https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-662-Even-Akainu-Thinks-It-s-Radical/13464634/
Chapter 663: Alabasta
Chapter 663: Alabasta
The Navy's strategy was set for the future.
The Worldslider Pirates, however, were focused on the present.
After conquering Haerding, Ash and Katakuri, who controlled the two large magnetic islands, formed a pincer movement. With Moria leading the charge, they followed the log poses, each choosing their own direction and rapidly advancing forward.
Since they had given advance notice, and the distribution of the messages reached some pirates stationed on other islands, their journey was relatively unobstructed.
"Captain! I see the Worldslider Pirates' ships!"
On one of the islands, a pirate responsible for surveillance ran back, excitedly saying, "This is a chance! If we take out the Worldslider's ships, our reputation will grow even more!"
Their leader, a notorious pirate with a bounty over a billion, had once challenged one of the Yonko, Big Mom, and managed to escape unscathed. He had been resting on an island near Big Mom's territory.
However, after Sagel defeated Big Mom, he had been waiting for the right moment to attack the weakened Worldslider Pirates. But instead of weakening, they quickly defeated Kaido, making him too cautious to stay.
Since they had defeated both Big Mom and Kaido and were now nominally ruling the New World, he decided to move to a safer location. He was well aware of the power dynamics and shifted his base to a more secluded area.
Here, he and his crew continued to plunder passing merchant ships and rob nearby islands. They even sold their loot through Ohara and acquired better weapons.
However, many of his subordinates were still resentful about being forced to move by the Worldslider Pirates. Now, seeing an opportunity with the three-way battle among the Yonko, they planned to ambush and gain some fame.
Pirates, after all, are opportunistic by nature.
"Pirates have honor, damn it!"
The captain delivered a harsh blow to his subordinate, knocking him to the ground. He then picked up a piece of paper from the table, pointed to the information, and shouted:
"As a Yonko, the Worldslider Pirates have given us a great message! If they want territory, let them have it. Besides, they're not here to attack us. Even if they were, if they asked for it, I would give it to them! We set sail not for territory but for the One Piece! Damn it!"
He, too, sought the great treasure and the title of Pirate King!
"Everyone, do not attack the Worldslider Pirates' ships! They don't want the title of Pirate King, but we do!" the captain roared.
Such events were happening all across the sea.
For some veteran pirates, they not only knew about the road markers and the Burned Man but also understood the implications of voluntarily revealing the road markers.
No pirate would willingly hand over a historical text, something that couldn't be bought with money.
However, it wasn't as if the older generation didn't have any. Before Kaido and Big Mom, at least one historical text had been circulating, and there were certainly people with copies of it, though they were extremely hard to find.
They knew the road markers were in the hands of the Yonko, but they also knew they had no power to take them.
By sharing this information freely, Sagel was seen by many in the pirate world as having little interest in the One Piece, much like Whitebeard.
Thus, those who felt indebted to the Worldslider Pirates naturally avoided their fleet, adhering to their sense of honor.
Not adhering to it was also not an option. While destroying a fleet might be easy, provoking the Worldslider Pirates would be a different story.
With the information in hand, all they needed was to find the Burned Man and figure out how to read the text. The Pirate King could be within their grasp!
The treasure hunt and the passion for sailing quickly spread through the New World, which had been divided and was gradually stabilizing.
However, while some pirates were willing to give way to Sagel, others saw the Worldslider Pirates as cowards and grew increasingly arrogant, planning to attack their fleet to boost their own reputation.
The first half of their journey was a forced retreat, but the second half was their proof of strength. How could they let someone pass through their territory without a fight?
Even if the attack wasn't on them, passing through their territory without a challenge would damage their reputation among the pirates.
Many pirates launched attacks at sea, but the Worldslider Pirates' fleet was unafraid of any opponent.
"Boom! Fire!"
In one part of the sea, amid howling winds, the colorful pirate ships swayed and drifted, but the uniformly black ships with the starry skull flag remained stable. The cannons fired without any deviation.
