Chapter 168: The Headquarters' Decision
The three warships on the sea were, without a doubt, Vice Admiral Momonga and his men, who had been pursuing them from behind.
The Marines had dispatched two Vice Admirals this time to hunt down the mastermind behind the Mary Geoise arson incident and the escaped slaves. Besides Momonga, the other was Vice Admiral Fighting Dog Doberman.
They had been out of Marine Headquarters for over a week now, but had found nothing. Momonga had even suspected that the black-cloaked mastermind might have pulled a trick, returning to the first half of the Grand Line instead of entering the New World.
After all, among the slaves rescued at that time, there were quite a few Fish-Men. With their help, it was possible that the black-cloaked mastermind could have returned through Fish-Man Island.
However, despite this suspicion, they couldn't voice it. The World Government and Fish-Man Island had been trying to ease racial tensions, and bringing up such a suspicion at this critical moment would likely put both sides in an awkward position.
This was also why Jinbe had taken those Fish-Men away from Ian. Jinbe couldn't allow the World Government or the Marines to find any leverage against Fish-Man Island.
Of course, by taking the Fish-Men away, Jinbe had indirectly helped Ian. If Momonga had learned that Ian's ship even carried Fish-Men, he would have been one hundred percent certain that Ian was the mastermind.
However, because the Fish-Men were missing, Momonga found it harder to make a judgment, though he remained highly suspicious.
After a patrol ship was attacked and a Marine Rear Admiral was severely injured, Vice Admiral Momonga, after contacting Vice Admiral Doberman, had pursued the so-called Dragon Hunter Pirates all the way to Stripe Island. But now, having arrived in the outer seas, he hesitated about whether to land and arrest them.
If it had been any other island, Momonga wouldn't have thought twice and would have acted directly. But Stripe Island was different—it was fundamentally Whitebeard's territory.
They could already pick up the signals from the territory sea slugs.
At that moment, Vice Admiral Momonga was on his own ship, discussing the matter with Doberman via a Den Den Mushi.
"This matter must be handled with caution!" Momonga said over the phone. "We can't bear the responsibility of starting a war."
Fighting Dog Doberman was a middle-aged man with a scarred face and cold eyes. Among the Marines, he belonged to the ruthless faction. His philosophy aligned somewhat with Akainu's, believing in absolute justice. As a Vice Admiral, he had participated in Buster Calls and carried out extermination orders meticulously.
Yet, even he hesitated upon hearing Momonga's words.
The reputation of the Four Emperors' Whitebeard was formidable in the New World. As a great pirate from the same era as Pirate King Roger, Whitebeard was known as a "living legend."
By nature, Doberman would have shown no mercy to pirates like Ian, who dared to openly attack the Marines, and would have pursued them to the bitter end.
But this was Whitebeard's territory. If the Marines dared to openly send troops to land and search, it would be a provocation against Whitebeard's authority, potentially triggering a war between Whitebeard and the entire Marine force.
"What do we do then?" Doberman asked. "Are we limited to a secret capture?"
"That's difficult," Momonga replied. "The Dragon Hunter Pirates are strong—they easily defeated a Marine Rear Admiral. Even for a secret capture, we'd likely have to go ourselves."
This statement made Doberman frown. Both he and Momonga were well-known figures in the Marines. How could the Whitebeard Pirates fail to recognize them? The moment they set foot on the island, they'd be exposed, and then what kind of secret capture would that be?
"Can you confirm whether the Dragon Hunter Pirates are the masterminds?" Doberman asked. "If we can confirm it, then by contacting Marine Headquarters, even at the risk of war with Whitebeard, the headquarters would approve a direct landing and capture."
"It's precisely because we can't confirm it!" Momonga said with a faint bitter smile. "Otherwise, why would I be so troubled?"
They discussed it for a while but couldn't come up with a good plan. Finally, they decided not to land immediately. Instead, they would wait on the outskirts of the island and strike when the Dragon Hunter Pirates left.
Such was the prestige of the Four Emperors. Even just one of Whitebeard's territories could keep two Marine Vice Admirals at bay.
However, though they couldn't show themselves openly, Momonga and Doberman still dispatched some Marine soldiers, disguised, to take small boats to the island and gather information.
They had to keep track of the Dragon Hunter Pirates' movements.
But not long after, the disguised Marine soldiers brought back shocking news via small Den Den Mushi: the black-cloaked man had appeared on this island!
And it seemed he was planning to join the Whitebeard Pirates!
