233 Simple Shortcut?

This island is called Iron Island, because most of the material on the island is rock.

Most of the island is made up of rock, and its hardness is comparable to volcanic rock, which is why it's called Iron Island.

It means a very hard island, and since the island is mostly rocky, it lacks certain other natural materials.

The island is uninhabited by humans, and there are very few animals. Most are small, highly adaptable creatures.

The Iron Island is surrounded by numerous hidden reefs. As a result, there's many wrecked ships around the island in different sizes, while not large in size, it still needs a big turn around in a circle if they want to navigate around it.

After hearing Whitebeard mention the shortcut, everyone remained perplexed. After a while, Jozu suddenly realized it and exclaimed:

"I get it now. The old man meant that we go directly to the island and start from the other side, avoiding going around in circles. Walking in a straight line will save us a lot of time"

Marco, Vista, Charles Vane, and the others immediately look at Jozu as if he were a fool.

Only Edward Weevil didn't regard Jozu as a fool because he didn't understand anything that Whitebeard said.

"Hey guys, why are you looking at me like this? What did I say wrong?" 

Jozu still hadn't realized his mistake.

"Then I ask you, how do we get down to the other side of the island?" Marco inquired.

"Is he stupid? If we're heading to the island, the ship still needs to go around!" Charles Vane cursed.

"People who don't know might think the ship can fly over" 

Vista added.

The trio's mocking tone suddenly embarrassed Jozu, making him want to quickly change the subject.

"Oyaji, what do you really want to do?" Jozu inquired.

"If we divide up this island, won't we be able to go straight through?" 

Whitebeard suggested.

"divide up?" 

Marco and the others were surprised at once.

Dividing up an island seemed like quite a feat, but they further thought about it, it didn't seem like a big deal.

After all, this island isn't very big; it's completely easy with Whitebeard's strength.

It's just that no one thought of this method beforehand because proposing it still requires a lot of confidence in strength.

"If we really divide up the island, we can indeed save a lot of time" 

Marco said, immediately calculating the route.

He found that if they cross the island directly, they can save more than double the time.

As a result, the Whitebeard Pirates promptly adjusted their course and set sail toward Iron Island.

The Whitebeard Pirates swiftly sailed, and soon they spotted a rocky island ahead.

"Oyaji, the Iron Island is here," Marco announced.

Whitebeard promptly stood up, made his way to the bow, faced the island ahead, and decisively raised his Naginata, swinging a fierce slash.

The enormous sword slash cleaved through the air, slicing with the speed of wind and lightning. 

The moment the slash touched the island, it left a sharp mark in its wake.

The sword slash passed through, instantly splitting Iron Island into two, leaving a clean cut in the middle.

However, even though it's divided into two, the gap in the middle isn't wide enough for the ship to pass through.

Next, Whitebeard threw two punches into the air, creating a powerful earthquake that reverberated through the atmosphere.

The turbulence immediately spread, stirring up waves in the sea and shaking both islands simultaneously.

Under the watchful eyes of Marco and the others, the two islands actually began to separate slowly.

As a result of Whitebeard's tremors and the impact of the currents, the two islands gradually separated.

A wide sea path opened up in the middle, and Whitebeard promptly ordered: "Go!" 

In this manner, the four ships of the Whitebeard Pirate sailed through one after another.

"Now, there will be two Iron Islands in the future"

Marco jokes around

"Oyaji is a true island slayer, splitting islands with islands" 

Charles Vane added, also in joking manner

"You'll have this kind of strength in the future"

Whitebeard assured them.

"Yes, Oyaji!"

Marco and the others replied in unison, exchanging glances.

"Good!" 

Whitebeard nodded.

In the following period, the Whitebeard Pirates pursued the Blackbeard Pirates with all their might.

….

However, the Blackbeard Pirates were unaware that they were being chased by the Whitebeard Pirates.

Blackbeard had no idea that Whitebeard would chase him so quickly.

"Captain, there's Step island ahead. Do you want to rest here?" 

Burgess asked.

"Well, just take a break there, but don't waste too much time" 

Blackbeard replied.

The pirate group spends the day by day sailing on the sea, so when they come across an island, they usually go there to restock on supplies or something similar.

The Step island is a small, inhabited land that has developed to a certain extent, with a small kingdom on it.

Of course, the so-called kingdom isn't a real kingdom, and there is no king—it's just that more and more people have settled on the island.

Certain organized and influential groups gradually established their own governing authority, without formal legislation but by creating their own set of rules.

The rule is simple: on this island, whoever holds the greatest power gets to claim the throne of leadership.

The one who takes the throne is revered by everyone on the island. 

However, so far, the path to kingship on the island has changed many times.

After all, this is the New World. Conflicts are common. Today someone becomes the king, and tomorrow they might be overthrown by others.

However, this advantage lies in the ability to shift responsibility and channel all hatred towards the kingly figure, not all it's people

Therefore, despite the frequent wars, the residents of the island rarely get injured, thanks to this system.

Outsiders will only target the kingly figure on the island because, if the kingly figure is defeated, the entire island will submit.

They won't remember the previous kingly figure at all; they'll only acknowledge the new one.

This strategy has enabled the residents of Step Island to live in peace. 

Currently, the kingly figure on the island is a pirate leader with a bounty of 500 million named Tesla.

The Blackbeard Pirates swiftly docked their ship at the pier of Step Island, but they encountered resistance as they were preparing to disembark.

"No outsiders are allowed here. Leave immediately!" 

A group of guards around the pier raised muskets against the Blackbeard Pirates.

"Bold move, daring to stop us."

Blackbeard grew impatient and ordered his crew to deal with those obstructing their way.

"Hmph, even on the path of escape, we won't be bullied by dogs." 

Burgess angrily charged at the guard posts, swiftly defeating them with his immense strength.

"Guys, let's take a break" 

Blackbeard instructed.

His crew disembarked one after another, some gathering supplies, others indulging in some fun.

But Blackbeard and most of his crew stayed on the ship. Blackbeard didn't want to be too conspicuous and reveal their track.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED

Note: how small is the island? Just imagine Green Bit near Dressrosa, and a hidden reef surrounding the island as big as Dressrosa itself. Means there's a hidden reef as wide as Dressrorsa, and in the middle of it is Green Bit (Iron Island in this case). And remember Dressrosa is not a "BIG" island, it's a relatively small island, compared to Alabasta & Wano.

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