Chapter 188: Muddy Waters Are Perfect For Slacking Off!
The long night came to an end as the sunrise leaped over the horizon.
Iceberg didn’t sleep a wink all night.
When he returned to the City Hall Official Residence, it was already past two in the morning. After fending off Kalifa’s questions, he got back to the bedroom but didn’t rest well. Messy thoughts filled his mind, making it impossible to fall asleep peacefully. When exhaustion finally peaked and a bit of drowsiness set in—
It was dawn.
Time to get up.
Today, Prince Elus would be leaving Water 7, and he, as mayor, had to see him off no matter what.
But—
“What did you say?”
After washing up and just sitting down at the table, Iceberg had forked a piece of fried egg and was about to eat when the Den Den Mushi rang. It was the director of the port management bureau calling, saying Prince Elus’s fleet had already set off. The fried egg on the fork dropped back onto the plate with a “plop.”
“Couldn’t you stall for a bit? If you couldn’t hold them back, call me earlier!”
“······What? They’re being watched?”
“A bunch of idiots! Truly······utterly useless!”
Iceberg hung up the call and angrily pounded the table.
He had been planning to see off his ally! But the plan died in the womb before it could be executed······It wasn’t a big deal, though. After last night’s turmoil, though unspoken, they all knew they were true allies standing against the World Government!
The intelligence they held on each other ensured neither could betray the other. Prince Elus’s ambition wouldn’t allow him to kneel before the Holy Land, and Iceberg’s vendetta against his master meant he’d rather die than submit to the World Government. Thus, they became close allies, and superficial formalities were completely unnecessary.
Otherwise, Prince Elus leaving without a word would be a slap in Iceberg’s face.
As for now,
Iceberg pounded the table once more, then continued eating breakfast.
Kalifa, as his secretary, naturally found it strange. Before, she would have definitely gotten to the bottom of it, but now she truly lacked the energy. Bruno had been captured alive by a Revolutionary Army Officer—this recent news had diverted most of her attention.
A completely unforeseen third-party force had abruptly inserted itself into the events in Water 7,
making an already uncertain future thoroughly murky.
Thus, regarding Prince Elus leaving at this time, she felt only relief and nothing else. If the Black Prince got involved in this muddy water······Truth be told, she couldn’t imagine what the situation would turn into—CP0 might even get dragged in.
But even the current situation was enough to give her a headache.
With Bruno captured, the Revolutionary Army might already have intel on the Pluton Blueprint. She didn’t doubt Bruno’s willpower, but there were means in this world to directly peer into others’ memories and thoughts.
What to do next?
Should they immediately move to capture Iceberg and Franky alive?
Or continue surveillance, let the Revolutionary Army strike first, and then counterattack?
In their covert squad, Lucci was the leader with decision-making authority, but he wouldn’t completely ignore others’ opinions on specifics. His previous contact with her had only informed her of the situation and told her to keep a close eye on Iceberg; as for the next actions······No decision had been made yet!
“Kalifa, Kalifa?”
“······President? Ah!”
Snapping back to attention, Kalifa saw Iceberg’s face leaning close and instinctively kicked out. “Please don’t get so close; this is sexual harassment.”
“Not······that. I saw you spacing out.”
Iceberg patted nonexistent dust off himself. The floors in the residence were polished to a mirror shine; even rolling on them wouldn’t dirty his clothes.
“Sorry, President. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
She tossed out a random excuse, but Kalifa still couldn’t focus.
This wasn’t because her self-control was poor; having served as Iceberg’s secretary for nearly five years by his side, she knew the residence inside out. As long as no outsiders intruded, she wasn’t worried about any accidents.
“You still need to get enough sleep at night, or your skin will suffer.”
Iceberg expressed his concern, then continued eating breakfast and reading the newspaper.
————
Dock No. 1,
The matter at Bruno’s Bar had spread completely among the shipwrights. Many were discussing and speculating who would target Bruno. But not everyone was so compassionate; most just sighed verbally, then the question became where to drink after work.
With the boss gone, Bruno’s Bar obviously couldn’t stay open.
Until the next boss took over, they needed other places to drink.
“Lucci, what······next?”
“Wait and see.”
“Wait? What if the Revolutionary Army moves first?”
