Intercepting the Seastone! The World Government's Lifeline Was Cut Off

Lin Yuan spent the entire night studying the note Vegapunk had given him.

The route map. The schedule. The troop deployments aboard the escort warships.

Wano Country was rich in seastone, a secret everyone in the world knew. But few knew that the World Government held a firm grip on the rights to mine and transport it. Every month, three transport ships departed from Wano Country, passed through the New World, crossed the Calm Belt, and arrived at Mary Geoise.

"Three ships." Lin Yuan tapped the map with a finger. "Each one carries at least fifty tons of seastone."

Bullet leaned over for a look.

"Is this stuff worth a lot?"

"It's not about the money," Lin Yuan said. "Seastone is the bane of Devil Fruit Users. Whoever controls seastone holds the advantage against them."

"So we're going to rob them?"

"No." Lin Yuan smiled. "We're going to 'borrow' a little."

"How much?"

"All of it."

2

Three days later. The New World, in the waters off Wano Country.

The night was dark and windy.

Out at sea, three transport ships sailed slowly in a triangular formation. Each had a warship escorting it on either side, their decks packed with CP Agents and navy soldiers.

"Quite a force." Bullet stood on a reef, observing the distant convoy through binoculars.

"Six warships, three transport ships, and at least two thousand men," Lin Yuan said. "There's also a Vice Admiral in command."

"Can we do it?"

"Heh heh heh..." Lin Yuan chuckled softly. "You're asking me?"

He raised a hand and opened a door in front of him.

Beyond it was the seabed, directly beneath the convoy.

"Let's go."

3

Lin Yuan and Bullet approached the convoy from the seabed.

Lin Yuan's Spatial Perception pinpointed each ship's position, draft, and lower-hold layout.

"The first transport ship's lower hold is at the stern, the third compartment on the left." He kept his eyes closed. "The seastone is packed in wooden crates, about a ton each. Fifty crates in all."

"How do we move them?"

Lin Yuan opened his eyes and opened a door underwater. Beyond it was the first transport ship's lower hold.

He slipped inside, with Bullet following behind.

The lower hold was stacked with wooden crates stamped with the World Government's emblem. Lin Yuan opened one to reveal grayish-white ore—raw seastone.

"This is it."

He raised a hand and opened a massive door in the floor of the hold. On the other side was the warehouse on Void Island.

"Move them."

Without a word, Bullet hoisted the crates up and tossed them through the door. One crate, two crates, three crates...

All fifty crates of seastone were moved in ten minutes.

Lin Yuan left a "micro-door" in the transport ship's lower hold. No bigger than a fingernail, it was embedded in a plank in the hull. The other end opened onto a reef on the seabed.

The door wouldn't let seawater rush in, but Lin Yuan could enlarge it whenever he wanted.

"Let's go. Next ship."

4

The second transport ship. The same procedure.

The third transport ship. The same procedure.

All one hundred and fifty tons of seastone were cleared out.

Lin Yuan stood on the deck of the third ship, gazing at the escort warships in the distance as the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

"That should do it."

"We're not going after the warships?" Bullet asked.

"No." Lin Yuan shook his head. "Our target is the seastone, not the navy. Sinking the warships would only make the World Government send more people after us."

"So we're just leaving?"

"Before we go..." Lin Yuan pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket, folded it into a paper airplane, and set it on the deck. A line was written on it:

"I've borrowed the seastone for now. I'll come back to borrow more next time. —Lin Yuan"

"Let's go."

Lin Yuan opened a door, and the two vanished.

5

Early the next morning. Mary Geoise, the Room of Authority.

Saint Saturn, one of the Five Elders, slapped a note onto the table, his face livid.

"One hundred and fifty tons of seastone. All stolen."

The other four looked no better.

"Lin Yuan again?" Saint Mars asked.

"Who else could have slipped into the transport ships' holds without a sound?" Saint Saturn gritted his teeth. "A spatial ability user. The Door-Door Fruit."

"What's his bounty now?"

"Five hundred million."

"Too low." Saint Nusjuro shook his head. "An ability user who can enter and leave World Government transport ships at will is worth more."

"Then raise it," Saint Warcury said. "To how much?"

Saint Saturn fell silent for a moment.

"One billion."

"One billion?!" Saint Shepherd Ju Peter frowned. "He's only been enlisted for two years. He hasn't even learned all the Six Powers."

"But his ability is worth a billion," Saint Saturn said. "And he has someone behind him."

"Who?"

"We don't know. But he knew the transport ships' route and schedule precisely, which means someone gave him the intelligence. That person could be among us."

Silence fell over the Room of Authority.

After a long moment, Saint Saturn spoke. "Pass down the order. Raise Lin Yuan's bounty to one billion Beli. Bring him in alive, or bring back his corpse."

6

Void Island.

In the warehouse, one hundred and fifty tons of seastone were piled into a small mountain.

Bullet leaned against a crate of seastone, yawning in boredom.

"One billion." Lin Yuan looked at the wanted poster in his hand. "The navy really thinks highly of me."

"Not just the navy," Bullet said. "The World Government has its eyes on you too."

"Let them watch."

Lin Yuan folded the wanted poster and slipped it into his pocket.

"Next, we have three things to do."

"Which three?"

"First, trade this batch of seastone for money. Second, use the money to buy weapons and recruit people. Third..." Lin Yuan paused. "Go to Impel Down and rescue that person."

"Who exactly is this person?"

Lin Yuan didn't answer.

He walked to the warehouse entrance and looked at the moon in the night sky, the corners of his mouth slowly rising.

"Someone who was abandoned by the world, just like you."

"Just like me too?"

"That's right," Lin Yuan said. "Both lone wolves who survived the battlefield."

Bullet fell silent for a moment.

"When do we go?"

"When he's close to death."

"Why?"

"Because only when people are close to death will they truly let go of all their misgivings and follow someone else."

Bullet looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"Bwahahahaha... you're one ruthless bastard."

"Heh heh heh..." Lin Yuan laughed too. "Come on, let's get some sleep. We'll start selling the seastone tomorrow."

(End of Chapter 10)