"Arlong, indeed?!"
In the warship's quarters, Momonga wore pajamas and pulled his cape over his shoulders. Hearing the report from the Den Den Mushi, he froze.
"Yes. On one hand, they demanded survival money from the villagers every month. On the other, they used those villages as leverage to keep the Marines from acting rashly."
The scout answered, his words filled with fury.
The important part was still the money.
Rat pocketed a sizable portion himself, while using some of it to grease palms and bribe other officials.
Otherwise, judging from Lowett's example, Marines who truly intended to act would never care so much about civilian casualties.
"Bastard!!!"
Momonga roared, leaving the two guards at the door utterly bewildered.
He had always held onto one last shred of hope, hoping Rat had not gone completely too far and had left the common people some hope.
But he had not.
Rat had even helped conceal the truth behind those massacres, drowning informants halfway across the sea to seal off the news.
The Marines, pirates, and even Bounty Hunters all knew about it, while the civilians—the victims themselves—knew nothing.
Such actions were utterly devoid of conscience!
"Vice Admiral, what do we do next?"
By the shore, the Marine scout hiding cautiously behind a tree trunk asked quietly. His sharp eyes darted about, and he occasionally crouched down, as though he suffered from hyperactivity.
Yet that inability to stay still was precisely what had made him stand out among the scouts. It kept him highly alert regardless of exhaustion or hardship, and he had never failed a mission.
"Something happened to their men. Based on what we heard from the villagers, Arlong will definitely find someone to vent his anger on."
Someone had once taken issue with the extortion carried out by Arlong's subordinates and thrown a stone, injuring a Fish-Man. Enraged, Arlong ordered that person's entire family to be hanged...
Then he asked how it felt to have one's family harmed.
He was a racist to the core!
Other than fellow Fish-Men, he simply did not regard human lives as lives!
Hearing this, Momonga snapped out of his thoughts.
He glanced at the soldiers standing guard outside the door and silently shook his head.
"We still cannot act rashly..."
"But!"
The scout spoke anxiously.
"Calm down!"
Momonga barked, "I mean we should not act rashly. That does not mean the Marines cannot act."
After a pause, he continued questioning him.
"Did you find out where the missing Fish-Men went last?"
"Klar Village, on the outskirts of Arlong's Territory."
The scout answered swiftly.
"Then that means there are others involved! This may... be an opportunity."
After giving it some thought, an icy chill flashed across Momonga's killing intent-filled face.
"Leave it to Rat!"
"Tell me... if you were the culprit who made four Fish-Men disappear, what would you think when the Marines arrived?"
"Me? I would think Arlong bribed Rat and asked him to help. Now that Vice Admiral Momonga is here in the East Blue, Arlong would not dare start a war openly..."
At that point, the scout suddenly understood, his heart burning with excitement.
"Yes! I understand."
As expected of a veteran from Marine Headquarters!
Everyone "knew" Arlong had connections within the Marines. When Rat led a large force to their door, the other side would surely assume Arlong had bribed Rat.
But they were the ones who had informed Colonel Rat about this matter. Those people did not know that.
That would create an effective information gap, shifting both Arlong's and Rat's attention to the unknown enemy, so they could...
So they could do what again?
The scout blanked out for a moment.
Fortunately, Momonga soon continued.
"The main force cannot be mobilized for now. Go notify the other scouts and secretly evacuate the civilians."
Right, rescue the civilians!
To save them, they had to ensure that neither Rat, Arlong, nor the hidden third party could lash out in desperation and target the civilians.
That was why they needed to divert their attention.
The scout's gaze was filled with admiration. He stood at attention and saluted.
"Understood! I guarantee the mission will be completed!"
"Be careful in all things. Remember, do not let any information leak."
Momonga's expression turned cold as he spoke sternly.
He understood that even possessing this intelligence was of little use.
Those twenty-plus villages meant thousands of hostages.
If he led troops directly against Arlong's Territory, setting aside whether Arlong would lash out in desperation, Rat would certainly jump first, silence everyone involved, and frame others.
What Rat had done warranted execution more than a dozen times over. Why did the Fleet Admiral send him to the East Blue? Who would not fear that?!
Then which was more important: killing people to establish authority, or saving more civilians?
Momonga had his own scales in his heart!
The next day, Momonga called Rat and said he had received a report that pirates had possibly been sighted near Klar Village.
From an outsider's perspective, Momonga's notice was perfectly normal.
As a Headquarters officer inspecting the East Blue, he had no reason to personally investigate every last report, so informing Rat, who managed these waters, was entirely justified.
But Rat had a guilty conscience. He had kept delaying any meeting with Momonga because he feared being seized and interrogated.
People's hearts were hidden behind their ribs. Who knew what Momonga was really like?
