Chapter 75: The battle for One Piece begins
East Blue, Loguetown.
[Flap-flap-flap]
"Look, the News Coo is here!"
A little boy, upon hearing the flapping of wings, immediately raised his head, pointing excitedly at the large bird descending from the sky. Beside him, his father, apparently young, smiled and waved.
"Here you go, one hundred."
The father took a coin from his pocket and placed it in the red pouch on the bird's chest. In exchange, he received a newspaper. Meanwhile, the boy cautiously stroked the bird's wings.
"Oh~"
The News Coo showed a happy expression when he saw that the transaction went smoothly. At the same time, the men and women around him also came over to buy the latest issue of the newspaper.
"I want one too!"
"Me too!"
But none of them noticed the reaction of the young father, the first to buy the newspaper, whose expression suddenly changed when he read the headline.
Soon, more people saw the content. No one could hide their surprise.
[Surprising: The great ONE PIECE treasure of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, has been found!]
...
In the Shakky's Rip-off Bar in Area GR13 of the Sabaody Archipelago, a handsome blond man sat in front of the bar, staring at the newspaper in his hand.
"This is impossible!!"
"What's wrong, Rayleigh?" Shakky, who was wiping a glass with a cloth, looked at him in surprise. It was strange to see Rayleigh react like that.
"They say here that the World Government found Laugh Tale and Roger's treasure. The gold and jewels they found filled two large ships..." Rayleigh placed the newspaper on the bar with a complicated gesture.
"Really?" Shakky was surprised and put down the glass and cloth. She quickly read the newspaper and then smiled. "I didn't expect them to have so much money at that time. Why didn't you bring some then? Then we wouldn't have to live so poor now."
"You're wrong, we didn't leave any gold or silver treasure on that island..." Rayleigh shook his head with a sigh, staring at his whiskey in frustration.
"I didn't expect that Roger's plan would be discovered by the World Government. Much less so quickly and be thwarted like this..."
Shakky, being extremely astute, immediately understood what he meant. She arched an eyebrow, holding the cigarette between her fingers as she let the smoke rise slowly.
"So this is just a show from the World Government, it's a good way to mitigate half of the rumors about the great treasure. Mainly to stop any further spread."
Rayleigh sighed again, downing the whiskey in one gulp. He was unwilling to give in!
...
Whole Cake Island.
Big Mom had just heard the news from her eldest son, Perospero.
"Ma~ Ma~ It's really amazing, the World Government..."
At this time, Charlotte Linlin had not completely gained weight. She was sitting on a giant throne, crossing her legs.
"So those marines are somewhere in this sea right now, right?"
"Yes, mama." Perospero, stuck out his long tongue and nodded.
"Find them for me, son!" Charlotte Linlin showed a cold smile.
"While it's unclear whether the treasure found is real or fake, it doesn't matter anymore. Still, I can't let those Navy guys leave these waters easily. This time, Mom, I'll participate in this rampage!"
For her, ONE PIECE before was simply a symbol that showed who could become the Pirate King. But now, the World Government, through this live broadcast, has removed that symbolic meaning!
If what the Navy is transporting is authentic, then there is nothing to say. But even if it is fake, it was found. Without anyone being able to prove that it is fake and ensure that the majority believes it, the difference between what is real and what is fake disappears.
So even if she finds the real ONE PIECE in the future, finds Laugh Tale, very few people will believe or accept it. Therefore, she will lose recognition of him as King of the Pirates.
"It seems that what the world government did this time made my mother a little angry..."
...
In the East Blue, Shanks, only fifteen years old, wandered alone on the beach, holding a newspaper in his hands. His face became more and more gloomy, even showing anger.
"Nonsense! We didn't have such a big treasure!"
When they arrived at Laugh Tale, due to Buggy's sudden fever, Shanks was left to care for him and did not disembark.
But one thing was clear: not so many treasures had been moved from the ship to the island. Roger greatly enjoyed partying and the ship's money was spent entirely on food and drink, with the remainder used to purchase medications and medical supplies to manage Roger's terminal illness.
"Figarland Shanks, right?"
Suddenly, a cold voice sounded behind Shanks. He instantly became alert and turned around, only to find that the person coming was a man in white wearing a white mask, followed by two men in black in suits and ties.
"People from the World Government!"
"Come with us, the Five Elders summon you to return to Mary Geoise."
As soon as these words came out, Shanks, who was wearing a straw hat, was stunned for a moment, and then his face turned ugly...
…
"Garp! Get ready to go!" Sengoku roared in disgust at the bastard who was sitting on the bow of another warship, holding a fishing rod with both hands.
"Oh, it's about time. I was about to fall asleep..."
The bubbles in Garp's nose burst as he opened his sleepy eyes and casually tossed the fishing rod at Bogard.
"Let's go, let's go, this place is so boring!"
Completely ignoring the much sought after 'Laugh Tale' behind him, he spent the entire day fishing and waiting for the marines to load the treasure onto the cargo ships.
Originally, Garp was very interested in this island, but he lost interest after arriving. This is a summer island with dense plants, and there is an underground space deep inside.
The Cipher Pol claimed that 'ONE PIECE' was there. Garp had checked it; It was quite well done, with reward posters from all of Roger's crew on the walls, like a memorial.
Of course, most people would believe it when they saw it.
For example, at this time, tens of millions of people from all over the world are standing in front of the live broadcast screen. They are seeing the clear contents of the monument and the huge underground vault next to the slightly yellowed reward posters.
