Hive Eye's first real battle

The ninth month after the God Valley Incident.

Ginny's Glint-Glint Fruit ability underwent a qualitative change within a month of the Dressrosa deal being completed.

It's not that the range has expanded—four thousand kilometers is the limit, it can't go any further. It's that the accuracy has improved. Initially, she could only see a general outline, the figures were blurry, and the sounds were intermittent. Now she can see a person's facial features clearly, she can read lips, and she can see through twenty layers of walls to the innermost secret room.

She gave her ability a name.

"The Hive Eye"

Lin Yuan thought the name was good and had a sign hung up at the entrance of the Intelligence Room. Ginny looked at the sign and her lips twitched.

"I just said it offhand."

"It's over, it's over," Lin Yuan said. "Don't you want it anymore?"

"Want to."

Ginny wiped the sign clean again and again before hanging it up.

For the past month, Ginny's "Hive Eye" has covered the entire New World.

Every morning, she would first look at Pirate Island. Rocks' ship was still docked in the harbor, Whitebeard was gone, and Golden Lion's ship was no longer there. Half of Rocks' ship was missing, but those who remained were all elites— Ochoku, Silver Axe, Captain John, and that mysterious white-haired old man.

Ginny gave the old man a nickname, "Slow Heartbeat."

"He stood on the deck for Slow Heartbeat minutes today, looking at the sea, without saying a word," Ginny wrote in her logbook. "Then he went back to his cabin and closed the door. I could see him sitting on the bed, eyes closed, as if meditating. His heart was only beating eight times a minute."

Lin Yuan took the log and glanced at it.

"What about body temperature?"

"Five degrees lower than normal. Like a snake."

"Devil Fruit ability?"

"Uncertain. But it's definitely some kind of special ability."

Lin Yuan returned the log to her. "Keep watching. He told me when he left the Rocks ship."

Then she looked at Whole Cake Island. Big Mom's fleet had been docked in the harbor since returning from Hachinosu. Big Mom was recently giving birth—not in a war, but in a real birth. Ginny saw her screaming and yelling in the delivery room, with the officers around her scrambling to help.

"Ouch... it hurts so much!"

Ginny looked away and rubbed her eyes.

"The Big Mom is giving birth."

"How many have you had?" Lin Yuan asked.

"I don't know. I haven't counted. Anyway, there are a lot."

"Keep an eye on her. She'll recover after giving birth."

Then she looked at Marine Headquarters. Sengoku had recently eaten the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu, greatly increasing his strength. Ginny saw him testing his ability in the Training Ground, transforming into a golden Buddha Form and smashing half of the Training Ground with a single blow. Garp stood to the side, chewing on a senbei, looking completely indifferent.

"Sengoku, you've made too much of a commotion."

"Shut up."

"Ha ha--"

Ginny looked away and rubbed her eyes.

"At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku has been making a big move lately. He's mobilizing warships, it seems he's planning to surround something."

"Surround what?"

"I don't know. I didn't see the document clearly. But he drew a circle on the map, that location..." Ginny pulled out a nautical chart and pointed to it, "Probably around here."

Lin Yuan leaned closer to take a look.

That location is Pirate Island.

"Rocks?"

"Possible."

Lin Yuan was silent for a moment. "Keep an eye on it. If the Navy really takes action against Rocks, that would be a big deal."

Then she looked at Mary Geoise.

The Five Elders have been holding meetings more and more frequently lately. Ginny sees them sitting in that large room every day, with various documents spread out in front of them. She can't see the words on the documents, but she can see the titles.

An assessment of the Rocks Pirates' power after its split.

"Adjustment Plan for the Bounty on Lin Yuan, the Spatial Ability User"

Progress Report on the Research on Vegapunk Lineage Factors

Ginny paused for a moment when she saw the last document.

She tried to focus, trying to read the words on the document. But the walls of the room were thick, and there seemed to be some kind of interference—not Haki, but technology. The World Government had installed anti-observation devices in some important rooms, specifically to counter Observation Haki and Devil Fruit abilities.

Ginny could only see the outline; she couldn't make out the details.

Lin Yuan stood behind her.

"Stop looking. Even if we knew that level of secret now, there's nothing we could do."

Ginny looked away and rubbed her sore eyes.

That afternoon, Ginny noticed something unusual.

She was performing her routine scan of the Rocks fleet when she suddenly noticed the giant ship move. Not sailing, but the entire ship was moving—departing from the port of Pirate Island and heading south.

"Lin Yuan! Rocks's ship has moved!"

Lin Yuan walked in from the hall.

"Direction?"

"South. Towards Wano Country." Ginny squinted, straining to focus. "The ship isn't moving fast, as if it's waiting for something."

Where are the people on the ship?

"Rocks is on deck. Ochoku, Silver Axe, and Captain John are all there. Slow Heartbeat is too." Ginny paused. "Their expressions are very serious."

Can you hear me?

Ginny strained to concentrate, her lips moving slightly as she read Rocks's lips.

