Thud thud thud...
A knock sounded at the door. Kong shook his heavy head and wearily said, "Come in."
The Fleet Admiral's office door opened, and Sengoku entered with a quick stride. Without any extra formality, he immediately said, "Kong-san, Boa Hancock has refused to become a Warlord of the Sea."
Because of Alucard, Hancock had participated in several expeditionary missions while the former Empress was still on the throne, and her formidable strength had caught the attention of the Marines on multiple occasions. Sengoku had already been eyeing her when he decided to invite Bartholomew Kuma and Gecko Moria.
"Is her refusal really that surprising to you? Didn't other pirates refuse the Warlord position before?"
Kong was quite puzzled. Hancock's refusal wasn't a major shock, since in the eyes of most people, the Warlords were just the Government's lapdogs. Despite the high level of privilege that came with the title, many pirates looked down on becoming a Warlord.
Although Hancock had shown her might, it hadn't happened often. This time, however, she had single-handedly crushed two pirates with bounties over 100 million and five with bounties over 50 million near the Sabaody Archipelago. This feat finally put Sengoku and the Government completely at ease regarding her strength.
A while ago, Sengoku had dispatched a Vice Admiral to lead a fleet to Amazon Lily to extend the invitation.
But after reporting their arrival at Amazon Lily, the warship went silent. Sengoku had no choice but to send another warship to investigate. The result, however, was that the entire island of Amazon Lily was completely deserted! The castle on the island was empty, with every valuable item having been moved. It was like a ghost town, yet there were no signs of a fight.
"It's much more than just a refusal. Please look at this."
Sengoku pulled several photos from his suit jacket, his face wrinkled with a frown. "These were discovered yesterday by a Marine patrol in the area around the entrance to the New World."
Kong took the photos, and his pupils contracted in surprise. More than a dozen ships! They all bore the Kuja's flag, and one of them was even a Marine warship!
The Kuja's flag on the sails was prominently displayed, but what stood out even more was the second, more complex flag behind it. It wasn't a skull and crossbones, but a sigil resembling a magic circle.
Only one person used that symbol: Alucard!
On every ship, the Kuja flag was at the front and Alucard's was at the back. The meaning was as clear as could be—just like many of Whitebeard's subordinate crews, the Kuja had joined Alucard's alliance!
Thud!
Kong angrily slammed his fist on the desk, barely containing his rage. "One crisis after another…these unstable pirates…"
"When you tally up the numbers, the Kuja Pirate crew only has about 500 members. They shouldn't need close to 20 ships. Furthermore, when I sent Momonga and the others to Amazon Lily, they discovered it was a ghost town. There's a 90% chance that the Kuja plan to move their base of operations to the New World, under Alucard's command," Sengoku analyzed.
"The Marines have already developed a way to cross the Calm Belt, so it's not strange for them to move their base. But to join Alucard's crew…," Kong said, crossing his arms over his face.
"I had initially set her bounty at 130,000,000 Berries. But after joining Alucard, the threat is even greater. I plan to increase it by 50,000,000 Berries all at once, to 180,000,000 Berries. Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, bounty 180,000,000 Berries," Sengoku said grimly.
"I'm more surprised about something else than the Empress joining Alucard," Kong said, tapping his finger on the desk.
Sengoku understood immediately. "The Fish-Man Island matter?"
"Yes… It's been a long time since they, especially Queen Otohime, wanted to move to the surface. They've submitted many requests, but the Government has always ignored them. Now they've relocated to an island under Alucard's control and are flying Whitebeard's flag. I just can't understand it. There are too many questions."
What truly baffled Kong was this whole situation.
"I think the problem still lies with Alucard. There's definitely something fishy if he allowed this to happen."
Sengoku said sternly, "That man never does anything without a benefit to himself."
"You're right," Kong agreed, then narrowed his eyes. "We can't easily intervene with Alucard, but we can with Fish-Man Island. The Government has already sent the CP to investigate. Once the results are in, we'll take our next step."
"But…but now isn't the right time to face the Three Monsters," Sengoku said with a hint of worry.
"It's always a good thing to gather more intelligence."
Thud thud thud...
At that moment, the office door knocked again. After Kong gestured for them to enter, a Marine rushed in and reported, "Fleet Admiral Kong! Admiral Sengoku! We just received news from Laguna—or rather, the new Fish-Man Island—that Whitebeard seems to want to meet with Alucard!"
A twitch appeared at the corner of Kong's eye. "The fight between Kaido and Big Mom hasn't even started, and now these two are going to cause trouble?"
"Wait, Kong-san, it's a meeting. It doesn't necessarily mean a fight. Whitebeard is probably very interested in Alucard's reasons for doing this, which is why he's taking this action," Sengoku analyzed, his thoughts well-organized.
"So you mean…"
"We should focus on Kaido and Big Mom for now. Whitebeard doesn't have the same level of intelligence network as the Marines or the Government. He won't be able to find the elusive Alucard right away. We just need to send a small number of people to quietly follow the Kuja. They will eventually meet with Alucard. The investigation into Fish-Man Island will proceed as planned. We absolutely must figure out what happened between Alucard and Neptune."
Kong listened and fell silent for a long time, then finally nodded. "Alright. We'll do as you say."