The Marines checked all available information, searching for Arlo's whereabouts. Thanks to that, they finally uncovered the ship he had secretly hired to send several slaves to the East Blue.
That day, for the first time, Sengoku allowed himself a sigh of relief. Even the God's Knights were being mobilized, and that man would have to be found one way or another.
An intense search across the East Blue began, looking for anyone who might know something about their whereabouts.
The relentless efforts of the World Government soon produced results. They were at least able to vaguely trace the route Arlo had taken.
After interrogating thousands of people throughout the East Blue, they finally received testimony from someone who had seen the vessel. Apparently, it had docked at the giant entertainment ship, the Gala.
Vice Admiral Gion was immediately sent to verify the location personally. She was chosen for her competence, but also because she volunteered for the task.
Gion would not describe herself as a friend of Hina, but as one of the few women who had risen through the Marine ranks, she respected her.
"I will save her from the hands of that criminal," Gion murmured, swearing to herself that she would not fail.
Up to that point, it was still believed that Arlo had somehow captured Hina as a hostage. At least, that was what Gion believed. She knew how proud and resolute Hina was. She would never betray the Marines.
With all of that in mind, Gion set out immediately in pursuit of the villain. The Marines spared no resources in this case, and in just five days she arrived at her destination.
The great entertainment ship was still under reconstruction after the attack by Don Krieg's armada. But thanks to Arlo's intervention, they had managed to defeat their opponents.
"Please give me a report on the situation," Gion's voice rang out like thunder as she addressed the Marines already stationed there.
Naturally, since Don Krieg was a pirate, the Marines had been called afterward to assist with the fighting and capture the remaining pirates.
"Vice Admiral?" The officer in charge of the operation trembled when he saw someone of such high rank.
Still, he explained in detail everything the Marines knew about the situation.
Apparently, Don Krieg had prepared a massive army to enter the Grand Line. However, the costs of maintaining such an armada were so high that he was nearly bankrupt. To gather funds and finally move his army to the Grand Line, he attacked that location.
"From what we know, the pirate leader was defeated by a masked man."
"A masked man?" Gion asked, confused.
"Yes," the chief administrator stepped forward and answered her question. "He was a peculiar client. It is shameful to admit, but one of my officers allowed him into the casino after receiving a generous bribe."
"A mysterious man…" Gion murmured, feeling a bad premonition about all of this.
However, a mere pirate attack in the East Blue was not her priority. Once again, her voice sounded like thunder.
"I received information that this ship was seen docking here. Have you seen this vessel?" she asked, showing a sketch the Marines had obtained of the ship.
Immediately, the chief administrator felt a chill. Of course he recognized that ship. After all, they had discovered a large amount of money inside it. And besides…
"The masked man," he said in a worried tone. "According to the information I have, he was the only crew member on that ship."
"And where is he now?" Gion asked immediately.
"As I said, he intervened suddenly in the battle against the pirates who attacked us. Thanks to him, we managed to defeat them. However, he stole the armada's main ship and disappeared."
Gion clenched her fists tightly. The Marines had finally found some trace of that man, but once again they seemed to be several steps behind him.
"Investigate that ship. I want you to gather every piece of information you can obtain from it," Gion ordered immediately.
She also requested that everyone who had seen the masked man provide a description. Apparently, some of the women working at the party had noticed him. All of them said his eyes were beautiful and piercing.
As vague as that was, it was exactly the same description the Marines had received from the Celestial Dragons themselves.
Most likely, the man who had been there was indeed Arlo. And even though he was once again ahead of the Marines, they finally had leads to follow.
Apparently, he had also been seen dancing with a girl. However, no one really knew who she was, so she could not serve as a useful lead.
"Besides, that man is a pervert," Gion murmured. "He was probably just entertaining himself with that woman."
What truly mattered was the enormous pirate ship he had stolen. Sailing something so conspicuous made it impossible for him to go unnoticed.
Gion reported everything she had discovered using a Den Den Mushi as soon as she returned to her office.
Immediately, Marine Headquarters and Cipher Pol began investigating every corner of the East Blue in order to find that man.
〇〇〇
Meanwhile, Arlo was relaxing on that massive, empty boat. He had trained enough for the day and was simply enjoying the gentle late-afternoon breeze.
He had no way of knowing the Navy was already on his trail, but he expected it to happen sooner or later. That was why he had plans to handle it.
For that reason, he had already abandoned the giant vessel, letting it drift empty across the sea. If the Navy were lucky, they would find the wreckage when it crashed into some island. If they were unlucky, it would sink, never to be found.