The one in charge of the command was a new recruit who had distinguished himself during the recruitment. Relying on his own abilities, he had become one of the captains of this fleet, now ordering the cannons to bombard the enemy ships relentlessly.
With the ample supply of gunpowder and cannons under Renee's research and mass production, they had as much as they needed. As for boarding the enemy ships, you'd have to get close first!
In the strong wind, the enemy's cannons were less accurate than before, while their own remained largely unaffected.
"Chain shot on the first level, cannonballs on the second! Keep firing! I want to sink every one of their ships!"
The young captain roared, "Daring to block the path of Ohara's fleet! Have you had enough of life? Who do you think you are? A big shot?!"
In naval battles, the strong have the right to choose the battlefield, while ordinary entities can only obediently engage in ship-to-ship combat. If everyone were strong, ships would be useless.
Even among Power Holders, not all can attack from a distance, and at such a range, only close combat would be effective.
"Captain! We're running low on cannonballs! We haven't reached the designated location, and there's no time for resupply."
A gunnery officer ran from the hold to the deck, shouting at the captain.
"How much do we have left?"
"About a thousand rounds."
"Fire them all!"
The captain drew his curved saber, "Once they're gone, we'll board and fight hand-to-hand! We, the soldiers of Ohara, are not made of clay! Even if we sink this ship, we must clear the route to prevent the follow-up support ships from encountering any surprises!"
It was this fearless spirit, combined with his rapid growth in willpower on the battlefield, that made him stand out.
And there were many like him among the recruits.
Their fleet was not without strong individuals, just not on this particular ship. The fleet's overall command included a chief commander and a deputy commander.
The deputy commander was responsible for the naval battles, while the chief commander was the Pirate of the Worldslider Pirates. With them in charge, ordinary pirates couldn't hope to launch a surprise attack.
This was one of his sources of confidence. The big bosses were watching from above, and if they couldn't handle things below, it would be a shame to the great lords' kindness and their loyalty!
However, they didn't need to board and fight hand-to-hand.
Under continuous bombardment, the pirate alliance's few remaining ships, after several of their vessels were blown to pieces and sank, had no choice but to turn around and retreat in disgrace.
There was no way to get close; the firepower was too intense. Pirates in the New World, especially those with high bounties, were certainly not weak, but they were far from being able to ignore so many cannonballs.
If they continued to fight, even if they won in the end, what good would it be? Winning a void?
Better to preserve their strength and retreat for now.
"I won't let you off, Worldslider!"
Before leaving, the pirate with a bounty over 300 million issued a defiant roar.
The young captain sneered, "What big talk! Not letting us off? Have you ever captained a warship? This is an Ohara warship, personally built by Lady Renee! Our cannons have a longer range than yours, and you can't even dodge lead bullets! Not letting us off? You'll only watch as Lord Sagel wins! Goodbye!"
With the heavy firepower of the Worldslider fleet, repelling the attacking pirates was manageable. They then sent surveillance ships to secretly follow the pirates back to their base, record the coordinates, and leave a life paper, waiting for the follow-up fleet and strong individuals to arrive and eliminate them.
Thanks to the intelligence, it was easy to assess the pirates' strength, mainly based on their bounties.
For those with bounties in the tens of millions, no one was needed; the sheer number of Ohara soldiers could eliminate them. They would first bombard the designated target points at sea, much like a demon extermination order, and then send people to check if anyone was still alive.
For those with bounties in the hundreds of millions, the ones sent were experienced Worldslider Pirates who had seen battle.
For those with bounties in the 300 to 400 million range, the captains of the Worldslider Pirates would come, not the Ohara soldiers' officers.
For those with bounties over 500 million, an assessment was needed. Those who arrived were either the Six Supernovas and Totto Land ministers or seven-star officers.
For the truly powerful, it would be the Three Phases, Ash, and Katakuri who would take action.
Since their goal was to clear the path to the designated location rather than slowly dominate, the progress was swift. Facing the fragmented latter half of the New World, Sagel, who had already unified the first half, found it incredibly easy to fight.
Personnel, weapons, strong individuals, and fleets.
