Chapter 516: Substitution
Ian shrugged and said, "Not surprising. You know how I got my Warlord status. Fleet Admiral Sengoku was against it from the start, but he had to agree under pressure from the Celestial Dragons. Now that the Celestial Dragons' pressure is gone, why would he let someone as deeply connected to the Whitebeard Pirates as me keep the position? As for the summons, I never received one!"
Boa Hancock understood. It seemed the Marines had deliberately bypassed Ian.
"Then... did you come to see me about this summons?" Boa Hancock asked.
Ian nodded. "Yes. I saw Vice Admiral Momonga's warship outside Amazon Lily. You refused the summons, right?"
"Yes," Boa Hancock said. "Amazon Lily is isolated in the Calm Belt, hard for anyone to reach. I don't want my country dragged into this incident."
"Don't think that way," Ian shook his head. "If you refuse the summons, Amazon Lily will have trouble later. The Marines might not have time for you now, but they'll come after you eventually."
"So you're saying I should accept the summons?"
"Yes," Ian smiled. "You've heard the phrase 'go through the motions,' right? And I'm hoping you can help me with something by accepting it."
Unexpectedly, after Ian said this, Boa Hancock blushed and said eagerly, "If... if I can help you, I'm willing!"
Ian was stunned. The charm Boa Hancock exuded in that moment was incredibly alluring.
She was an absolute beauty, but due to her circumstances, she was emotionally like an innocent girl. This contrast was just...
Ian kept repeating "business first, business first" in his mind and finally calmed down. He gestured for Boa Hancock to lean in and whispered his plan in her ear...
..............................
Night fell. Momonga, who had been waiting off the coast of Amazon Lily, was now chewing on the foul-smelling meat of a Sea King to stave off hunger. With the entire ship's Marines petrified, even eating had become a problem.
He had planned to wait two days to see if Boa Hancock would eventually yield.
However, to his surprise, just then, the Den Den Mushi he carried suddenly rang with a purr-purr sound.
Momonga was startled but quickly reacted and answered.
As expected, when he picked up, Boa Hancock's voice came through.
Boa Hancock had finally changed her mind, but she made a condition: she would accept the summons, but she wanted to visit Sea Knight Jinbe in Impel Down first.
Her reason was that she and Jinbe had fought together in Dressrosa and were friends. As fellow Warlords, it was only right to visit him.
Momonga initially wanted to deny it. After all, when the Marines arrested Jinbe, it was done in secret. Although Jinbe was uncooperative, his identity was special—he was a Fish-Man. As a Warlord, Jinbe represented the entire Fish-Man race. To avoid unnecessary trouble, the Marines had implemented a secret arrest plan.
Boa Hancock shouldn't have known about this, but before Momonga could speak, he reconsidered. As a Warlord, Boa Hancock might have other intelligence channels. Denying it would be awkward, and letting her see Jinbe might make her understand the consequences of refusing the World Government's compulsory summons.
Of course, Momonga couldn't decide this on his own. He immediately contacted Marine Headquarters and relayed Boa Hancock's condition.
Hearing that Boa Hancock was willing to accept the summons, Marine Headquarters secretly breathed a sigh of relief and agreed without hesitation, approving the prison visit.
With authorization, Momonga contacted Boa Hancock, informed her of the decision, and told her that after she boarded the ship tomorrow, the warship would sail for Impel Down.
While Momonga was talking to Boa Hancock, he didn't notice that in the pitch-black night sky above his warship, a figure was watching him.
Needless to say, that figure was Ian, hovering in midair with his Flame Wings spread, and tucked under his arm was another person.
Matthew!
Watching from above as Momonga finished his call and hung up the Den Den Mushi, Ian asked Matthew quietly, "Ready?"
Matthew was nervous, speaking even more slowly than usual. "Rea... dy..."
"Don't worry," Ian said. "Remember my healing ability. Even if you get hurt falling, I can fix you up quickly. At worst, it'll hurt for a moment. The most important thing is to aim well and tackle Momonga!"
"O... kay!" Matthew swallowed hard and nodded.
Seeing he was ready, Ian descended slightly, raised Matthew with both hands, aimed at Momonga's position, and threw him down.
"Go, Matthew Ball!"
Even though he was mentally prepared, Matthew couldn't help flailing his arms and legs in panic the moment Ian threw him. But luckily, his movements didn't affect his trajectory, and he followed Ian's earlier instructions—no matter how scared, he didn't make a sound.
Sitting on the ship, Momonga suddenly sensed something wrong and looked up, but it was too late. Matthew was falling fast, so what Momonga saw when he looked up was Matthew flailing down toward him.
"What... the hell!?" Momonga was startled but couldn't dodge. Matthew crashed into his arms, and by instinct, Momonga reached out to catch him.
But the moment he caught him, Matthew's hands touched Momonga's body.
"D... damn!" An overwhelming drowsiness surged up irresistibly. Before Momonga could figure out what was happening, he managed only a curse before falling asleep.
Matthew's Sleep Kill strikes again! His Devil Fruit ability, when used well, was incredibly useful!
Seeing Momonga unconscious, Ian swooped down to the warship's deck, first pulling up Matthew, who was groaning in pain.
Thanks to Boa Hancock's earlier actions, everyone else on the ship was petrified except Momonga. Taking out one person meant taking out the whole ship!
"Move fast!" Ian ordered. "Signal them!"
As he spoke, Ian stripped off all of Momonga's clothes, leaving him only in his boxers.
Meanwhile, Matthew stood by the ship's railing, waving a signal lamp into the night to send a signal.
Soon, a small boat appeared, rowing toward the warship. The person rowing was Franky from the Straw Hat Pirates, and on the boat was another person—the Okama, Bon Clay.
When Bon Clay jumped onto the ship, Ian nodded toward the unconscious Momonga, signaling him to act.
"Leave it to me!" Bon Clay extended his right hand and pressed it against Vice Admiral Momonga's face.
After just one touch, he let go, then wiped his own face with his left hand.
The next second, something miraculous happened. Bon Clay's entire face transformed into Vice Admiral Momonga's, perfectly identical!
"Done!" Ian snapped his fingers.
"What about this Marine Vice Admiral?" Franky, now on board, pointed at the unconscious Momonga and asked Ian, "Kill him?"
"No need. This Vice Admiral Momonga is actually a decent guy," Ian shook his head. "Let him live for now. But we can't let him wake up and ruin our plan. Find a small island in the Calm Belt and leave him there. With his strength as a Vice Admiral, he should survive."
"Alright," Franky shrugged, looking at the stripped Momonga. "I always thought I was the pervert, but you're even worse!"
"Shut up!" Ian rolled his eyes. "I stripped him to take everything he could use to contact the outside world! Stop wasting time and get moving!"
Franky picked up Momonga and tossed him onto the small boat. Matthew jumped down too, sitting on the boat, ready to put Momonga back to sleep when his nap was about to end.
After they left, Ian turned to Bon Clay, who was now wearing Vice Admiral Momonga's Marine uniform, and patted his shoulder. "Good. Tomorrow, you, as 'Vice Admiral Momonga,' will take us to Impel Down!"
Hearing Ian's words, Bon Clay couldn't help spinning in a ballet step out of excitement. But since he now looked like Momonga, it was incredibly awkward...
"Remember, I'm helping you get to Impel Down, but you have to let me see Ivankov-sama!" Bon Clay said.
"Relax, you'll see him," Ian smiled...