"You... Wait, I've seen that mask on a wanted poster," Tiger said, lowering his stance slightly. "A forty-million bounty, if I recall? What business do you have here? If you truly came to capture me, I'll keep resisting..."
"Wait... That's why I'm telling you to listen," I said, lowering my voice and raising my hands slightly. "I came here to liberate the slaves and eliminate the Celestial Dragons. I have no intention of capturing you."
He seemed to process this for a moment. "...I find it hard to believe our plans just happened to overlap. Where did you hear about my raid?"
"I didn't launch this attack because I knew your plan. I have my own information network. I caught wind that Mary Geoise was being raided and decided to hop on the bandwagon."
"Tch... You're a slippery bastard. Fine. If your goal is slave liberation, then our interests align."
"By the way," I added, passing along info I'd squeezed out of Tesoro during a quick check-in, "The Celestial Dragons have issued orders saying, 'The escaped slaves don't matter, just save me.' The Marines are using that statement as justification to prioritize rescuing the slaves. They're heading toward the Mary Geoise harbor."
"I see. My thanks for the information."
With that, Fisher Tiger took off again to continue his rescue mission.
Right, back to work, I thought. I used my Observation Haki to scan for mansions containing Celestial Dragons. I'd toss in a Flame Grenade, wait for them to stumble out in a panic, knock them unconscious, administer the "Treatment," and leave them by the roadside.
I had a few close calls with Marines who spotted me near the fires or while I was grabbing some Noble by the scruff of the neck, forcing me to play a game of hide-and-seek. By the time I decided to withdraw, nearly all five hundred doses of the drug were gone.
I moved far away from Mary Geoise, hid my gear, threw my Marine coat back on over my regular clothes, and used Moonwalk to head toward Borsalino, who was currently commanding the scene.
I wonder if Tesoro is doing alright?
A few days after the Raid on the Holy Land...
Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangea Castle — The Room of Authority
As the chaos finally began to settle, the five men who held the ultimate power in the World Government—the Five Elders—had gathered. Usually, they maintained a composed, stoic presence as the ones who steered the world, but today, every one of them looked utterly exhausted.
"What are we to do about this...?"
"The liberation of the slaves is... well, it is done. Not that it is acceptable, of course."
"The primary issue is the number of mansions reduced to ash by the fires. We've temporarily opened part of this castle to house the World Nobles, but we must plan for immediate reconstruction."
"The arsonist appears to be that same man. Should we not switch his status to a named bounty and release his identity?"
"True. We suspected the masked man might be an affiliate of 'Whitebeard,' one of the Three Great Pirates, and wished to avoid provocation... but we can no longer afford such caution."
"We must also issue a bounty for that Fish-Man adventurer immediately. But tell me, was this a coordinated effort?"
"Almost certainly. The timing is too perfect for a coincidence. It is only natural to assume that Fisher Tiger took the role of liberating the slaves while 'Teach' focused on attacking the World Nobles. They planned this together."
"Then we shall issue the command to the Navy: Fisher Tiger is to be newly wanted, and Teach's bounty is to be raised with his name made public. However, the World Nobles are the greater concern right now..."
"According to the doctors, it is an unknown disease. Initially, the symptoms resemble the flu—high fever, lethargy, joint pain—but then green bruises appear on the body, and the flesh in those areas begins to necrotize.
The treatment is unknown. Dozens of World Nobles have already fallen ill. We don't even know if it's a plague; if others are currently in the incubation period, this could become a pandemic."
"Do we believe this was intentionally spread?"
"At this stage, we can only say it is 'unknown.' It is possible, but it is also possible that because the World Nobles have been protected for so long, they simply lack any natural resistance or immunity."
"Regardless, our only option is to gather doctors and find a cure..."
Little did I know that such a conversation was taking place. I was currently flipping through a stack of newly arrived wanted posters when my hand suddenly stopped.
"You certainly did it in style. What on earth did you do?"
"Whoa, Sakazuki! Don't scare me like that. What are you talking about? I just stopped because the photo looked familiar."
"...Fine, have it your way. But for the higher-ups to demand a bounty of this size for a man in a mask... they're being reckless."
"Yeah. With a bounty like that, there will definitely be people trying to claim they're him."
The two of them looked down at the poster in their hands:
"SKULL-MASKED TEACH"BOUNTY: 390,000,000 BELLY
"Setting that aside, have you heard about the disease breaking out among the Celestial Dragons?" Sakazuki asked.
"Yeah. Rumor has it it's divine punishment for their daily behavior. They say the cure is still unknown and the symptoms are only getting worse."
"It starts with a high fever, followed by internal inflammation, and then green spots appear all over the surface and interior of the body, leading to necrosis. No deaths yet, but they say the situation is unpredictable. Personally, I couldn't care less what happens to them."
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