Chapter 126: A Bear Appears
When Ian heard what this so-called Mr. Justice said next, he couldn't help but feel a bit relieved that he had stayed behind to listen a little longer.
If it were just the Heavenly Tribute, Ian wouldn't have had much interest. He wanted money too, but the problem was that robbing the Heavenly Tribute carried too much risk—it wasn't worth it. However, if it were Demon Fruits, that was a different story.
The Celestial Dragons were people who considered themselves noble. Their arrogance was pathological, as if they believed the privileges of the Celestial Dragons would last forever. So they would never eat Demon Fruits themselves. If anything happened, they could just call the Marines; they didn't need to get their hands dirty. For them, Demon Fruits were nothing more than playthings!
Yes, playthings! For entertainment, they would even grant Demon Fruits to their slaves, then watch as the slaves gained strange abilities, finding it amusing and fun.
The Heavenly Tribute was the foundation of the Celestial Dragons. It was precisely because of the massive amounts of money they received that they could control the World Government and maintain their privileges.
To give a simple example: where did the funding for the World Government's intelligence agency, CP, and the Marines come from? It came from the Celestial Dragons!
In a sense, the bounties Ian collected from capturing pirates could actually be seen as coming from the Celestial Dragons!
If the Heavenly Tribute were robbed, the Celestial Dragons might fly into a rage, but if it were Demon Fruits, it wouldn't be the same. They wouldn't care about mere playthings.
Ridiculous, wasn't it? The Demon Fruits that the world coveted were nothing more than toys in the eyes of the Celestial Dragons...
Having figured this out, Ian began to ponder carefully in his mind.
It wasn't just Ian; the remaining people present were all deep in thought. At that moment, Mr. Justice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi spoke again, saying: "If anyone is interested in participating in this operation, please head to Ginana Island in three days! After gathering there, I will leave you the navigation route of this Heavenly Tribute fleet!"
After saying this, the Den Den Mushi let out a soft "click" and then closed its eyes, indicating that the other party had hung up.
This place was no longer safe to stay, so the people present got up and scattered in all directions.
Ian also left. After returning to the family stronghold, he locked himself in his room and began to carefully calculate.
He didn't know how many people would go to that so-called Ginana Island in three days, but he estimated there would be quite a few. This world was never short of madmen. As long as the profit was enough, there were always people willing to take risks. What did the Celestial Dragons matter? What did the Marine Admirals matter? For the sake of a large sum of money, the hidden dangers behind these things would be ignored by people.
Not to mention those who stayed behind at the scene; even some who had left early might secretly inquire about the follow-up news after leaving and then show up at the gathering.
Ian even speculated that some Bounty Hunters might have other intentions. For example, after attacking the Heavenly Tribute ship, they might also take the Demon Fruits the employer wanted!
Even if they didn't eat them, they could sell them. Don't forget, among them was a Demon Fruit that had never appeared in the encyclopedia. Just that fact alone would make this fruit sell for a sky-high price!
With such a huge temptation right in front of them, don't expect many people to stick to principles. These people were originally all kinds of killers and criminals. It wouldn't be surprising if they did anything.
What Ian was thinking about was how to fish in troubled waters among these people and seize those two Demon Fruits.
However, as he thought, Ian also felt that this matter was a bit strange. Although this gathering didn't seem like a Marine trap, wasn't the organizer worried that the Marines would find out?
This gathering could be considered a major assembly of the underground forces of Sabaody Archipelago. The Marines couldn't possibly have received no wind of it. Not to mention, there might be some timid participants who, to avoid getting burned, would voluntarily inform the Marines.
Wasn't the organizer afraid of attracting a Marine crackdown?
After a moment of thought, Ian felt he vaguely understood. Given the current manpower situation of the Marines, the organizer probably knew about it. Maybe they thought the Marines simply didn't have the ability to organize a crackdown, which was why they were making such a big show of it.
……………………
Ian wasn't wrong. The next morning, at Marine Headquarters in Marineford, the current Fleet Admiral Sengoku already had intelligence reports about the gathering on Sabaody Archipelago on his desk.
Wearing his Marine cloak, Sengoku was sitting in the conference room. He had a braided beard on his chin, round glasses on his face, and behind those glasses was an expression of headache.
