Chapter 553: Can't Understand
(Some readers mentioned that the submarine is called the "Polar Submarine," so let's go with that name; the previous chapter has been revised.)
After attempting to search for the submarine without success, Vice Admiral Momousagi could only return helplessly in the end.
Her Tame-Tame Fruit ability was not without weaknesses. While she could tame energy, she could essentially only tame it and couldn't reverse-engineer it for her own use. In short, her ability was a form of reduction of the internal energy within matter.
She could use this trait to slow down the ocean currents, thereby increasing her ship's speed, but that didn't mean she could use this method to catch that submarine. The enemy was traveling beneath the sea surface, and Momousagi had no idea of the submarine's movements. This made her hesitant to rashly open the Gate of Justice to return, fearing that the submarine might stealthily follow her ship underwater when the gate opened, thus entering Marine Headquarters. So she could only send Marine soldiers who could swim to investigate underwater before daring to open the gate.
However, what she didn't know was that Ian had no intention of following her to Marine Headquarters at all, because going there now was pointless.
That was why Ian had thought of using sea snakes to tow the submarine. From the very beginning, he planned to break free from the influence of the World Government's special currents.
And his destination, naturally, was Amazon Lily. Although Boa Hancock had already left with the Marines, Ian's Ark Maxim was still hidden in the bay of Amazon Lily.
And if he calculated the time, Uncle Fujitora and the others should be arriving soon...
After learning that Ian's destination was Amazon Lily, Jinbe and Crocodile weren't surprised. They had seen Boa Hancock fighting alongside Ian back in Dressrosa, so they naturally understood the relationship between the two. However, the prisoners, upon hearing the name Amazon Lily, were both eager and terrified.
They were eager because they knew Amazon Lily was a famous island of women, where everyone was female. For prisoners who had been locked up for a long time without seeing women, the allure was immense!
But they were terrified because they also knew that the women of Amazon Lily were no pushovers. It was a forbidden zone for men, and legend had it that any man who trespassed would be killed without mercy.
So they were also quite curious as to how Boss Ian could approach Amazon Lily...
Dragged by the sea snakes, the submarine was still quite fast, and it didn't take long to return to Amazon Lily.
In the bay where the Ark Maxim was anchored, the submarine began to surface. When the hatch opened and the prisoners scrambled out, before they could even stretch their limbs and enjoy the air of freedom, they were blinded by the dazzling sight.
There was no helping it—the golden glow of the gold on the Ark Maxim was just too blinding!
The prisoners drooled all over the place. A few of them, seemingly dazzled by the gold, actually ran onto the ship, brandishing weapons to try and pry the gold off.
But what awaited them was Enel's judgment! A bolt of lightning struck down, and those reckless fools were all charred black.
"What the hell, that's my ship! Even though... even though it's been requisitioned by Ian now, it's still my ship!"
Ian frowned at the scene. He knew very well that these unruly prisoners could only be subdued through force, so he didn't stop Enel's actions at all.
After giving orders forbidding the prisoners from setting foot on Amazon Lily, Ian and the others began to rest and regroup temporarily in the bay. Those with some combat ability and who could swim were sent into the sea to catch fish for food, while Ian and the leading members gathered together to discuss their next move.
Jinbe knew that Ian intended to intervene in the war between Whitebeard and the Marines to help Whitebeard Old Man. Jinbe supported this, as the Old Man was also his benefactor.
But Crocodile was different. Although he had escaped prison with Ian and even accepted Ian's invitation to join the Dragon Hunter Pirates, Ian estimated that Crocodile still harbored thoughts of killing Whitebeard.
Ian had never known what exactly the grudge was between Crocodile and Whitebeard Old Man. He wanted to ask Crocodile, the person involved, but figured the guy wouldn't tell him anyway. Ian had spent some time with the Whitebeard Pirates before and knew that before Ace joined, the position of Second Division Commander had always been vacant. This made Ian suspect that Crocodile might have some connection to that matter...
However, Ian didn't plan to delve into this issue now. His main focus at the moment was actually Ivankov.
Turning around, Ian said to Ivankov, "Iva, can you contact Uncle Dragon?"
"Hmm? What do you want to do?" Ivankov was taken aback.
"This war between the Marines and Whitebeard is actually a great opportunity!" Ian said in a low voice. "The Marines' forces are almost all deployed. Holy Land Mary Geoise must have very little defensive strength left. If the Revolutionary Army were to launch a surprise attack on the World Government's headquarters at this time, what kind of impact do you think it would have?"
Jinbe and Crocodile were stunned speechless by Ian's words. They never imagined Ian would be so bold...
To be honest, Ivankov was also shocked by Ian's idea. But after thinking it over carefully, he shook his head and said, "I doubt Dragon will agree..."
"Hmm? Why?" Ian asked in confusion. "The Revolutionary Army's goal is to overthrow the World Government, isn't it? With such a good opportunity, why wouldn't he agree?"
"Simple, because the Revolutionary Army's strength isn't enough yet!" Ivankov spread his hands and said. "Dragon has been keeping the Revolutionary Army low-key all these years because he knows very well that they can't yet face the World Government and the Marines head-on. If, as you say, they attacked Mary Geoise, it would certainly boost the Revolutionary Army's reputation, but then they would likely face full-scale retaliation from the World Government... You might not know this, but in fact, over the years, the Revolutionary Army has lost quite a few officers every year because the World Government has been carrying out assassination operations against them. Even so, the World Government hasn't focused all its attention on the Revolutionary Army..."
"Is it the Four Emperors that are diverting the World Government's attention?" Jinbe asked.
"Yes!" Ivankov said. "To put it bluntly, from the Revolutionary Army's perspective, they actually hope the Marines and the World Government will go to war with the Four Emperors. Dragon absolutely won't let the Revolutionary Army appear prominently and attract attention at this time..."
"I see!" Ian sighed. It seemed he had oversimplified things.
"However, I can go with you!" Ivankov said. "Dragon's son is with you, and you're a Revolutionary Army officer. Plus, I'm very concerned about what's happened to Kuma now. So no matter what, I have to follow you to the battlefield and see for myself..."
"Then I'll leave it to you!" Ian nodded.
With that, the topic came to an end. Next, Ian and the others chatted idly while waiting.
On the other side, Vice Admiral Momousagi had also returned to Marine Headquarters at Marineford and reported the details of the Impel Down prison break to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"..." Sengoku listened to Momousagi's report and remained silent for a long time.
Sengoku wasn't surprised that Ian had rescued Sea Knight Jinbe and Crocodile. From the moment he learned that Ian had appeared at Impel Down, he had already guessed Ian's purpose.
But in Momousagi's report, when she mentioned that after sorting through Impel Down, they found that all the prisoners on the sixth level were dead, Sengoku was baffled.
Starting a riot to free prisoners from the first to fourth levels—that was understandable. Sengoku guessed Ian wanted to recruit these prisoners to join his crew. But then Ian showed no interest in the prisoners on the fifth level and killed all those on the sixth. This seemed very strange. Didn't he know that the prisoners on the fifth and sixth levels were the most powerful and dangerous? Wouldn't it be better to take them to strengthen his own forces?
And even the prison's chief guard, Shiryu of the Rain, who had originally defected to him, was killed! What the hell was going on!?