Chapter 152: The Hunters Set Out
A covert battle silently began around the woman named Nico Robin.
World Government, Navy, Revolutionary Army, Pirate Emperor, ambitious person lurking in the deep waters······ The number of guys interested in this woman was surprisingly large even to Prince Elus. After the news spread that Dillon had captured Nico Robin, Prince Elus received more than ten contacts from different influences and organizations one after another.
It wasn’t just Prince Elus; quite a few guys bypassed him and directly contacted Dillon, trying to tempt him to betray. This was not unexpected, as they had seen many cases like “local officials are better than central ones.” Bribing a key little person sometimes worked better than currying favor with a greedy big shot.
But this time,
The little tricks didn’t work. Prince Elus looked around and ultimately made a deal with the World Government. Only this way could he obtain the maximum benefits.
Of course,
Holding the idea of making the most of one fish, Nico Robin’s buyer was not just the World Government.
······
Sabaody Archipelago,
The large ship that passed through Red Port stopped here temporarily to rest for a while. Coming all the way from Baldigo, the White Earth Island of the New World, the crew members with strong willpower could endure the boring life of sea voyage, but the supplies on the ship had been consumed almost entirely and urgently needed replenishment.
After all,
There was still a long journey to the destination Alabasta.
“······ Salted meat, canned fruits, tea leaves, cigarettes······ By the way, Sabo, why don’t you smoke?” Koala turned her head to look at the man beside her.
“Why should I smoke?”
“Don’t all men like smoking? There are so many smokers on the ship. Look at this shopping list; the number of cigarettes is ridiculously high.”
“Dragon doesn’t smoke either! Besides, what kind of prejudice is this? Why must men like smoking?”
On either side of the two, there were other Revolutionary Army members. They had come to the island to procure supplies. In order to reach Alabasta as quickly as possible, the chef, boatswain, accountant, and others gathered together to calculate for half a day and wrote the thick shopping list in Koala’s hand.
There were many supplies that needed replenishment, so Dragon sent out all the members on the ship who were not wanted by the World Government, with Sabo leading the team to procure supplies on the island.
Port,
This was an unremarkable large ship. There were no exaggerated number of cannons on the ship’s side like on warships, and the crew members didn’t have the unruly wildness of pirates. From bow to stern, no symbols indicating identity were found. In the eyes of ordinary people, this was just an ordinary merchant ship, the most common on the sea.
However, below the large ship, if someone dived, they could see a pitch-black submarine parked directly underneath the ship.
In the submarine,
“Dragon, are you sure we can make it in time?”
“More than enough. The Black Prince will help us delay time as much as possible. Arriving in Alabasta on time is not a problem. The current trouble is that the Navy is preparing to send a general to take custody of Nico Robin. Based on the latest intelligence, Sakazuki is most likely to be the biggest obstacle in our way.”
Terry, wearing a bear helmet, had a nearly burned-out cigarette in his mouth; his lips could faintly feel the approaching heat. He reached out, took off the cigarette butt, and threw it into the ashtray. “How about launching an attack early and snatching Nico Robin from that executioner?”
“Cooperation with the Black Prince is very important to us.”
Dragon’s words undoubtedly rejected Terry’s overly ruthless proposal. At present, the cooperation between the Revolutionary Army and Eckmond Kingdom was still in a good stage, with no conflicts between them. Those trades were only beneficial to both sides and had no downsides.
Destroying the friendship between them at this time would absolutely not be good news for the Revolutionary Army.
“If there’s no other way, we’ll have to force it!”
“Force it? No wonder you’re personally joining this mission. Will you deal with [Akainu]?”
“No one else is Sakazuki’s match. By then, I’ll hold off Sakazuki, and the others will be up to you. After all, the purpose of our action this time is not to decide victory or defeat with the Navy; Nico Robin is our target.”
Dragon tapped the table with his finger and showed a fearless smile on his face.
Terry shook his head and said nothing more, just lit another cigarette and leaned on the table, slowly puffing away.
————
Alabasta.
Capital, Arubana.
