Finn was stunned for a moment. Then his expression quickly turned serious.
"Big Mom?" Finn asked gravely.
"Haven't determined that yet. I just discovered this, but considering the current situation in the New World, if it wasn't Whitebeard's doing, then it was most likely the Big Mom Pirates or Kaido..." Stussy said quickly.
Finn's mind worked rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he'd already thought of Jam Island.
If this plan had been in motion for more than two months...
No, it should be said it had been planned for more than two months. The Double White Alliance had been operating in Totland and Totto Land's waters, winning battle after battle, forcing Charlotte Linlin and Kaido to retreat continuously. Now both sides faced each other on Jam Island.
Considering the current situation, Charlotte Linlin had probably buried massive amounts of Dyna Stone on Jam Island, waiting for Newgate to land and "show his might." Finn thought this was extremely likely!
With Dyna Stone's assistance, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido might be able to kill Whitebeard in one stroke!
"It's impossible that Whitebeard did this. The old man isn't so underhanded. He likes doing things straightforwardly. What's more, if he'd really done that, Smoker would definitely have gotten word," Finn said after thinking.
"What should we do now?" Stussy asked.
Finn's mind was in chaos. He'd thought Whitebeard would be at a disadvantage. After all, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin had set up this trap together, so they should have confidence.
But he'd never imagined Whitebeard might actually die there.
"I haven't thought it through yet... Let me think. If nothing unexpected happened, Newgate's already landed on Jam Island. It'll be too late for me to do anything," Finn said helplessly.
After a brief pause, Finn asked again, "Who's responsible for the Dyna Stone leak?"
"I don't know," Stussy said helplessly.
The Dyna Stone in the New World had always been jointly managed by CP agencies and Marine Headquarters.
On the Marine side, the Science Unit was in charge. On the CP side, it should be CP-0, right?
Finn didn't fully understand the details either.
That's right. Even though he was a Marine Admiral, he didn't pay much attention to Dyna Stone issues.
On one hand, it wasn't his responsibility. Obviously, Dyna Stone had previously been under Admiral Sengoku's charge. After Sengoku was promoted to Fleet Admiral, it must have been Borsalino, commander of the Science Unit, who'd taken over this matter.
So if nothing unexpected happened, Borsalino would have to take the blame this time.
"Investigate. Make sure to get to the bottom of this matter," Finn ordered.
"I would have investigated without you telling me. However, this matter carries enormous responsibility. Whoever's responsible is responsible. I'm not taking the fall for it," Stussy said cautiously.
She was very worried Finn would arrange for her, a high-ranking CP official, to take the blame for Borsalino.
Finn was amused by Stussy's defensiveness. He couldn't help but say, "Don't worry, I'm not that petty. We'll find out who it is and assign responsibility accordingly. But maybe this situation can be managed. I'll think about it. Check it out first!"
Soon, Stussy disconnected and began investigating the matter.
Simultaneously, Finn quickly summoned Kuzan, Gion, and the others for a meeting.
"The Dyna Stone leak from this breach definitely wasn't an accident. It must have been planned for a long time. Judging from the New World situation, the Dyna Stone is most likely on Jam Island. That guy Newgate has probably already landed. We can't stop him now. Let's quickly find a way to handle the aftermath," Finn said seriously.
Gion, Kuzan, Hina, and Smoker were all stunned.
How had the situation suddenly collapsed to the point where even a figure like Whitebeard might die?
"Really, plans can't keep up with changes. These New World pirates aren't easy to deal with," Kuzan said, his expression grim.
Finn didn't respond. He waved his hand. "You all discuss a plan first and see if there's any solution. I need to talk to Borsalino to prevent him from getting his legs broken."
After saying this, Finn walked out of the cabin onto the deck.
He pulled out his Den Den Mushi and quickly contacted Borsalino.
Borsalino probably wasn't busy, because he picked up the receiver quickly.
"Finn? How's the New World going? Need my help?" Borsalino asked with his usual casual tone.
Judging from his demeanor, he probably didn't know something had happened with Dyna Stone. Even Queen Stussy had probably discovered it by chance.
Finn had no intention of easing into this at all. He said gravely, "You're in big trouble, Borsalino!"
Borsalino was startled. His expression straightened immediately. "What's going on?"
Borsalino and Finn had always maintained good relations. He never thought Finn would joke with him at a time like this.
"Dyna Stone. The Dyna Stone your Science Unit is responsible for has leaked into the black market in large quantities. I suspect someone's manipulating things. Now I have reason to believe the Dyna Stone is on Jam Island. According to the current war layout, Whitebeard was set up by Charlotte Linlin and Kaido and lured to Jam Island. In other words—" Finn spoke very rapidly.
Borsalino reacted quickly and immediately followed the logic. "Charlotte Linlin and Kaido might be able to kill Whitebeard?"
"Exactly! This is completely inconsistent with our plan. It could cause the situation across the entire ocean to collapse. Moreover, the Dyna Stone leak will definitely be a major incident. If this really happens, you can just wait to die," Finn said bluntly.
Borsalino was panicking now. He asked quickly, "Is there any possibility of salvaging this?"
