Standing on Momonga's battleship, Yako pulled out a pocket watch to check the time. He frowned. "What the hell is going on? There's been no movement from Bartholomew Kuma, and Aranea hasn't contacted me yet."
"Could something have gone wrong?" Momonga asked, walking over.
"Unlikely..." Yako's brow remained tightly knit. "Bartholomew Kuma's strength is top-tier even among the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Even though he's infiltrating the territory of one of the Yonko, with his ability, coming and going as he pleases shouldn't be difficult as long as he isn't exposed..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a small Marine warship slowly approached from the distance, the sails bearing the cross symbol of the World Government.
"They're back?"
Yako stepped forward, instantly recognizing it as the small vessel assigned to Aranea's squad. Their mission was to observe whether Kuma's detonation was successful and then report back via Den Den Mushi. So why were they returning now...?
Momonga quickly ordered his men to receive them. When the two boarded the ship, they found only a few surviving members of the Air Force squad, all of them looking dejected and severely wounded.
"Hey, what happened?"
Yako propped up one of the soldiers collapsed on the deck, shaking him urgently.
"C-Commander... the Regimental Commander... was captured." The Air Force soldier barely managed to open his eyes, struggling to force the words out.
"What!?" Yako was stunned.
Momonga stepped up. "Let's get them to medical first. We can question them once they've recovered some energy."
…
Half an hour later.
After emergency treatment, the fewer than ten surviving Air Force members regained enough strength to report the events to Yako.
"Captured by the Kuja?"
Yako's fists clenched. Though she was often lax in her duties, Aranea was an invaluable asset to the Air Force. Her capture meant Kuma's mission was a total failure.
Perhaps he had been captured like Aranea, or... he had been killed.
"A total loss," Yako muttered bitterly. He walked out of the infirmary and looked at Momonga. "Retreat. Kuma failed. The subsequent plans cannot proceed."
The entire operation hinged on Kuma detonating New Amazon Lily as the starting point. If Kuma failed, the rest of the strategy fell apart.
"Hmph."
On the bow of the adjacent warship, Onigumo removed the cigar from his mouth and exhaled a plume of smoke. "The rumors about the Government's Air Force seem exaggerated, don't they? For a Regimental Commander, a rank equivalent to a Rear Admiral, to be captured so easily is pathetic."
The Air Force members present flared with indignation. Hearing this, Yako responded coldly, "Well, Arderay is only a few hundred nautical miles from here. You're more than welcome to launch a direct assault yourself, Onigumo."
Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly heavy, Momonga stepped in to mediate. "Enough, both of you. Yako, Onigumo, drop it."
Strawberry and the others watched the exchange but chose to remain silent to avoid being dragged into the friction.
Internal conflicts were common within the Marines; Yako and Onigumo had been at odds since their days at the Marine Academy, and that rivalry clearly persisted.
…
Arderay.
Upon seeing Kuma tied up tightly with Seastone chains on the ship's bow, Dr. Indigo and the others rushed to the shore to greet them.
"A magnificent victory indeed, Alucard-sama!"
"Save your flattery for later," Dr. Vegapunk said, dousing their enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water. "Help me move Kuma to the lab. He is an essential specimen for me."
No one could ignore the contribution Dr. Vegapunk had made in this operation. Had he not predicted the Government's tactical patterns in advance, New Amazon Lily might have been wiped off the map.
Consequently, even though he was a newcomer to the crew, no one contested his orders. A group of scientists also clad in white lab coats followed Dr. Vegapunk to transport Kuma to the laboratory.
"I'm curious," Ivalis said, arms crossed as he watched Dr. Vegapunk's retreating figure. He turned to Benn Beckman beside him. "If you compared your brain to Vegapunk's, who do you think is smarter?"
"Who knows? Besides, I have no interest in competing with him." Beckman stubbed out his cigarette. The operation had gone unexpectedly smoothly, neutralizing the Government's attack with ease. Fully eighty percent of that success was due to Dr. Vegapunk; Beckman, at the very least, wasn't confident he could outmatch the doctor in pure intellect.
"Alucard~!"
Just minutes after the research team left, another pirate ship arrived. Scarlett, wearing her light armor, stood at the bow waving to Alucard.
As the ship docked, the attention of the Immortal Pirates shifted toward the group the Kuja had brought back—people clad in dark red armor and Marine overcoats.
Only Aranea was without the coat bearing the word "Justice."
"So this is the fabled Government Air Force." Cavendish examined the flight armor on Aranea and her subordinates, his eyes sparkling with envy. "If I had the ability to fly, wouldn't I be even closer to being a superstar?"
"Keep dreaming, rookie. Your basics aren't even solid yet," Ivalis shot him down mercilessly, making Cavendish grit his teeth in annoyance again.
"The Air Force, huh?"
Alucard crouched down, examining Aranea, whose hands were bound behind her back. He suddenly smiled. "Your eyes remind me of a woman I once knew."
Scarlett instinctively felt a pang of alarm—a woman's intuition.
Aranea, however, gave a slight smile. "Sir, isn't that a bit of an old-fashioned pick-up line?"
The surrounding pirates reacted with a mix of shock, surprise, and curiosity. They hadn't expected this female Air Force officer to dare engage in banter with Alucard under these circumstances. Was she trying to use her beauty to lure the enemy?
"Haha..."
Alucard reached out and hooked his finger under Aranea's jade-like chin, causing Scarlett to bristle with jealousy. After taking another look at Aranea's exquisite features, he stood up. "An interesting woman. Send her to Vegapunk."
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