Vivi slowly calmed her anxious heart. After some intense thinking, she devised an escape plan—the core of which was centered on rescuing White Hunter Smoker.
Only this Marine Headquarters colonel could directly contact higher command. Even if someone like Tashigi got her hands on a Den Den Mushi, it wouldn't matter. The Navy wouldn't seriously listen to a low-ranking sergeant. "You claim you've got intelligence on the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki? Sure, and I'm Neptune's twin brother." They'd laugh her off. That kind of communication had to come from someone credible.
Rescuing Smoker had to come first. Whether the operation became a daring escape or a surprise offensive could be decided afterward.
The best-case scenario was that Marine HQ took the report seriously and eventually deployed an admiral to deal with the Golden Lion. Then Vivi could follow behind, safely reaping the "attributes" dropped in the chaos.
If that didn't work, she could still escape using Smoker's Moku Moku no Mi smoke powers—assuming he cooperated.
Calling for reinforcements or escape—everything hinged on Smoker. In Vivi's eyes, he was the linchpin of the entire plan. He had to be rescued.
Ignoring the powerhouse quartet trying to murder the Golden Lion head-on, Vivi, along with Van Augur and Tashigi—the only rational ones—discussed a rescue operation for Smoker.
"That guy is the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki—the same one who once fought Gol D. Roger for dominance of the seas. You do know who he is, right?" she asked, hopeful.
She looked between the two. But her hope dimmed fast. Even these 'rational' people looked confused.
Van Augur, a skilled sniper, would one day sail the Grand Line. But for now, he was stuck in East Blue. He wasn't exactly a loner, but he wasn't like Johnny or Yosaku either, talking to every passing traveler. With only a handful of info sources and no newspapers reaching them lately, his awareness was limited.
Tashigi, on the other hand, was well-read when it came to swords. She could write essays on Kitetsu or Wado Ichimonji, but legendary pirates from twenty or thirty years ago? That was beyond her scope.
Seeing their clueless faces, Vivi sighed inwardly and waved it off. "Alright, just remember the name. It's not important…"
It was very important, actually. But there was no time to explain legendary figures. She quickly refocused: "We need to rescue Colonel Smoker first. When Golden Lion took him, which way did they go?"
Van Augur actually had some intel on that. He pointed toward the center of the floating island. "I glanced around before we hit the ground. There are lots of man-made structures in the island's core. I think that's where Golden Lion and your Marine colonel are."
Vivi perked up instantly. "Perfect. We'll have a much better chance with a location."
Nearby, Colonel Morgan—formerly of Shells Town—snorted at the plan. He had once declared he'd kill the Golden Lion with his axe. No one had taken him seriously.
Though Vivi had earned some reputation by saving civilians, even Tashigi couldn't command the 153rd Branch soldiers anymore. Still, they couldn't be left behind.
Vivi raised her voice loud enough for Morgan to hear. "My plan is simple: Colonel Morgan will lead a frontal assault to draw attention. Sergeant Tashigi and I will infiltrate and extract Colonel Smoker."
There were too many "hot-blooded" individuals around. Vivi had no choice but to keep the plan simple and straightforward.
Morgan raised his right elbow, the giant axe gleaming. "Golden Lion, Silver Lion, Bronze Lion—I'm not afraid of any of them! I'll cut down that old pirate myself!"
Vivi gave a polite thumbs-up. Then she remembered something and asked the group: "One more thing—can anyone predict the weather? Any storms coming up? A rainstorm could really cover our tracks."
Silence.
People often took it for granted when someone like Nami predicted weather changes. But that skill required study, experience, and natural talent. Vivi's sailing skill was just Level 3. She wasn't there yet.
Although Marines were trained in basic navigation, most branch-level soldiers never received advanced lessons. Many of them had never even left East Blue. HQ wasn't about to dispatch a battleship just for a weather check. As for Tashigi—she wasn't exactly a standout student back at the academy. Her grades were average, and most of the high-end navigation lessons were long forgotten.
Just when Vivi was about to despair, an old island woman stepped forward with a smile. "Storm's coming tomorrow evening, child. Big one."
"Really? Are you sure?" Vivi asked quickly.
The old woman nodded silently, smile unwavering.
That was a massive bonus. Golden Lion had lost his entire air fleet years ago because of a storm when fighting the Pirate King. It left him with deep trauma. During that battle, his ship was destroyed, and a steering rudder smashed into his skull. Lodged so deeply it couldn't be removed, it permanently altered his brain.
The injury caused frequent disorientation, memory loss, and delusional episodes—symptoms that could be exploited. Vivi knew this was their one shot.
She had Tashigi stall Morgan, urging him to delay the offensive until tomorrow evening. Under the cover of a storm, their chances for rescue—or retreat—would increase by at least 30%.
Sending Morgan to fight Shiki was like feeding a dog to a sea king. Vivi instead focused her energy on exploiting the Golden Lion's known weaknesses.
"Van Augur, do you think you can shoot the rudder on Golden Lion's head?" she asked.
"No problem," he replied coolly. "That's a huge target. I won't miss."
"Do you use Haki?" she followed up.
Augur blinked. "What?"
Vivi stared at him for a beat. "Ah, so you don't. Well… the world's a big place, Lao Fan. You should travel more."
He was good—among the best snipers she'd ever seen—but not quite at the world-class tier. Without Haki, his shots wouldn't do much against Logia users or Haki-armored foes.
"I'll give you a signal," she told him. "Wait for it before you shoot."
She mentally reviewed every known quirk and weakness of the Golden Lion. Her eyes then drifted to Karoo, her beloved duck.
"Quack?" Karoo tilted his head, sensing danger.
Vivi looked incredibly awkward. "I heard that ever since the rudder accident, Golden Lion occasionally thinks he's a chicken. Cognitive dysfunction, they say. Don't ask how that belief formed. Karoo… my friend… can you pretend to be a chicken in combat?"
Karoo: "???"
What the heck?! You want me, a proud duck, to impersonate a chicken? We're natural rivals!
But faced with Vivi's hopeful eyes, Karoo took two hesitant chicken-like steps… and then gave his best impression: "Guguga?"