Chapter 500: Exhausted Sengoku
Although he considered the Straw Hats' actions as a potential opportunity, Ian honestly wasn't confident. His butterfly wings had already caused many things to change, so it was hard to say whether Luffy and his crew would still provoke the Celestial Dragons like in the original timeline.
Ian calculated and decided to treat the chance of this opportunity occurring as fifty percent—either it would happen or it wouldn't. Accordingly, Ian had to prepare two contingency plans. If Luffy and the others acted as he hoped, drawing out Kizaru, then things would be easier. That would leave only Aokiji, and Ian had a way to prevent him from giving chase. But if something unexpected happened with Luffy's group and they failed to meet Ian's expectations, then Ian was prepared to force his way out.
Forcing his way out was quite dangerous. Marine Headquarters currently had not only two Marine Admirals but also several elite Vice Admirals, along with tough fighters like Sengoku and Garp. Ian's chances weren't very high.
However, Ian also had backup plans. First, the Ark Maxim could fly. The energy from the Wind Dial hadn't been completely exhausted since descending from Skypiea and could still support the ship for over an hour of flight. This flying capability hadn't been exposed to the Marines before, so once he used it, the Marines would likely be dumbfounded.
Of course, Ian couldn't fully guarantee that this flight wouldn't encounter problems. After all, Marine Headquarters had once been attacked by Golden Lion Shiki's Flying Pirate Fleet, so they might have countermeasures against flying units.
The second plan was to go underwater!
The crescent-shaped port of Marine Headquarters was a deep-water area. Ian's long-practiced swimming skills could come in handy here. He could hold his breath and swim a long distance underwater. Most importantly, Ian wasn't a true Devil Fruit user, so seawater had no effect on him. In fact, diving underwater could cut off pursuit from many Devil Fruit users in the Marines.
Underwater, whether you were a Marine Admiral or the Fleet Admiral, you'd be reduced to a weakling!
However, the downside of this plan was that Ian probably couldn't bring anyone else along. The ship would have to be temporarily left at Marine Headquarters, to be retrieved later when he made a counterattack.
In Ian's view, the second plan was best avoided—it was a last resort. He hoped Luffy and Zoro would come through, allowing him to escape with all his people and the ship at once.
Ian also considered where to go after escaping.
If he fled from Marine Headquarters, it would mean openly opposing the Marines. Then, heading to the New World by crossing the Red Line through Mary Geoise was out of the question—the Marines would never let him pass.
The Ark Maxim might be able to use Wind Dials to ascend and fly over the top of the Red Line. An hour of flight time should be enough to climb above the Red Line's height.
But Ian was still worried. He had heard before that there were violent air currents in the high-altitude clouds above the Red Line, making flying across it very dangerous. This might be due to the Grand Line's climate effects. Otherwise, why would pirates throughout history prefer the greater risk of going through Fish-Man Island beneath the sea to reach the New World? Hadn't they ever considered flying?
Now, Ian was calculating how to get to the New World. If he could cross over via high altitude, he wouldn't need to go to Sabaody Archipelago. But if he took the underwater route, he'd have to visit Sabaody to find Rayleigh to coat his ship.
After much deliberation, Ian decided to go through Fish-Man Island.
The high-altitude skies over Mary Geoise were still unknown to Ian. He didn't have a navigator like Nami on his ship. If the legends were true, accidentally hitting those air currents could mean the destruction of the ship and death for everyone.
But going through Fish-Man Island underwater was relatively safer. Rayleigh's coating skills were undoubtedly top-notch, and as long as the coating wasn't damaged, the ship would be safe.
Also, Ian wanted to inform Jinbe about the situation with the Whitebeard Pirates at Fish-Man Island.
Choosing Fish-Man Island meant he had to go to Sabaody Archipelago once. Sabaody had another advantage: it was large enough, and the giant mangrove trees made hiding easy. That's why there were lawless zones beyond Marine control.
When the time came, he just needed to find a remote place to dock, quickly locate Rayleigh to get his ship coated, and then head to Fish-Man Island.
Ian thought through all these details and felt the feasibility was quite high, so he decided to act according to the situation.
Next, Ian and his crew stayed at Marine Headquarters for another two days.
One day, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was sitting in his office, trembling as he read a report. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead. After finishing, he felt like his heart was about to give out!
