Chapter 139: The Gorosei's Decision (Seeking Subscriptions, Monthly Tickets, and Recommendations)

Inside the ocean of gastric acid within Laboon's body, following some modifications by Tom, the small island formerly used by Crocus for vacations had now multiplied in size several times over.

Tom and Franky were chatting away while Franky stroked the frog Yokozuna by his side, suddenly bursting into a flood of tears and snot.

Tom burst into hearty laughter and said, "How can a real man be crying and sniffling all day long? Go out to sea and chase your dreams; don't tag along with me."

Franky wiped away a tear and said earnestly, "But the World Government already knows the news of your escape..."

Before he could finish, Tom interrupted, "In the current seas, aside from Captain Buffon's crew, who else do you think I could stay with to guarantee my safety?"

Faced with this logic, Franky was left speechless. If such a place truly existed, it could only be among pirates of the Four Emperors' caliber.

Shifting the tone of the conversation, Franky continued, "Then should I tell Iceburg that you're still alive? And as for the blueprints of Pluton, I've already burned them."

"Hahaha, now that's more like a man! Since they're burned, the World Government should quiet down for a little while, but you still need to watch out for yourself."

Having said this, Tom turned his head and shouted to Buffon not far away, "Captain Buffon, can we make a detour back to Water 7? There are many materials needed to build the Sea Train that I need my other disciple's help with."

Buffon thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Now that they knew Moria had already been sent to Impel Down, a complete plan had to be formulated if they wanted to rescue him. Furthermore, Buffon was certain that as long as he himself was not captured, Moria's life would be safe for the time being.

Since the Marines were still waiting at Impel Down for Buffon to walk right into their trap, they would not easily kill the hostage Moria.

Thinking of this, Buffon stroked Apis's head and asked, "How did you guys think of coming to support me? And how did Laboon manage to get into the vortex currents?"

Apis rolled her large eyes and said earnestly, "After we sent the news to you, Vivi-姐姐 and Reiju-姐姐 discussed it and had Brook and me take Laboon to rendezvous with Reiju-姐姐. As for how Laboon got into the vortex currents, you'll have to ask Perona-姐姐."

Hearing this, Buffon turned his head toward Perona with keen interest.

Perona spoke earnestly, "During the time you left Thriller Bark, I started reading the books on the ship and studying navigation knowledge. The vortex currents at Impel Down, Marine Headquarters, and Enies Lobby are actually just surface currents. A pirate ship can't get close, but that doesn't mean Laboon can't. Laboon can dive deep into the sea to bypass the surface currents and then surface right inside the vortex."

Hearing this, Buffon was slightly surprised, and then he asked, "Perona, do you want to become a navigator?"

Perona nodded, opening her large eyes—whose whites were barely visible—and answered sincerely, "Yes, I don't want to be protected by you and Master Moria forever. I want to be of some use by your side."

Buffon smiled without giving any reply.

Still, he felt that Perona truly had the talent to be a navigator; otherwise, how could she have guided the hopelessly directionless Zoro across the ocean from Mihawk's island to rendezvous with the other Straw Hat members in the original story?

...

Also following them into Laboon's body were the Franky Family and the two gate-guarding giants.

Looking at these bruised and battered fellows, Buffon's hands once again itched, prompting him to get up and start stitching up their wounds.

Treating the final two giants, Buffon asked with mild curiosity, "How did the two of you end up following us here as well?"

Oimo, whose wounds had already been stitched up by Buffon, looked at the injuries that had vanished from his body and said happily, "That long-nosed guy told us. He said as long as we follow you, we can find our former boss."

Hearing this, even Buffon inwardly gave a thumbs-up to Usopp, the king of liars.

With a mouth like that, it was truly a bit of a waste for him to be a sniper. If he became a lobbyist, the Straw Hat crew's situation might turn out entirely different.

"Very well. Once we return to Long Ring Long Land, I'll help you contact your boss."

Long Ring Long Land was not far from the Island of Rare Animals, and Buffon didn't mind doing them this favor, especially since...

After the group arrived at Water 7, most of the crew of the Juventus remained inside Laboon's body.

Buffon only took Tom and Franky to find Iceburg.

Upon seeing his master, who had seemingly risen from the dead, Iceburg was struck speechless for a long time.

After listening to Tom's recounting, Iceburg stood up, bowed deeply to Buffon, and said earnestly, "Thank you for saving my master, Captain Buffon. Whatever request you have, just name it. As long as it is within my power, Iceburg will never refuse."

Before Buffon could speak, Tom smiled and said to Iceburg, "Captain Buffon wants to build a circuit of the Sea Train on Long Ring Long Land. I'll need your help getting the necessary materials."

Iceburg nodded solemnly and replied, "Rest assured, leave this matter to me. I will find a way to deceive the World Government and ship the materials over to your side."