"Why did this happen?" Sengoku slammed the table and said, "Hasn't the person behind this been found yet?"
Since this wasn't an official meeting, only a few people were sitting in the conference room: Vice Admiral Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma!
A Marine Rear Admiral-level intelligence officer, upon hearing Sengoku's words, quickly stood at attention and apologized: "I'm sorry, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, we haven't been able to identify the mastermind yet."
"Then go investigate again!" Sengoku said angrily.
"Ah! Yes!" The Rear Admiral hurriedly responded and then left.
"Really, why does this have to happen at this time?" After the officer left, Sengoku said with a headache: "In previous years, when the Heavenly Tribute was being transported, there were always reckless pirates who wanted to rob it, but they mostly acted independently. With the scale of the escort fleet, we could easily defeat them. But why this time has a mastermind emerged to organize these people?"
The elderly Vice Admiral Tsuru, with wrinkles all over her face, rested her chin on her hands and said: "That's the most troublesome part. If so many underground forces unite to attack the escort fleet, they might actually succeed."
Sengoku sighed and was about to say something when he heard a crunching sound from the side. He couldn't help but shout at Garp: "Garp! You're eating snacks again! This is a meeting!"
Garp was holding a cup of tea in one hand and a cracker in the other, eating as he laughed: "What's the big deal? It's not an official meeting. You even brought Kuma here, so it can't be anything too secret!"
Sengoku was exasperated. He knew Garp's personality, but because the two were old friends, Sengoku had no good way to deal with him.
"There's no need to be so nervous!" Garp said while biting into his cracker: "Since we know their plan, can't we just increase the manpower of the escort fleet?"
"But where do I have the manpower to send now?" Sengoku said: "Country leaders have already arrived at Mary Geoise. The three Admirals and all the Vice Admirals are now stationed there!"
"So you want us to step in?" Garp laughed: "But Tsuru and I are semi-retired! And I suspect the mastermind might be Doflamingo. Do you want us to go after him again?"
"Yes," Tsuru also spoke up: "I was the one responsible for pursuing Doflamingo back then. He did once declare he would rob the Heavenly Tribute, which forced the World Government to invite him to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Could he be manipulating things behind the scenes this time?"
Sengoku shook his head and said: "It can't be him. That guy is a scumbag, but he values his identity as a Warlord. If he were found out to be the organizer, his Warlord status would be revoked. He wouldn't do something like that."
Sengoku picked up a file bag in front of him, opened it, and threw out a pile of photos onto the table, saying: "Take a look. These are photos of people who appeared at the gathering last night. Not only local forces from Sabaody, but also some well-known criminals from the New World. They are all still on Sabaody Archipelago. I think we need to weaken their strength first!"
Garp took the photos and flipped through them one by one, clicking his tongue in amazement as he looked.
Among these photos, Garp recognized some people and didn't recognize others, but as Sengoku said, most were well-known criminals and Bounty Hunters.
As he looked, Garp suddenly let out an "Eh" and picked out one of the photos.
"Isn't this the young man named Ian?" Garp asked curiously: "Isn't he a Pirate Hunter? Why was he at the gathering?"
"Hmm?" Sengoku took the photo, frowned, and then looked up in confusion at Bartholomew Kuma, who had been quietly reading a book beside him.
Although the photo only showed a side profile, it was clear that the hat Kuma was wearing was exactly the same as the one Ian was wearing in the photo.
"Don't look at me!" Garp said: "I've met that kid. He might be a fan of Kuma! He's an interesting kid. Because of him, I got into trouble with that little girl Tina!"
"What's this about?" Sengoku asked curiously.
"Oh, nothing much!" Garp laughed heartily: "I once joked with that kid Ian, saying I'd introduce Tina to him as a girlfriend! But Tina ran into him, found out about it, and came to argue with me..."
Sengoku looked helpless, knowing it was Garp's fault again. He didn't want to continue on this topic and said: "Since this Ian is a Pirate Hunter, let's exclude him. Before these people leave Sabaody Archipelago, Garp, Tsuru, Kuma, which one of you is willing to make a move?"
Kuma, who had been silent all along, finally spoke in a low voice: "Then, I'll go."