Chapter 759: An Unexpected Backup Plan
Shakky's Rip-Off Bar was, as always, sparsely populated. As a super black shop daring to price a cup of coffee at 100,000 Berries, if you truly thought it was a coffee shop, you'd be sorely mistaken.
Because what Shakky sold wasn't coffee, but information...
When Ian pushed open the door and walked into the shop, Shakky was smoking with her glasses on, seemingly taking inventory or something.
"Oh, if it isn't young Ian?" As soon as Shakky saw Ian, a smile immediately appeared on her face. She took off her glasses and asked, "What brings you here?"
"It's been over a year, so I came specifically to see you and Uncle Rayleigh!" Ian took off the conical hat on his head and tossed it aside, stepping forward to extend a hand and give Shakky a light hug.
After the embrace, Shakky held Ian by the shoulders and looked him over, asking somewhat curiously, "Did you just come back from Wano Country? Why are you dressed like a wandering samurai from Wano?"
Ian scratched his head and said, "Yeah, I didn't have time to change. Shakky, wait a moment, I'll go change back into my clothes."
As he spoke, Ian set down Queen the Plague, who was tied to a pole.
Shakky pointed curiously at Queen the Plague and asked, "Is that your catch? Going to roast and eat it? But I should warn you, fox meat isn't very tasty..."
Damn, that topic is terrifying! Ian quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no, this is someone I caught in Wano Country—Queen the Plague, one of the Three Calamities of the Beast Pirates. She's just a fox Mink!"
"Oh, I see!" Shakky suddenly realized, saying, "I was wondering why you dressed a fox in your clothes!"
As she spoke, Shakky crouched down and curiously examined Queen, saying, "I never expected Queen the Plague to be a Mink. This is my first time seeing her true face!"
"Shakky, you're in the intelligence business, and you've never seen her before?" Ian's voice came from the back room. He was inside changing back into his original clothes. While in Wano Country, it hadn't felt strange, but now that he was on Sabaody Archipelago, he found the samurai outfit odd. Changing back felt much more comfortable.
Hearing his words, Shakky laughed and said, "On Queen the Plague's wanted poster, she's just a masked ninja. Not many people have seen her true face. Besides, I have very little intelligence about the New World here, since it's so far away."
Although Queen the Plague didn't speak, her eyes were darting around, clearly plotting something. However, she didn't make any rash moves because the name Rayleigh, mentioned earlier in Ian and Shakky's conversation, made her very cautious.
Soon, Ian came out after changing clothes and asked Shakky, "Where's Uncle Rayleigh?"
"Who knows? Probably off drinking somewhere again?" Shakky laughed. "Ever since he saw in the newspaper that you became one of the Four Emperors, he said he was going out to celebrate, but he hasn't come back for quite a while!"
Ian was speechless. Could it be that he'd gotten drunk, run out of money, and sold himself again? Why did these big shots always have such strange hobbies?
"You brought her here to Sabaody Archipelago..." Shakky pointed at Queen the Plague and asked, "You're not planning to hand her over to the Marines, are you?"
"Yeah!" Ian nodded. "Back in Wano Country, I ran into Uncle Sparky Jabba... well, you know him, an old friend of Uncle Rayleigh. This Queen the Plague has some history with the old Roger Pirates, but now she's on the opposing side. Jabba thought locking her up was a good idea..."
Shakky laughed heartily and said, "And you also think using her to give Akainu a headache is a good deal, right?"
"Haha, nothing gets past you, Shakky!" Ian laughed as well.
Shakky shook her head and said, "That man Akainu... how should I put it? He's led the Marines astray. You might not know this, but recently on Sabaody Archipelago, many captured pirates have been executed outright. No trials, no detention—just direct execution. Now, a lot of pirates on Sabaody have gone into hiding, and my business has plummeted."
Ian frowned. Although Shakky had only mentioned it casually, he could sense many underlying issues.
Back when Sengoku was still Fleet Admiral, most pirates captured by the Marines would go through a judicial process. They'd first be taken to the judicial island of Enies Lobby for trial and sentencing, then sent to Impel Down for imprisonment.
Although everyone taken to Enies Lobby was found guilty, without exception, at least the procedure complied with World Government law. Now, with Akainu as Fleet Admiral, even that step had been skipped!
Perhaps in Akainu's ruthless view, this was using harsh penalties in chaotic times, but for many, they didn't even get a proper trial...
How many of those pirates didn't deserve death? How many innocent people were wrongfully accused?
"Is he being that reckless? Does the World Government support this?" Ian asked.
"Who knows? Maybe the World Government even instigated it," Shakky said. "But speaking of which, choosing this time to come here and hand Queen the Plague over to the Marines—are you trying to stir things up?"
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Ian was startled and pressed for more.
Shakky folded her arms and blew out a puff of smoke, saying, "Don't you know? Just two days ago, the Marines and the Beast Pirates clashed in the New World. Kizaru, Momousagi, and Chaton led a fleet of over thirty warships, but in the end, only the three Admirals and one ship of Marines returned. Almost everyone else was killed. This is the biggest loss for the Marines since the Battle of New Edd War!"
"Ah!? Was it over the fight for the Soul Fruit?" Ian suddenly remembered and exclaimed in surprise, "I really didn't know that. I flew straight from Wano Country without stopping much along the way, so I had no idea... Old Man Whitebeard originally wanted to call me back to get involved..."
"If you and Whitebeard had gotten involved too, it would have been even harder to clean up!" Shakky shook her head. "The World Government is trying hard to suppress this news, but word of the Marines' defeat has already spread privately. The World Government and the Marines are now scrambling for a way to salvage the situation... You really picked quite a timing..."
