The three returned to their bedchamber, with Barlow leading the way, his steps exactly the same as when he had just come out of the conference room.
Roy followed behind, rubbing the reddened skin on the back of his neck where Mila had pulled him, while his other hand still gripped the scabbard of his sword, muttering something under his breath.
Mila was the last to come in, and she slammed the door shut behind her with a crisp, clean sound.
On the round table in the bedroom lay the map of Alabasta from yesterday, along with several copies of the latest intelligence sent by the head of the merchant guild.
These include recent troop movements of the rebels, the requisition of supplies in Rainbase Yuba, and a troop strength comparison table compiled by Rosa overnight.
Barlow walked to the round table, took out Den Den Mushi from his pocket, and placed it on the table.
This Den Den Mushi has Gunbai- shaped pattern engraved on its shell, and its tentacles are shorter than those of a regular Den Den Mushi. It is an encrypted model that Koldo specially obtained from the Communications Department of Water 7.
He dialed Damian's frequency, and the Den Den Mushi's eyes slowly opened, its eyeballs rolled, and then it puffed out its cheeks and made a low "pop pop pop".
Mila took out her Den Den Mushi from the back of her belt and dialed Rosa's frequency.
She was faster Barlow; her fingers spun twice on the dial pad, and the Den Den Mushi's eyes immediately lit up.
Roy moved closer to her, propped his elbows on the edge of the table, and tilted his head to watch as the Den Den Mushi's face gradually transformed into Rosa's likeness.
Mila answered the call first. Rosa's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, her speech as fast as ever, without any pleasantries, getting straight to the point. "The main rebel force has begun to assemble. Our reconnaissance outposts north of Katya just reported that starting early this morning, rebel forces in Rainbase, Yuba, and several other directions simultaneously broke camp, their marching routes all pointing towards Alubarna."
"Preliminary estimates suggest the troop strength may approach 100,000."
"Charles' main force was also among them, with heavy firepower, at least dozens of siege cannons, which were looted from the arsenal of Yuba."
"Furthermore, Fisher's mercenaries are leading the vanguard, and they are currently less than a day's journey from Alubarna."
Mila's finger traced across the map, its tip pausing on a marker for a river bend outside Alubarna.
She twirled the pen in her other hand, and the tip drew a tiny cross at the bend of the river.
"Prince is going all in."
"His previous attacks on Yuba and Rainbase, on those towns and oases, were not for territory, but for supplies and manpower."
"He conscripts soldiers and supplies every time he conquers a new territory, and the snowball keeps growing bigger and bigger. Now his forces are no longer the scattered mercenary squads he had at the beginning."
"He doesn't need to hold onto those territories; he just needs to take Alubarna, take the capital, and Alabasta will be his."
Rosa added on the other end of the Den Den Mushi: "Our informant in Yuba sent back a list of the rebels' supply allocations for the past few days, which includes large quantities of rations, gunpowder, and siege equipment parts."
"These things are all for sustaining a protracted siege with their own supplies. Prince never intended to leave a long-term garrison in those occupied territories; he staked everything on Alubarna."
"In addition, the third and fourth companies of the Guard Corps have completed mobilization and are ready to depart at any time."
"Rosa, the third squadron of the Guard Corps will move first. According to the plan I told you before, they will circle around to the rear of the rebels via that old trade route. Do not engage in direct fire. First, cut off their supply line from Rainbase to Alubarna. The fourth squadron will stand by and await my next instructions," Mila said.
"Understood." Rosa replied briefly and hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Mila put her pen down next to the map and looked up at Barlow across the round table.
The Den Den Mushi on Barlow's end was still making a low "pop" sound, and Damian hadn't answered yet.
It rang three more times, and the Den Den Mushi's eyes bulged outwards, its face instantly switching to Damian's serious expression.
His voice was low, with the background sounds of warships' gun barrels rattling in the sea breeze and the distant echoes of marines shouting commands.
"Barlow, I just received a briefing from headquarters. The Rocks Pirates' flag has been spotted off the coast of Alabasta. Headquarters has raised the alert level for the Alabasta area to level two. What's the situation on your end?"
Barlow pushed the Den Den Mushi towards the map, leaned forward slightly, placed his hands on the edge of the table, and recounted the events of the past few hours in a rapid-fire manner befitting a concluding speech in a conference room.
Katya was wiped out, the rebel scouts were annihilated, Prince's true identity was confirmed, the guards with security risks inside the Alubarna Palace were eliminated, and King Wolof has agreed to let the Uchiha Trading Company take full control of Alubarna's defenses.
