Was Lirisk lying?
Was that really the entire Vivre Card?
The thought itself was absurd, and yet the cave fell into a deathly silence the moment he revealed it.
"Admiral Soryu… what do we do now?" Kanjuro asked cautiously, clinging to a shred of hope.
"What else?" Rowen shrugged. "We let him live. Treat him with good food and wine. A powerhouse like this, don't tell me you don't want him on our side."
"Of course, of course! Naturally, I do." Kanjuro rubbed his hands together, plastering on his most sycophantic smile as he shuffled toward Lirisk.
"Haha, Lirisk! So you can't stand General Kurozumi's antics either, eh? You should've said so earlier, look at the mess we've made. Don't worry, as long as you help us overthrow Orochi, I'll personally explain everything to the others. If anyone dares lay a finger on you, I swear I'll, uh…"
His grin froze. He'd suddenly noticed Lirisk staring at him with an expression of baffled disbelief.
Kanjuro blinked, confused, and turned around.
Rowen was pinching the bridge of his nose, gazing wearily at the cavern's ceiling.
"You actually think I'd join forces with these idiots?" Lirisk sneered, eyes shifting back to Rowen. "The great Thunder God Soryu, have you finally lost your wits?"
Kanjuro: "…"
Rowen only chuckled and lifted his shoulders in a helpless shrug.
"You, of all people, dragging out a Vivre Card in hopes of brokering cooperation, you're in no position to say that."
Kanjuro: "…"
So it was all an act?!
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Rowen finally took pity on him and explained with a sigh, as though every word pained him.
"He slaughtered half your comrades in the last battle. Even if we do cooperate, he'd only serve as a hidden pawn. You can't reveal his existence, and even if he dies, you must feign ignorance, let him become an unseen hero in the shadows."
Rowen's eyes narrowed.
"And that… is why he brought the Vivre Card out in the first place. It was his resolve, choosing betrayal against his own father."
The two men locked eyes. No more jests, no more sneers. The air carried no gunpowder, but the pressure was suffocating all the same.
Gulp…
Kanjuro swallowed nervously and whispered, "Uh… in that case, I'll… take my leave first?"
No matter what anyone said, he wasn't about to linger in this cursed cave. Not with these people. Not with that thing.
Once Kanjuro scurried away, Lirisk fell silent for a long moment before dropping a bombshell.
"You know… he can't actually control the Sea Kings."
Rowen's pupils shrank. He didn't speak, just waited.
As expected, Lirisk continued.
"To resist the World Government, he has no choice but to rely on that power. That monster hates the Government far more than we ever could. Only when she throws the established order into chaos do we get our chance."
"…That 'monster'?" Rowen muttered, frowning. "Princess Shirahoshi is far too kind-hearted to be called something like that."
"Heh. If it really were Shirahoshi, things would be far too simple."
"What do you mean---?!"
Buru buru buru… buru buru buru…
The Den Den Mushi crackled to life.
Only two men were present. The caller was obvious.
Rowen strode over, picked it up, and answered. "Moshi moshi, this is Rowen."
"Bad news, Rowen!" Akainu's voice roared through the receiver, chaos echoing in the background. "We just got word, an enormous swarm of Sea Kings has begun ramming the Red Line! They're targeting the same breach left by the last World… it looks like they're trying to tear the whole thing down!"
"Sea Kings assaulting the Red Line?"
Rowen glanced at Lirisk, his frown deepening. "Have you located Shirahoshi?"
"We've searched everywhere. Nothing. Don't forget, she's a mermaid. She could be hiding ten thousand meters under the sea for all we know."
"Then why are you calling me, Fleet Admiral?" Rowen rubbed his temples in frustration. "I'm still stuck in Wano, I can't just fly back."
"My advice? Evacuate the Holy Land immediately. Aokiji is still unconscious, and without his Hie Hie no Mi powers, those Sea Kings will be a nightmare for you to handle."
One Sea King alone was no threat to the Marines. Even without top-tier combat power, the Super Electromagnetic Cannons could turn it into a carcass within moments.
But an entire horde slamming against the Red Line? That was another matter entirely.
An army that marches like soldier ants, such a force is never exaggerated.
But when it comes to Sea Kings swarming in numbers, their menace multiplies far beyond simple addition. This isn't just "1 + 1." No one knew how many of those behemoths had been summoned over the past days. Without Aokiji to freeze the ocean into a battlefield of ice, even Kizaru and Akainu could fight themselves to exhaustion and still not cut them all down.
"That much, Advisor Tsuru has already warned me about," Akainu growled, voice edged with steel. "I've already reported it upward. Whether the evacuation happens or not, that's the decision of the Gorōsei."
Then his tone sharpened. "But you, don't forget who's sitting in as your stand-in at Headquarters. If something this big explodes and you don't show your face, that spy in our ranks will see through the ruse instantly. That's why I called you."
Rowen's eyes narrowed dangerously.
The memory of the last incident, when Rowen had been spirited away after their defenses were circumvented, still festered as a thorn in Akainu's heart. Until the traitor was unmasked, he found no peace, neither day nor night.
Noticing Rowen's hostile glance, Lirisk calmly shook his head. "Don't look at me. That operation was handled entirely by my father. If there's a mole within your Marines, only he would know about it."
"Hm?"
That voice, strangely familiar yet unwelcome, made Akainu frown.
"Wait… that's Lirisk? Why the hell are you with him?"
"It's a long story," Rowen replied lightly. "Just take it as me having him in chains for now."
Akainu's eyes widened in shock, his lips twitching.
What? It's only been this long… and Rowen has already kidnapped Lirisk?!
But no, this was hardly the time to dwell on that.
"Tch! Troublesome." Akainu snorted coldly. "If you ask me, we should kill him outright. The Gorōsei have already issued the bounty, he's no longer to be treated as a Celestial Dragon. We're free to execute him on sight."
"No," Rowen said evenly, "he still has his uses."
Then he drew in a slow breath and dropped the kind of truth Akainu least wanted to hear.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Sea Kings aren't under Orrick's control at all. Everything she's doing right now, those are her own choices. From my side, I can't intervene in the slightest."
"Don't worry about exposure, Fleet Admiral. Circumstances on my end have changed. Our plan needs to shift as well. If necessary…" Rowen's voice hardened, "…deploy that thing onto the battlefield. Wasn't it prepared for this very eventuality?"
A sharp hiss of breath crackled through the Den Den Mushi.
"You mean now?" Akainu's voice wavered. "Are you certain the timing isn't premature?"
"We've run out of alternatives, haven't we?"
Akainu's silence stretched, heavy with dread. At last, he gave a grim nod.
"…Fine. I know what to do."
That weapon, conceived solely to counter the Sea Kings, if not used now, then when?
When the line went dead, Lirisk eyed Rowen, intrigue flashing in his gaze.
"Seems you've made more preparations than I imagined. You even accounted for the Sea Kings."
"If I could, I'd rather be drinking tea and reading the morning paper… wasting away my days in peace." Rowen gave a dry shake of his head, lips curling into a sharp grin.
"But sadly, you people won't give me that luxury."
(End Of This Chapter)
This novel is finished and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395