Ian pondered thoughtfully and asked, "So you're saying that if I hand Queen the Plague over, the World Government and Marines would actually be willing to accept her?"
"Exactly!" Shakky nodded firmly. "Knowing the World Government's nature, they'd probably seize the chance to announce that they captured one of the Three Calamities, Queen the Plague, in the battle against the Beast Pirates. That way, they'd save face and prevent their member nations from questioning their control!"
"Even if it means provoking the Beast Pirates and Kaido over Queen the Plague?" Ian asked.
"Same thing! From the intelligence I've gathered, the Marines were completely set up this time. It's not just Akainu—even Kizaru and the others won't let it go. If using Queen the Plague can lure the Beast Pirates into another fight, they'll definitely be fully prepared," Shakky said. "Especially Akainu. Since becoming Fleet Admiral, he hasn't had any good news. The World Government is probably questioning his competence, so he'll definitely try to prove himself."
"So..." Ian tapped the bar counter lightly and said, "Even if Akainu knows I'm feeding him a pile of crap, he'll grit his teeth and swallow it, right?"
"That's about right, but what's 'crap'?" Shakky didn't understand Ian's slang.
Ian didn't explain, instead asking, "Shakky, any good ideas for handing Queen the Plague over without raising suspicion?"
"Very clever!" Shakky praised. "It seems you've realized you can't deliver her yourself!"
"Of course!" Ian said. "If I delivered her, as long as the World Government isn't stupid, they'd spin it as me capturing Queen the Plague, and then I'd be the one fighting Kaido..."
"It's actually quite simple!" Shakky said with a sly smile. "Have you forgotten someone?"
"Who?" Ian asked curiously.
"Edward Weevil!" Shakky laughed. "He's the easiest one to fool, and as a Warlord of the Sea, he's the perfect 'captor'!"
Ian slapped his forehead. "Right! How could I forget that guy!? He's got decent strength—if we say he captured Queen the Plague, it's barely plausible!"
Then Ian pressed, "So where is he now?"
"Right here on Sabaody Archipelago!" Shakky said. "Why else do you think I mentioned him? In my view, that big guy is really just a child who never grew up. With all the delicious food on Sabaody, he's completely hooked. The World Government wants him to stay at Marineford, but he keeps running over here. The locals on Sabaody are all familiar with that big, dumb Warlord. For them, he's the only one who can be tricked with food. The local swindlers love him..."
"Don't the Marines do anything about it?" Ian asked, wide-eyed. "With someone so easy to fool, don't they assign someone to watch him?"
"Of course they do, but the swindlers aren't stupid. They just sell him food at high prices and don't try to trick him into anything outrageous, so the people watching him can't interfere too much," Shakky said. "It's just a matter of money. Are they going to arrest every street vendor?"
"This... this is really..." Ian didn't know what to say. Indeed, a child with a mother is a treasure, a child without a mother is like a weed. Ever since that old hag Bakkin was gone, Edward Weevil had been getting more and more deceived...
But then again, the World Government probably found Edward Weevil very convenient to use, right? Otherwise, why would they keep such a foolish Warlord around for so long?
"Hmm..." Shakky tapped her chin with the cigarette between her fingers, thinking. "Just Edward Weevil isn't enough. The Marines and World Government aren't stupid either. That big guy hasn't been anywhere recently, so how could Queen the Plague conveniently fall into his hands? We need to make this a fait accompli..."
"How do we do that?" Ian asked humbly.
"Reporters!" Shakky enlightened him. "The best way is to have several dozen or even a hundred reporters on hand when Edward Weevil delivers her to Marine Headquarters, to report the story. For people reading the news, they don't care about the suspicious details of how Edward Weevil caught Queen the Plague. They just need to know that Warlord Edward Weevil captured her! Once those reports come out, even if the Marines know something's off, they can't deny it!"
"Wow!" Ian looked at Shakky with admiration and gave her a thumbs-up, praising, "Old ginger is indeed the spiciest! Why didn't I think of that?"
Shakky playfully tapped Ian on the forehead and said, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm old?"
"No, no!" Ian waved his hands. "Shakky, you're so young, forever twenty-eight!"
"That's more like it!" Shakky laughed and continued smoking her cigarette.
"But where do I find so many reporters?" Ian scratched his head. "Do I have to contact that big bird Morgan of the World Economy News?"
"No need for that much trouble!" Shakky said. "There are plenty of reporters on Sabaody Archipelago. You can't show yourself, so it's best to have the locals tip them off. Then they'll flock to cover the story. Of course, it would be ideal if some of those reporters are 'familiar faces.' You can have your family's subordinates handle that."
"My family's subordinates!?" Ian was stunned. "Shakky, what are you talking about?"
Shakky looked at Ian strangely. "Don't tell me you've forgotten? When you first came to Sabaody Archipelago, didn't you establish an Ian Family? Have you completely forgotten?"
"No!" Ian said, puzzled. "I remember that when I left, I disbanded the family, didn't I?"
"Disbanded?" Shakky was also confused. "That's not right. The Ian Family operating under your banner on the island now is quite large, having grown to nearly three thousand members. They've taken control of many areas in the lawless zone. Despite their numbers, they have strict rules—no human trafficking, no harassing civilians. I always thought you deliberately left that force and backup plan behind. And now you're telling me you disbanded them!?"
"I..." Ian was dumbfounded, not knowing what to say. He suddenly realized that the group he'd encountered earlier might very well have been members of his own family!
What, what the hell was going on!?
Just as he was reeling in confusion, the door to Shakky's bar was knocked on...