Chapter 216: The Inside Story
After a long while, Louis came back to his senses from his contemplation. He slowly stood up and, in his mind, controlled the Natural Water that was dormant on the seabed, causing it to extend and rush straight toward the distant sailing ship.
The originally slightly rippling sea surface began to churn at a rate visible to the naked eye. In an instant, it kicked up a wave dozens of meters high, which headed straight into the distance.
The huge commotion instantly attracted the attention of some of the citizens who were gathering seafood in the low-lying puddles, as well as Uta and the others who were exploring the ruins of the ancient civilization with great interest. Everyone looked toward the distant sea.
"Is that—a tsunami?"
"Run!!"
Seeing this, the faces of many citizens changed. They hurriedly took the various sea fish they had collected and ran in the direction of the huge cut that had been made in the giant rock.
"A tsunami heading out to sea?"
"What is Louis doing?!"
In the old ruins, which were covered with the marks of sea erosion, Uta, Yelena, and the others, who were dressed as explorers, stopped their exploration, somewhat confused. After exchanging glances, the two of them walked out of the ruins and headed straight for where Louis was.
By the time Uta and Yelena had rushed to his side, the tsunami that had gone out earlier was gradually returning. It was carrying a medium-sized pirate ship, which was crashing down as if a tall building were collapsing.
BOOM...
With a huge sound, the spray splashed, falling like a torrential downpour. Just as Yelena was preparing to transform and freeze all the seawater, the rain curtain that was falling from the sky avoided the three of them and, along with the seawater on the ground, receded back into the ocean.
In just a moment, the mighty tsunami had departed, leaving only a dilapidated pirate ship on this coral-covered land.
Yelena slowly lowered her hand, looking thoughtfully at the ruined pirate ship before her.
Nearby, Uta looked at the overturned ship, a hint of curiosity in her amethyst-like eyes. "Hey, Louis, what's going on?" After a moment, Uta looked up at Louis's cheek and asked curiously.
"They said that the sea around Terra is about to become a battlefield." Louis slowly stepped forward, drew the Seven Star Sword, and with one slash, split the already broken pirate ship open, exposing the pirates, who were bleeding from the head from the impact, to everyone's eyes.
"So I want to know... which side are you on, trying to cause trouble here?"
Louis stepped on the seawater-soaked wooden planks and entered the cabin. He bent down and lifted the pirate captain, who was wearing a captain's hat and a red cape. "You're the captain of this ship, right?" he asked with a blank expression. "Can you tell me what this 'battlefield' you're talking about is all about?"
Creak.
The sound of heavy footsteps was heard. Yelena walked out from behind Louis, casually lifted a bewildered-looking pirate, and asked in a deep voice, "Who sent you?"
The pirate captain in Louis's hand saw his face clearly, and his own face instantly turned deathly pale, sweat pouring down like a waterfall. After realizing his situation, he didn't dare to hold back anything and spilled everything he knew.
"We are pirates under Big Mom. We heard that Mama captured a large number of Marines from a Marine branch and is going to exchange them with the Marines for Lord Perospero and Lord Oven. And the location of the exchange is—" The middle-aged pirate captain's voice gradually became lower until it disappeared completely, his entire body trembling.
Hearing the captain's words, a flash of understanding crossed Louis's eyes. This coincided with his last guess.
Nearby, Yelena, seeing that the perpetrator had been identified, casually tossed aside the still-confused pirate in her hand and turned to walk out. From the pocket of her overcoat, she took out a Den Den Mushi and informed all the armed forces on Terra of this sudden situation, issuing a summons.
Just then, Daz Bonez, who had heard the commotion and rushed over from a distance, arrived. He happened to hear Yelena using the Den Den Mushi to inform more people of the current situation. After understanding the situation, his brow furrowed slightly. He then walked past Yelena, entered the cabin, and came to Louis's side.
Seeing his arrival, Louis pondered for a moment and then said in a deep voice, "Daz, make them spit out the details. Go back and tell Yelena later."
With that, Louis also let go of the pirate in his hand and turned to walk out.
"I understand," Daz said, nodding. He then stepped forward, his tall shadow enveloping the trembling pirate.
...
"Now the second concert is going to be postponed again," Uta said, sitting on a fallen mast, gently swinging her legs as she fell into thought.
Seeing Louis come out, the displeasure on Uta's flawless face gradually dissipated, and she returned to her usual self. She gently jumped down from the mast, landed steadily beside him, and said softly, "After Yelena finished informing everyone, she rushed back ahead of us."