This was the kingdom’s largest oasis, with extremely abundant groundwater resources. Even if it didn’t rain for one or two years, it wouldn’t be a big problem. Anyway, few citizens in the capital made a living by farming. Unlike other oases, this was the place most yearned for by merchants and craftsmen.
The civil war had little impact on this city; the flames of war hadn’t spread near the capital. It was just that because of the war and drought, fewer people came to the capital, and the originally extremely prosperous capital went through a period of decline.
Fortunately, now the war was over, and the black pot pinned on the Nefertari Family had been cleared. Even their already good reputation had risen another level due to the magnanimous handling of the rebel army.
There was no need to deliberately adjust; the spontaneous power of the market quickly restored the capital to its former prosperity.
“Order, sure enough, order is essential.”
Standing on the balcony of a high tower in the royal palace, one could overlook the entire panorama of Alabasta from above. Distant places made it hard to see people’s faces clearly, but the changes on the nearby streets were all visible here.
Dillon had been standing here for two hours.
He loved this orderly scene so much that he never got tired of looking at it. If not for still keeping an eye on the group of prisoners in the room who needed his strict supervision, he would have been unable to resist going down personally to experience the unique lifestyle here.
Yes,
A group of criminals was imprisoned in his room.
Not counting Dillon, there were ten prisoners in the room, all without exception from Baroque Works, from Miss Sunday all the way back to Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. It could be said that except for the boss, all the core of Baroque Works were here.
Because they were ability users, they had higher research value than ordinary people. Dillon didn’t kill them but captured them, preparing to take them back to Eckmond.
Among them,
Miss Sunday—namely Nico Robin—her value alone was enough to stir up the World Government, Navy, Revolutionary Army, Pirate Emperor, and Seven Warlords. Prince Elus gave Dillon the strictest order to watch Nico Robin closely. Before the Navy Admiral arrived, Nico Robin must not have any accidents.
Although there was Seastone to suppress these ability users’ powers, to be safe, he preferred to make his living environment worse and keep a close watch on Nico Robin.
Fortunately, King Cobra was very understanding.
Not only did he lend the palace for him to live in, but he also specially selected this largest room for him as a bedroom.
“Mister Dillon, your tea has gone cold!”
Nico Robin sat elegantly behind the table, sipping a new cup of hot tea slowly.
Because of her overly special background, Dillon gave her good treatment: she could read newspapers and enjoy an extra afternoon tea time every day. Of course, Dillon didn’t abuse the others either. After they met Prince Elus, some might transform from prisoners directly into their colleagues.
What’s more, although Dillon had the nickname [Executioner], it referred to his habit in combat of chopping off enemies’ heads to ensure they were really dead, not that he had a penchant for torture.
“Kaka ka!!”
“Gudong gudong gudong!!”
Returning to the table, Dillon quickly finished the cold biscuits and cold tea in a few bites. It was said that drinking cold tea was not good for the stomach and intestines, but Dillon didn’t care much whether this rumor was true or false. With his strong body, as long as it wasn’t fatal poison, nothing could easily take his life.
“Can I ask where I will be sent?” Watching Dillon finish the tea and biscuits, before he stood up, Robin asked calmly.
“No.”
Dillon refused straightforwardly.
Robin’s status was special, yes, but precisely because of this specialness, she had no connection to Eckmond, so Dillon didn’t want to say much to her. If she learned she would be traded to the World Government and then tried to commit suicide······ He didn’t want things to become that troublesome.
The deal between Prince Elus and the Revolutionary Army was unknown to Dillon.
Prince Elus had no intention of telling Dillon about this. The Revolutionary Army’s action would take place after Dillon’s deal with the Navy was completed. Dillon didn’t need to get involved in this trouble, and an uninformed Dillon could face the Navy Admiral more calmly······
Watching Dillon return to the balcony to view the scenery, Robin’s eyes dimmed slightly.
Although she didn’t get a verbal answer, from Dillon’s attitude, Robin still made some speculation. It seemed the Black Prince perhaps had little interest in her and the knowledge she possessed. Eckmond Kingdom should not be her next stop.