He had a comprehensive advantage over the fragmented latter half. Pushing forward was simple, and even the strongest among them were just silver medalists, and they could handle any of them.
Sagel, who was in the Ohara palace, heard good news every day.
"What? A leave of absence?"
However, not long into the battle, Sagel received a strange message.
In the bedroom, Sagel had just asked Bella to pour him a glass of wine when Lily called to report that the New Giant Pirate crew wanted to take a leave of absence.
"Yes, they want to return to Alabasta. Didn't we see the Blue Devil and Red Devil at Sabaody Archipelago? They were summoned back, apparently after a period of travel, those guys with the Straw Hats are heading to Alabasta to attend a banquet. To respond to this rare event, Haerding and the others want to take a leave of absence."
"During a war, they want to take a leave of absence? A banquet? I haven't even had one. What kind of leave is this?" Sagel clicked his tongue, but then thought for a moment, "What's going on with Haerding?"
The New Giant Pirate crew, now including the two Giant brothers from the first half of the Grand Line, totaled seven members. They all wanted to return to Alabasta.
As Giants, their combat power was immense. Their sheer size alone was enough to handle many situations.
Although Sagel's influence was vast, he didn't need the Giants' participation in the battle. However, taking a leave of absence at this critical moment would certainly cause trouble.
But he wasn't entirely unsympathetic.
Haerding had been open with him long ago!
This guy wasn't just an ordinary Giant. His relationship with Big Mom went beyond being childhood companions.
He was the illegitimate son of the previous king, Harald, and had a legitimate claim to the throne!
Especially in Alabasta, where the Giant named Loki had killed his father and was now imprisoned, Haerding was the most qualified to take the throne.
Alabasta, the world's strongest nation, was a well-deserved title. No matter how much Ohara developed, it couldn't change the impression people had of Alabasta.
A nation of Giants, in a world where strength was paramount, was the undisputed strongest nation. Ohara could be called the most prosperous and wealthiest, and even Sagel, the Pirate King, couldn't change the fact that Alabasta was still considered the strongest nation in people's hearts.
Fishmen, Mink tribes, and other races with large bodies and similar physical attributes could still be considered 'human' in a way.
But Giants were different.
They were too massive.
Massive to the point where it seemed the world was created for them. Their lifespan was three times that of humans, typically living between 300 to 400 years, with some reaching 450.
Their childhood was also long, lasting about 60 years, after which they grew rapidly and entered their prime.
Look at Stanson; he looks like an uncle, but he just became an adult, can you believe it?
The special nature of their race made ruling them a challenge. They couldn't be ruled by force; they were a truly stubborn people. If they refused to recognize your authority, even slaughtering them all wouldn't change their minds.
Fortunately, Haerding recognized him.
After a long period of interaction, the members of the New Giant Pirate crew still recognized him as their captain.
"Haerding wants to return; he hasn't been back to his homeland in a long time. Sagel, should we take action against Alabasta?"
"Hmm."
Sagel pondered for a moment and then smiled, "Have Haerding contact me; I want to know what's going on."
"Understood."
After Lily hung up the phone, it rang again shortly after. When he answered, Haerding's voice came through.
"Governor."
"Haerding, do you want to be king?" Sagel chuckled.
"Governor, I want to be the king of Alabasta. I want to do it with my own hands! It's our tradition and honor. If I rely on others, it won't be an honor", Haerding said firmly.
"Oh, but you know, I don't have a king here. If you become king, you're not planning to integrate Alabasta into my territory, are you?"
"No, I very much hope the Giants can join Ohara to share in its prosperity. But at least let me try first. Governor, only by proving myself can I integrate the Giants into Ohara and share in its prosperity. You are human; we Giants won't recognize you as king. Only I can do this."
"Hmm, well, go ahead with your plan. But before that, why don't you invite me to Alabasta? Red Hair was involved with the Blue and Red Devils, wasn't he?" Sagel laughed softly.
There's a good chance Red Hair will show up there!
If I can see him first, I might be able to deal with him!
(End of Chapter)
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