"An unknown force?"
Taking the Den Den Mushi from Noah, Xayuki listened to Smoker's report, his eyes narrowing slightly. In a calm but icy tone, he said, "Smoker, at this point in time, there's no such thing as an 'unknown force.' They're either subordinate factions under the Beasts Pirates or opportunists trying to take advantage of the chaos."
"That doesn't matter. The fact that they're attacking G-5 right now means one thing—Kaido and his Beasts Pirates are cornered!"
"I'll send reinforcements. Until they arrive, even if it costs you every man standing, you must hold the line. If losing G-5 disrupts the war efforts of Sakazuki and the others, you'd better grow a few extra heads for me to chop off!"
Without wasting another word, Xayuki turned to Ain, who was standing nearby.
Before Xayuki could even speak, Ain immediately understood his intent. She saluted briskly and turned to sprint out of the training grounds.
"An old trick—besiege Wei to rescue Zhao?"
Watching Ain's figure disappear into the distance, a cold glint flashed in Xayuki's eyes. Handing the Den Den Mushi back to Noah, a faint but unmistakable killing intent laced his words. "Noah, it seems someone doesn't want us to achieve a decisive victory in this war."
Then, as if flipping a switch, Xayuki's expression shifted to a warm, gentle smile. Patting Noah on the shoulder, he added, "Take a guess—which forces in the New World are pulling strings behind the scenes in this war?"
"I'll give you a reward if you get it right."
New World, G-5 Base.
The piercing sound of alarms echoed endlessly through the air.
Ending his call with Xayuki, Smoker wasted no time. He turned on his heel and threw open the door in front of him.
The moment the door swung open, the brutal reality of the battlefield hit him head-on.
In the corridor before him, dozens of Marines were locked in fierce combat with black-clad intruders. Gunfire, the clash of metal, screams, and battle cries filled the air, reverberating throughout the entire base.
At that moment, Tashigi, wielding a long sword and covered in cuts, fought her way through a group of black-clad attackers to reach Smoker's side.
"Vice Admiral Smoker!"
"Where did these people come from? How could they infiltrate the base without us noticing?"
Glancing at the slightly disheveled Tashigi, Smoker took a deep drag from his cigar. Then, pulling out his Seastone-tipped jutte, he replied in a low voice, "They're not pirates."
"Not pirates?"
Tashigi froze, her mind struggling to process the revelation.
Before she could fully grasp the situation, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
The next second, dozens of cannonballs rained down on the base. The deafening explosions that followed sent shockwaves rippling outward, wreaking havoc across the compound.
Caught off guard by the sudden bombardment, the Marines' formation faltered. The black-clad intruders seized the opportunity to launch an even more ferocious assault.
Several of them broke through the defensive line and charged directly at Smoker and Tashigi.
"Head to the stronghold!"
Smoker barked out the order, raising his Seastone jutte to meet the attackers head-on. "As long as the pirates outside don't break through, these guys won't be a real threat!"
"Yes, sir!"
Tashigi didn't dare hesitate. She turned and sprinted toward the stronghold's entrance.
When she reached the stronghold, the base's searchlights flicked on, illuminating the sea beyond the fortress walls.
From her vantage point, Tashigi saw dozens of massive warships arranged in a fan formation, their cannons firing relentlessly at the base.
"How is this possible? Those ships... they belong to the Beasts Pirates?"
Her pupils contracted as she stared at the pirate flags fluttering atop the masts—flags unmistakably bearing the emblem of the Beasts Pirates.
"But the Beasts Pirates are supposed to be battling Admiral Sakazuki! How could they be here?"
"The pirates aboard those ships are indeed members of the Beasts Pirates," a calm voice interrupted her thoughts.
Vergo, recently demoted to Captain, emerged from the stronghold's command center, his expression grim. "But these aren't pirate warships. They're merchant ships that have been retrofitted for combat."
"They must've used the merchant ships to avoid detection by the Navy's intelligence network. Once they entered G-5's waters, they raised the Beasts Pirates' flags."
"Merchant ships... retrofitted for combat?" Tashigi's mind reeled as she tried to make sense of the situation. "What... what's going on here?"
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Vergo turned to the bewildered Tashigi. "Isn't it obvious? One of the Underworld Kings of the New World has made their move."
"The black-clad intruders inside the base aren't pirates. They're assassins from a professional guild."
Standing atop the stronghold, Vergo gestured toward the base below, where more black-clad attackers continued to emerge. "In the New World, there are only two people capable of deploying so many assassins and orchestrating an infiltration of a Marine base amidst such chaos. One is Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District. The other is Pekuro, the King of the Funeral Parlor, also known as the Death Dealer."
Pausing briefly, Vergo shifted his gaze back to the warships illuminated by the searchlights. "And as for smuggling such a large number of Beasts Pirates into our waters undetected, there's only one person capable of pulling that off—the Transport King, Umit, also known as the Silent Broker."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Vergo vanished in a blur.
An instant later, he reappeared at the stronghold's entrance, swiftly snapping the necks of two assassins who had broken through the lines.
Meanwhile, aboard one of the warships bombarding the base, two imposing figures stood in the ship's cabin.
At the window, peering through a telescope at the stronghold, was Pekuro, the King of the Funeral Parlor.
A hulking, rotund man, Pekuro held the handle of a massive scythe slung over his shoulder with one hand while gripping the telescope with the other. A bloodthirsty grin spread across his face as he muttered, "It's been so long since I've seen a battle this brutal. Truly captivating!"
"Lord Pekuro."
Seated on a plush sofa in the cabin, Umit, the Transport King, swirled a glass of red wine in one hand. Draped in a fur coat, his expression was cold and calculating. "True power doesn't lie on blood-soaked battlefields. It resides in the shadows—in deals and schemes."
A flicker of unease crossed Umit's eyes as he continued, "The situation on Kaido's frontlines is dire. If this operation doesn't force Sakazuki or Gion to divert their forces, Kaido's defeat will spell disaster for us as well. The day Kaido falls will be the day we're hunted down."
"You're getting excited too early, my friend. Clearly, you don't understand that young Fleet Admiral of the Marines well enough."
Second update of the day. More to come!
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