https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-885-The-Danger-Level-of-the-Grand-Line-is-Too-High/13540063/
Chapter 886: You Can't Escape
Chapter 886: You Can't Escape
Kuro had no idea what William was thinking, but right now he was already sailing the Golden Lion past the Red Line where Mariejois stood, then darting straight from the first half of the Grand Line through the Calm Belt to reach the East Blue.
The Capital Ship’s Calm Belt navigation technology was naturally equipped on the Golden Lion. While it would be more convenient to simply use an ability to carry the warship across the Calm Belt, that would be too much trouble. It was better to just sail normally.
This time, he didn’t bring many people—aside from Lida and Klah, there was only Ju Geng and Sazil, plus 1,500 Navy soldiers. A typical Capital Ship required a crew of 800, with a full complement reaching 1,000. Even 300 people could keep a Capital Ship running, but the Golden Lion was different. It wasn’t an ordinary sailboat—it was a steam-powered vessel with numerous onboard fortifications, a massive warship capable of holding 3,000 people. It required at least 1,000 personnel to operate.
Kas and Wilbur had taken another 1,000 soldiers for escort duties, and the Navy stationed at G-3 needed to maintain patrols, so they couldn't spare many troops. This left things quite tight.
Ordinary patrol ships weren’t too large—either a Capital Ship flanked by two medium warships, or just two medium warships—but even then, manpower was extremely limited.
G-3 was already the most officer-heavy fortress besides the New Marine Headquarters and Marineford. With 5,000 Navy personnel, it still felt stretched thin. This gave an idea of how dire other Marine Branches were. In the Grand Line, a single patrol cruise could consume most of a branch’s manpower unless they abandoned their posts entirely. This showed how strained the Grand Line’s forces had become, especially after the Great Pirate Era began, with incidents piling up faster than they could respond.
At this moment, in the Golden Lion’s Dining Hall…
The Dining Hall had four levels. The first floor was for regular Navysoldiers, the most crowded. The second floor was for Officer Rank Navy personnel, who were also numerous. The third floor was reserved for academy-level officers.
Since Kuro had no admirals under him at G-3 before, this floor had become his trusted subordinates’ dining area. Now, Klah and Lida had been promoted to Vice Admiral after their transfer, but they were used to this place. For private gatherings, the Dining Hall even had private rooms.
Lida often came up to the fourth floor to dine.
The fourth floor was Kuro’s private dining area.
Right now, in his private dining room, Kuro was slicing a juicy steak with a knife and fork, facing a feast prepared by Ju Geng. Beside him was a bottle of red wine and over a dozen empty plates.
Kuro had quite the appetite—finishing a dozen empty plates in one meal was normal. But now, he was gripping his cutlery, eyes closed, a blue vein faintly pulsing on his forehead.
“Munch munch munch!”
Beside him, a tiny white-haired girl sat at a mountainous pile of dishes, devouring food at lightning speed, her hands a blur as the table’s platters emptied rapidly.
“Lida!!” Kuro finally snapped, slamming his knife and fork down and turning to glare. “How many times have I told you?! Don’t make such disgusting noises while eating! Who taught you this?!”
“Mmph.”
Lida paused, glanced at Kuro, then kept shoveling food.
“Munch munch munch!”
“That’s it!”
Kuro groaned, clutching his forehead in exasperation as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m trying to enjoy a rare moment of peace during dinner. If you want to eat, go downstairs! Why do you always come here?!”
Boom!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion echoed outside. Kuro turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows of his fourth-floor dining room, watching as a sea beast the size of the Golden Lion emerged from the eerily still waters of the Grand Line. In a flash, a shadow streaked past—the beast exploded into a spray of blood, sliced cleanly into multiple pieces.
Klah’s incarnation, a half-human wolf, landed on the beast’s remains and licked his claws.
“Huh? This thing looks like a sturgeon hybrid.”
Kuro studied the creature’s build. It resembled a leopard but had features of a sturgeon, its body entirely white. He turned to Lida.
“Stop eating for once. Tell Ju Geng to extract the roe. Let’s have some caviar.”
Sea beasts of the Grand Line came in all bizarre shapes and sizes, especially the Sea Kings—colossal, diverse, numerous, long-lived, and ferocious.
But they were also delicious.
This fish was clearly a sturgeon hybrid. White albinos like this had premium caviar.
Sea Kings in the Calm Belt often had exceptional internal organs. Even if some were highly toxic, their tastiest parts could still be identified.
But they couldn’t linger—the blood of the dead Sea King would attract more of its kind.
A couple of Sea Kings weren’t a problem, but if ten or so showed up at once, Kuro would have no choice but to take the ship airborne.
Once ten arrived, more would surely follow. These monsters multiplied rapidly when agitated—it was wise to avoid them.
“I’ll go.”
Lida nodded, sweeping the remaining food off the table in a whirlwind and bolting out with her mouth still stuffed.
Kuro reached into his coat and pulled out a golden-trimmed cigar case, taking one out.
He’d been rationing these, fearing he’d never find more. But now that he’d found the right person, he no longer cared.
He lit the cigar, exhaling a thin wisp of white smoke. “Tsk. He was a real thrill-seeker. Pity he turned out to be a pirate.”
Before the World Government and Navy, nothing was impossible to uncover—only the amount of force required to do so.
Kuro expected his intelligence would arrive any day now. No matter how well someone hid, he could still dig them up in the end.
He’d already scoured the East Blue for years back then.
Back at Headquarters, people had joked about asking how many pirates he’d killed in the East Blue.
Kuro would never admit it, but it proved a point—some truths needed no evidence to be inferred.
As long as this pirate named William had done something, there would be residual energy. With residual energy, there would be a trail to follow.
Now, it was just a matter of how much damage this trail could cause—depending entirely on how Kuro chose to handle him.
If the consequences were mild, he might simply buy the cigar-making technique or purchase his goods.
But if the damage was severe…
Too bad.
The helplessness I’ve endured, you’ll have to taste it too. You can’t escape!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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