Louis heard her and was not surprised. Yelena had always been quite reliable. Without him needing to say anything, she could mobilize the resources of the Archangel Pirates to solve problems. Yelena had no dreams of her own, and not many goals besides helping Louis. Therefore, in addition to her training, she could always find time to handle other matters.
Ever since the Archangel Pirates' power had expanded, there had been many internal conflicts, challenges from reckless rookies, and other problems. But these matters were often perfectly resolved by Yelena before they even reached Louis's ears. Whether in terms of strength or ability, Yelena was Louis's true second-in-command, and she never let him feel overwhelmed.
After a moment, Louis spread his wings and flew up, carrying Uta, who was clinging to his neck, and headed straight for the castle.
?
After having Uta attend the meeting convened by Yelena, Louis returned to his room alone and went straight to the desk where several Den Den Mushis were placed.
Louis pulled out a chair and sat down, reaching out to pick up a Den Den Mushi. Then, he picked up the receiver and dialed a certain person who was far away in the Grand Line. However, a few seconds later, before the call was even connected, he hung up.
While waiting for the other party to call back, Louis's thoughts began to drift.
To be honest, in this world where a person's stubbornness seemed to be linked to the strength of their Haki, Louis had subconsciously ignored the fact that Big Mom and Whitebeard were not the same kind of person. With Whitebeard as a precedent, Louis had naturally assumed that Big Mom would, like Whitebeard, honestly charge Marine Headquarters according to his plan. In that case, she would be eliminated by the Marines. And the Marines, in turn, would suffer heavy losses for destroying a powerful pirate crew.
However, after Louis's plan had begun, the turn of events had left him flabbergasted. Big Mom had not charged Marine Headquarters like Whitebeard. Instead, she had cleverly attacked a Marine branch, captured a large number of Marines, and used them to exchange for her two sons whom he had sent over. Then, she had agreed with the Marines to choose a location near Dressrosa for the hostage exchange, dragging him, the one who had set up the trap, into the water, muddying it to make it easier for her to escape.
That Big Mom could come up with such a simple and effective countermeasure... she was worthy of being a top-tier old-timer who had been in the sea for decades. This at one point made it impossible for Louis to connect her with the person who would later madly attack her own teammates and be dramatically defeated by two supernovas.
Just as Louis was thinking, the Den Den Mushi in front of him suddenly rang.
Brrring~ Brrring~ Brrring~
Click—
Louis reached out, picked up the receiver, answered the call, and placed it on the desk. He did not speak immediately, but quietly waited for the person on the other end to speak.
After a moment, the Den Den Mushi mimicked the man on the other end and asked tentatively, "Louis?"
"Yes, it's me. Have you found a place where you can take a call, Momora?"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi was the former member of the Roger Pirates whom Louis had met in the first half—Mr. Momora. At their parting, he had once said that he had some insignificant achievements in the field of intelligence, and that if there was anything Louis wanted to know, he could contact him via Den Den Mushi. And now, Louis, who wanted to understand the movements of the Marines and Big Mom, had thought of him and had decided to give it a try.
The next moment, after confirming Louis's identity, Momora's voice and tone became relaxed. "Are you calling me this time because of that business with Big Mom and the Marines?"
Louis heard him and gave an affirmative answer. "Yes, that's right. This turn of events was something I hadn't anticipated. So I wanted to ask if you know anything about their movements."
Hearing this, Momora said in an almost teasing tone, "I just happened to get the inside story. I was just thinking about whether I should tell you, and you just had to call and ask first."
Louis heard him and raised an eyebrow. That tone... he seemed to have heard it somewhere not long ago.
Then, Momora cleared his throat and quickly told him what he had learned.
"That woman, Big Mom... not long ago, she charged straight into the battlefield where Shanks and a few members of the God's Knights were fighting and kidnapped two of them!"
"According to the news I heard from my contacts in the Marines, Sengoku has dispatched Ryokugyu, Fujitora, Garp, Aokiji, and Zephyr. They're leading a group of people and are planning to exchange hostages."
"They plan to at least kill Big Mom and inflict as many casualties as possible on your subordinates."
Momora explained that Sengoku and the others were not confident they could kill Louis, so they had settled for the next best thing, planning to inflict heavy casualties on him. And the reason they hadn't sent the fully-fit Akainu was that Sengoku ultimately wanted a few more of the captured soldiers to survive.
Then, Momora's voice sounded again.
"And Big Mom... she used her relationship with Kaido to call him up. But it's uncertain if he's coming alone or if the entire Beasts Pirates are mobilizing."
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