Chapter 126: News of Moria (Seeking subscriptions, recommendation votes, and monthly tickets)

At this thought, Buffon stopped analyzing. He felt he had already uncovered most of what he needed to know. As for how to completely unravel the mystery, he had thought of the perfect person for the job: Nico Robin.

Judging by the time that had passed, she should have returned from Sky Island by now.

“Looks like I’ll have to bring Robin into the fold after all,” Buffon muttered to himself.

Just then, someone knocked on the laboratory door.

Reiju’s voice came from outside. “Captain Buffon, Vivi has sent word about Moria.”

Hearing this, Buffon dismissed the Flower-Flower Fruit’s power and opened the door to let Reiju in.

“Where is Moria now? Is the information reliable?”

Hearing the urgency in Buffon’s voice, Reiju hurriedly replied, “Moria is currently being held at Marine Headquarters, but he’ll soon be transferred to Impel Down. The information should be accurate. Apis learned it from a News Coo.”

“Oh?” Buffon asked with interest. “Tell me the details.”

“The News Coo that told Apis was the very one that delivers newspapers to Sengoku. It heard everything from Sengoku’s pet goat.”

Even Buffon found the story somewhat unbelievable, let alone Reiju.

When Reiju had first heard it, she had nearly cried out in shock.

She had previously thought Buffon’s idea would be difficult to put into practice—or, at the very least, that Apis would need some time to build a relationship with the News Coo. Yet Apis had immediately managed to obtain such an important piece of information through one.

At that moment, Reiju practically regarded Buffon as an otherworldly genius.

With this arrangement, they would be able to learn about Marine operations in advance. And it would not be limited to the Marines. Anyone who bought newspapers through the News Coo could potentially become a source of information for them.

With such a vast intelligence network supporting them, none of their future operations would leave them at a disadvantage.

Whether the Marines or pirates from other factions intended to strike at Buffon, they might learn of it beforehand and make the necessary preparations.

After thinking for a moment, Buffon said to Reiju, “If the Marines are transporting Moria from Headquarters to Impel Down, they’ll have to pass through Enies Lobby. I’ll wait for them there and rescue him.”

“If we take Thriller Bark with us, won’t it be too conspicuous? We might attract a large-scale Marine assault, and then…”

Before Reiju could finish, Buffon interrupted her. “Bon Clay and I will be enough.”

“No, you can’t go alone. It’s far too dangerous. Let me go with you so we can look out for each other.”

Buffon shook his head. “Once I leave, there must be someone on the ship to hold everything together and direct everyone’s actions. Saul and the others may be stronger than you, but they’re all rough men. The ship needs someone as meticulous and clearheaded as you to remain behind.”

Hearing this, Reiju’s emotions became complicated.

On the one hand, she was worried about Buffon going alone to Enies Lobby and putting himself in danger. On the other, his recognition of her abilities filled her with delight.

“Could this be…”

The thought she was about to let run wild was interrupted by Buffon’s next words.

“Once Tom finishes inspecting the propulsion system and confirms that everything is in order, head directly to Long Ring Long Land and wait for me there. Even if the Marines send an admiral to escort Moria, they won’t pose a particularly serious threat to me.

“Once you arrive, establishing the base will be the greatest help you can give the crew. Go make the arrangements. As for Lola, if she’s willing to leave with us, bring her along.”

Faced with Buffon’s orders, Reiju instinctively acknowledged him and left.

Only after she was outside did she stamp her foot in frustration and silently scold herself.

“Little Reiju, that was such a good opportunity to speak up. Why are you still so useless?”

After Reiju left, Buffon increased his pace and finished processing the bodies of the four giants.

He then summoned Saul. After arranging everything concerning the propulsion system, he went to find Hogback.

Apart from Buffon himself, Hogback was the person most familiar with the zombie army. Entrusting him with control of these giant zombies was undoubtedly the most suitable choice.

Hogback already possessed control over the zombies from the original army, so Buffon did not need to transfer anything to him.

Hogback did not ask many questions about Buffon’s actions. After spending so many years on the island, he had more or less guessed that Buffon was hiding certain secrets.

As long as they remained allies and Buffon did nothing to betray Moria, Hogback saw no reason to reveal those secrets to anyone else.

This time, Perona did not clamor to accompany Buffon either. After witnessing Moria’s capture, she had gained a profound understanding of how important strength was.

Moreover, seeing Reiju serving as such a capable assistant at Buffon’s side, she had resolved to improve her own strength aboard the ship.

Even if she begged to accompany Buffon now, there was no guarantee he would take her. She might only end up becoming a burden.