"... Wano Country... Transport Ship... Seastone... robbed..."

Her hand suddenly trembled.

"Rocks is going to steal Seastone! Transport Fleet departed from Wano Country!"

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes.

"When?"

I didn't hear him clearly, but he said 'three days later'.

Lin Yuan turned and walked to the sea chart, his finger tracing the route in the southern part of the New World. Wano Country is located to the west, and the regular route of the Seastone Transport Fleet is to depart from Wano Country, pass through the southern side of the New World, cross the Calm Belt, and arrive at Mary Geoise.

Rocks' fleet departed from Pirate Island and sailed south, which would allow them to intercept Transport Ships along that route.

"Ginny, keep an eye on it. See where his fleet goes."

Half an hour later, Ginny noticed another anomaly.

It wasn't Rocks' fleet, it was the navy.

Sengoku's fleet also set sail. Twenty warships departed from the Marine Headquarters port, heading northwest. Not towards Pirate Island, but towards the New World —in the direction of Rocks' fleet.

"The navy has moved too," Ginny said. "Twenty warships. Sengoku is on the Flagship, Garp is there too."

"Route?"

Ginny drew a line on the nautical chart. Two lines— Rocks's route (southbound) and the Navy's route (northwestbound)—intersected in some sea area of New World.

They'll crash.

"It wasn't a collision." Lin Yuan stared at the nautical chart. "It was Sengoku who knew what Rocks was up to and went to intercept him."

Ginny made circles with her fingers behind her back as she continued tracking.

Her eyes began to sting. Tracking two targets simultaneously— the Rocks fleet and the Marine Fleet —was an enormous drain on her stamina. Her vision was blurring, and the images were swaying.

"Ginny, take a break."

"Wait a minute..." Ginny gritted her teeth, trying to focus, "There's someone on Rocks' ship... watching this way."

Lin Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

"What's the meaning?"

"He... he's looking this way." Ginny's voice trembled slightly. "Not at the sea, not at the sky. He's looking at me. He knows I'm looking at him."

"Slow Heartbeat?"

Yes. He... smiled.

The Intelligence Room was silent for a few seconds.

"Look away," Lin Yuan said. "Now."

Ginny lowered her fingers, the purple light in her eyes fading. She gasped for breath, her forehead covered in sweat.

That person... is no ordinary person.

"I know," Lin Yuan said. "Don't look at him anymore. When you do, walk around him."

"There's no way around it. He's on the ship."

"Then don't look at the ship. Just look at the course."

Ginny nodded and picked up a towel to wipe her sweat.

That evening, Ginny had her final scan.

Rocks' fleet continued south. The navy's fleet continued northwest. She had already marked the point where the two routes intersected on the map.

The name of that sea area is "Ghost Sea." It's not the official name; it was given by the pirates. This is because the sea area is often shrouded in dense fog, making it easy for ships to get lost. Moreover, there are numerous reefs on the seabed, making it a death sentence for ordinary ships to go in.

But for Rocks and the Navy, none of that mattered.

"Lin Yuan, you know this place, right?" Ginny pointed to the map.

"Ghost Sea."

"Rocks and the Navy will fight here."

"Not necessarily," Lin Yuan said. "If Rocks's target is the Transport Fleet, he will intercept it before Transport Ship enters the Ghost Sea. The Transport Ship won't dare enter the Ghost Sea; it will only detour. The detour route has no fog and no reefs, making it a better place to attack."

What about the navy?

"The Navy will arrive before the Transport Ship is hijacked and stop Rocks."

Ginny stared at the map, remaining silent for a long time.

"And what about us?"

Lin Yuan did not answer.

He was also looking at the map. On the north side of the Ghost Sea, there was a narrow, Safe Waterway. If the Transport Fleet didn't go through the Ghost Sea, it would take that Waterway. The Waterway was flanked by reefs, with only a narrow path in the middle, allowing only one ship to pass at a time.

If he were Rocks, he would wait at the Waterway exit, and then rob the Transport Ship as soon as it came out.

If he were from the Sengoku, he would have stopped Rocks at the entrance to the Waterway.

If he were Lin Yuan--

"Ginny, mark this Waterway."

Ginny drew a red line on the Waterway.

"If the Transport Fleet goes through here, both the exit and the entrance will be battlefields. What about the section in between?"

Ginny paused for a moment, then drew a circle in the middle of the red line.

"Here, there are no faction markers. No pirates, no navy, only ocean currents and fish."

Lin Yuan stared at the circle, remaining silent for a long time.

"Ginny, when will Rocks arrive?"

"Three days later. The navy will also be in three days."

What about the Transport Fleet?

"Also three days later."

Lin Yuan stood up.

That's enough.

He walked out of the Intelligence Room, stood at the Castle gate, and looked out at the sea.

The moonlight shone on the water, creating shimmering waves.

Three days later, the three forces will converge in that sea area.

Rocks wanted to seize it. The Navy wanted to stop him. And he—

He won't help anyone.

He only picked them up.

(End of Chapter 54)