Dark storm clouds gathered, and rain poured down in sheets.
The Beasts Pirates' warship, its massive beast head at the front, bobbed on the rough waves, waiting for its target.
Soon, another warship appeared on the horizon.
The other ship seemed to have spotted them, too. Officers rushed onto the deck, ready for a fight.
"Warships sighted! Three in total!"
From high up in the mast, the lookout, squinting through his telescope, gulped as he saw the impressive ships.
"That's a serious escort! Are they trying to take down a whole country or something?"
"They must be protecting Lord Doflamingo."
"Looks like getting Doflamingo back is impossible."
The lookout shouted down to the deck, "Captain Jack, should we turn around?"
"Why would we?"
Jack's eyes burned with a fierce determination, showing no sign of giving up.
"You idiot, who do you think I am!"
"We're going to fight!"
"Get that ship alongside!"
"Huh???"
The ships sped towards each other!
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
The battle began instantly.
----
Meanwhile, in the southwest sea near Dressrosa…
The G-5 Branch fleet was on its way back when they were also attacked.
"Boss Roya, we've spotted the Beasts Pirates Fleet--four enemy warships in total. It's the Beasts Pirates' Flying Six!"
"Prepare for battle!"
Rear Admiral Roya stood on the deck, his face grim as he watched the enemy ships approach.
He knew they would eventually clash with the Beasts Pirates, but he didn't expect them to be so bold as to attack in Marine territory.
He had seven warships; the enemy only had four.
" Are we going to back down?"
"Get ready to attack!"
"Yes, sir!"
The two fleets raced towards each other, spreading out to form a battle line, both showing their sides to the enemy at almost the same moment.
"Fire!"
"Boom, boom, boom!!!"
Water exploded around the ships.
"Give 'em hell!"
"Ramming speed! Smash them to pieces!"
"Damn it, get that ship alongside! I'm going to teach those bastards a lesson!"
Roya roared. He had taken all the weapons from the Underground Factory. Now, his warships were loaded with ammo, so he wasn't going to hold back.
" They want a firepower contest? Damn them!"
"Boom, boom, boom!!!"
The cannons roared without stopping.
The seven warships unleashed a powerful storm of fire that quickly overwhelmed the Beasts Pirates fleet, leaving the Flying Six completely stunned.
"Since when did the Marines fight like this?!"
They were usually the ones attacking, so when had they ever seen Marines so reckless? They weren't just firing a constant barrage of cannonballs; they were even ramming the pirate ships with their warships.
" Who are the real pirates here?!"
"Who's-Who, the Marines' firepower is too much! We can't hold out!"
The pirates screamed, unable to even look up as the cannon fire rained down. Their ships were taking serious damage. If they didn't find a way to escape, they would sink.
"Huh?"
Who's-Who was in shock.
They had come to ambush the Marines, but they were met with a fierce, desperate attack as soon as they got close?
" Since joining the Beasts Pirates, this is the first time I've seen anything like this. Usually, the Marines focus on defense when we fight."
Another thing: Naval battles were about having tough ships and powerful guns.
Four against seven--they were at a disadvantage!
"Bad news, Captain!"
The lookout yelled, "Page One's ship is running away! Oh no, Ulti is chasing after Page One!"
"What the hell are those two idiots doing?!"
Who's-Who exploded with anger.
They were already losing with four against seven, and now they were down half their firepower. How were they supposed to fight the Marines?
As for boarding the warships…
" Only an idiot would do that!"
"Damn it, fall back! Retreat now!"
----
On the warship deck…
"Rear Admiral Roya, the enemy is retreating!"
"Chase them down and use up all our ammunition!"
Roya was furious.
" They want to run? Not so easy!"
The two sides chased each other for half a day. The fight only stopped because of a sudden, huge hailstorm.
----
On a deserted island…
The Beasts Pirates were resting. Who's-Who's and Sasaki's warships were full of holes, and their masts were broken.
Who's-Who roared, "You two bastards ran away during the battle!"
"Huh? Who ran away?"
Ulti snapped back rudely, "We're not your underlings. What we do is our own business!"
"Ulti!"
Who's-Who didn't know what to say.
She was right. They were rivals. They hadn't planned to work together on this mission to get Yamato back. They were only together because they were going the same way.
Who's-Who was annoyed. "That's why we got our asses kicked!"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Page One scoffed. "The Marines had way more firepower than us. Retreating was the smart thing to do. You're the one to blame for underestimating the Marines."
"Page One, you little brat!"
Who's-Who glared angrily at Page One.
"Shut up, both of you!"
Sasaki spoke up.
The three of them snorted at the same time.
Before they set out, they hadn't expected Black Hair to have so many warships. They thought there might be two or three, but there were seven.
" That's almost the entire Branch."
They wanted to retreat, but no one wanted to look weak and say it, so they had to keep fighting. They didn't expect the Marines to be so crazy.
As for jumping onto the warships to fight…
First, they had all eaten Devil Fruits and fought better on land. Second, the enemy had more people. Attacking the warships like that would probably mean death.
" We're not that stupid."
Sasaki said coldly, "You should all realize by now that you can't bring back Yamato alone. We have to work together."
"Hmph."
The three of them snorted, agreeing without saying it.
They were confident in their own strength, but they weren't foolish enough to take on an entire Marine Branch by themselves.
" We'd be exhausted to death."
Even if the four of them joined forces, they probably couldn't capture a Marine Branch Fortress. Besides the Branch's own strength, the Marines would quickly send reinforcements.
Sasaki frowned. "I don't know how it happened, but Black Hair is in charge of the G-5 Branch fleet, so Yamato is probably at the G-5 Branch, too. That's good news for us."
"That's true."
The three nodded silently.
According to the information they had, Black Hair was a Rear Admiral of the G-1 Branch, the most heavily guarded place in the world. They couldn't even think about going there.
The G-5 Branch would be much easier to deal with.
Page One asked, "Should we tell Lord Kaido the news?"
"Ask for help without doing anything? Do you want us to look like useless trash?"
Sasaki and Who's-Who scoffed at the same time.
They were high-ranking officers, second only to the All-Stars. If they asked for help with something this small, they would never earn any respect from the crew.
Now that they knew where Yamato was, they could slowly figure out a plan. Black Hair and Yamato wouldn't stay in the fortress forever.
"Bru-bru-bru…"
The Den Den Mushi rang.
"This is the Mammoth Ship. Lord Jack has fallen into the sea! We need help!"
"..."
Sasaki and the others looked at each other.
" If we remember correctly, Jack went to rescue Doflamingo, right?"
"What a loser!"
The four of them said at the same time.
*
**
***
[T/N:
Latest Chapter translated on Patreon - Chapter 322 (+139 Chapters Ahead!)
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 557 PS
Goal : Reach +50 Total PS = +2 Bonus Chapters next day! 🚀
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Here are the novels I'm currently translating:
-> Naruto Paradise: An Evil Uchiha's Rise
-> One Piece: I'm Destined to Be the Son-in-Law King!
-> Young Master, Please Become Hokage!
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]