exceptionally difficult to break, not because Gion possessed a Devil Fruit that needed suppressing.
Even those restraints were not the whole reason she remained under control.
The ambush had been prepared specifically for her.
Dapus's long-range Aegis operative had disabled the reconnaissance launch from Kalles before three Big Mom patrol ships closed in.
Gion had stayed behind long enough for the six Marines with her to escape on the emergency float, then fought until accumulated injuries and prepared restraint teams finally overwhelmed her.
Smoothie herself had been part of the force required to bring her down.
The result was now being displayed before the entire Underworld.
Gion walked rather than allowing herself to be dragged.
Her posture remained straight despite the restraints, and the cold look she gave the Charlotte Family made it obvious that captivity had done nothing to make her cooperative.
The harbor fell silent when the guests recognized her.
Stussy's smile vanished completely.
Vice Admiral Gion.
Momousagi.
One of Marine Headquarters' Admiral candidates.
Morgans slowly raised his camera again, but for once even he hesitated before taking the photograph.
This was no ordinary tea-party entertainment.
Linlin had taken what was supposed to be a deniable piece of a covert operation and displayed it in front of the rulers of the Underworld, the president of the World Economy News Paper, and a Warlord of the Sea.
If Morgans published what stood before him, Marine Headquarters would no longer be responding to a rumor or a secret intelligence report.
The entire world would have proof that Charlotte Linlin was holding one of its senior Vice Admirals.
Hancock's expression changed as well.
Her earlier contempt vanished.
She knew Gion by reputation, and more importantly, she knew exactly which Marine was now coming because of her.
Linlin's laughter rolled over the silent harbor.
"Mamamama! There she is."
Her enormous grin widened.
"Now let's see how long it takes the War Demon to arrive."