“Victarion, it’s your turn.”
“Rest assured, boss. I won’t disappoint you.”
Victarion, the man rescued alongside Hancock and others from the slavers ship, had joined the Beasts Pirates. Through his innate talents, he climbed the ranks on the Shadow Fox Ship.
Currently in charge of artillery command, the cannons on the Shadow Fox Ship began their bombardment according to pre-planned angles.
“Be careful! Don’t load the wrong shells! The white ones are for Kuja’s ship!”
Those specially crafted subpar shells only made noise upon impact, causing limited damage.
Victarion’s booming voice warned the gunners on the ship. As the gunnery officer, a loud voice was crucial, or people far away wouldn’t hear a thing.
On Kuja’s ship, the sound of cannons exploding was loud, but the damage was small. On the Marines ship, however, it was different. Just as Hancock lifted the petrification, high-explosive shells rained down.
“Quickly dodge and return fire! Return fire!”
Despite the sudden barrage, they were after all a regular army and Vice Admiral’s direct unit, so they didn’t fall apart. Under Comil’s command, they swiftly entered combat formation.
“It’s the Beasts Pirates! It’s Phantom’s ship!”
“Those lunatics are at it again.”
Pirates actively attacking the Marines was rare in the first half of the Grand Line. If someone else led the attack, Comil might have found it suspicious. But with Olga leading, many things seemed reasonable.
In recent years, the biggest commotion outside has been caused by her. Queen is now famous within the intelligence channels, while Olga is famous in the newspapers. In addition to covert hunting of slave catchers, she occasionally attacks Marine warships, which is her retaliation.
Sometimes, she could be quite petty. Back then she was chased by Akainu and Tsuru for several months, and although they didn’t catch her, it left her holding a grudge.
However, such attacks mostly happened in the New World, the pirates’ territory. The attacked vessels were mostly surveillance ships, and the frequency was entirely random.
This is also the Marines’ attitude towards the Beasts Pirates, Whitebeard, and other major pirate crews. They can choose not to act, but they must monitor, ensuring they are not ignorant of their movements. In most cases, pirates tend to selectively ignore the surveillance ships in the distance.
Because even if one or two surveillance ships are sunk, the Marines will quickly deploy more covert teams, accompanied by retaliatory actions. This, in turn, becomes more troublesome.
Marines are continuously eliminating pirates, but when it comes to these great pirates who have become a force to be reckoned with in the New World and can pose a significant threat, their stance is to avoid major conflicts and keep causing minor frictions.
If it weren’t for Blackbeard voluntarily handing over Ace, providing the Marines with an opportunity to start a war on their home ground with ease, they wouldn’t have launched such a war of annihilation recklessly.
“Increase the bombardment! Maintain distance; that woman can create illusions. It’ll be troublesome if she gets too close!”
Here, Marines’ Intelligence Branch also played a role, ensuring they are at least not completely unaware of the enemy’s ability. For instance, their knowledge about Olga included her ability to create illusions and deceive people’s senses within a certain range.
Maintaining some distance can at least prevent their senses from being deceived, thereby avoiding killing each other.
“Sister Tsuru isn’t here.”
Internally within the Marines, it is known that Tsuru’s abilities can counter the opponent’s illusions. However, Tsuru has been pursuing Doflamingo during this period, following the orders issued by the World Government; after all Doflamingo’s status is not ordinary.
“Boa Hancock! As a Shichibukai, I demand you join us in dealing with the enemy!”
“I refuse. The agreement states that I must accept the World Government’s compulsory summons and pay a certain percentage of my earnings to the government. In return, I am free to act independently without government interference.”
“You cannot represent the World Government, so I can ignore your request.”
“What the hack are you saying?! You are also their target!”
“From the trajectory of the cannonballs, it’s evident that you are the primary target. These may be stray shots. Now, distancing ourselves is the optimal choice.”
Hancock didn’t directly agree to Comil’s request. The previous bounties of the pirates had already indicated her stance – expressing goodwill doesn’t equate to blind obedience.
If she readily complied with Marine’s demands, they would inevitably make more demands in the future.
Marines can be seen as a company; working the hardest doesn’t necessarily guarantee a promotion, but it certainly guarantees being the busiest. Besides, the Shichibukai aren’t a department directly under Marines; they are more like outsourced to Marines.
Comil isn’t the big boss; he’s just a manager in another department. His words don’t have any sway over Hancock.
As she spoke, Hancock had already appeared above Yuda’s head, ready to return to Perfume Yuda.
“I represent the World Government at the moment. Your reply hasn’t been transmitted back yet, so I have the right to believe you’re unsuitable for this position!”
While having Haki was a basic requirement for a Marines’ Vice Admiral, his soldiers didn’t necessarily possess Observation Haki. According to Marine’s intelligence, those without Observation Haki would become mere puppets against Olga. Hence, he needed Hancock’s strength.
Even though Hancock is only 15 years old, her strength is far from the peak level expected at thirty. However, she has already attained the strength one would typically have at the age of 18, displaying considerable combat prowess.
In Comil’s eyes, her petrification ability would undoubtedly trouble the enemy greatly, but he didn’t expect her to be so uncooperative.
“Send back the reply first, then I’ll participate in this battle.”
In the end, after the bargaining, Hancock joined the battle. However, she was the only one participating. Comil knew that regular people were useless in this kind of battle; too many people would only be used by the opponent.
So, Perfume Yuda left the battlefield first, leaving only this warship and the Shadow Fox Ship to engage in a boarding battle. No matter how sophisticated the illusions were, they were still just illusions. To make it realistic, most of this battle involved real combat, serving as a test for newcomers like Victarion.
“Be careful. Her ability can confuse both sight and hearing. Instead of your sight and hearing, trust your Haki senses more.”
Marines had some understanding of Olga’s abilities, but it wasn’t comprehensive. Currently, they believed that as long as Olga was kept occupied in battle, her abilities wouldn’t affect others.
Comil thought that he, along with Hancock, had a fighting chance against Olga. Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters were the backbone of Marines, and even their Scholarly Generals* had some combat prowess. [TN: Scholarly General: It refers to a military leader who is also well-educated and versed in literature, strategy, and diplomacy. Examples of Scholarly Generals in history include Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi from the Three Kingdoms period.]
To prevent any mishaps, he also reminded Hancock, not out of camaraderie but to ensure she didn’t mistake him for an enemy in the heat of the battle.
Little did he know, this was all a grand performance. From the beginning, he was already a part of it, having no idea about the relationship between Kuja and the Beasts Pirates.
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