"Mm, I understand this matter. Remember, your mission is reconnaissance first and foremost. Once you confirm the information, notify me immediately… If necessary, you can go to the bar at Sabaody to gather intel. The octopus in your fleet, Hatchan, should know that place."
Octopus Fish-Man Hatchan has a good relationship with Rayleigh and Shakky. It's said that when he was young, he saved Rayleigh after a shipwreck… As for what kind of shipwreck could sweep away the Dark King, that's anyone's guess.
"Won't it be too late?"
Send the news to Vane, and wait for Vane to come rescue them.
But even the fastest ship from here to Fish-Man Island would take four days. Add in the time for coating and descending to the seabed—wouldn't that be five or six days? By then, many slaves would probably have already been sent to Mary Geoise. And with Mary Geoise on guard, it likely wouldn't be ambushed a second time anytime soon.
"I have a way to get there in time."
In the past, he wouldn't have had this confidence. Now, it was solid. With Dragonite, there wasn't a single place in the world he couldn't reach within twenty-four hours.
In a straight line, it wasn't that far from here to Sabaody. Riding Dragonite, it would take at most three or four hours.
For the rest of the time, Vane took Jinbe around Midnight Town, which had already begun to take shape. It was the result of half a month of effort from all of them.
After delivering the people, Jinbe stayed on Sleeping Island for a day before returning alone. With his strength, traveling back and forth between Sleeping Island and Fish-Man Island by himself was effortless.
...
Mary Geoise.
"This Nation-Slayer sure knows how to run, ending up in a place like that."
The Five Elders sat together, holding the latest intelligence on Vane. They certainly weren't convening just for someone like Vane—who, in their eyes, was a minor figure. He was merely a side topic.
"How should we deal with him? After all, he attacked Mary Geoise. We can't treat him like an ordinary pirate, can we?"
Treating him as an ordinary pirate meant leaving it to the Marines to restrain and handle.
The World Government's agents were more focused on those who resisted royal rule and opposed the World Government.
Vane's case was somewhat special. On the surface, it looked like rebellion against the Government, but in the Five Elders' eyes, what he did was still essentially piracy.
"That's true… Ignoring it would indeed be hard to justify. The boy from the Figarland family has volunteered to deal with Nation-Slayer Vane. Shall we let him go?"
"Alone? If it were just Nation-Slayer, that would be one thing. But he has so many people by his side. We can't have him throwing his life away."
"...Then send another formal knight with him. Let Sommers go."
"That one is on vacation. Such a lazy fellow… He won't move for at least a month or two."
"A month or two won't change anything drastically. It'll give Nation-Slayer time to establish his territory. Then our people can go and destroy it. Watching his hard work crumble overnight—even if we can't kill him, it'll be enough to deal him a heavy blow."
"Enough. That concludes the topic of Nation-Slayer. In the South Blue, the Freedom Fighters has resurfaced. And this time, they've rebranded themselves as the Revolutionary Army."
One flies the pirate flag like Vane. The other flies the banner of overthrowing rule. Which one deserves more attention is obvious at a glance.
...
The people from Whole Cake Island and Morgans arrived almost at the same time.
"Well, well. I didn't expect a dominant force of the New World—the Big Mom Pirates—to show up on Sleeping Island."
Their ships nearly entered the newly built harbor simultaneously.
Morgans spotted Perospero, and Perospero noticed Morgans as well.
"Isn't this the News King Morgans? Saves me the trouble of looking for you. Mama's Tea Party has been moved up this year. It'll be held in a month. Don't forget to attend."
Big Mom's Tea Parties invite extremely prominent figures. It's a way of showcasing her influence. After all, major figures don't give respect to small fries. Big Mom uses this to prove her influence is imperial in scale.
This year's Tea Party was advanced because Mama's pregnancy was about to start showing. Once that happened, many things would become uncontrollable.
"A Tea Party, hmm? I'll definitely attend. I've been craving the cakes there."
Morgans was quite willing to attend such star-studded gatherings. He could collect plenty of information that was otherwise inaccessible.
And the Big Mom Pirates' culinary standards were indeed high—especially their desserts. Morgans could find no reason to refuse a free banquet like that.
Morgans narrowed his eyes.
"However… why would the mighty Big Mom Pirates appear here?"
Sleeping Island was territory claimed by Vane. And the Big Mom Pirates had come with only a single ship—not exactly the posture of an invasion.
To invite him to the Tea Party? Unlikely. There were too many people present.
Perospero, the brains of the Big Mom Pirates.
Mont-d'Or.
And Smoothie, the Longleg Tribe user of the Wring-Wring Fruit, who had recently been in the spotlight within the Big Mom Pirates.
All heavyweight figures. If it were merely to invite someone to a Tea Party—even someone on Big Mom's level—there would be no need to dispatch so many.
"Well, about that… we'll have to rely on your pen for this one, Morgans. Nation-Slayer Vane will be marrying the eighteenth daughter of the Charlotte family."
"We're here to deliver the bride."
Morgans' eyes lit up instantly.
"Oh ho ho! This is huge news! Does that mean the Rocket Team Pirates are joining the Big Mom Pirates' banner? …No, wait. Haven't the Big Mom Pirates always only accepted sons-in-law? Why send a daughter away in marriage?"
Perospero leaned in, his long tongue flicking as he spoke beside Morgans.
"You'd better leave the latter part out of the news. Just report that the Charlotte family and Vane are forming a marriage alliance."
With a marriage alliance, some people would assume Vane had joined the Big Mom Pirates.
But if it were clearly stated that a daughter was being married out, the meaning would be entirely different.
"If you start spouting nonsense, Mama will be very angry."
Since the news provider was the Big Mom Pirates themselves, Morgans, getting the scoop for free, had to consider their stance.
All he needed to write was that Charlotte Galette had married Vane. As for whether it was a daughter married out or a son-in-law joining in—that could be left for others to speculate.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Two enormous figures walked over from the direction of the town—it was Fish Giant Big Pan and Mogan the giant.
Mont-d'Or's eyes burned with excitement.
"Giants!"
Among the many races within Big Mom's territory, giants were the one race she most desperately wanted—yet could never obtain.
Other races were absent from Totto Land due to their rarity. Giants, however, were plentiful in number. But because Big Mom had deeply offended the Giant Kingdom in her childhood, not a single giant was willing to serve her.