Chapter 175: The Ingenious Uses Of The Life Card
Navy Headquarters, Marineford.
“They’re here! They’re here!”
“They really are here! It’s the Pirate Empress’s Perfume Yosaku, I never thought she’d actually come to Marineford! This must be the Empress’s second time here, right?”
“I thought she would refuse to obey orders like before, but she actually came! Heh heh! It was the right decision to come watch the excitement today.”
“Ahhh! It’s Lord Cavendish!”
“Lord Cavendish! Look here! Look here!”
The port,
Off-duty sailors gathered, the men standing on tiptoe, straining their eyes, wishing they could see past the frontline in front of them and all the way to the Pirate Empress to get a close look at the world’s number one beauty.
The female soldiers waved the signs and banners in their hands, emitting piercing screams with every move Cavendish made. Though fewer in number, their energy seemed to overwhelm the men.
This was unplanned chaos.
This chaotic scene put immense pressure on the on-duty guards.
Especially since many of their colleagues were captivated by either the Pirate Empress or the White Horse. The beauty of both of them was enough to charm anyone, regardless of gender.
Honestly, even the Rear Admiral in charge of welcoming duties had to break a pinky to suppress the restlessness in his heart.
The Pirate Empress’s charm is truly terrifying!
The White Horse also lives up to his reputation, a handsome man who makes maidens of a whole nation yearn for him and refuse to marry…
The Pirate Empress and the White Horse arriving at Headquarters at the same time is truly unimaginable. Both of them are monsters who have caused great trouble with their looks alone.
However, this is still Navy Headquarters, a place with countless formidable individuals.
Vice Admiral Gion stepped forward. This renowned beauty of the Navy easily quelled the commotion at the port, ordered her subordinates to disperse the onlookers, and with a cold expression, escorted these two Seven Warlords who had disrupted order into the Headquarters’ conference room.
“Fufufufufufu! I didn’t expect so many people to come, this is truly surprising.”
The Heavenly Yaksha, draped in a pink feather coat, had his feet propped on the table, sitting with extreme casualness. He looked at the Pirate Empress and the White Horse as they entered one after another, and let out a strange laugh.
Several people were already seated around the round table.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, Vice Admiral Straw, Vice Admiral Lakiwal, the Black Prince, the Tyrant, and the Heavenly Yaksha. Three of the Seven Warlords had arrived. Add the Pirate Empress and the White Horse, and five out of the seven are present. To be honest, this number is absolutely unprecedented!
“I didn’t expect you to come. I thought you’d refuse again like last time!”
Doflamingo looked at the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock.
He wasn’t familiar with the Empress; they had barely met a few times. However, this didn’t stop him from striking up a conversation with her.
“Hmph, I just happened to be passing by Navy Headquarters and decided to replenish some supplies, and pass the time while I was at it.” Hancock didn’t even glance at the Heavenly Yaksha, choosing a seat where no one was sitting, and then haughtily surveyed everyone present.
The Tyrant—Bartholomew Kuma, looked the same as the first time she met him, as cold as stone rather than human, holding a sutra and reading it as if no one else was there.
The Heavenly Yaksha—Donquixote Doflamingo. This is an annoying fly, his incessant babbling set her on edge. As a victim of human trafficking, she held extreme animosity towards the Heavenly Yaksha, who secretly operated the human auction house on Sabaody Archipelago. If it weren’t for Amazon Lily, she would have kicked him to pieces.
The White Horse—Cavendish. A recently risen Seven Warlord. She had been observing him since they met at the port and confirmed he was a narcissist, thus losing all interest.
The Black Prince—Sokachio Elus. Without Hawk Eyes present, this one should be the most cautious. Although he is also a Seven Warlord, he lacks a pirate background and is also the New World’s Fifth Overlord. His strength is comparable to the Four Emperors… He feels like an even more unpleasant individual than the Heavenly Yaksha.
“Is there something you need?”
Elus met Hancock’s gaze.