“I’ve already contacted Jabura and Kumadori; they’ll come watch Franky’s movements. Iceberg has Kalifa······If the Revolutionary Army doesn’t act, fine. If they dare go for the Pluton Blueprint, perfect—we’ll take them all out too.”
“······The Revolutionary Army are tough customers.” Kaku, carrying a large log, paused, unsure where Lucci’s confidence came from.
If the Revolutionary Army sent only branch members, they had no fear, but involving the Pluton Blueprint—who knew what the Revolutionary Army might send? If an Army Commander or some fierce person came, the entire CP9 together probably couldn’t withstand a single slap.
“······”
Lucci understood the implication in Kaku’s words.
To think he wasn’t a match for the Revolutionary Army? It was······true. Confidence was one thing, but he wasn’t a fool. He knew CP9 could bully Revolutionary Army branch members, but those strong dragons from the New World weren’t something a CP9 agent without Haki could handle.
“······Relax; we’re not without backup!”
Lucci dropped the words and walked off carrying the large log.
Kaku stood stunned, realizing Lucci’s meaning. CP9 wasn’t the World Government’s strongest intelligence agency; above them was CP0!
If CP0’s big shots stepped in,
They truly wouldn’t fear the Revolutionary Army.
But······what about Bruno? Couldn’t they find a way to rescue him from the Revolutionary Army······The thought arose and faded. Saving Bruno······was impossible. As spies, once captured by the enemy, even if rescued, they couldn’t be trusted like before.
At the very least,
The higher-ups wouldn’t trust a spy who’d been captured.
Kaku watched Lucci’s back, feeling deep helplessness in his heart.
And so,
An invisible battle of wits without gunpowder smoke began unfolding in Water 7. CP9 and CP0, aiming to ambush the Revolutionary Army, set layer upon layer of traps around Franky and Iceberg. But the Revolutionary Army seemed to see through the ambushes, never taking the bait and instead turning the tables on CP9—Jabura had even been captured and gone missing.
————
“······That’s the situation now. CP9 and CP0 both think we’re Revolutionary Army. Perfect, since mr.2 has memories of plenty of Revolutionary Army Officers stored; I had him transform and show his face occasionally. Miss Kalifa’s been so tense she hasn’t slept much at night······”
Fran’s voice was light and cheerful.
The pleasant tone was vividly mimicked by the Den Den Mushi.
“CP0······How did they feel in combat?”
Prince Elus had anticipated Water 7’s current state from the moment he planned to pin it on the Revolutionary Army. Involving the Revolutionary Army and the Pluton Blueprint, the World Government couldn’t ignore it. CP9 was overwhelmed, and the Navy couldn’t openly move against Iceberg City’s mayor.
CP0’s deployment was inevitable.
Half a month had passed since he left Water 7. In that time, CP9 and CP0 had been locked in fierce struggle with Fran’s group, mistaken for the Revolutionary Army. CP0 grew impatient with the mutual scheming and prepared to forcibly abduct Iceberg and Franky to interrogate them about the Pluton Blueprint’s location.
The result: the attackers were slain by Fran and her team with thunderous force.
At this moment,
Fran was reporting Water 7’s situation via Den Den Mushi.
“······Very strong.”
Fran thought carefully for a moment before answering.
“There were two attackers total. Even with me, Isca, and Farrug teaming up, we nearly let one escape. Luckily, Champion 3 and Champion 7 cleaned up the stragglers on the periphery.”
The manpower Prince Elus left in Water 7 far exceeded what Iceberg knew: Fran, Isca, Farrug, mr.2······and several Champion series artificial humans. That’s right—by now, Eckmond Kingdom’s artificial human technology had officially entered production.
Unlike Jermma Kingdom’s mass-produced clone soldiers or the modification humans needing cultivation from the womb.
Eckmond Kingdom’s artificial human technology incorporated tech mastered by miss.Bakkin, using a single strong person’s bloodline factor to create a batch of degraded artificial human soldiers. These degraded individuals naturally couldn’t match the original.
But they were fearless in battle, absolutely obedient, and with numbers making up for weakened strength.
This so-called Champion series used Fighting Champion Jess Burgess’s bloodline factor as the provider, creating a batch of powerful soldiers who mastered Armament Haki right out of production. Back on Thriller Bark, over a dozen Champion series soldiers had been sent to Prince Elus’s side.
