"!!!"
The moment he heard that, Zephyr flew into a rage.
"Ten days ago? Why? Why wasn't intelligence this important reported to us sooner..."
Ten days had already passed. By now, the Sky Pirates had most likely long since left that area.
Gion clearly knew the inside story as well, and said helplessly,
"CP9 said they discovered signs that the Sky Pirates might be cooperating with the Beasts Pirates. They wanted to investigate the details further, so they did not pass the information on in time."
"Bastards..."
Of course Zephyr understood exactly what CP9 was thinking.
If they had handed the intelligence over to the Marines ten days ago, then even if the Marines wiped out the Sky Pirates, the credit would have little to do with them. But if CP9 managed to uncover the details of the Sky Pirates' cooperation with the Beasts Pirates, then the credit would belong entirely to them.
Hearing that, Tsuru looked at Gion and asked,
"Did they find any further trace of them?"
Gion shook her head. After cautiously glancing at Zephyr, she continued,
"According to CP's intelligence, three days ago the Beasts Pirates separated from the Sky Pirates in the Galiman Sea. After that, their whereabouts became unknown."
That only made Zephyr even angrier.
Another three days wasted!!!
Tsuru sighed as well, but she knew there was no point saying more. After thinking for a moment, she said instead,
"Gion, bring me a sea chart!"
"Yes!"
Gion hurried off and quickly returned, handing a chart to Tsuru.
When the chart was spread open, it was densely marked with all kinds of names.
Tsuru located the Totto Land Sea first, then found the Galiman Sea, drew a line, and connected the two.
"This direction..."
As she spoke, she looked at Zephyr and said,
"Judging from the positions of these two seas, the distance between them, and the time the Sky Pirates left Totto Land along with their sailing speed, the Sky Pirates most likely traveled directly from Totto Land to the Galiman Sea. In other words..."
As Tsuru spoke, she extended the straight line connecting the two seas outward.
"The place the Sky Pirates are heading for should be somewhere along this line. Zephyr, I suggest that each of us take command of a warship. Starting from the Galiman Sea, using this line as the center, we spread out and search in a fan-shaped formation. Once anyone finds their trail, we notify the others by Den Den Mushi."
Zephyr's eyes lit up at once, and he praised her.
"That's our Tsuru. No problem, we'll proceed according to your plan!"
...
It had to be said, Vice Admiral Tsuru truly deserved her reputation as the Navy's future great strategist.
Her deduction was a little off, but not by much.
The only thing she had overlooked was the power of technology and the Twin Goddesses' speed.
In fact, a full day earlier, at the end of that line, the Twin Goddesses had already reached their destination.
The once famous Island of Steel and Island of Alchemy had long since lost their former prosperity. All that remained was a lonely island no bigger than a small hill, with a solitary lighthouse standing on it.
As the Twin Goddesses approached, everyone on deck stared at the sight, completely unable to connect it with the legendary Alchemi Island.
They had assumed no one still lived on the island, but as they drew closer, an old man with white hair appeared beneath the lighthouse, leaning on a cane, with a small white dog beside him. Both of them looked at the newcomers with open wariness.
Seeing this, Yemu waved in greeting.
The old man froze for a moment, then turned and went into the lighthouse, shutting the door behind him.
Flare smiled and said,
"Did you scare him?"
"Not me. Us. We are pirates, after all. But never mind that. We came here to fish."
As he spoke, Yemu looked at the others beside him.
"Enel, I'll leave the fishing rod to you. I don't know if it'll work. Other than Pure Gold, I have no idea whether that big fish is interested in ordinary gold, but we have to try."
"Tiger, I'll need your help too. Try communicating with the fish down below and see whether you can find any trace of that big fish."
"As for Ayala, prepare plenty of anesthetic."
Everyone nodded excitedly.
They were all full of anticipation for that miraculous metal called Pure Gold.
Once the ship docked, everyone disembarked from the Twin Goddesses and stepped onto land.
Enel used his lightning metallurgy ability to create a massive golden fishing rod. A gleaming golden lure hung from it, and he cast it into the deep sea.
The others set up tents at the island's harbor, prepared all the equipment they would need, and then hid the Twin Goddesses in another space.
"Well then, we do not have much time. Let's begin our grand fishing operation at once..."
...
The fish Yemu wanted to catch was naturally no ordinary fish, but the gigantic lanternfish that had swallowed the entire Alchemi Island and left behind only this tiny patch of land, Bonbori!
In the original story, Pure Gold seemed to have a special attraction for that fish. Wherever there was Pure Gold, the fish seemed to follow. But Yemu and the others obviously did not have any Pure Gold, so they could only try their luck with ordinary gold.
And Yemu really was gambling on luck.
Whether it was Pure Gold itself or its creator, Myskina Acier, finding either of them required tremendous luck for Yemu.
And he did not have much time.
According to the information they got from the Marines, Yemu and the others had only five days.
Within five days, Marine warships would be able to reach the outer waters around Alchemi.
If Yemu still had not left by then, there was a real chance they would be surrounded and attacked by the Marines.
A force beyond even a Buster Call, with an Admiral among them. Yemu really did not dare take that risk right now.
Just as Yemu had expected, from the moment they arrived at Alchemi at noon until the moon rose overhead at night, Tiger used his ability to communicate with the creatures in the sea and even swam all through the waters around Alchemi, yet he still failed to find the giant lanternfish Yemu had mentioned.
Even so, no one seemed especially disappointed. Instead, they started a bonfire party on the island and made the place lively.
It seemed that everyone was not all that interested in the immortality Yemu had talked about.
Which made sense. Among the many members of the Sky Pirates, aside from robots like Kuromi and the cloud fox Lillilu, the oldest was only Tiger, and he was just thirty two, still in the prime of his life. None of them had reached the age where they wanted to borrow another five hundred years from heaven.
But as captain, Yemu could not afford to relax like that. He had to think of something.
At that moment, Yemu seemed to think of an idea. He looked toward BABY-5, who was happily waving her arms around, and Ayala, who was smiling shyly beside her, then said,
"You two, come here. I've got a task for you."
BABY-5's eyes lit up at once.
"What... what is it...?"
Ayala also looked at Yemu expectantly.
After all, the two of them had always been the ones being protected. Yemu rarely gave them any assignments.
"Since we're here, that makes us guests. Take some of the good food and drinks over to the old man in the lighthouse."
"Oh!!!"
The two of them cheered, picked out the things they liked, and skipped down the steps toward the lighthouse atop the little hill.
When the knock came at the door, the old man and the small dog inside the lighthouse, who had been nervously watching the pirates at the harbor, relaxed a little when they saw that the ones outside were two children. The old man opened the door a crack and peered out.
"Hello, Grandpa! Yemu-sama, our captain, asked us to bring these to you!"
"And these are for the little dog too. Guarding this place must get really lonely, right?"