Looking at the Pirate Empress directly, even though he was accustomed to the beauty of the Mermaid Princess, he couldn’t help but be amazed by this universally acknowledged world’s number one beauty—her peerless beauty, her long black hair, her flawless skin…
“Another annoying guy.” Hancock turned her face away, not hiding her disgust at all.
“……”
Elus’s breath hitched slightly. Was it just because he looked for two more seconds? Her temper is truly terrible. But then again, the world’s number one beauty truly lives up to her name. Her peerless beauty is fiercely proud, completely different from the Mermaid Princess.
“I apologize. I was captivated by Empress Your Excellency’s beauty. Forgive my rudeness.” Elus apologized with a smile, adding a compliment.
“Oh! It seems you’re not entirely beyond redemption.”
Hancock’s aversion to men was obvious. She didn’t treat them differently based on their looks, status, or any other factor. In her eyes, no man was good.
Elus simply smiled at Hancock’s poor attitude.
As long as it wasn’t a personal attack, a bad temper was acceptable! Who wouldn’t want to feast their eyes? In this world full of freaks, beauties always get a little privilege.
“Aren’t we starting yet?”
Elus tapped the table with his fingers, his gaze falling on Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was resting with her eyes closed. He complained, “Vice Admiral Tsuru, it’s been almost half an hour. My patience is limited.”
“Prince Elus, please be patient.”
“How can I be patient! Wasting time like this is practically slow suicide.”
“Sengoku has arrived.”
Vice Admiral Tsuru slowly opened her closed eyes, cast a sidelong glance at Elus, and then her gaze fell on Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who was entering the room. “Sengoku, it’s about time. Prince Elus’s patience is running out. There’s no need to wait any longer. It’s confirmed that Hawk Eyes and Moria will not be attending this time.”
“Hawk Eyes and Moria are absent. As for Hawk Eyes, there’s nothing we can do. That man is always so capricious… But five out of seven attending is already beyond my imagination. I thought only two or three people would participate this time. In past meetings, Jinbe often attended alone, turning it into a one-on-one conversation…”
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who had just entered, rambled on.
However, apart from Vice Admirals Straw and Lakiwal, everyone else tuned him out. Even Vice Admirals Tsuru and Gion ignored Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s rambling. Realizing the shift in atmosphere, Fleet Admiral Sengoku sighed helplessly.
He took his seat at the head of the round table and cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
“Since most of you are here, let’s get straight to the point. I’m sure you all know the theme of this meeting. However, just to be sure, I will explain it again. There is only one matter for which I have gathered you all here today.”
Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s aura suddenly changed, and a grave atmosphere filled the room like mercury.
He slowly uttered the name that caused everyone’s expressions to shift.
“The Revolutionary Army!”
“The theme of this meeting is the Revolutionary Army.”
“More than three months ago, the Revolutionary Army attacked a prison ship and abducted the Devil Child, Nico Robin.” Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s sharp gaze, like a blade, swept over everyone. “The World Government and the Navy’s dignity cannot be challenged. Your mission this time is to cooperate with the World Government and the Navy to retrieve the Devil Child, Nico Robin.”
“Fufufufufu, have you already found the whereabouts of the Revolutionary Army?” Doflamingo’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise.
“We don’t know the location of the Revolutionary Army’s base yet, but we have pinpointed Nico Robin’s location. She absolutely cannot escape our pursuit; you don’t need to worry about that,” Fleet Admiral Sengoku stated decisively, as if he possessed some concrete clue.
Was it a spy embedded within the Revolutionary Army?
Or had CP0 obtained information on the Revolutionary Army’s movements?
Bartholomew Kuma, with his hand on his holy scripture, his seemingly unchanging expression masking his thoughts, wracked his brain, wondering what kind of clue Fleet Admiral Sengoku had obtained? Until—
“Is it a Life Card? It must be. I didn’t expect them to have this move.”
Elus suddenly realized.
The Revolutionary Army is not a group of weaklings. Under Dragon’s command, they are active all over the world, yet no trace of them has ever been found. The only high-ranking member captured, the Okama King Emporio Ivankov, was also imprisoned in Impel Down on baseless charges.
He didn’t believe that the World Government and the Navy, whose administrative efficiency had always been low, could suddenly make such a breakthrough.