Petty thieves and schemers had always been inclined to judge others by the worst possible malice.
The moment Rat heard that pirates had appeared near Klar Village, he immediately pounded his chest and promised.
"Let this old man do some fishing... Perhaps I might hook a big one."
Standing on the deck, Momonga faced the wind and waves, his gaze profound.
In the East Blue, there were not many people who dared attack Fish-Men—and even fewer who had the ability to do so.
Cocoyasi Village, Arlong's Territory.
"Klar Village? So it really was there?"
After receiving Rat's notice, Arlong crushed the cup in his hand.
"You actually knew?"
Rat said in shock, "It really was your men, wasn't it? If you knew, why make such a big deal out of it and even alarm Momonga?!"
Now was the time for everyone to tuck their heads in and play dumb while waiting for the storm to pass.
How could the handful of nobodies in the East Blue possibly do anything to Momonga?
Even Grand Line pirates with bounties over a hundred million only dared to gang up on him, hoping to make a name for themselves. And what happened?
They were still killed instead!
A man like that in the East Blue was like a dragon entering the sea—unstoppable.
"Shut up! Do I need you telling me how to do things?"
Arlong's eyes brimmed with killing intent, his voice icy.
"I..."
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Rat swallowed and did not dare speak.
If the truth came out, he would stand trial before a military court and eventually be executed.
But if he angered Arlong, he was certain he would not live to see the next day.
Fortunately, Arlong changed the subject.
"Four of my men went missing last night. I only just found out they were headed toward Klar Village."
"So... it wasn't you?"
Rat's face was filled with disbelief as his eyes widened. "Someone actually dared attack Fish-Men?!"
Most notable pirates knew Arlong was operating in these waters, yet no one had dared come challenge him for fame.
That fearsome reputation had been built when the Fish-Men first arrived in the East Blue, forged through victory after victory amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Fish-Men, born with physiques several times stronger than humans, were beings ordinary people could only look up to.
And Arlong had more than a hundred such beings under his command!
Now someone dared lay hands on Fish-Men...
For a moment, Rat suddenly did not want to go investigate.
"Don't worry. I'll send people to help you."
As if he knew what Rat was thinking, Arlong bared his sharp teeth in a grin. "You know what Fish-Men can do. With us blocking off the sea and trapping them on land, you and I can attack from both sides and Annihilate them with ease."
Fish-Men could breathe underwater, while humans could only huddle aboard ships. That was the fundamental reason Fish-Men looked down on humans for venturing into the sea.
In the ocean, they were the masters. Once they sank a ship, even the strongest human would be left with a headache.
It was racial pride!
"Of course, you'll get the credit, Rat. All I want is revenge."
Arlong added in a low voice.
"Credit!!"
At those words, Rat snorted heavily.
The Marine hierarchy was strict, its system rigorous. Everything was based on military achievements and strength. No matter how well-connected someone was, without strength or accomplishments, they could not enter the core decision-making circle.
He knew his career had nearly reached its end. Further advancement was hopeless.
None of his subordinates could fight. Forget about earning glory; being able to muddle through in the East Blue was good enough.
But what if Fish-Men helped him accumulate military merits and take another step forward?
There was a Rear Admiral position in the East Blue that had been vacant for years!
"Perhaps they were behind the Ghost Ship Incident too... No, they definitely were!"
"If I wipe them out in one stroke..."
Wealth, fame, power—everything men pursued would be within reach!
With Momonga stationed behind him and Arlong supporting him in front, Rat imagined himself earning great merit and began to feel lightheaded.
"I'll go first. Wait for my notice before coming over, so word doesn't get out."
Hearing that, Arlong knew the fish had taken the bait.
He did not truly need Rat's help. He merely needed a scout to gather intelligence for him.
Like Momonga, Arlong believed there were not many people in the East Blue who dared attack him.
He needed to determine whether this was the idea of one of them, or of an entire group.
He would not spare anyone who dared harm his comrades, but that did not mean he would mobilize his entire force without even knowing who his enemy was.
"And once I know who you are..."
Arlong's face was filled with killing intent.
Fish-Men had a natural advantage in the water. If they wanted to hunt someone down, it was far easier for them than for humans.
Of course, he had not lied to Rat either. There would indeed be credit.
For Marine officers who died in battle, it was customary to posthumously award merit and provide for their families.
Blinded by greed, Rat had no idea he had already become a discarded pawn.
A discarded pawn no one cared about, one they only wanted to use one last time.
Where's my cover?
I only made it the afternoon before yesterday. How did it get changed today?
I'm coughing up blood!
The facts proved that updating once a day was necessary. To celebrate the motherland's birthday, Big Tree drank from noon into the afternoon and then into the night yesterday. Today, I slept until four-thirty... If not for saved chapters, I'd have been doomed. [manual smug]
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