Originally, Momousagi's mission was simply to tie up Blackbeard.
Of course, if the opportunity arose, capturing or even taking down Blackbeard would be the best outcome.
But Momousagi was never content with just holding him off.
From the very start, she intended to eliminate Blackbeard.
Although she was somewhat skeptical of Luo Lan's claim about Blackbeard's great strength, at first she still followed Luo Lan's advice and adopted a cautious approach.
That meant…
Standing her ground and dealing damage from a distance.
If you asked what the greatest advantage a great swordsman has over a martial arts expert is, it's definitely ranged attacks.
After all, a great swordsman can slash hundreds or even thousands of meters away with a single strike.
Someone like Hawkeye could probably reach two kilometers.
By contrast, martial artists rely entirely on close combat.
Momousagi exploited this difference perfectly.
She maintained a distance of several hundred meters from Blackbeard, skillfully unleashing flying slashes from afar.
If Blackbeard were at his peak, this wouldn't be very effective, but…
His physical condition was severely deteriorated, and he was nursing many wounds.
So instead of rushing in to fight Momousagi, he was desperately trying to escape.
However, every step he took backward was met with a step forward from Momousagi.
She never gave him an opening.
But then, at some unknown point, Momousagi stopped attacking.
Without a word, she turned and left.
This completely baffled Blackbeard.
"Captain, Doflamingo's been captured by them!"
"Ha ha ha! So that's how it is! No wonder that crazy woman stopped fighting halfway through!"
At that moment, Van Augur suddenly teleported in and spoke to Blackbeard.
Hearing this, Blackbeard instantly "understood" why Momousagi had ceased her assault.
So she was here specifically to capture Doflamingo, and he…
Was just collateral damage?
Blackbeard knew well about the grudge between Doflamingo and Jun Lin.
After all, he had been the one who originally rescued Doflamingo from Jun Lin's clutches.
"What do we do now, Captain?"
"Of course we run! Do you want to wait until they learn from Doflamingo that we were the ones who saved him—and then come back to surround us?"
"But our ship is over there…"
Van Augur pointed toward the docks, a bitter look on his face.
That was exactly where Momousagi had gone.
"No time for that. Let's chop down some trees and build a simple raft. We leave immediately!"
Blackbeard gritted his teeth and made his decision.
Right now, his own survival was the priority.
That woman wasn't stronger than him before, but in his current condition, he could barely use sixty or seventy percent of his strength.
Better to stay alive and fight another day.
Without hesitation, he led Van Augur away in the opposite direction of Momousagi.
---
At the Punk Hazard docks,
Inside the cabin of a sailing ship,
Sata stood by the porthole, looking outside.
"The bombardment stopped a long time ago… Could it be…"
"Is it over?"
She worried about the young master's condition.
Should she go out and check?
Sugar hesitated, caught between curiosity and fear.
Suddenly, she heard a whoosh, then felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck—and instantly lost consciousness.
Momousagi had quietly entered the cabin without anyone noticing.
Standing right behind her.
At that moment,
The teddy bear Sugar had been holding suddenly thumped loudly—
and transformed before their eyes.
A towering, burly man over three meters tall appeared.
At the same time, a flood of memories violently rushed into Momousagi's mind.
She blinked, then looked at the suddenly appeared man…
Admiral Akainu?
She was stunned.
Luo Lan's prediction was true—an admiral at headquarters had indeed been ambushed by a user of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit ability.
"You're Momousagi?"
…
No, I'm wearing a mask!
And a Jun Lin coat on top.
How did he recognize me at a glance?
"You've got the wrong person!"
Momousagi quickly shook her head, denying it.
But Akainu didn't seem willing to play along.
"Don't think a mask will fool me. If you really want to hide your identity, at least don't wear shorts that barely cover anything."
"Don't you realize the spider tattoo on your thigh is pretty obvious?"
Akainu said irritably.
Momousagi looked down at the outside of her left thigh.
Well, that was true. It was impossible to miss.
Could it be she'd have to wear long pants from now on?
The thought made her deeply reluctant.
After a moment, she sighed deeply and removed her mask.
"Admiral Akainu, I'm on a secret mission."
"Infiltrating Jun Lin?"
"Yes."
Momousagi nodded.
As for how to explain the rest, she didn't bother to think it through—she'd leave that to Sister Tsuru to handle.
"Enough about that. What's the situation now?"
"Jun Lin's fleet is attacking Blackbeard and Doflamingo."
So that was what was happening.
Akainu pondered.
No wonder there was such intense cannon fire.
If it was Jun Lin, everything made sense.
He had heard rumors that Junlin quickly crushed over twenty enemy warships outside Volcano Island.
Though the details were unknown, reports mentioned Jun Lin's fleet was equipped with highly advanced artillery.
Otherwise, they couldn't have achieved that feat.
"By the way, Admiral Akainu, there's urgent news!"
"What is it?"
"Kaido is coming. He'll arrive in two or three minutes."
"Hm?"
Akainu frowned slightly.
He wasn't afraid of Kaido—in fact, he was somewhat glad to see Kaido and Jun Lin fight each other.
After all, Jun Lin had attacked a prison ship and was wanted by headquarters.
Still…
Momousagi looked a little anxious.
At the same time, she noticed the strange look in Akainu's eyes and immediately understood what was going on.
Thinking quickly…
"Admiral Akainu, those Jun Lin warships out there—Sister Tsuru made a secret deal with their leader. There are four in total."
"The headquarters plans to reverse-engineer these ships and rearm the entire navy fleet, so…"
Momousagi secretly gave herself a thumbs up.
She was smart after all.
In short, those were navy ships now.
You couldn't just stand by and watch Kaido destroy them.
That explanation was flawless.
And completely true.
As expected, Akainu's expression changed dramatically after hearing this.
"What? Those ships outside are the ones we bought from Jun Lin?"
"Yes."
"Hmph. Leave Kaido to me. Immediately send those warships to the G1 branch!"
Akainu said forcefully.
Then, he spun on his heel and strode toward the deck.