Bang! Sengoku slammed his fist on the desk and roared at the logistics officer who had brought him the report: "Are you kidding me!? Is this report a joke!?"
The chubby Marine logistics officer wiped the cold sweat from his own forehead with a handkerchief and smiled bitterly: "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, it's true!"
"In less than a week, the food expenses at Marine Headquarters have reached over 180 million Berry! And you're telling me it's true!?" Sengoku shouted. "Do you want to face a court-martial!?"
"Please listen, Fleet Admiral!" the logistics officer explained. "During this time, the number of personnel recalled to Headquarters has been increasing, and they're all high-ranking officers. Naturally, we haven't dared to slack off on the food—we've been supplying the best we can. But... but there's one person who eats way too much!"
"Who?" Sengoku asked suspiciously. "Is it a Giant Tribe officer?"
"No... no! It's that Mink Tribe subordinate of the Seven Warlord Black Dragon Ian!" the logistics officer said. "He... he does nothing all day but stay in the Marine cafeteria. He eats from breakfast through lunch, from lunch through dinner, and from dinner through late-night snacks! I've never seen such a glutton. He basically eats all day. In these past few days, my chefs have all collapsed from exhaustion. Of that 180 million Berry in food expenses, nearly 140 million was eaten by him alone!"
"Please, Fleet Admiral, find a way to make him leave!" the logistics officer said with a tearful face. "He's one of the Seven Warlord's men—it's not easy for us to handle this. We had to come to you for help..."
Hearing the logistics officer's words, Sengoku gasped. He knew who they were talking about—that guy named Dorry under Ian!
Ian had mentioned before that this subordinate of his was a big eater and asked Sengoku to accommodate him. At the time, Sengoku hadn't realized what "big eater" really meant and agreed without thinking. Now, he realized he had fallen for Ian's trick!
Damn it! Sengoku wanted to curse. In four or five days, this guy had eaten 140 million Berry worth of food! Was he a bear Mink or a pig Mink!?
Sengoku calculated and found that if this continued, Marine Headquarters would spend over a billion Berry on food in a month. He really felt like his heart was about to give out.
But he didn't know how to handle this. Ian was being kept under house arrest, and Ian seemed to be cooperating with the Marines. How could Sengoku go to Ian and say, "Get your subordinate out of the cafeteria"? That would be embarrassing!
At this moment, Sengoku felt like he had shot himself in the foot!
Ian's move had really disgusted Sengoku.
Just as Sengoku was racking his brain over this problem, a Marine soldier suddenly burst into his office without even knocking.
Sengoku was already furious, and seeing this soldier's lack of manners, he almost threw his teacup at him.
But before Sengoku could explode, the soldier shouted in panic: "It's... it's bad, Fleet Admiral Sengoku! We just received a report from the World Government! The World Nobles visiting Sabaody Archipelago—Roswald Saint, Charloss Saint, and Shalulia Saint—have been attacked by the Straw Hat Pirates gathered on the island! All three World Nobles are unconscious. The World Government demands that Marine Headquarters immediately dispatch a Marine Admiral to capture the Straw Hat Pirates!"
Hearing this news, Sengoku felt like he'd been struck by lightning.
He trembled, clutching his forehead, and said: "That... that brat again? Causing trouble one after another... That whole family is the same..."
Sengoku felt his headache getting worse. He knew about the Straw Hat Pirates, and they had been unusually active lately, always stirring up the biggest trouble possible.
This time, they had "again" caused a Celestial Dragon incident...
First, Ian's Dragon Hunter Pirates, then Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates. These World Nobles seemed to be having bad luck lately, always running into problems.
Actually, Ian's earlier worry was unnecessary. As long as the crime of human trafficking existed on Sabaody Archipelago, a Celestial Dragon incident was inevitable...
"Besides the Straw Hat Pirates, there are also pirates like Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law, along with several accomplices!" the Marine soldier continued reporting. "These are mostly rookie pirates with bounties over 100 million Berry..."
"Enough!" Sengoku cut him off. "No matter what, since they've attacked World Nobles, the Marines can't stand by. It was the same with Ian back then, and it's the same now with the Straw Hat Pirates. Immediately order Admiral Kizaru to go to Sabaody Archipelago and capture all the criminals who offended the Celestial Dragons. We must give the World Nobles an explanation..."