Hearing Iceburg's words, Tom smiled and nodded, then continued, "Keep an eye out for me on the black market. If there is any news about the Treasure Tree Adam, let me know immediately."

Hearing Tom, Franky suddenly chimed in, "Master, I previously used some money I snatched from the Straw Hat brat, plus my own savings, to buy a block of Adam wood from the black market. If you need it, just take it."

However, Tom smiled and refused, "There's no need for that. As my disciple, how could you not have a ship built by your own hands out of the Treasure Tree Adam?"

Buffon had no idea what Tom intended to do with the Treasure Tree Adam, though he presumed it was related to the Sea Train.

Yet judging by his tone, the material wasn't urgently needed right now, so Buffon didn't dwell on it.

The two left Dock 1 and visited the original site of Tom's workshop. Tom simply removed the old employee nameplate from his former workstation, and the two directly returned inside Laboon's body.

With the business in Water 7 concluded, the group proceeded at full speed toward Long Ring Long Land.

Although Moria was not in immediate danger of life, Buffon wanted to formulate a rescue plan as quickly as possible to get him out.

Returning to the Juventus in Laboon's gastric acid ocean, Buffon entered his laboratory. There were still seven CP9 agents waiting for him to deal with.

The reason Buffon had captured all of them—aside from acquiring their blood and Devil Fruit abilities—was that he valued their shadows above all else.

Outside of the Impel Down prison, this was the best target Buffon could think of for obtaining powerful shadows.

As for Devil Fruit abilities, Buffon only harvested Blueno's Door-Door Fruit.

As for Lucci and Jabra's Zoan fruit abilities, Buffon didn't think much of them at all.

After processing the group, Buffon threw them all into the brig in the hold of the ship.

As for sparing them from the sunlight, Buffon had no intention of doing them any favors.

Recalling Robin's past sufferings, he also wanted these individuals to experience what it felt like to walk in eternal darkness for the rest of their lives.

Just as he turned to leave the hold, Lucci, who had woken up first, spoke calmly, "What do you plan to do with us?"

Buffon glanced back at him and replied with equal calm, "Rest assured, I won't kill you. I'm going to let you live out your lives quite well."

When night fell, Buffon had Perona find a nearby deserted island and dumped the seven shadowless individuals right onto it.

Before leaving, Buffon said to the now-conscious seven, "The rest of your lives will be spent in darkness. Let scum without humanity like you taste this kind of despair as well."

Buffon was entirely correct. For this group of once-haughty CP9 agents, having their shadows stripped away meant a fate worse than death—unable to live, yet unable to die.

When the Gorosei received the battle report from Enies Lobby, they fell into absolute silence.

Yet this quiet atmosphere did not last long.

The man with the goat mustache was the first to break the eerie silence, "Spandam that fool is utterly useless—he ruins everything he touches. Not only did he leak Moria's whereabouts on his own authority, but he even triggered a Buster Call. This time, even his father won't be able to save him."

The bald elder also nodded, "And what about those seven missing CP9 members? Were they completely killed by Buffon, or what?"

"The probability of them being killed is low. Judging by Buffon's code of conduct, aside from personally executing Saint Kamatama, he has never killed a single other person. Even his enemies have all their wounds treated," analyzed the map-holding elder earnestly.

"Do you think this fellow has some sort of weird fetish? Why is he so obsessed with treating and stitching up other people's wounds?" the goat-mustached elder asked, looking thoroughly perplexed.

"Who knows, perhaps it's the professional integrity deep in his heart as a doctor. But none of that matters now. Fortunately, Moria has been safely delivered to Impel Down. As long as the plan at Impel Down goes off without a hitch, Buffon will fall into the net sooner or later," said the white-bearded elder.

"Notify Amaterasu to head over there as well. Instead of letting her chase Buffon's rumors all over the world, she might as well wait directly at Impel Down."

"Also, we cannot cover up the incident at Enies Lobby. Put the entire crew of the Juventus on the bounty posters!"

...

On Long Ring Long Land, Thriller Bark had already arrived safely under Reiju's command.

With Hogback's assistance, Reiju directed the ship's zombie legion to begin construction work.

Looking over the construction blueprints drawn up by Vivi, Reiju smiled and praised, "It seems you've learned quite a bit about statecraft from your father!"

Faced with Reiju's praise, Vivi showed no excitement; instead, she looked somewhat dejected and said, "This is the only thing I can manage to do for everyone. With my combat skills, going out to sea with you all would just make me a burden."

Noticing that Vivi's mind was heavy with worries, Reiju continued to comfort her, "Don't think like that. Once we grow and develop in the future, only by you holding down the rear can we properly contend with the World Government on the front lines. Besides, this location will be exposed sooner or later, and when that time comes..."

Before Reiju could finish, Pagaya, riding a thousand-year dragon, leaped down from the air and said to the two women, "They're back."

Hearing this, Reiju called out to Vivi and followed Pagaya toward the direction of the dock.