Chapter 77: A Gift and a Target
Buru Buru!
Buru Buru!
The Den Den Mushi on the desk rang insistently. Skylark, who had been waiting just outside, quickly entered, placed the receiver before Jock Ian, and then wisely retreated, closing the office door firmly behind her. She understood that leaders sometimes needed privacy for their calls.
"Rear Admiral Jock Ian speaking. Identify yourself and state your business," Jock Ian answered, his tone formal and crisp.
"Half of my own people… you haven't forgotten me so quickly, have you?" a familiar, sultry voice purred from the receiver. "I'm preparing to leave for the New World today, Lord Sea King. Will you come to the port to see me off?"
It was Stussy.
"Your Majesty," Jock Ian replied, a playful edge to his voice even as his mind raced, wondering what her true motive was. They hadn't spoken since the failed blood-drawing incident days ago. Jock Ian adhered strictly to the principle of "no initiative, no refusal, no responsibility" with her. "You're informing me personally before you leave? Are you so reluctant to part? Could it be you've fallen for me?"
"Haha, you never know. You'd better be careful," Stussy teased back, her tone light but layered. "Before I leave, I have a little gift for you. A little something so you don't forget me too quickly."
"A gift?" Jock Ian feigned nonchalance. "Forget the sexy pajamas. My closet is full of them."
Stussy's voice held a smile. "Think about how you'll thank me first."
Jock Ian played along. "Words of thanks… alright, I've thought of some! Now, tell me, what's the gift?"
Stussy's tone shifted, becoming serious and businesslike. "Just now, as I was about to board my ship at the port, a group of men attempted to hijack it. They injured several of my subordinates. After they realized who I was, they fled in disgrace. They were a… peculiar-looking bunch. I recognized one of them from World Government dossiers. He's a subordinate of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Jock Ian's mind ignited. A group of peculiar-looking men… a Whitebeard Pirate subordinate… attempting to hijack a ship on Sabaody… The three clues triangulated in his mind, rapidly narrowing the possibilities until they locked onto a single, momentous target.
"Stussy," he said, his voice sharp, "the one you recognized… was he a large, dark man? Missing a few teeth?"
He wasn't sure if Stussy knew the name, but the description was unmistakable.
"Is there anything on this island you don't know?" Stussy replied, a note of genuine astonishment in her voice. "Do you practice divination? How can you be so certain?" Her brief description had been enough for him to pinpoint the individual. She felt a renewed, grudging respect for his intelligence network and deductive speed.
Sitting before the Den Den Mushi, Jock Ian fell into a brief, intense silence, his mind whirring as he cross-referenced the current timeline. It was now completely certain. The group that had tried to hijack Stussy's ship was the Blackbeard Pirates!
The Blackbeard Pirates, in their infancy. Marshall D. Teach must have just murdered Thatch, the commander of Whitebeard's Fourth Division, and stolen the Natural-Type Dark-Dark Fruit. He'd fled the New World, gathered his core band of villains, and was now forming his early crew. And Jock Ian had just stumbled upon the not-yet-fully-risen Blackbeard on his own turf.
Stussy had no idea that her single phone call was about to dramatically alter the course of maritime history.
"Are you trying to renege on your debt, Lord Sea King?" Stussy's voice broke through his thoughts. "Why the silence after receiving my information?"
"Location. Direction!" Jock Ian's questions were terse and urgent. "Where did they flee?"
Facing a double-Devil Fruit Blackbeard two years from now would be a monumental challenge. But the current, single-fruited Blackbeard? He was not untouchable. Moreover, receiving this news now, with time to act, presented an opportunity Jock Ian had long wanted—a chance to test a certain theory.
"Judging by their direction, they were heading toward Grove 12," Stussy analyzed coolly. "If you leave your base now… you should be able to intercept them around Grove 14 or 15."
Jock Ian trusted her judgment. It wouldn't be far off.
"Thank you. This is a significant gift," he said, his voice low. "As for how to thank you… I just thought of something. Didn't you want a sample of my bloodline factor? Starting with me directly is… problematic. But there's another way to obtain the same genetic material."
Stussy was intrigued, and wary. From his tone, she could tell "another way" was likely not going to be pleasant.
"What exactly do you mean, Lord Sea King? Please be more specific. Don't make me guess every time." She braced herself.
"Starting with me, you have no chance," Jock Ian stated flatly. "But you could wait ten months…" He let the sentence hang for a beat. "Having a child who shares my blood and genes would suffice, wouldn't it?"
Click. Brrrrrrr—
He hung up the Den Den Mushi before she could muster a reply, not giving her a chance to rage.
Stussy held the silent receiver, her knuckles white. "...!"
Just as she'd thought. That wretched man couldn't possibly say anything decent.
Knock! Knock!
"Lady Stussy, all preparations are complete. We are ready to set sail at your command. Shall we depart now?" a voice called from outside the cabin.
"Delay our departure," Stussy ordered, her mind suddenly made up. "I've just remembered there is something else I must attend to."
…
Simultaneously, in his office, Jock Ian shouted toward the door, "Skylark!! Get in here!"
The young sniper, who hadn't gone far, rushed back in immediately. "Major General Ian, what are your orders?"