“Stop! Stop immediately!”
The orderly continued waving his flags. With the Den Den Mushi communications down, flag signals had become one of the few remaining means of communication. However, no matter how Red Port’s defenders tried to contact the ship ahead, they received no response.
“Stop! If you don’t stop, we’ll open fire! This is your final warning!”
Seeing that there was still no response from the ship, Red Port’s batteries trained their guns on the warship.
“One warning shot!”
Boom!
A shell struck the side of the supply ship, but the resulting shockwave merely made the vessel sway. A single cannonball was nowhere near enough to capsize such a ship.
“Boss Jack! It looks like they’ve discovered our operation!”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re close enough. Jam the rudder in place and abandon ship!”
Having brought the ship this far, Jack had already accomplished his objective. The delayed fuses on the explosives had been prepared. All that remained was one small maneuver.
“Fish-Man Jujutsu: Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!”
The Fish-Men entered the water and began retreating, but Jack still had one final step to complete—pulling alongside.
As the name suggested, pulling alongside meant bringing two vessels together. Once the ship had made contact, whether anyone was aboard became secondary.
A surging sea current lifted the ship loaded with explosives, and under Jack’s monstrous strength, the current carried the massive transport vessel hurtling toward Red Port.
At first, they assumed it was merely an ordinary collision. The transport ship was large, but not enough to pose a serious threat to Red Port.
However, when the ship completely overturned under the force of the waves, the gunpowder and cannonballs packed into its hold began sliding out. Only then did they realize the danger.
“Evade!”
With the huge wave carrying the ship toward them, the garrison officer had no choice but to issue that order. They had no Kuzan who could freeze the vessel in midair, so getting out of the way was their best option.
“Boom!”
The delayed fuses had done their job. Jack had removed them from the remaining torpedoes. Unfortunately, the gunpowder was not a particularly powerful explosive.
The blast only destroyed part of the port. Although it would cripple Red Port for a while, it was nowhere near enough to destroy the place completely.
Still, Jack had achieved his objective. The World Government flag hanging over the port had been set ablaze by the explosion, and the transport ships reserved for the Celestial Dragons had been blown to pieces.
The batteries near the front still appeared intact, but there was no longer any activity inside them. Ordinary humans would have found it difficult to survive the shockwave from the explosion.
The high-ranking officer stationed farther away was unharmed, but before he could get back to his feet, a harpoon suddenly embedded itself beside him. The Marine did not even realize where it had come from.
What truly caught his attention, however, was the strip of cloth tied to the harpoon.
[The Beasts Pirates claim responsibility for this attack.]
The damage was low, but the humiliation was immense.
That was Jack’s thinking. Kaido had told him to make a big splash, and he had done exactly that. But it would be troublesome if the Marines failed to recognize who was responsible.
Logically, the Marines should already have received intelligence from the earlier attack on the transport ships and known that the Beasts Pirates were involved. Even so, Jack felt that a blunt written message conveyed his intentions best.
If the impact here was still relatively limited, then the impact at Marineford was enormous.
After the Summit War, the Marines had invested tremendous effort into rebuilding Marine Headquarters. Although Akainu had relocated Marine Headquarters to the New World, Marineford had not been abandoned, as it remained the bridgehead defending Mariejois.
Though it no longer possessed its former glory, a considerable number of Marines were still stationed there. Yet today, it came under attack once again.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”
Marineford possessed extensive defensive facilities. Its large-caliber coastal artillery was capable of destroying the vast majority of pirate ships attempting to approach. After learning from the Summit War, they had even installed a certain amount of anti-air firepower.
But how could a hastily assembled anti-air defense compete with an air force that had trained for years?
Compared to the crude weapons used by pirates, an organized military force like the Marines could always modernize its equipment in a timely fashion. The muzzles of the anti-aircraft guns roared continuously, and a cloud made up of gunpowder formed over Marineford’s skies.
Yet every shell was blocked by the transparent barrier surrounding the Millennial Dragons. As the most universally useful move, Protect could shield the air force during the first wave of an assault.
The Millennial Dragons varied greatly in strength. Even with a boost from Archeops, many of them were little more than animals with higher intelligence.
The Protect barriers they created were not strong enough to withstand attacks from true powerhouses, but they were more than sufficient to block artillery shells.
“Vice Admiral Momonga! The Beasts Pirates’ air force has launched an attack on us. Our anti-aircraft gunfire has had limited effect, and the one leading them is—”
Before the orderly could finish, he and Momonga simultaneously saw the familiar figure through the glass at the side—King the Conflagration.
“Extra Large Imperial Flaming Wings!”
While the Millennial Dragon unit launched its aerial bombardment, King had already lowered his altitude.
Jack had previously told him that no one knew where the Marine Admirals had gone.
So King wanted to test whether attacking here would draw the Admirals out. His target was not Momonga, but Marineford’s buildings. As King unleashed a ferocious fire dragon, the entire area was once again engulfed in flames.
