Before dawn, Water 7 was stained orange-red by flames soaring into the sky.
The fire at the Galley-La Company president's residence burned ever fiercer. Fire engine sirens, citizens' cries, and guards' shouts mingled in a chaotic din, and thick smoke shrouded the entire block. Personnel from the Marine Branch arrived immediately and cordoned off the fire, but everyone's attention was drawn to the raging flames. No one noticed two figures supporting Iceburg, who kept coughing from the smoke, through an abandoned drainage channel behind the residence before silently disappearing into the backstreet alleys.
"Mr. Iceburg, this way."
A Wind-Listening Guard member lowered his voice as he helped Iceburg into an unremarkable shipyard warehouse. Clean water, medicine, and fresh clothes had already been prepared inside, and an encrypted Den Den Mushi sat in the very center of a table. Otherwise, the warehouse was empty. Not even a trace that could reveal their identities had been left behind.
Iceburg gulped down a mouthful of water, recovering from the suffocating smoke he had inhaled. Looking up at the two masked men before him, he asked gravely, "Who exactly are you? People from Hua Country?"
Neither answered. They merely nodded slightly at him, and one pointed to the encrypted Den Den Mushi on the table. "Mr. Iceburg, this encrypted line can safely reach Mr. Franky. The World Government cannot tap it. Commander-in-Chief Guo has ordered us only to ensure your safety. We will neither interfere in anything else nor show ourselves."
With that, the two turned and left. The warehouse's iron door closed softly, leaving Iceburg standing alone. He looked at the Den Den Mushi on the table, then at the residence still blazing outside the window, and a chill ran down his back.
Hua Country had not only predicted every move Cipher Pol