“Report, we have arrived at the designated location, but have not discovered the target island!”
The Marine vanguard had already reached the estimated battlefield. According to the records in their data, there should have been an island before them, not an empty stretch of sea.
“Enemy ships sighted! How did they circle around behind us?! Open fire!”
“Enemy attack! Open fire!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Whoosh!
The cannons aboard the ships roared, and even the Pacifistas fired lasers at the enemy, but after the thunderous blasts, the Marines were dumbfounded.
Broken fragments of ships floated on the surface of the sea, and heavily damaged warships were sinking. That in itself was not a major issue. It was normal to suffer losses in war.
The problem was that there were only the wrecks of warships here. From beginning to end, the ones they had been attacking were their own people.
“Cease fire! Cease fire! The intel was wrong. The one stationed here isn’t that Kaido II, it’s Phantom! We’ve already entered her illusion field!!”
The warships that realized something was wrong wanted to cease fire, but it was already too late. The sea surface, where nothing had existed before, suddenly tore away its cloak of invisibility, and high-intensity cannon fire came bombarding toward the warships.
After a barrage washed over them, the surface of the sea was filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke. The Marine reconnaissance attack from this direction ended in failure, and all participating warships were wiped out.
“This really is an unfavorable start. Conflagration and the Drought are attacking outside, and Phantom has actually been stationed here. Then where exactly is the most dangerous one, the Plague?”
In the frontline command center, Tsuru looked at the intelligence in her hand with a rather grim expression. The Beasts Pirates’ sudden “rotation” had shattered their plans, and at this moment, Tsuru even had a feeling that all of the Marines’ movements were completely within the opponent’s grasp.
In fact, the Beasts Pirates had only grasped a part of it. Olga coming here for the rotation was, on one hand, to get some peace and quiet. After all, following the relocation of Amazon Lily, the amount of time she spent in contact with Hancock had shot up, and sometimes she found it noisy.
On the other hand, Mandrell had gone back to Onigashima to visit his family. In a sense, this incidentally reflected Mandrell’s luck; a simple defensive redeployment ultimately led to the failure of the Marine operation.
“They really aren’t giving us the slightest chance to breathe. Suspend the attack on this route. I will have to make a trip personally.”
“Vice Admiral Tsuru, the war has only just begun, and you’re already going to the front line?”
“What else? That ability… isn’t something you can deal with. After this, remember to pay attention to the movements of Queen the Plague. That guy is far too great a threat on the battlefield, even more troublesome than Phantom.”
Three of the Four Calamities had already appeared. Tsuru did not believe Queen wouldn’t make a move at all.
If ranked by individual strength, then King was the greatest threat, but in a large-scale war, Olga and Queen were the truly dangerous ones.
One could create illusions that made the Marines unable to distinguish friend from foe, but that could still be countered. Whether it was Tsuru’s own ability or an Admiral-level AOE, either could break that illusion. However, the Admirals all had missions now, so Tsuru had no choice but to take action on the front line again.
The more difficult one was Queen. If preparations could not be made in advance, Queen alone could paralyze an entire fleet.
At the same time, in the Totto Land waters, the Marine fleet began to move, heading straight for Whole Cake Island in the shape of a sharp sword.
On the surface, the Beasts Pirates’ alliance was a trident, but whether it was the Marines or the World Government, they were very clear about one thing: the military force of this trident was not balanced.
The Beasts Pirates, as the strongest spearhead, possessed the most terrifying strength. The other two pirate crews were far inferior compared to the Beasts Pirates.
Given the capabilities of these Emperors of the Sea, taking the initiative to attack their territories would indeed require paying a considerable price, especially the Beasts Pirates’ headquarters, which was like an ironclad fortress.
So the first targets of the attack were the Big Mom Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates. Under the Marines’ current definition, these two pirate crews were the Beasts Pirates’ wings.
If the Beasts Pirates send no reinforcements, then take the opportunity to clip their wings. If the Beasts Pirates do send reinforcements, besieging a stronghold to strike at the reinforcements, or launching a direct assault on their headquarters after their forces are mobilized—these were all options for the Marines.
The Marine fleet on Olga’s side had been blocked, but on Big Mom’s side, the Marines were advancing deep without obstruction.
“Mama! The Marines are attacking! There are ten warships just in the vanguard, and it looks even more terrifying than a Buster Call!”
On Whole Cake Island, the originally peaceful atmosphere was broken. Ever since Big Mom participated in that alliance meeting, the members of the Big Mom Pirates had been in an extremely good mood.
Because Charlotte Linlin’s eating disorder had not acted up even once. To them, this was a blessing from heaven. The greatest hidden danger on Whole Cake Island had simply disappeared like that.
“Hm? Have they finally made their move?”
“Yes, Mama. The Marines have already entered our territorial waters. From the look of it, they’re heading straight for Whole Cake Island.”
Perospero carefully answered Charlotte Linlin’s question. Sometimes, he actually missed the previous Charlotte Linlin. After all, back then, her mental state had been unstable, and comparatively speaking, she had been easier to fool.
But the current Charlotte Linlin had already entered a clear-headed state, and had even regained the shrewdness she had possessed in her youth. Although there was no need to worry about being drained of lifespan by her when she lost control, the punishment after making a mistake had also become more severe.
However, Charlotte Linlin did not care about such issues. Instead, she was somewhat angry at the Marines.
“Mamamama~ Well, it looks like those guys are treating me as the breakthrough point. I really have been underestimated.
It really is just like that brat Kaido said. A great war has come.
Perospero, call your adult brothers and sisters. These Marines seem to have forgotten that I am the one with the most seniority in this pirate alliance!
Zeus!”
“Mama! Wait!”
Before Perospero could finish speaking, Charlotte Linlin stepped onto Zeus’s back and flew off into the distance, looking as though she intended to be the first to rush to the battlefield.
At the same time, Shanks had just dealt with a group of insignificant enemies. The Barto Club’s ship had already sunk, and their flag had been reduced to fragments. This was the price for burning his pirate flag.
If Bartolomeo had not joined the Straw Hats and become one of the Straw Hats’ affiliated forces, they would never have been able to survive in Red Hair’s hands.
It was also at this moment that Red Hair received a new message.
“Boss! It’s a call from Dorry! There seems to be a new situation on Elbaf!”
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