Chapter 6: Calm before the Storm
When Tristran explained that he couldn't offer the help John was looking for, he did so with a genuine empathy that touched John's heart.
Despite the disappointment of not finding a solution to Cynthia's problem, John felt a sense of gratitude for the man's efforts.
Reluctant to end the conversation abruptly after receiving his answers, they continued to chat about various topics.
Despite the weight of his own worries, John found solace in the simple conversation he had with Tristran.
Expressing his gratitude once more, John took his leave of the old man, explaining that he was running behind schedule.
With a quick nod of understanding, Tristran said goodbye to John and waved as he watched him run towards the warehouse district.
John let out a sigh. "Well, it's not like I had much hope to get information on a devil fruit to save Cynthia."
"I hoped it wouldn't have come to this, but I need to confront Marie," John muttered to himself, a sense of resolve settling over him.
After spending a few days with her, he could sense there was more to Marie than just being a tavern keeper. "Tonight, I've decided to confront her about it."
But first, there was one more stop to make.
Tom had asked for my help with the boys in preparing a big fruit delivery for tomorrow. So, I'm heading there now.
Unfortunately, my meeting with Tristan ran longer than expected, leaving me with no time to detour to the fields. Straight to the warehouse, it is.
As he hurried through the narrow alleyways towards his destination, he collided with a child dressed in a cloak and an old top hat, knocking him off balance and sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Sorry, Kid, I didn't notice you there." John apologised, extending his hand to help him up. "Are you okay?"
He slapped John's hand away and glared at him with a dangerous glint in his eyes, sending shivers down John's spine.
"Ho, there's no need for alarm," John said, picking up the child's top hat and extending it to him.
After a brief moment, the child accepted it and placed it on his head.
Suddenly, a small pigeon, also wearing a top hat, landed on the child's shoulder, giving John the stink eye. The peculiar sight made John feel a bit uneasy, as if something was off about the whole situation.
Ignoring the bird's unsettling gaze, John turned his attention to the child. The boy seemed to be around 9 or 10 years old, slender, and remarkably alert for his age. After a brief moment of observation, John couldn't shake the feeling that the child was likely an orphan, left to fend for himself in this unforgiving world.
He muttered, "What has the world come to when even a large town like this has children starving in the back alleys?"
Pepping himself up, he said, "Wow, it appears I made a bad first impression! There's only one way to fix this, kid," he said, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a large swirly lolly, handing it to the kid.
The child's eyes widened in surprise,clearly taken aback by John's response to the situation.
After hesitating for a moment, the child tentatively reached out to accept the offering, his eyes reflecting a blend of excitement and curiosity.
The child's reaction filled John with satisfaction.
Moments like this were exactly why he made it a habit to carry some candy with him when he visited Rei's. Smiling to himself, he recognises that such a small gesture often makes a big difference, especially when dealing with young children.
The child stood there, holding the candy, looking uncertain about what to do with it. John couldn't help but smile as he observed the scene, feeling a warmth spread through him.
Sensing it was time to continue on his way, he glanced back as he hurried past the boy on his way to his appointment, shouting, "You'd better hurry home. It's dangerous to be out after dark."
After this pleasant distraction, he finally made his way to the warehouse.
Hearing voices inside, he grew curious about who else Tom had invited. With a mischievous grin, he decided to sneak in and surprise them.
Heading up the stairs, he picked up bits of conversation like "infiltrated" and "secondary target located.".
In a fleeting moment of realisation, John muttered to himself, "This can't possibly be good. I've got to get out of here," his heart racing as he contemplated his next move.
As John tried to leave, he heard a door close in the direction he wanted to retread, and panic swept through him. "I've got to hide in case these people find me. I'm finished," he thought, desperately looking for a place to hide.
As John's eyes darted around the room, panic gripped him. "I need to find somewhere to hide, fast," he muttered to himself. Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind: the fruit disposal chute nearby. "That might work," he thought, his heart pounding in his chest. Without hesitation, he made a beeline for the chute, hoping he would make it in time.
From his hiding spot, he could hear the conversation in the other room more clearly. Holding his breath, he prayed they wouldn't find him.
…
In the distance, a door slammed shut, punctuated by the ominous rumble of a voice. "There had better be a damn good reason for assembling us on such short notice before this mission," it growled menacingly, "or there will be consequences."
"The brute has a good point; why did you gather all of us on such short notice?" said a smooth voice.
Several voices joined in, creating a cacophony of murmurs, until a commanding voice cut through the clamour, demanding, "Silence!
After the murmurs died down, the commanding voice continued, "We will address this matter shortly. But first, I need an update on the primary mission. CP4, report!"
"The destabilisation of the army went without a hitch, though the numbers exceeded our initial estimates," the mechanical voice reported. "All but the weakest have been neutralised, with approximately five hundred troops bound and ready for transport to several key locations for the grand finale."
"Good work, CP4," the commanding voice acknowledged before continuing. "Now, CP3, status report!"
The smooth voice from earlier responded once more. "Traitors within the castle have tainted all of the royal guards' food with poison. Only the knight captain survived; he, too, has been delivered to the assigned location."
The growling voice interjected once again. "Why are we making this so difficult for ourselves when we could simply kill the king, hang his body on display, and go home?"
"Do you want to risk the trade consortium revolting?" sneered the smooth voice, amused. "To keep them in line, we need to put on a show and make the pirate threat appear far more severe than it actually is!"
"Hmmph," the growling voice asserted with conviction. "Fear will keep them in line,"
"Like Ohara, I assume!" snarled the smooth voice. We would not have known they cracked the ancient script if it hadn't been for chance. How many people would have started looking for the poneglyphs to decipher their secrets if it hadn't been for the Buster Call?!"
