Who Sits Steadily Fishing?

"It really is Arlong?!"

In the warship's living quarters, Momonga, clad in pajamas, pulled a cape over his shoulders. Hearing the report from the Den Den Mushi, he froze.

"Yes, they extort protection money from the villagers every month, and at the same time, they use these villages as leverage, preventing the Navy from acting rashly."

The scout replied, his voice filled with anger.

The important part was still the money.

Colonel Rat had taken a considerable amount for himself, and some of it was used to bribe other officials.

Otherwise, looking at the example of Lowett, the Navy wouldn't be so concerned about civilian casualties if they were to take action.

"Scum!!!"

Momonga roared, leaving the two guards at the door bewildered.

He had held onto a sliver of hope, hoping that Colonel Rat wouldn't go to such extremes and would leave some hope for the common people.

However, that wasn't the case.

He had even helped cover up the truth of the massacres, drowning informants halfway to their destination to block the news.

The Navy, pirates, and even bounty hunters knew about it, but the victims, the common people, did not.

Such actions were utterly inhumane!

"Vice Admiral, what do we do now?"

On the shore, a Navy scout, hiding cautiously behind a tree trunk, whispered his question. His sharp eyes darted around, and he occasionally crouched down, as if suffering from hyperactivity.

But this restless state was precisely what made him stand out among the scouts, allowing him to maintain a high level of vigilance regardless of fatigue or hardship, thus never failing.

"Someone from their side is in trouble. Based on the news from the residents, Arlong will definitely lash out in anger."

Once, someone couldn't stand the tyranny of Arlong's subordinates and threw a rock, injuring a Fishman. Enraged, Arlong then ordered all of his family members to be hanged...

And then asked him how it felt to have his family harmed.

He was an extremely evil racist!

Besides his fellow Fishmen, he didn't value human life at all!

Hearing this, Momonga snapped out of his thoughts.

He glanced at the soldiers standing guard outside the door and shook his head silently.

"We still cannot act rashly..."

"But!"

The scout said anxiously.

"Calm down!"

Momonga hissed, "I mean we cannot act rashly, but that doesn't mean the Navy can't make a move."

He paused, then continued to ask.

"Have you found out where the missing Fishmen went last?"

"Klar Village, the border area of Arlong's territory."

The scout replied swiftly.

"Then that means there are others involved! This might... be an opportunity."

After thinking for a moment, a hint of icy coldness flashed across Momonga's murderous face.

"Leave it to Colonel Rat!"

"Let me ask you... if you were the culprit who made four Fishmen disappear, and the Navy arrived, what would you think?"

"Me? I would think that Arlong bribed Colonel Rat to help him, and now that you, a Vice Admiral, are in the East Blue, Arlong wouldn't dare to start a war openly..."

At this point, the scout suddenly understood, his heart burning with excitement.

"Yes! I understand."

As expected of a veteran from Headquarters!

It was "common knowledge" that Arlong had connections in the Navy. When Colonel Rat led a large force to confront them, they would surely assume Arlong had bribed Colonel Rat.

But they were the ones who had informed Colonel Rat about this matter, so those people were unaware.

This way, they could create an effective intelligence gap, diverting the attention of both Arlong and Colonel Rat to the unknown enemy...

To do what again?

The scout paused.

Fortunately, Momonga quickly continued.

"The main force cannot be mobilized for now. Go and notify the other scouts to secretly evacuate the civilians."

That's right, to rescue the civilians!

To save the common people, they had to ensure that neither Colonel Rat, Arlong, nor any hidden third party would be driven to desperation and harm the civilians.

Therefore, their attention needed to be diverted.

The scout's eyes were filled with reverence as he stood at attention and saluted.

"Understood! I guarantee the mission will be completed!"

"Be careful with everything, and make sure not to let any wind leak."

Momonga's expression turned cold as he spoke sternly.

He understood that even with this information, it was useless.

Those twenty-odd villages were thousands of hostages.

If he directly led troops to attack Arlong's territory, setting aside whether Arlong would lash out in desperation, Colonel Rat would definitely jump out first, acting like a prophet, killing witnesses, and framing others.

The crimes he committed were deserving of more than ten death sentences. The Fleet Admiral sending him to the East Blue, who wouldn't be afraid of his intentions?!

So, was it more important to kill to establish authority, or to save more civilians?

The answer, Momonga had a scale in his heart!

The next day, Momonga telephoned Colonel Rat, saying he had received a report of suspicious pirate activity near Klar Village.

From an outsider's perspective, Momonga's notification was perfectly normal.

As a visitor from Headquarters patrolling the East Blue, he had no reason to personally investigate every single report, so notifying Colonel Rat, who was responsible for managing this sea area, was perfectly acceptable.

However, Colonel Rat, with a guilty conscience, had been delaying meeting Momonga out of fear of being apprehended and interrogated.

You can't read a person's mind; who knew what Momonga's true intentions were?

