Prophase (II)

"So, you want me to freeze the sea?"

"Something like that. Not the whole sea. Just the area surrounding Hachinosu. You can do it, can't you? You did it in Marineford."

"Yeah, but this is different."

"How so?"

"Marineford had a crescent shape. So, I just had to freeze the front part of the sea. But based on what I know, Hachinosu has a sort of round shape. Which means that if I want to freeze the area around it, the range of the attack will be much more than just freezing one side. My ability might be strong, but it does have a certain amount of range to it. I can't just freeze everything I see. Why do you want to freeze the around it anyway?" Kuzan asked.

"Well, I was hoping to cut off any escape routes Blackbeard Pirates might have. There's also the matter of fact that it'll allow for us to prepare beforehand if an unexpected situation occurs and either the Marines or the Yonkos decide to intervene." I replied.

"But, didn't you start the war between Kaidou and Big Mom so that this doesn't happen?" Akane asked.

"Yes. But it doesn't hurt to be extra careful."

"You are way too much cautious. I'm telling you. This extra carefulness will be the death of you."

I just gave her a side eye hearing that. I knew that I was being too much careful. But it was logical. I've been chasing Blackbeard for more than a year now. If I don't stop him now, then all my plans for the future will be for naught. I can't have that now, can I?

"Can you two please stop arguing for just a moment, please?" Crocodile said, clearly displeased. "We are leaving in 15 minutes and I don't want any of these behavior while you are on my ship."

"What do you mean by your ship? It's OUR ship." Akane protested.

"No, this is my ship that I bought with my money. Your ship is that small boat you guys used before." Crocodile shot back.

"Hey! Don't say anything mean about Sasha. She is one of the finest ships there is."

"Oh, for the love of God! Please tell me you didn't name that stupid piece of garbage. Names are meant for ships. Not some stupid boat with only two rooms."

"Take that back! Or I'll cut you down to pieces, you stupid sand man." Twin blood axes formed in her hands as she stood up.

Crocodile didn't back down either as sand gathered in his hand.

"I'm glad to see you try, you shithead oni."

Yeah, the situation was already out of hand. This is the problem with gather a group of egomaniacs inside the same room.

Akane and Crocodile fought every time they got the chance. Kuzan just stays there like an ice statue without moving. Meanwhile Buggy just throws more fuel to the fire every time he speaks up. And right on cue, Buggy spoke,

"You two are so lame. Have you seen the ships I have? They are the best of the best."

Hearing Buggy's words, both Akane and Crocodile turned their heads in lightning-fast speed.

"Shup up, clown!"

"How dare you tell me to shut up! Do you know who I am?" Buggy retorted.

Just as I was about to stop the fight, the temperature in the room suddenly dropped below 0 degrees. Ice started to cover the whole room as Kuzan used his ability. His cold voice rang out like frostbite.

"Can everyone please shut the fuck up! This is not the time nor the place to start this childish squabling among ourselves. We can start killing each other after we have won this war." Kuzan finished. "Tch! Pirates!"

I wanted to say that Kuzan was a pirate now too. But I stopped myself. He was clearly angry. And I don't want to piss him off more than I needed to.

"What Kuzan said is right. I don't want to complicate matters any further. My plan is pretty simple. We are going to attack from the front. Blackbeard is more than smart enough to realize that I'll be coming for him. That is why he hasn't left Hachinosu in the last couple of months. He wants to hold on to the home ground advantage. Now comes the details about the personal battles." I said as I revealed the bounty posters of Blackbeard Pirates.

"It should be pretty obvious that I'm the only one who'll fight with Blackbeard. Every single one of you have eaten a devil fruit. And that means your fighting powers will automatically be cut in half when you fight against him. I don't want a single one of you near where Blackbeard and I will be fighting. Understood?"

I got my reply as a collective nod.

"Okay. Next up is the problems regarding our manpower. We only have around 500 active pirates that'll help us in this war. I'll have to thank Buggy for that."

Buggy gave a smug smile hearing that.

"Now, Buggy, your job is to lead your crew. You and Jozu will ensure that nobody below the level of Titanic Captains interfere between our fights."

"Okay."

"Next up, is Akane. Your opponents will be Caterina Devon and Sanjuan Wolf. Be careful with both of them. Caterina Devon has a mythical zoan type devil fruit. She can change her appearance and take the form of anyone she wants. She is a really tricky opponent. Keep your senses sharp and don't drop your guard. That goes for every single one of you. Never ever drop your guard while you're in Hachinosu." I looked around the room to convey my point and then turned towards Akanae. "Regarding Sanjuan Wolf, I don't really have any advice. He's an enormous guy who can bleed. I don't think you need any more advice than that."

"No, I don't. I'll take care of these two."

"Good. Now, Crocodile. Your opponent will be Shiryu. You should know him pretty well seeing that you guys spent quite some time in Impel Down. You should be strong enough to be able to handle him. He also has a new devil fruit power as far as I know. It's called clear-clear fruit. This fruit let's the user become undetectable in normal sight. You'll need to use observation haki to properly detect his position. I hope that you can handle that."

Crocodile didn't say anything, just nodded and I took it as his confirmation.

"Now, Kuzan. You have the biggest responsibility of them all. As you are clearly the strongest one here, you need to take more responsibility than any of them. First of all, you need to stop the island."

"Huh!" Confusion spread among the others hearing that so I decided to clarify the situation.

"Avalo Pizzaro has eaten the Isle-Isle Fruit. It lets him control the whole Hachinosu as if the island was his own body. You can already realize how much problem we're going to have if an entire island is trying to crush us. Now, there is a silver lining here. Pizzaro's own body can be damaged. I don't exactly know where his main body is but my guess is that it's closer to the giant skull on the island. Most probably in one of it's eyes. You can't control an island without seeing anything. So, he'll also be in high ground. You need to move quickly to find him out. Also, while you're on your way towards the skull, take care of Vasco Shot for me. He shouldn't be much of a problem for you."

Kuzan gave his confirmation with a simple nod.

"Oh, before I forget. Be careful of Laffitte. I didn't assign anyone specifically for him because he'll most probably move around the battlefield a lot. But if you ever feel that something is wrong, I can say it for sure that it is Laffitte. Use haki to get out of his hypnotism. If that's not possible then you need to avoid looking at him directly. Instruct that to you men, Buggy. You're leaving your Warlord position today. It would be sad if you didn't get a proper introduction in the New World."

Buggy started smiling hearing my complement. He was so easy to manipulate. A few praises and he is already listening to every command you give.

"I think that covers every aspects that we need to discuss. Now, let's hope we come out alive at the end of the day. And if everything goes well, we'll become the new Yonko crew."

Saying that I raised my enormous beer cup. Everyone mimicked my action. We wouldn't be a proper pirate crew if we went to war without having a proper drink first.

"To the future!"