Once she grew strong enough—once she could help Buffon shoulder some of his responsibilities, just as Reiju did now—then…

Meanwhile, at Enies Lobby, Spandam was finally discovered after spending several days locked in a prison cell.

The moment he was released, he reported everything to the Five Elders.

Upon hearing the news, all five men furrowed their brows.

After thinking for a moment, the Elder with the goatee spoke first. “What exactly does that brat intend to do by taking Tom away? Could he be planning to build Pluton?”

The Elder known as Map Guy immediately objected. “A warship of Pluton’s caliber is far beyond Buffon’s current manpower and financial resources. Even if he were capable of building it, it would take decades. Are you saying the Marines won’t be able to capture him in all that time?”

The bald Elder nodded in agreement. “That is indeed reasonable. Compared with building Pluton, I believe the invisible ability Spandam reported is what we truly need to guard against.”

“Spandam is obsessed with his position, and you all know perfectly well how he managed to climb this high. To reduce his own responsibility as much as possible, there’s no lie too absurd for him to invent.

“Buffon can only become invisible because that fellow from Moria’s ship who ate the Clear-Clear Fruit must have been assisting him from the sidelines.

“Compared with that, I think the person with the Clone-Clone Fruit is the one we need to watch most closely. That man is now under Buffon’s command, which means he can easily disguise himself as a Marine or a World Government official. Obtaining our intelligence would be effortless.”

The Five Elders continued discussing the matter for nearly an hour. In the end, they decided that the most important thing was to send Moria to Impel Down.

Afterward, they would leak the information through unofficial channels and wait for Buffon to come walking into their trap.

The fortress-like Impel Down was the greatest source of confidence behind their decision.

At the same time, they made the necessary arrangements for Moria’s transfer.

…

By then, the Straw Hat crew had already returned from Sky Island and successfully landed on Long Ring Long Land.

However, the people waiting for them there were not the Foxy Pirates from the original timeline, but their old acquaintance Vivi.

After Vivi explained the entire situation surrounding the Juventus crew, Luffy immediately asked where Buffon was.

Vivi weighed the matter carefully before finally telling them that Buffon intended to go to Water 7 to rescue Moria.

When they heard that Buffon’s next destination was Water 7, Nami glanced at the Log Pose in her hand and said seriously, “The needle is pointing toward Water 7 too!”

“Then let’s set sail for Water 7 right away and see if we can help Captain Buffon!” Luffy happily ordered.

“The Going Merry needs a thorough overhaul as well. Water 7 is exactly where all the finest shipwrights gather,” Usopp loudly agreed.

“That’s right! And if we can find a powerful shipwright to sail with us, it’ll be perfect!”

Luffy urged everyone aboard.

Before leaving, Robin handed Vivi a bag filled with various shells she had collected on Sky Island. She believed they would certainly be useful to Buffon.

After the Straw Hats departed, Vivi immediately sent the news to Buffon.

Hearing it, Buffon muttered to himself, “It looks like everything is happening at once. I wonder whether that fellow Spandam has been released yet.”

When Buffon and Bon Clay arrived at Water 7 this time, they did not head straight for Enies Lobby. Instead, they remained on the shipbuilding island, hoping to gather some relevant intelligence there.

Investigating a place like Enies Lobby, which maintained a permanent garrison of ten thousand soldiers, was hardly convenient.

As luck would have it, the annual Mask Carnival was underway. The two men put on masks, donned cloaks, and began conducting both overt and covert investigations around the island.

Following his memories of CP9’s disguises, Buffon prepared Bon Clay in the same manner, hoping they might encounter the real CP9 members and fool them into mistaking Bon Clay for one of their comrades.

Meanwhile, the Straw Hat crew had docked their ship in the Old Quarter, and everyone split up to complete their own tasks.

Robin made a casual excuse and left the others behind. Then she took out the Vivre Card Buffon had previously given her and began searching for his whereabouts.

However, in a narrow alley, she was suddenly captured by two unidentified “CP9” agents.

After bringing her to an inn, the two “CP9” agents removed their masks. Only then did Robin realize the truth.

“Captain Buffon, I never imagined you two would be so bold.”

“You’re the bold one,” Buffon said calmly, his face expressionless. “The city is crawling with CP9 members. Their orders are to find the blueprints for Pluton. In their eyes, your importance as a survivor of Ohara is clearly greater than mine.”

Robin froze for a moment before speaking. “When we went to Sky Island this time, we really did find a Poneglyph at the location you mentioned. It even contained information left behind by the Pirate King, Roger, pointing toward the final island.”

Buffon had no interest in the final island or the Pirate King’s treasure. What interested him was the question of the Celestial Dragons’ ancestors.

After sending Bon Clay away to continue gathering intelligence, Buffon told Robin about the theories he had previously developed.

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