The New World. Fernal Archipelago.
Years ago, after the defeat and downfall of Garfield Caesar, Aeridar and Doflamingo joined forces to occupy the area. Utilizing the excellent iron and copper mines on the islands, along with the indigenous population, they transformed the Fernal Archipelago into an arms factory, a shipyard, and a scientific research laboratory.
This included the research of new ship types, the training of elite strike team members, and the testing of powerful weaponry.
Naturally, compared to Garfield Caesar's brutal enslavement of the natives, Aeridar and Doflamingo's methods were much better. They employed a carrot-and-stick approach: as long as the natives didn't rebel and completed the assigned tasks on time, they were given a decent life.
Since Doflamingo lacked sufficient manpower, he entrusted the area to Aeridar, sending people to inspect only once every three months. Ordinarily, the islands were garrisoned by several executives from the Chris Investigation Bureau: Nando, the kingdom's Chief Shipwright, the "White Horse" Cavendish, and the Paperman Pirates. This force was more than enough to deter the island natives and any incoming pirates.
However, over the past two days, two 'Heavenly Figures' from the Chris Investigation Bureau had arrived on the island.
Mount Four Island. Central Island.
This was once the headquarters of the Garfield Pirates, the most central island. Three peaks stood on the outside, with one peak nestled within, appearing to guard it.
In fact, the former Garfield Pirates had used this terrain to build solid fortresses and gun turrets on the three outer peaks, setting up hundreds of cannons to create a dense network of fire.
It could be said that every area of Mount Four Island, both internal and external, was covered by this fire network, save for the very peak of the central mountain.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble...
Hot cannonballs flew in, exploding one after another on the ground in ceaseless detonations. For a time, soil flew everywhere, shockwaves rolled, kicking up large clouds of dust. A heavy scent of gunpowder permeated the entire island, which could be felt subtly trembling.
"Fire! Fire!"
"Annihilate the remnants of the Garfield Pirates!"
"No! Save me!"
"Charge up the mountain! The peak is outside the fire network's coverage!"
Shouting, roaring, screaming, wailing... Under the bombardment of the countless cannons, limbs were constantly flung into the air among the crowd at the base of the mountain. Soil rained down, burying people. Flesh and dirt mixed together, becoming increasingly muddy. Even the bluestone road in the middle was now pockmarked and cratered, with shattered rocks flying everywhere.
Shing!
A sharp sword light flashed, instantly slicing five or six incoming heavy cannonballs in half.
"Damn it! Only two secret tunnels left out of six! I thought they hadn't discovered them! Curses!" Elroy held his long sword, his face paling as he watched the over one thousand men he had painstakingly gathered being blown apart by the cannonballs from the mountain, suffering heavy losses.
"Charge up! The Chris Investigation Bureau guys must be on the peak of the central mountain!" Ernest swung his great axe, smashing away cannonball after cannonball.
"Then we have to find a way to rush up there!" Mordo, missing one ear, bellowed fiercely.
Few members of the Garfield Pirates survived. Most died in the battle on Aznat Island, and the rest were either captured or went into hiding, fearing to cross the Chris Investigation Bureau again.
Elroy was not particularly loyal to Caesar, nor was he necessarily intent on revenge. After escaping Impel Down, his feelings for Aeridar were a mixture of fear and pure hatred.
Learning that Aeridar was searching for him, he neither wanted to join the Chris Investigation Bureau nor wait around to die. He sought out Ernest, who was single-mindedly focused on avenging Caesar. The two immediately hit it off and also found Jeric V. Mordo, who had escaped Betilla and later fled Aznat Island. Betilla had chopped off his right ear.
The trio gathered a few hundred remnants of the Garfield Pirates and recruited some more men, amassing over a thousand people. They prepared to use their knowledge of the Fernal Archipelago's terrain and secret tunnels to destroy all the factories on the islands, intending to weaken the Chris Investigation Bureau.
Unfortunately, all their external movements were monitored by Aeridar's intelligence network. Once they arrived on the Fernal Archipelago, they were monitored by Enel. In short, all their actions were nothing more than a few small bugs struggling in a spider's web.
Peak of the Central Mountain.
"Yahahahaha~ A bunch of idiots!"
Enel listened to the movements at the base of the mountain. Even with the earth-shaking cannon fire, it couldn't block his powerful Observation Haki, which covered half of the Fernal Archipelago.
"I didn't expect these remnants of the Garfield Pirates to target this place first. They want to destroy our arms factory here to weaken us." Ward flapped the paper wings on his back, floating in mid-air, looking down calmly.
"They thought we hadn't discovered the secret tunnels on the island. In reality, with Pica's ability, there's no secret tunnel we don't know about." Oliver stroked the hilt of the long sword at his waist, squinting one eye lazily, as if half-asleep. "These self-proclaimed smart guys are only marching right into a trap."
"How utterly boring..."
Cavendish picked his ear. Mid-sentence, his expression suddenly turned sinister, as if he had transformed into a different person. He let out a chilling cackle:
"Kekekeke! Kill! Kill them all!"
"Hakuba, calm down!"
Nando, the Fish-man beside him, shot a glance at Cavendish, who had transformed into his secondary personality, Hakuba.
"Nando! One day, I'll slice you to pieces too!" Hakuba violently snapped his head around, staring fiercely at Nando.
"Do it if you can." Nando turned his head away dismissively. He then proceeded to remove his white kimono jacket, tying it around his waist and revealing a muscular, explosive physique that looked extremely tough.
"They're preparing to charge up... Huh?! That guy is quite fast!" Enel, monitoring the movements below, suddenly showed a trace of surprise on his face.
"Oh, for you to call him fast, that must be the Speedster, Elroy. He's a Speed-Speed Fruit user. He's all yours!" His eyes snapped open, a sharp light flashing within them, and a ferocious grin spread across Oliver's mouth.
"No one is faster than lightning!"
Enel looked arrogant, spinning the golden staff in his hand, electrical arcs dancing on the metal.
"El Thor!"
A magnificent voice echoed across the sky.
Rumble…
The sky suddenly roared with a thunderous crash, a bolt of lightning from a clear sky. The high-altitude clouds flashed with powerful, dazzling lightning. A column of lightning several meters in diameter descended from the heavens, instantly striking a specific point at the base of the mountain.