Chapter 550: Preparations
The deep water ahead of Noah was lit by the artificial sun floating above the deck. Light and warmth poured into a stretch of ocean that had never seen either, filling the dark with something that felt, against all odds, like home.
More than that, it reached the people inside the ship's holds - five million people who needed to know they were not lost in cold blackness. The light mattered.
Brett left the base running on its own - his flame clouds were controllable at a distance, and the structure would not sink - and returned to Noah's deck.
He found Neptune and Jinbei and sat down with both of them.
There were things that needed to be decided.
"A migration this large, if we arrive at an inhabited island, we'll be visible to everyone immediately," Brett said. "If Imu learns our location, the bombardment starts again. So we need to do what the Marines and the NEO Navy did - find somewhere that nobody knows about."
"As for supplies, the logistics teams are already dispersed and operating. They'll keep the provisions coming."
He paused.
"Zephyr gave me a suggestion. There's an uninhabited island not far from the NEO Navy's current base that meets the conditions. That's where we're heading."
Jinbei and Neptune both exhaled.
A destination was the difference between a migration and a drift. With a specific place to go, everything else became a solvable problem.
"But the real difficulties are only starting," Brett said, his voice settling into something more serious.
"A displacement this large always attracts the wrong kind of attention from within. If anyone aboard decides this is a good moment to cause trouble, with five million people in an unfamiliar situation, it won't stay small."
"I understand completely." Neptune's tone had gone firm. "This is the most critical moment our people have faced. There will be no tolerance for anyone who tries to exploit it. I will have the military on full alert - any hint of sedition will be dealt with immediately."
Brett nodded. Hard decisions in hard moments.
"I'll also have Arlong's network working the intelligence side. He's the right person for that."
He continued: "But internal disruption is actually the secondary concern. What worries me more is the World Government."
Neptune and Jinbei both looked at him.
"We have several million Fish-Men and Merfolk aboard, plus a significant number of humans. There is no way to guarantee that none of them are government informants."
Brett wanted to believe in his people. But five million was a large number, and you could not realistically expect every single person in a population that size to be free of outside loyalties.
Neptune and Jinbei both went quiet.
On Fish-Man Island, the problem had never come up. The island's natural isolation made government interference nearly impossible - even the current attack had only been achievable because Mariejois had been sacrificed first to clear the approach. But out in the open, moving across the sea, a single signal from a single informant could bring the weapon down on them.
And that could not be allowed to happen. Uranus was not yet fully mature. Without its participation, the weapons balance would not be what it had been eight hundred years ago, and holding Imu's weapon at bay with Pluton alone was not a sustainable strategy.
"What do you want us to do?" Neptune asked.
"We'll need to rely on Otohime."
Brett said it plainly.
Even his own Observation Haki had its limits when it came to scale. Reading millions of individuals individually was not feasible. But Otohime's ability wasn't about scale in the same way. Her power to transmit her will into other people's minds - the ability that had once turned a Celestial Dragon's heart - could reach everyone aboard simultaneously.
He wasn't asking her to harm anyone. But if she could quietly incline the hearts of those who might be wavering toward discretion rather than betrayal, that was a different matter.
"Otohime?" Neptune pressed his lips together. "Are you certain she can manage it?"
He trusted his wife completely. But the weight of what was at stake here was significant.
"Right now, it's our best option." Brett kept his tone even. "On top of that, I'll ask Vegapunk to build a signal blocker. No Den Den Mushi communications in or out except through a specific approved list. And Shirahoshi can have the Sea Kings monitor the surrounding waters and prevent anyone from leaving."
"It's temporary. Just until Pluton is fully completed."
"That's a good approach," Jinbei said, nodding firmly.
Even if someone aboard wanted to report their location, there was nothing useful they could do if no signal could leave the perimeter.
"That's the plan for now," Brett said. He let out a slow breath.
This was the last major complication before the final war, he was fairly certain. Get through this, and there was only one obstacle left.
Both Jinbei and Neptune nodded without further argument.
After their brief meeting, Neptune spoke to Otohime. She resisted at first - the idea of using her ability on her own people without their full understanding sat badly with her. Nudging someone toward understanding was one thing. Compelling their loyalty was another.
But Neptune walked her through what was at stake, carefully and completely. The survival of the entire race. The direction of the world going forward. Otohime was a woman who had devoted her life to the future - she understood, when it was laid out plainly, that this was not the moment for hesitation.
She began making her way through the ship's holds, holding small gatherings in one section after another.
While she moved through the population, the military increased its patrols - every level, every corridor, every hour of the day and night. Arlong's intelligence network spread through the vessel in parallel, quiet and thorough.
Vegapunk got to work on the signal blocker the moment Brett's request arrived, and produced something functional without apparent effort. He even accommodated Brett's follow-up requirement - a selective whitelist that allowed specific Den Den Mushi to communicate externally while blocking everything else - without any sign that the added complexity was a challenge.
Brett allowed himself a genuine breath of relief when it was all in place.
Ahead of them was the new home. Temporary, hidden, modest by comparison to what they had left behind.
But the war would not last forever.
And when it was done, they would come home.