Instinctively, they believed in it.
They had witnessed numerous shiny boxes being constantly loaded onto the deck of a ship under Government and Navy escort. Afterwards, they were transported inside the ship.
But for Garp, he didn't feel the slightest bit of Roger's domineering aura on that stone tablet, and he realized that it was all fake. He wasn't as cunning as Sengoku, but he always trusted his intuition.
Now, finally everything is ready!
A fleet of ten headquarters-class warships and two large cargo ships has officially returned to Mary Geoise!
At this time, Sakazuki and Shiryu were on the front warship, Borsalino was on the rearmost warship, Sengoku and Garp were guarding the left and right sides respectively, and the secret CP0 was hidden on a cargo ship in the center.
It can be said that both the Navy Headquarters and the World Government have become serious about this action plan.
As the formation of warships sailed through the waters of the New World, on the deck of one of the warships, Sengoku's eyes suddenly narrowed.
"They're coming!"
On another warship, Garp also raised his eyebrows, silently put the senbei bag in his hand into the pocket of the cloak of Justice and waved his arms.
Bogart behind him, although he still closed his eyes to rest, his right hand was quietly placed on the handle of the knife at his waist. However, the marines in the observation tower who were monitoring the surroundings with binoculars saw nothing.
It wasn't until ten minutes later that a multitude of black dots appeared on the sea horizon from all directions. The number was large, you could easily count between twenty or thirty ships.
[Waa-oo, waa-oo, waa-oo]
An extremely sharp siren was sounded, and the navies of all levels on the ten warships quickly ran to their positions, especially the triple turrets began to rotate.
The battle for 'ONE PIECE' on the high seas had officially begun before the eyes of audiences around the world...
…
As they saw more and more pirate ships, many of the captains realized that perhaps there was a real possibility of taking advantage of the chaos to loot one of the ships loaded with unimaginable riches.
Thus, the phone lines between the pirate ships were activated without concern, discussing attack plans without worrying that the Navy might be listening.
At the same time, the Navy was in effect listening to the conversations between the pirate groups through Black Den Den Mushi.
"Order to formation, prepare for combat!"
As soon as he received the information, Sengoku gave the order, and the two large cargo ships reduced their speed. The ten warships were divided into two rings, one inner and one outer, rotating around the center to point their side cannons outwards.
"This group of pirates must be destroyed here. Only in this way can we scare the pirates behind. Send the order, don't take prisoners this time, annihilate them all!"
The decisive and ruthless orders were transmitted to the ears of countless people in various countries and islands around the world without delay through the Den Den Mushi in the hands of the close staff of the Propaganda Department.
This also made many people subconsciously clench their fists and look nervously at the terrifying pirate ships that appeared on the screen.
Come on, Navy!
For most people, the navy represents justice and is a shield that protects world order, while pirates are evil, synonymous with killing, violence, and plunder.
As soon as Shiryu heard Sengoku's orders transmitted by the navy, his mood improved. He stretched out his tongue and licked his lips that were a little dry due to the sea breeze. He smiled and said: "It's really good. I like being in the Navy more and more..."
I was starting to enjoy being part of the Navy. It was much more exciting than being in boring, dark Impel Down. But... he sneaked a glance at Sakazuki, who had his back turned to him.
If only he could change his boss or be promoted to Vice Admiral as soon as possible. Then, no one could control it!
Suddenly, there was a big movement among the pirates.
Around thirty pirate ships, of different sizes and with different decorations, were also deployed. They began to revolve around the ten warships.
"Oh I see..."
Sengoku squinted his eyes and understood what these pirates were thinking. Their strategy was actually very simple. Which was to use their numerical advantage to surround the entire naval fleet, and then launch simultaneous attacks from different directions.
Then, the boarding battle!
The main reason is that this is the only way for all pirate groups to compete against the navy.
Their artillery is not qualified to engage in an artillery battle with the Navy in terms of quantity, range, and power, even if they have more ships. The fight would be hand to hand!
This scene was broadcast live worldwide. Men, women, young and old, all stood in silence, looking at the renowned pirate ships in amazement.
"ONE PIECE has attracted so many great pirates!" A journalist from a news agency, with a small camera hanging around his neck, murmured involuntarily.
[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!]
When the pirate ships entered the range of the Navy fleet's guns, without hesitation, under Sengoku's order, the guns immediately fired.
"Stop them!" One of the pirate captains roared as he raised his conical spear towards the sky.
[Swish, swish, swish]
With his command, three figures turned into quick flashes, splitting the three dark projectiles into two pieces, causing them to explode into large columns of water on the sides of the ship.
Although the cannonballs of warships are powerful, there is no shortage of combatants in this sea area who can chop and blast them with swords and fists. Attacks such as explosions are not very lethal to targets whose physical strength exceeds the limits of the human body.
But this doesn't mean that these pirates can completely ignore the salvos of naval guns.
As the distance between the two sides gets closer and closer, the accuracy and density of the naval warship's artillery are getting higher and higher. Cannonballs are constantly bombarding the pirate ship, causing huge explosions and fires, and casualties are naturally inevitable.
Although the pirates began to return fire, by heading frontally towards the fleet, they could not fire from the sides where the cannons were located, which significantly reduced their firepower.
Furthermore, the armor on Navy warships made them almost invulnerable to the pirates' lower-powered projectiles.
"Dai Funka!"
Suddenly, the temperature skyrocketed.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---