"A ship has docked at the port."
"It doesn't look like the Shipping King's supply ship… Other than the Shipping King, who else would dare land on Sleeping Island?"
"You can tell you've only been here a few days. That's Sleeping Island's own ship—the vessel of the former Marine Strawberry. He's probably been recalled by Vane to defend the island."
It was indeed Strawberry's ship, but Vane hadn't recalled him.
Strawberry was more like an unofficial member of the Rocket Team. Vane wouldn't take the initiative to involve him in core matters like this.
"Strawberry, didn't expect you to come back at a time like this—and with your crew too."
The one on duty at the docks today was still Bonez.
Strawberry replied calmly, "There are several thousand people on this island that we brought back. Do you think I shouldn't return?"
"…Welcome. Captain Vane will be holding a strategy meeting at noon."
...
A so-called strategy meeting was simply about predicting possible scenarios and formulating feasible battle plans.
Baccarat used the Vision-Vision Fruit to project the portraits of the thirteen confirmed captains leading the forces, along with their leader, Ochoku.
Aside from Ochoku, the highest bounty among them was 500 million Belly. The rest ranged between 200 million and 400 million Belly. Two confirmed Devil Fruit users had been identified.
One of them—the man with the 500 million Belly bounty—was a Paramecia-type Tree-Tree Fruit user.
So the Tree-Tree Fruit had appeared after all. Judging by its progression in fruit classification, it likely went Woods-Woods Fruit → Tree-Tree Fruit → Grow-Grow Fruit.
The Grow-Grow Fruit was the one Martha had eaten. Through certain dance movements, she could cause vines to grow around her and control them.
The Tree-Tree Fruit, on the other hand, strengthened the user's body. It allowed them to transform into a wooden being, altering their limbs to a certain extent for offensive attacks.
The second Devil Fruit user possessed a Zoan-type Frog-Frog Fruit, Bullfrog Model.
Vane glanced at the captains and couldn't help but think they were little more than rabble…
Well, that might be a bit arrogant. Still, none of them truly felt like a threat to him. Even Fujitora could handle the strongest among them and probably hold off another at the same time.
The rest could be left to Bonez, Moria, Hancock, Dice, Burgess, Strawberry, and the others.
"Judging by the way they're making such a grand, undisguised move this time, the chances are very high that they'll attack head-on."
"Tesoro will remain stationed in Midnight Town."
Midnight Town stored all of Sleeping Island's gold. It was Tesoro's home ground for using his abilities. In a place with sufficient gold, his strength would not fall below 400 million Belly—only higher.
"All other combatants are to prepare for battle."
"We repelled the World Government. This time, we'll also defeat this so-called Pirate Alliance and make it clear that Sleeping Island is not a place outsiders can lay their hands on."
"Meowth, bring out the good stuff you've developed. Let them see what real damn truth looks like!"
...
Sleeping Island mobilized two thousand people capable of fighting. Of those, twelve hundred would directly participate in battle. The remaining eight hundred, whose combat strength was comparatively lower, would guard Midnight Town and patrol other areas to prevent landings from alternate routes.
On the Pokémon side, everyone except Ditto was mobilized as well—Charizard, Dragonite, Gyarados, Electivire, and the Crystal Onix that had always accompanied the Snake Princess.
"Meow, hurry up and move the emplacement cannons and Vulcan machine guns over here!"
Meowth directed everyone to set up weapon emplacements along the dock line. The primary weapons installed were all models that had never been released for public sale.
Vulcan machine guns capable of firing a thousand rounds in sustained bursts, and emplacement cannons capable of precisely bombarding distant targets.
These were standard defensive configurations. There were other devices as well, but those wouldn't be displayed at the docks—they would only be brought out during wartime.
"Are these allowed to be photographed?"
"Vane said it's fine, meow."
The reporters didn't understand weapons, but items not available for sale were usually not meant to be casually shown.
Meowth didn't think much of it. As for machine guns and artillery—especially artillery—the Marines possessed technology at this level. Their cannons mainly emphasized the power of fixed artillery. The emplacement cannons were essentially mobile versions of Marine fixed cannons, though slightly weaker in raw power.
When Whitebeard attacked Marineford, the Marines' massive fixed cannons had unleashed tremendous firepower, directly sinking Whitebeard's flagship.
Inside the harbor, the seawater suddenly churned. Over a hundred Fish-Man warriors emerged.
Fisher Tiger: "Captain Vane, the Fish-Man Pirates have arrived with part of our crew to provide support."
This was Tiger's first time setting foot on Sleeping Island. Previously, it had always been Jinbe leading the team. After receiving the news this time, Tiger had ordered Jinbe to remain on Fish-Man Island while he personally led a portion of Fish-Man warriors to join the battle.
"The Fish-Man Pirates have arrived at just the right time. Whether we can leave behind as many pirates as possible during this operation will depend on you."
Tiger looked puzzled. Leave behind more pirates? What did that mean?
Why did it sound different from what he had in mind? Weren't they fighting a defensive battle?
...
Ochoku's combined fleet set sail—fifteen ships in total, with over six thousand men. Along the way, they would rendezvous with Pizarro's forces, ultimately forming a powerful army of over seven thousand, approaching eight thousand strong.
In the New World, movements of this scale were extremely rare.
Ochoku stood at the bow of his flagship. The last time he had mobilized troops on such a large scale must have been when the Golden Lion besieged Pirate King Roger.
No. He couldn't think like that. The outcome of that battle had been Golden Lion's misfortune—running into a terrifying storm. The more ships he had, the worse his luck became.
Besides, Golden Lion's opponent had been Roger, the Pirate King. His own opponent was merely a newcomer. Even if they encountered a storm, he could always abandon the ships and slaughter his way onto the island.
After several days at sea, Ochoku quickly located Pizarro's fleet.
As soon as they met, the Corrupt King Pizarro complained, "Your secrecy was terrible this time. I had no choice but to flee temporarily to avoid disaster."
The people of Hachinosu Island had leaked the news, nearly getting Pizarro of Carnival Island killed. After all, Carnival Island was extremely close to Sleeping Island.
Once Pizarro learned that Hachinosu Island had leaked the information, he immediately took two ships and over a thousand men and sailed partway toward Hachinosu Island.
He could have brought 1,500 men, but due to the urgency, he managed to take fewer than 1,200.
"If I'd run any slower, that Nation-Slayer would've taken me out in advance!"
And in truth, that was accurate. After confirming that Ochoku of Hachinosu Island had been drawn in by Carnival Island, Vane had personally made a trip to Carnival Island.
Unfortunately, Pizarro's instincts were sharp—he had fled ahead of time.