Scoundrels and opportunists always suspect others with the worst possible malice.

Upon hearing of pirate activity near Klar Village, Colonel Rat immediately patted his chest and guaranteed.

"Let me properly fish... perhaps it will be a big fish."

Standing on the deck, Momonga faced the wind and waves, his gaze deep.

In the East Blue, there were very few who dared to attack Fishmen, let alone had the ability to.

Cocoyasi Village, Arlong's territory.

"Klar Village? So it's that place?"

Upon receiving Colonel Rat's notification, Arlong couldn't help but crush the cup in his hand.

"You actually know?"

Colonel Rat was shocked. "It was your people, wasn't it? Since you knew, why cause such a big scene and even alert Momonga!"

Now was the time for everyone to keep their heads down and play the fool, waiting for the storm to pass.

With the East Blue's meager forces, how could they possibly deal with Momonga?

Even pirates with bounties over 100 million from the Grand Line only dared to form groups to trouble him, hoping to make a name for themselves, and then what?

Weren't they still killed in return!

With such a person in the East Blue, he was like a dragon entering the water, unstoppable.

"Shut up! Do I need you to tell me what to do?"

Arlong's eyes were filled with killing intent, his voice icy.

"I..."

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Colonel Rat swallowed, not daring to speak.

If his crimes were exposed, he would be tried in a military court and executed after the autumn harvest.

But if he angered Arlong, he was sure he wouldn't live to see the next day.

Fortunately, Arlong changed the subject.

"Four of my men went missing last night, and I just found out they went in the direction of Klar Village."

"So... it wasn't you?"

Colonel Rat's face was filled with disbelief, his eyes wide. "Someone actually dared to attack Fishmen?!"

Most named pirates knew Arlong was in this sea area, yet no one had dared to come and make a name for themselves against him.

This fearsome power was built by the Fishmen when they first arrived in the East Blue, through one victory after another, forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Fishmen, who naturally possessed physical strength several times that of humans, were beings to be looked up to by ordinary people.

And Arlong had over a hundred of these beings under his command!

Now, someone dared to attack a Fishman...

In an instant, Colonel Rat suddenly lost the desire to investigate.

"Don't worry, I'll send someone to help you."

As if knowing what Colonel Rat was thinking, Arlong grinned, revealing his sharp teeth. "You know the abilities of Fishmen well. With us blocking the sea, trapping them on land, then you and I can attack from both sides and annihilate them with ease."

Fishmen could breathe underwater, while humans could only huddle on ships. This was the fundamental reason why Fishmen disdained humans venturing into the ocean.

In the sea, they are the masters. If you can destroy a ship, even the strongest human will have a headache.

This is racial pride!

"Naturally, this credit belongs to you, Rat. All I want is revenge."

Arlong added in a low voice.

"Credit!!"

Hearing this, Rat snorted, his nostrils flaring.

The Navy has a strict hierarchy and clear regulations. Everything is based on military merit and strength. No matter how influential you are, without strength and military merit, you cannot enter the core decision-making level.

He knew that his life was almost over, and there was no hope of further advancement.

He didn't have a single capable subordinate. Forget about making a name for himself; it would be good enough to just muddle along in the East Blue.

But what if a Fishman helped him accumulate military merit and advance further?

There was a Rear Admiral position in the East Blue that had been vacant for years!

"Perhaps the ghost ship incident was also their doing... No, it must have been them!"

"If I can capture them all..."

Wealth, fame, power – everything a man desires was within reach!

With Momonga in the rear and Arlong providing support in the front, Rat imagined himself achieving great deeds, and he felt a sense of elation.

"I'll go first. Wait for my notification before you come, so we don't tip anyone off."

Hearing this, Arlong knew the fish had taken the bait.

He didn't actually need Rat's help; he just needed a scout to gather intelligence for him.

Just like Momonga thought, Arlong also believed that there were very few people in the East Blue who would dare to attack him.

He wanted to figure out if this was the idea of one person or a group of people.

He wouldn't let go of anyone who dared to harm his compatriots, but that didn't mean he would go all out without knowing who his opponent was.

"And once I know who you are..."

Arlong's face was filled with murderous intent.

Fishmen had a natural advantage in the water. It was much easier for them to hunt someone down than for humans.

Of course, he wasn't lying to Rat; there would indeed be credit.

The Navy generally had a tradition of posthumously awarding credit to fallen officers and soldiers and providing for their families.

Blinded by greed, Rat was completely unaware that he was already a pawn.

A pawn that no one cared about, who only wanted to make use of him.

Where's my cover image?

It was finished the afternoon before yesterday, so why has it changed today?

I'm spitting blood!

This proves that the previous single update was necessary. To celebrate the birthday of our motherland, Da Shu drank from the afternoon session to the evening session yesterday, and then slept until 4:30 today... If I didn't have backup manuscripts, I would be in real trouble. [Manual funny face]

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