In other words—
Prince Elus had likely sold her for a good price.
Thinking of this, she felt a bit heavy-hearted. Of course she didn’t like being bought and sold, but what made her more uneasy was who exactly had bought her? If it was the World Government······ This time she was probably doomed, with no chance to avenge everyone in Ohara······
“Hoo—!”
She put down the exquisite teacup.
Her gaze swept over the companions from Baroque Works one by one. Without exception, these former companions all avoided her eyes; no one wanted to get involved in her trouble.
Long accustomed to such treatment, Robin felt no ripples in her heart, just silently furrowed her brows, desperately seeking a sliver of hope in this desperate situation.
————
Navy Headquarters, Marineford.
Sakazuki, who hurried back to headquarters, stayed on land for less than eight hours. After the fleet he commanded finished resupplying, Sakazuki, without any rest, personally escorted a batch of confidential technical information and five Devil Fruits onto his flagship.
Officers and soldiers along the way all saw the Navy Admiral Sakazuki’s forbidding gloomy expression. The heavy low pressure scared the recruits’ legs into trembling, nearly making them wet themselves.
“Hey, what happened? Navy Admiral Sakazuki looks very unhappy!”
“Navy Admiral Sakazuki is unhappy almost three hundred days a year. Or rather, I’ve never seen Navy Admiral Sakazuki smile. You’ll slowly understand in the future that Navy Admiral Sakazuki······ is a true Navy man.”
The good-tempered sergeant educated the recruit under him.
“A true Navy man?”
The bewildered third-class soldier was puzzled.
The sergeant had no intention of saying more. He held a pipe in his mouth and watched the battle-hardened fleet set sail from port again.
Back on the warship,
This was Sakazuki’s flagship, also the flagship of the entire fleet. After boarding, Sakazuki didn’t go back to the captain’s room. Compared to staying in the cramped captain’s room, he spent most of his time on the bridge, which was spacious with good visibility, allowing him to grasp emergencies immediately.
Or rather, most captains and fleet commanders liked to stay on the bridge.
Sakazuki sat on his usual sofa, right leg crossed over left, staring with icy cold eyes at the man and woman sitting on the opposite sofa—one wearing a strange mask and white suit. These two were the reason for Sakazuki’s bad mood.
They were CP0 agents.
This time, under orders from the Five Elders, they were to cooperate with Sakazuki to bring Nico Robin back to the Holy Land alive.
As a soldier, Sakazuki had no intention of disobeying the orders given to him through Fleet Admiral Sengoku by the Five Elders. He allowed these two secretive vermin aboard his ship, but the orders didn’t require him to treat them with high regard. He despised these spies who reeked disgustingly from his bones.
CP0, known as the “Shield of the Celestial Dragons,” was the group Sakazuki hated the most.
Other CP organizations sometimes provided useful intelligence to the Navy. Sakazuki disliked them but didn’t reject them. The problem was that CP0, these special toilet papers used exclusively to clean up after Celestial Dragons, reeked disgustingly from head to toe in Sakazuki’s view.
They had no use for peace on the sea and instead only used privileges to order the Navy to clean up after Celestial Dragons.
When he became Fleet Admiral, he would definitely change this.
Sakazuki swore to himself in his heart.
Stared at by Sakazuki like this, the two CP0 agents were also sweating profusely. As CP0 members, they had full confidence in their strength, but this confidence depended on the opponent. They usually looked down on ordinary vice admirals.
However,
This time they faced Sakazuki, a Navy Headquarters admiral. In CP, probably only the top-ranked few could remain calm in front of [Akainu].
They inwardly complained: how did they end up with such a bad assignment? Besides the order to cooperate with Sakazuki to bring Nico Robin back to the Holy Land alive, they also had the task of guarding confidential technical blueprints and Devil Fruits.
The blueprints and Devil Fruits were all packed in special metal boxes.
This specially made, waterproof, fireproof, and explosion-proof metal box was now placed on the coffee table between the sofas. Because of this thing, they couldn’t bid farewell to Sakazuki and return to their cabin; they could only silently endure the terrifying gaze from Sakazuki.