Silence stretched on Finn's end of the Den Den Mushi. Finally, he said, "Do you have any good ideas?"
A seasoned veteran was a seasoned veteran. After pondering briefly, Borsalino hesitated and said, "Can we define this as a top-secret Marine operation, with the intention of using this opportunity to kill Whitebeard or something? That way, I can explain things much more easily..."
"If you say that to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, he'll beat you to death," Finn cursed.
"Please help me," Borsalino said helplessly.
After so many years of friendship, Finn wouldn't really stand by and watch him die. If this really caused an uproar, Borsalino would most likely have to resign.
Even Mary Geoise would open an investigation into Marine Headquarters. They couldn't let the Borsalino incident ruin the entire Marine's excellent position.
If the investigation into the Dyna Stone incident yielded nothing, and all the Marines' years of planning were exposed, it would be catastrophic...
Therefore, this wasn't just about saving Borsalino. It was about saving himself and the Marines.
"You're such an idiot," Finn wanted to scold Borsalino properly, but he didn't know how.
"I owe you one. Help me!" Borsalino didn't dare equivocate.
"Fine. You should first draft a battle plan, something vague, involving the New World and Dyna Stone. Then see if you can convince Fleet Admiral Sengoku to backdate this plan into the archives from two months ago and treat it as official record. I'll do my best to help you execute the plan. If you can stabilize the situation, or even turn it to a point favorable to our Marines and Mary Geoise, perhaps I can help you clean up the mess," Finn said seriously.
Right now, no one had better ideas, so Borsalino could only follow the arrangement. He said quickly, "Okay, I'll do it immediately. Thank you very much."
After disconnecting the call, Borsalino leaped from his office chair, cursed colorfully, and contacted his assistant.
Simultaneously, Finn returned to the cabin and looked at Gion and the others. "How is it?"
"Not very good," Kuzan shook his head.
Smoker said, "We did manage to contact someone named Teach from the Whitebeard Pirates. He said Newgate just landed on Jam Island..."
"Did you tell Teach everything?" Finn asked, his eyes lighting up.
Teach was also a capable person. Finn had no control over events happening on Jam Island. He couldn't be expected to go there personally to arrange anything.
But if Teach could do something remarkable in that situation, maybe he could really save Whitebeard's life.
So, would Teach save Whitebeard?
Of course he would. Once the Whitebeard Pirates collapsed, Teach's dream would also collapse. He might even be hunted down by the Big Mom Pirates and Beast Pirates for his Dark-Dark Fruit.
Without Whitebeard's banner, he'd be extremely vulnerable.
He couldn't afford to lose Whitebeard's protection now.
"Of course. He said he'd inform his captain..." Gion said.
Finn nodded. "Let's do this for now. I have an idea. The most urgent thing is rushing to Jam Island to see if we can help Newgate recover. Then we must defeat Kaido and Charlotte Linlin. This war has reached this point. We can't lose. If we lose, this matter will spiral out of control. If we can't suppress it, Mary Geoise will definitely send investigators. CP's Stussy will also be implicated and won't be able to cover for us. If that happens, we might really break with Mary Geoise, which will severely affect our Marines' interests. Fleet Admiral Sengoku will inevitably be caught in a terrible position. So we have no choice but to win!"
"And then?" Kuzan asked. He was somewhat confused and didn't quite understand what Finn meant.
"Put simply, the Dyna Stone becomes our weapon to inflict heavy casualties on the Big Mom Pirates, Beast Pirates, and Whitebeard Pirates. It was leaked intentionally. So as long as we really make them all suffer devastating losses, we can write the report however we want!" Finn said seriously.
Kuzan, Gion, and the others were stunned for a moment, then nodded in understanding.
This was quite...
As long as the ending wasn't too catastrophic and didn't set the whole world on fire, if the Marines' established goals were achieved, they could indeed join forces with Stussy, reverse right and wrong, and cover up the Dyna Stone leak problem.
As long as Mary Geoise didn't pursue the matter, the Marines wouldn't be exposed and the situation would resolve.
This countermeasure was using force to overcome cleverness!
"At this point, we can't hide anything anymore. Let's speed up!" Finn sighed. Then he stomped on the deck. A light purple energy halo rapidly spread outward.
The entire ship began losing weight. Sails filled completely. Under Finn's power, the vessel began rushing toward Jam Island at tremendous speed.
Simultaneously, at Jam Island's port, Teach rushed down from the Moby Dick in a panic. He grabbed several wounded pirates nearby. "Hurry, arrange for everyone to board!"
After that, he didn't dare delay any longer and chased in the direction Newgate had left.
At this moment, Newgate stood silently looking at a figure not far away, someone even taller than himself.
Charlotte Linlin!
Charlotte Linlin was holding someone in her hand. That person was none other than Phoenix Marco...
"Ma ma ma ma ma..." Charlotte Linlin first laughed wickedly, then said, "Old man Whitebeard, you're here after all."
"Linlin..." Newgate murmured softly. Then, with anger flashing in his eyes, he said, "Are you provoking me?"
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