Chapter 70: The Advancing Marines!

This time, the operation to conquer Elbaf would be led entirely by the navy's elite. Having learned from the failure at Sphinx... The navy decided to first decapitate the leadership by capturing Giant King Harald. As long as they succeeded in capturing him, losses in Elbaf would be minimized. By holding the citizens hostage, Harald would have no choice but to obey. And escape was impossible. Then they would set a trap, luring the White Wolf Pirates into coming to the rescue. This was an open scheme! If the White Wolf Pirates came, they would walk right into their prepared snare. If not... It would still dampen their arrogance and intimidate the restless pirates. Ultimately... With more admiral-level powerhouses, the World Government and navy held the absolute initiative. White Wolf Magnus was just one man. He couldn't be everywhere at once. Uncertain of the relationship between the White Wolf Pirates and Elbaf, the navy high command's goal was to seize Elbaf while Magnus was away. Whether he came or not, they would be in an unbeatable position. After all... Even the navy didn't want to face two admiral-level combatants fighting side by side. Dividing and conquering was the best approach. — Marine Headquarters: Great Prison. A towering giant, nearly twenty meters tall, stood shackled in chains, staring in disbelief at his former comrades. "You... why, Kong?" "I'm sorry, Lopez. When this is all over, I'll come to you myself and apologize." Kong's gaze flickered with a trace of guilt. But this was a direct order from the Gorōsei — the supreme power of the World Government. To defy it now would be to turn against both the World Government and the navy. Lopez had been born in Elbaf. Thanks to Carmel's bridge between humans and giants, the young Lopez had left Elbaf and chosen to learn about the world as a vice admiral. Twenty years had passed since then. In those years, he had enjoyed the navy's respect and witnessed the corruption of human kingdoms — but never imagined that one day he would be betrayed by his own comrades. From Kong and the navy high command's perspective, however, this was the only way to protect him. Otherwise, with his vice admiral rank, Lopez would certainly try to warn Elbaf of the attack — and thus stand openly against the navy. If destroying Elbaf served to maintain order, then even if it meant earning his friend's hatred, Kong would still do it. He would no longer waver. Watching his comrades die beside him once had been enough. And they weren't destroying Elbaf — merely subjugating it, so the giants could properly wield their strength. In the past, they had tried appeasement. But at a giant's pace, it would take decades or centuries for them to understand their mistakes. Meanwhile, more and more giants kept going out to sea as pirates. Causing ever more destruction. So they had no choice but to accelerate the process — even if it meant sacrifices. — Fleet Admiral's Office. Rona slammed her palm on Elephant-yama's desk, her face livid. "Why, after the Sphinx disaster, are we launching a war on Elbaf? That's the land of giants! Just the number of giant fighters as strong as great pirates is more than I can count on two hands — let alone Giant King Harald. I've seen him! His strength is no less than ours!" "Can you win?" "...I can." Proud of her strength, Rona would never lie about such a thing. Harald was indeed strong. But to a top-class kenjō (great swordswoman) like her, his massive body was full of openings — her specialty was speed and deadly strikes, perfectly countering a powerhouse like Harald. "If you and Kong can bring down Harald in a day, this war will be ours. And Kong will wash away his shame and succeed Sebas as the new admiral." Elephant-yama's tone left her no room to argue. "Many will die." But Rona pressed on: "Elbaf is not the White Wolf Pirates. Even if Kong and I can defeat Harald, our navy's elite will suffer heavy losses." "Is it worth it?" Yes... was it worth it? Even Elephant-yama himself couldn't answer that question. But this wasn't his order. It was the Gorōsei's. The supreme will of the World Government. "Follow orders." He could only muster the dignity of a fleet admiral. "I am the fleet admiral now." "Hmph!" Rona stormed out, slamming the door. You'll regret this! She'd almost said it aloud — but thought better of it. She had a bad feeling that if she did... She'd be made the scapegoat. — New World. The Black Pearl had been at sea for half a month. Without needing to stop at any islands, it would take about a month to reach Elbaf from Sphinx. Rocks and Newgate were sparring. Though his physical techniques were weaker than Rocks', Newgate was starting to hold his own now that he'd mastered Armament Haki. Newgate trained hard. Because Rocks and Ripley had already earned bounties in the battle at Sphinx — no longer unknown rookies. Only he, still weak at the time, had been forced to hide. Next time... I'll help everyone! he thought, pushing himself to the limit every day. Until Magnus spoke up. "All right, don't overdo it. Rest when you should — sometimes that's when you break through." Magnus didn't say this lightly. He himself had awakened Observation Haki during his first "post-experience" moment of peace. Clearing his mind, his first thought after awakening Observation Haki had been: Bad girls really do feel great! But bad girls were still bad — they'd take your money and your heart. That was nearly fifty years ago now. No point dwelling on the past. Magnus and Ripley were fishing, which also helped develop a feel for Observation Haki. Suddenly, the rod in Magnus's hand twitched — his eyes lit up. Something had bitten! With his immense strength, he didn't bother playing it out. He yanked. And saw... a white undergarment. The style was reminiscent of Wano warriors' fundoshi, but thinner. A woman's fundoshi? As Magnus stared blankly... "the big fish" was already pulled up. Not a fish. But a drowning woman! (End of Chapter) [Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome] [Thank You For Your Support!]