"ENOUGH!" bellowed the commanding voice, the force of his words shaking the room. "THIS IS NOT THE TIME OR PLACE FOR THIS DISCUSSION!" His anger dissipated as swiftly as it had come.
"Report in, CP2."
Silence filled the room before a chair toppled over, and a groggy voice murmured, "I'm awake, I'm awake."
Now less than pleased, the commanding voice reiterated, "CP2 Report!"
The sleepy voice responded from a distance, thick with a thick accent and sounding somewhat drunk. "Aye, aye, I heard ya the first time. What's the point o' ya yellin'?"
At first, there was silence, then the room filled with the sounds of teeth grinding, some muffled laughter, and one exaggerated sigh.
"CP2 REPORT MISION STATUS!" exclaimed the commander, ultimately losing his cool.
Recognising the gravity of his mistake, the man quickly corrected himself: "CP2 reports that all pirate groups have been bribed to attack the Oykot Kingdom tomorrow after the signal is given... SIR!"
"If not for the regulations," the commander said sternly, directing his gaze at the man, "I would have disposed of you right here."
"Now, now, don't scare the new guy," an arrogant voice interjected. "If the mighty CP0 could enlighten us as to why you have gathered all of us on the eve of a year-long plan and even called in reinforcements, including training camps, there had better be a good reason for all this mobilised manpower."
After a moment of reflection, the commander stated calmly, "The farseer has been spotted."
A cacophony of voices erupted, each offering their own objections and denials. "Impossible, she should be dead," one voice insisted. "It must have been a mistake," echoed another. Amid the chaos, one voice rang out louder than the rest, proclaiming, "It's a trap!"
"I can assure you that there has been no mistake or 'trap'," the commander said firmly. "The Farseer was seen a few days ago talking to a man who appeared out of nowhere."
"Our investigation of the man Johnatan, or beter known as John, has reached a dead end, but after observing him, he has been deemed insignificant," the commander added, his tone implying finality.
Hearing this, John sucked in a cold breath and felt a shiver run down his neck. Instinctively, he turned his head to the left, just in time to see a long metal hairpin fly past the tip of his nose. The close encounter made him so nervous that he didn't dare exhale.
In the adjacent room, a smooth voice whispered, "Hmm, it appears I've made a mistake."
The commanding voice, seemingly unaware or choosing to ignore the action, continued, "Now that we have established that the Farseer is on the island, let's review what will happen.
"All available CP captains will join the ambush; an admiral will join the fight immediately if this fails," the commanding voice declared.
"We were going to request Aoki for this non-lethal subduing mission. But he's been missing for some time after the Ohara debacle. So we're stuck with Akainu; he's been briefed on the target and known connections, which hopefully won't be necessary," the commanding voice explained, a tinge of frustration evident in his tone.
This news ignited a storm of discontent in the room. "Why Akainu? He's barely proven himself," someone grumbled, the annoyance evident in their tone. Others chimed in with similar sentiments, their voices laced with irritation and frustration.
"This is the decision of the elders," the commander said firmly, cutting through the dissent. "Their plan is to groom Akainu to become Fleet Admiral in the future; no objections will be heard."
When the five elders were mentioned, all the dissenting voices in the room fell silent, recognising the absolute authority of the elders' orders.
"When do we engage the seer?" The arrogant voice broke the silence. "It's not like she won't see us coming now, right?"
"That is an excellent question," the commander replied sarcastically, though his tone quickly turned solemn as he addressed the matter at hand.
"After extensive research and consulting a government scientist to analyse our previous encounters, we have discovered a blind spot in her power: if two events happen simultaneously, the first will override the second, regardless of its severity."
"We are fortunate that all plans were formulated before we discovered her presence on this island; otherwise, she would have departed long ago."
"Now, she only perceives the lesser pirate threat and won't take it seriously, so our ambush must occur before the last pirate perishes, but only after she witnesses the first one," the commander elaborated, outlining the narrow window of opportunity for the trap to succeed.
"We need concrete proof before we proceed with such a risky operation," interjected a concerned voice, echoing the doubts and reservations of many in the room.
"Perhaps the consortium is using this situation as a power play to undermine our authority in the blue seas," suggested another dissenting voice, hinting at the possibility of a larger conspiracy at play.
The statement resonated with many in the room, eliciting murmurs of agreement.
"Speculation is futile," the commanding voice declared, silencing the murmurs. "We have agents strategically placed in the upper echelons of every major corporation."
"Our spies have reported no unusual activity; the consortium remains oblivious to our operations here. Once this kingdom falls, we will unleash the full might of Cypher Pol, annihilating them and restoring our complete dominion over the four seas."
Suddenly, a Den Den Mushi began to beep insistently, interrupting the meeting. The sound echoed around the room, drawing all eyes to the device. The commander held the Den Den Mushi to his ear, and it whispered something only he could understand.
His face distorted for a moment as he heard what the caller had to say, then he hung up, his expression changing from annoyed to calm in an instant.
With the room now hushed, the commander pressed on with the briefing.
"As soon as this meeting concludes, signals will be dispatched to the pirate groups, initiating the invasion of the surrounding villages, including the capital."
"During this time, we'll dispatch some weaker New World pirate captains to destroy what's left of the royal palace, allowing them to parade the incapacitated royal family through the streets. It's imperative that the world recognise the dangers of rejecting the World Government's goodwill."
"The marine ground troops will engage the pirates when the palace goes up in flames, eliminating any remaining stragglers."
"Most of them have basic medical training and are assigned to assist the citizens."
"Their top priority is to evacuate surviving civilians so that they can spread the word about the pirates' cruelty."
"Are there any questions?" the commander inquired.
"No questions?"
"Good"
"The pirate invasion will commence shortly."
"Vice Captain White stays behind."
"All others are dismissed!"