Sengoku thought for a split second before barking out commands. With the other Admirals away, he had to mobilize the Vice Admirals immediately.
"Deploy every Marine in the vicinity! Admiral Big J and Admiral Neral are away... Have Vice Admiral Borsalino lead a first-response unit of Moonwalk users! Order all warships in nearby waters to the Red Port. As soon as the second wave is ready, we deploy the main fleet from HQ!!"
"Shall we request aid from nearby branches, sir?"
"Yes! Contact the surrounding bases and tell them to send every available officer of Rear Admiral rank or higher! I'll handle the second wave. Move!!"
Back at Sabaody...
"Tesoro, Mary Geoise is under attack."
"…So, you're finally doing 'that' thing?" Tesoro asked, his eyes sharpening. "Need help? I can use Moonwalk."
"Sorry... the attack happened earlier than I expected, and I'm short-handed. I should have placed some birds under Fisher Tiger's tail."
I hadn't remembered the exact date of the raid in the original story, so I'd been far too relaxed. I regretted not having Kafu's subordinates keep watch.
"No use crying over spilled milk," Tesoro said. "What do you want me to do? Help with your 'project'?"
"No. You move as an 'Authorized Pirate under Rear Admiral Krieg.' Gather the escaped slaves and help them get off the island. If the Marines give you trouble, show them your Authorization Medal and use my name. I'll handle the other matter alone."
I began prying up the floorboards, pulling out a stealth suit, a bulletproof vest, combat boots, a collection of modified small arms, and several items I'd commissioned from Dr. Indigo.
"Be careful," Tesoro warned. "There are a lot of people who'd be devastated if you got caught now."
"Watch me. I'll play it smooth."
I pulled a black balaclava with a white skull print over my face.
Under the cover of night, I used Moonwalk to ascend toward Mary Geoise, keeping my footsteps as silent as possible to avoid detection.
I slipped into the chaotic Holy Land. Whenever I encountered slaves, I silently broke their collars, pointed toward the port, and vanished.
When I found a lone, panicked Celestial Dragon, I delivered a quick strike to the neck to knock them out, applied the "Treatment," and left them by the side of the road.
The "Treatment" wasn't lethal. It involved a specific drug Dr. Indigo developed using materials I'd gathered from Little Garden and Merveille. I delivered it via a needleless ampoule gun—a quick pssh to the neck, and that was it.
I bypassed the heavily guarded Celestial Dragons and Marines, eventually reaching Pangea Castle at the center of the Holy Land. There was supposed to be some dangerous National Treasure inside, but its details were unknown.
"…Yeah, probably better to skip the castle for now."
The perimeter was crawling with Marines and World Government agents in a state of high alert. I could get in if I pushed it, but the castle was a secondary objective. My main goal for being here during the raid was to administer the "Treatment" to as many Celestial Dragons as possible.
I took to the rooftops, sniping lone Nobles with the ampoule gun... but something felt off.
"There are fewer of them out here than I thought..."
I'd only treated about a dozen so far. Even accounting for those with large security details, the numbers were low. I focused my Observation Haki to scan the surroundings.
"Tch. A huge number of them are hunkered down inside their mansions... Well, if they want to play tortoise, I'll just have to smoke them out."
They might be idiots, but they knew enough to value their own skins. Rather than fleeing into the chaos, they were relying on their mansion's defenses until help arrived. I pulled a cylindrical object from my pouch, pulled the pin, and tossed it toward a mansion.
"Heave-ho."
The canister hit with a roar of flame. This was a Flame Grenade from my technical team, modified by Dr. Indigo for evidence destruction. The casing was designed to melt away, and the chemical ratio was tuned for maximum intensity.
Sure enough, panicked Celestial Dragons began scurrying out of the burning building. I dropped down, delivered the "neck-tap-and-treatment" combo, and moved on.
I looked up, ready to find my next target, when I felt a heavy gaze. Standing there, staring at me with a look of utter bewilderment, was a massive, red-skinned Fish-Man.
Crap. It's Fisher Tiger! Why here... well, obviously, he's the one raiding the place, so of course he's here...
I had run smack into the main perpetrator of the Mary Geoise Raid.
Fisher Tiger remained on high alert, his eyes narrowed.
"Who the hell are you...? I don't know what you're here for, but now that you've seen me, I'm shutting you up! Shark Tile True Punch!"
He lunged forward with a powerful strike—and he was even shrouding it in Haki!
"Listen to me for a second, will you?! Fist Cannon!!"
I slipped back into my natural tone and countered his charge head-on with a Fist Cannon. Our punches collided with a heavy thud, and both of us were repelled, creating distance between us.
"Sparking Heel Drop!!"
Fisher Tiger flipped vertically, bringing down a reinforced heel drop with massive momentum.
"Rising Stamp!!"
I met him with an upward kick, a variation of the 'Stamp' delivered at the speed of a Finger Pistol.
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