He left this batch entirely to Fran to help her against CP0.
“Take out as many CP0 members as possible, then······expose that the Pluton Blueprint is on Franky, let CP0 capture him, then have the Revolutionary Army snatch him back—ideally destroying the blueprint in public······”
This way, Iceberg would be pulled out of this Pluton Blueprint quagmire.
And Franky,
As long as Franky stayed alive, that was fine.
As for the future······Franky probably couldn’t stay in Water 7 anymore, but the world was vast; there’d be places for him. Who knew if he’d cross paths with the Straw Hat Pirates again.
“Right, have the Revolutionary Army people arrived?”
Prince Elus asked.
“They should arrive this afternoon, but······it seems that Dragon came personally.” At this point, Fran sounded a bit worried.
Revolutionary Army,
Yes,
Prince Elus had also dragged the Revolutionary Army into Water 7’s vortex. They gladly accepted, showing no annoyance at him framing them. On the contrary, Prince Elus’s actions in Water 7 proved his opposition to the World Government.
This excited the ally-scarce Revolutionary Army greatly.
Though they were allies before, such covert cooperation was plentiful for the Revolutionary Army. True forces willing to support them openly were nonexistent. Now, Prince Elus’s actions hinted at turning from shadows to open······
Of course that was exciting!
But······Monkey D. Dragon coming personally was a surprise and headache for Prince Elus.
If it were other officers, Fran might not obey their commands even if she couldn’t command them, but with Dragon······Fran might not firmly resist the pressure. Forcing her wouldn’t work, but subtle influences were the worry.
“······Fran, our goal is to get Iceberg City’s mayor out of this trouble, and capture as many CP9 members alive as possible. I want to try taming these hounds. Beyond that······let the Revolutionary Army do whatever; even if they take the Pluton Blueprint from Franky, it’s fine.”
“In short, Fran, remember: plans can change, but our objectives must be achieved.”
Though Prince Elus didn’t think Revolutionary Army leader Dragon would disregard Iceberg and others’ lives—disregarding lives wasn’t the Revolutionary Army’s style, especially for a conscientious good official like Iceberg······
“I understand.”
Fran’s voice was firm.
Immediately,
She asked again: “Your Highness, do we really have to capture CP9 alive? These guys seem pretty tough-boned.”
“If they were spineless, I wouldn’t bother taming them, right?” Prince Elus laughed. “Don’t be too fixated on capturing alive. Try under safe conditions; if no chance, forget it. It’s just my personal interest—success or failure doesn’t matter.”
Fran fell silent this time.
Whether it was His Highness’s hobby or not, a proper maid would do her utmost to fulfill orders.
She changed the subject, asking about Prince Elus’s side.
“······My side? I’ve found the Silver Fox Pirates’ whereabouts. They’re in Alabasta; from here······I can already see their flag. Quite lively!”
Prince Elus held the Den Den Mushi on the deck, with a clear view of the pirate ship anchored in the bay.
He’d gone to great lengths to find this hidden bay.
Since Crocodile was defeated and Baroque Works collapsed, King Cobra regained control of the kingdom, allying with Eckmond Kingdom and gaining strong support from them—especially after Falcão, back from New World training, became Navy Minister.
Pirates immediately suffered.
Previously, Alabasta Kingdom’s military strength focused on the army; its 600,000 Standing Army was absolutely the strongest land force in the first half of the Grand Line. The Navy existed but was far weaker; otherwise, Crocodile wouldn’t have needed to wipe out pirates to gain prestige.
Now with Eckmond Kingdom and Water 7 allies.
Eckmond Kingdom trained officers, Water 7 provided warships······Alabasta’s Navy had built its fearsome reputation in Paradise with thousands of pirate heads. Without guts to dock at Alabasta’s official ports, pirates risked hidden-reef bays and abandoned old ports······
This was an uncontrolled wild port outside kingdom oversight.
Pirates, smuggling merchants, wanted criminals······In short, this nameless place became a haven for these shady figures. Alabasta’s Navy had raided several times but couldn’t eradicate these tumors.
Precisely, total eradication was impossible—wildfires burn inexhaustible, spring breezes blow anew!
