Three days later, Cage set off. First, he headed to his assigned base in Loguetown, making a quick tour before rerouting to the West Blue.
Unlike the now peaceful East Blue, the West Blue was utterly chaotic.
From large-scale conflicts between nations to small-scale skirmishes between mafias, this was a paradise for criminals, a playground for murderers and traffickers. In this sea teeming with evil, human morality was trampled upon most severely, and human rights were at their most humble.
However, for Cage... wasn't this also his paradise?
"Commodore Cage, no, Rear Admiral Cage of the West Blue!" Ain, still unaccustomed to the rapid rank changes, quickly corrected herself. She couldn't help it; Cage's promotion speed was just too fast.
"The Kingdom of Ilisia in the West Blue has sent a distress signal. Their country is under attack by the Revolutionary Army, and they hope our Marines will immediately send reinforcements to suppress the rebellion," Ain said, holding a piece of intelligence. "This is a telegram from King Thalassa Lucas. His country is currently overrun with rioters."
"Hmph... Flies don't bite seamless eggs. If they're targeted by the Revolutionary Army, it only means this country is too corrupt. If the people could all eat their fill, who would be idle enough to rebel? The Revolutionary Army wouldn't have had an opportunity to exploit their weakness," Cage scoffed, then slowly continued, "However, since it's an affiliated nation of the World Government, our Marines cannot stand idly by. Let's return to a nearby Marine base to rest for now. We'll go reinforce them tomorrow."
"Yes."
Ain nodded, then randomly found a West Blue Marine base to station at.
Upon returning to the main base, Cage didn't rush to rest. Instead, he quickly conducted a basic assessment of the West Blue.
"This West Blue truly is in chaos."
It was late into the night, and Cage was still organizing intelligence with Ain.
Firstly, there was the situation with the Revolutionary Army appearing in the Kingdom of Ilisia.
Secondly, there was the powerful force from the Kano Country—the Happo Navy!
In addition, there was the godfather who virtually controlled the entire underworld of the West Blue—Capone Bege.
And even within fragmented intelligence, Cage saw information about the World Government's major concern—Nico Robin!
"The East Blue wasn't this chaotic. Various dark pirate forces are rampant, especially that so-called Kano Country; its ruler is directly a violent organization," Cage complained, speechless. If a country's leader was a violent individual, one could imagine how chaotic that country was.
"It is indeed a bit troublesome. It will take some time to suppress them," Ain agreed, nodding. "Let's start by resolving the situation in the Kingdom of Ilisia. Fleet Admiral Sengoku and King Thalassa Lucas have urged us multiple times. Their royal capital is surrounded by rebels, cut off from water and supplies. If our Marines don't go soon, the Kingdom of Ilisia will be removed from the World Government's list."
"Alright, that's enough for today. We'll depart sharp at 7 AM tomorrow morning."
Cage yawned, stretching as he commanded.
The night passed without incident. In the blink of an eye, it was dawn the next day. As the sky lightened, Cage set off with over a dozen Marine warships.
The grand fleet of Marine warships sailed across the open sea, a truly magnificent sight. Any pirate crews they encountered wisely retreated.
Of course... there were a few clueless ones who were successfully annihilated in the end.
Around noon, Cage's group finally reached the Kingdom of Ilisia. However, just as they approached the shore, they were met with fierce cannon fire.
The port was likely occupied by the Revolutionary Army.
"Issue orders to all warships: carpet bomb the area near the port. Ten minutes from now, artillery fire will gradually extend inland," Cage commanded, looking through his binoculars.
Boom boom boom... boom boom boom...
Ten seconds later, all dozen-plus Marine warships opened fire. A sky full of cannonballs rained down on the port area. In a flash, the port became a sea of fire, the intense flames consuming everything. Countless screams could be heard from within the blaze.
Cage didn't even blink. If they didn't utterly eliminate these rebels now, their Marines would suffer casualties during the landing.
Bang bang bang...
The shelling lasted for about twenty minutes. The Marines fired at least a thousand cannonballs. The port, now visible, had been reduced to ruins, with countless charred corpses on the ground.
"Quickly land! Assemble towards the royal capital with the greatest speed!"
Ain picked up a Den Den Mushi and issued orders to all warships. Soon, a large number of Marines jumped off the warships and landed on the port, rapidly advancing towards the royal capital. The dozen-plus Marine warships had brought over a thousand men.
"Rear Admiral Cage, according to our observations, the enemies eliminated by the shelling don't seem to be Revolutionary Army troops, but rather local residents of this city. They all joined the rebel forces," Ain said, her face showing reluctance.
"So?"
Cage's face hardened as he sternly rebuked, "Ain... from now on, you must understand one thing: no matter who it is, as long as they point a gun at us, they are an enemy. Don't call them mere rioters; even if it's a child, you must eliminate them. An enemy is an enemy."
"Understood."
Ain instinctively shrunk her neck. This was Cage's modus operandi.
"However..."
Cage glanced at the corpses strewn across the ground, his voice grave. "Rioters are usually a disorganized mob. For them to still resist fiercely under Marine cannon fire, this fearless courage is as if they've been brainwashed. Even our highly trained Marines might not be this brave. Something's not right."
Cage couldn't help but think of a certain Revolutionary Army executive—Belo Betty.
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