Hearing this, Momonga and Doberman were stunned. They quickly pressed for details over the Den Den Mushi: "Is the information accurate? Has the mastermind already joined, or is he just in contact with the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"He's in contact, I think," the Marine soldier reporting said. "I heard that the one receiving him is Marshall D. Teach of the Whitebeard Pirates. It seems they've reached an agreement. Once they go back to see Whitebeard and drink the sake of sworn brotherhood, the black-cloaked man will officially become a member of the Whitebeard Pirates."
The sake of sworn brotherhood was a standard ritual for pirates pledging loyalty to a boss. Given that the black-cloaked man had a bounty as high as 500 million Berries, he was a notable figure, so the ceremony couldn't be taken lightly—it would be announced to the world.
Upon hearing this, Momonga and Doberman both breathed a sigh of relief. Since the sake of sworn brotherhood hadn't been drunk yet, it meant he wasn't truly a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. As long as they could capture him before that, the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't complain.
However, Momonga was also a bit surprised. He had originally been pursuing the Dragon Hunter Pirates, but unexpectedly, he had found news of the black-cloaked mastermind here. Did this mean the Dragon Hunter Pirates and the black-cloaked mastermind had no connection?
Was it just a coincidence? Momonga tapped his fingers lightly on the table, deep in thought.
After a moment, he had to set aside the Dragon Hunter Pirates for now. Since the black-cloaked man had appeared, they needed to report to Marine Headquarters.
To avoid any further complications, if the Marines didn't want the mastermind to escape, they would have to resort to direct force for the capture. This would inevitably mean violating Whitebeard's territory. Momonga and Doberman couldn't bear that responsibility, so they had to seek instructions from Marine Headquarters.
When the call reached Marine Headquarters, the World Government and the Marines also hesitated. However, pressured by the Celestial Dragons, they ultimately gritted their teeth and made a decision: Momonga and Doberman were to land directly and capture the target.
They didn't want to start a war with Whitebeard either, but they had no choice. The black-cloaked mastermind had to be caught, and the Celestial Dragons' identity chips had to be recovered.
So, they could only hope to explain things to Whitebeard afterward and try to appease him.
With the order from Marine Headquarters, Momonga and Doberman had no more reservations. They directly steered the three warships toward Stripe Island.
What they didn't know, however, was that far behind them, on the Kuja Pirates' ship, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock had overheard most of their communication.
On her delicate white wrist, she wore a small black Den Den Mushi, a special one for eavesdropping. Though the distance was a bit far and the signal wasn't great, she still managed to catch about sixty to seventy percent of the conversation.
Why was the Kuja Pirates here?
This went back to several days earlier, when Boa Hancock had learned the truth about the Mary Geoise arson incident. When she found out that the arson was actually the second slave liberation movement, she could no longer hold back.
Years ago, among the thousands of slaves Fisher Tiger had rescued, Boa Hancock and her two sisters were among them. They were deeply grateful to their benefactor, Fisher Tiger. But they were young at the time and couldn't offer him much help. Later, when the Sun Pirates were formed, they quietly followed the news, feeling joy as the Sun Pirates, with the help of many Fish-Men, pushed back the Marines.
But good times didn't last long. Fisher Tiger was ambushed by the Marines and severely injured, and then he refused a human blood transfusion, ultimately dying from his wounds.
When Boa Hancock heard the news, she could hardly believe it. To her, Fisher Tiger was not only a benefactor but also a hero in her eyes. Yet, even such a hero had died at the hands of the Marines.
By the time they got the news, it was too late. Tiger's death was not only a loss for the Fish-Men but also a regret for Boa and her two sisters. They hadn't even had a chance to repay his kindness.
But upon hearing about the Mary Geoise arson incident, this peerless Pirate Empress felt a stir in her heart once more. She didn't know who the black-cloaked man was, but she couldn't bear to see history repeat itself. So, she led her Kuja Pirates into the New World, staying far behind the Marine search forces, continuously monitoring their communications. Through the Marines, she hoped to find the whereabouts of this black-cloaked man.
Yes, she wanted to repay the debt of gratitude she owed to Fisher Tiger by helping this black-cloaked man, lending him a hand to escape the Marines' pursuit.
So, when she eavesdropped and learned that the black-cloaked man was on Stripe Island and that the Marines had decided to use force to capture him, Boa Hancock immediately stood up and ordered her ship to set sail for Stripe Island as well...