Moreover, Sengoku said, “we have pinpointed Nico Robin’s location.” Combined with this fact… the speculation about the Life Card became clear. The Navy had likely taken a fingernail from Nico Robin during her transport to prevent any accidents and made a Life Card.
“That’s right, it’s a Life Card.”
Fleet Admiral Sengoku glanced at Elus and continued, “While Nico Robin was unconscious, we took one of her fingernails and made a Life Card. While we cannot guarantee whether the Revolutionary Army will know about this, the Life Card will help us find Nico Robin’s hiding place.”
“Can’t the Navy handle this kind of thing themselves?” Cavendish asked with a puzzled expression.
The Navy is the true Overlord of this Sea.
“Don’t underestimate the Revolutionary Army. Monkey D. Dragon, as the world’s most dangerous criminal, his danger is not much less than Whitebeard’s. And the other high-ranking cadres of the Revolutionary Army are, without exception, extremely dangerous individuals, so we need your combat power.”
“This is not a request, it’s an order.”
Conqueror’s Haki swept through the entire room like a hurricane, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku stared at the Seven Warlords present with astonishing might.
“A mandatory mission? What a pain! I have personal matters to attend to! It can’t take too long!” Elus did not refuse, but he did set a condition. If it didn’t take too long, he could participate.
Moonlight Moria, that shut-in, wouldn’t run away, so of course, it couldn’t take too long. The research institute was still waiting for Doctor Hogback’s medical skills!
“I’m quite free lately. Thanks to His Highness Elus, my business has been very slow recently!” Doflamingo also agreed.
“Doctor Vegapunk gave me a two-week vacation.”
This was Kuma’s reply.
But… he was given a two-week vacation? Is he like a salaryman who finally got a break only to be forced to work overtime in another department?
Sengoku frowned. Even he couldn’t ignore Doctor Vegapunk’s opinion. Two weeks… If things go smoothly, this operation should be over within two weeks. Nico Robin’s location is not close to Navy Headquarters, but it’s also not outside Paradise. With that shortcut, they should be able to get there within a week.
“My time is ample.”
Cavendish said with a smile.
As the member with the least seniority, Cavendish knew he wasn’t in a position to tell Fleet Admiral Sengoku “no” so forcefully. Furthermore, he had noticed a look from His Highness Elus. After Elus left, he would continue to infiltrate the action team and monitor the Navy’s movements…
With that, most of the attention turned to Hancock.
“Two weeks at most. I absolutely will not waste a single second more.” The proud Empress is not a stubborn fool who can’t recognize reality. In this situation, she couldn’t refuse, especially since the one sitting here was Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
That peerless Conqueror’s Haki made Hancock, who was also skilled in Conqueror’s Haki, understand how terrifying the old man wearing frog glasses before her was.
So,
Unable to refuse forcefully, she could only try to set some limits.
“Two weeks?”
Sengoku frowned deeply.
He also understood that these individuals wouldn’t simply obey. Securing their cooperation for two weeks was already hard-won.
“Then, if there are no objections, starting tomorrow, please cooperate with the upcoming operation within fifteen days. Kuma, I will contact Doctor Vegapunk to explain the situation, so you don’t have to worry about the time spent traveling.”
Fleet Admiral Sengoku scanned the room. This time, no one raised any objections. Two weeks wasn’t a long time; it was barely acceptable. For the sake of the Fleet Admiral, they grudgingly accepted this timeframe.
“Oh, one last thing: please do not leak the detailed intelligence of this meeting. It’s possible the Revolutionary Army has already anticipated that Nico Robin might be located, but it’s also possible they haven’t yet. Therefore… it’s best if you refrain from encrypted calls from now on.”
Before the meeting ended, Sengoku issued a warning.
This was not a joke.
Anyone could sense his serious and earnest attitude.
“So, when do we start the operation?” Elus asked.
“We will gather at the port at 9 AM tomorrow and depart on time. I will send someone to notify all of you. Also, if there are any matters that need to be handled, please try to finish them today,” Sengoku said with a resounding voice.