“They still won’t come out even after this? Boss Kaido was right. These guys really are plotting something.”
King mentally kept track of the time while remaining on guard against any powerful enemies who might appear, but nothing of the sort happened.
It was not until the Pacifista corps appeared below and began firing lasers into the sky that King withdrew with his forces.
“Report, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki! The Celestial Dragons’ transport ships were seized by pirates from the Beasts Pirates, and Red Port was attacked on the same day!”
“Report, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki! Vice Admiral Momonga reports that Marineford was attacked by pirates, but they have already withdrawn.”
Reports arrived before Akainu one after another. This time, however, no desk suffered an unfortunate fate. Akainu was currently aboard a warship rather than at Marine Headquarters.
“Those b*stards!”
Jack’s strip of cloth and King’s brazen attack on Marineford, both left Akainu feeling vexed. What irritated him even more was that the enemy had come so close to Marine Headquarters, yet he had no spare forces to send as reinforcements.
And the root of all this was an order issued by the World Government some time ago.
Some time earlier, in Mariejois, Akainu had received an order from the Five Elders.
“Concentrate elite forces from across the world in the New World? That’s impossible! The Marines are already stretched thin. If we continue transferring elites from other Marines, the remaining forces won’t be able to deal with the local pirates!”
“Sakazuki, do not misunderstand. This is not a request. It is an order.
“The Marines are merely an organization subordinate to the World Government. You have no choice but to obey our commands.”
Akainu’s anger did not cause the Five Elders to show the slightest emotional fluctuation. Saturn even calmly stated the cruel reality to him.
“Why now? Garp just caused an incident, and that b*stard Dragon’s Revolutionary Army is active everywhere. If we gather all our elites in the New World, what happens to the rest of the world?!”
“No reason is necessary. This is the decision the five of us have made. The World Government is the ruler of the seas. Certain people have grown far too unrestrained lately. Their actions have reached the point where they can no longer be ignored.”
Akainu was still the Marine Fleet Admiral, after all. Although none of the Five Elders showed him any respect, they were at least willing to offer some explanation for the operation.
After Nasjuro finished speaking, Saturn continued.
“The World Government will send people to deal with the Revolutionary Army. The Marines’ primary task now is to eliminate this group of lawless pirates.
“Sakazuki, do not forget who made you Fleet Admiral. Do not disappoint us again and again.”
“It can’t be done. Even if the Marines successfully assemble their forces, taking the initiative to attack an alliance formed by three Emperors of the Sea would be extremely unwise. We do not possess enough military strength to accomplish such a thing.”
Launching a war against the newly formed pirate alliance was the order the Five Elders had given Akainu. They had already decided to completely eradicate the alliance, but Akainu did not support the idea.
Akainu hated pirates, but he did not proactively attack the Emperors of the Sea in the New World. On one hand, this was due to orders from the World Government. On the other, it was because the Marines lacked sufficient strength.
Fighting one Emperor would have been manageable. Taking the initiative against three would inflict losses the Marines could not accept.
“We are not asking you to fight alone. The World Government will also send reinforcements—forces directly under our command. Even we ourselves will assist you. Furthermore, the only group the Marines must target independently is the Big Mom Pirates.
We will also provide support in the operations against the Beasts Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates.”
Saturn briefly soothed Sakazuki’s anger before saying coldly, “No matter how many people die, the decision we have made must be carried out. If you object, then we will have no choice but to replace the Fleet Admiral.”
Under the World Government’s orders, Akainu began mobilizing his forces. This was also why the Marines were unable to promptly dispatch high-ranking reinforcements today.
Once the World Government issued its absolute command, the Marines had no choice but to act, making one arrangement after another.
From that day onward, minor clashes continuously broke out between the Beasts Pirates and the Marines. After countless rounds of probing, the time for the war gradually drew near.
“These pirates are moving much faster than I expected. Have they already reacted ahead of time?”
Seeing Red Port and Marineford attacked one after another, Akainu sensed what was happening, but he did not consider it a problem.
“Unfortunately, they’re still too late. Noticing it only now means there’s no time left.”
Akainu had indeed opposed the operation at first. However, now that the plan had been set in motion, he would carry it out even if it went against his wishes.
“How is the assembly of our forces progressing?”
“Most of the Vice Admirals have already assembled. Elite Marines from across the world are also in position. Including two hundred large warships, the total number of warships of all types exceeds six hundred. We are ready to begin the operation at any time.”
“Notify Borsalino. He can begin his operation.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Have the main fleet advance!”
“Yes, sir!”
After arranging the Marines’ movements, Akainu also reported his current situation to Mariejois and waited for the assistance the World Government had promised.
However, another air force moved even faster than they did. News of the Beasts Pirates’ actions soon reached Morgans, and after he embellished the story, it began spreading throughout the world.
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