His narration was extremely concise, without a single wasted word. Every time point and location was so precise that it could be recorded in a combat log. However, when he said, "Wolof asked me if I was married," there was a very subtle pause in his tone. It was very brief, but Damian still noticed it.
"What?" Damian's voice betrayed a hint of confusion.
"A political marriage." Barlow shut down all further questions with those four words.
He quickly moved on to the next topic, but Mila calmly added, "The other party is the eldest princess of the Nefertari Royal Family, and she said 'I do' in front of King Wolof herself," very loudly, "And my second brother agreed too."
Roy peeked half his head out from behind Mila's shoulder, leaned closer to the Den Den Mushi, and added, "Big brother, you didn't see it. The way that girl looked at Second Brother was like she was looking at a savior. Second Brother even thought she was stupid."
Damian was silent for a moment on the other Den Den Mushi, then spoke, "Barlow."
"Um."
"Tell me about this in person when I get to Alubarna."
Barlow reached out and shoved Roy's face away from the Den Den Mushi with precise force, Roy's protests being amplified to the other end of the room.
He steered the conversation back on track and began to formally outline the three-pronged coordinated combat plan that he and Mila had initially drafted, which was only waiting for Damian to join them before it could be finalized.
"The three of us assisted Wolof in holding Alubarna. The remaining palace guards, along with a company of the Uchiha Security Force, built a deep defensive line relying on the city walls and the streets and alleys within the city."
"The purpose of defending the city is to tie down the main force of the rebels. Prince has staked everything on this battle, and he will not retreat easily."
"So we're not going to fight a war of attrition with him; we're going to use the time difference of a siege." He pointed to the outskirts of Alubarna on the map.
"Meanwhile, the main force of the Guard Corps was remotely deployed by Mila to outflank the rebels. The rebels' supply lines now mainly rely on the trade route from Rainbase to Alubarna; if their rear is cut off, the siege forces' ammunition and provisions will only last a few days at most."
"Then you will come by sea, splitting into two groups. You will personally lead an elite detachment to reinforce Alubarna, while the main naval force will clear out the remaining rebel strongholds, cutting off their retreat and regrouping routes."
Mila picked up the conversation, speaking at the same pace as Rosa.
"Before the Guard Corps raids our supply lines, I'll release a batch of false intelligence. Prince will think we're still resting in Katya; he won't expect someone to be cutting off his supply routes from the rear."
She drew two dotted lines on the map, pointing to two key passes behind the rebel army.
"Once the supply lines are cut off, the rebels' siege will drop dramatically within two days. By then, Damian's reinforcement fleet will have arrived, allowing them to launch a coordinated attack from within and without, trapping the rebels between the city walls and naval fire."
Damian listened but didn't answer immediately. The Den Den Mushi was silent for a while, and the sounds of the sea breeze and commands in the background also stopped. He probably came down from the bridge and moved to a quieter spot.
His voice rang out again, speaking more slowly than before, each word carefully considered.
"The plan is feasible. I will now submit an operational request to headquarters, stating that Fisher, a member of the Rocks Pirates, is leading an armed rebellion in Alabasta. Vice Admiral Uchiha Damian of the Marine Headquarters is leading his troops to intervene in accordance with Article 4 of the Emergency Response Regulations for Member States of the World Government."
"The headquarters' approval will take some time, but my fleet can move out before the approval is issued. Garp will patrol the area; if we encounter any resistance, I've asked him to handle it."
He paused, then continued, "I will personally lead the team to Alubarna. The main force of the warships and Garp's men will go to clear out the remaining rebel strongholds, control Rainbase and Yuba, and cut off the rebels' retreat. You Alubarna and make sure nothing goes wrong before I arrive."
Roy was standing nearby, pulled his knife out and then put it back in, then pulled it out again. Hearing this, he suddenly stopped and said to the Den Den Mushi, "Brother, when have you ever seen us make a mistake?"
"No," Damian said. "Keep going."
The Den Den Mushi closed its eyes.
Barlow put the Den Den Mushi back in his pocket, straightened up, and straightened his clothes.
Mila had already rolled up the map and stuffed it into a waterproof map tube. At the same time, she used her other hand to make a second call to Rosa and began issuing specific instructions for the deployment of the Guard Corps.
Her voice was very low and she spoke very quickly. Roy slung his sword over his shoulder, walked to the window, and glanced outside.
On the walls of Alubarna, one could vaguely see the royal guards rearranging their defenses according to yesterday's plan; the spacing between the soldiers on duty was increasing, and the frequency of patrols was noticeably higher.