Chapter 402: Appearance in West Blue
When countless eyes converged on the Byrnndi Pirates and the Tyrant Dragon Pirates, they watched as the Byrnndi Pirates' massive fleet entered the Sea Area ruled by the Tyrant Dragon Pirates.
However, what was surprising was that along the way, the Tyrant Dragon Pirates did not offer any resistance to the Byrnndi Pirates.
Even the Tyrant Dragon Pirates' ships patrolling the area would actively make way if they encountered the Byrnndi Pirates.
This unusual harmony led people to speculate that the Tyrant Dragon Pirates might not be the Byrnndi Pirates' target.
The path of the Byrnndi Pirates' massive fleet, if drawn as a straight line, also had no relation to the Tyrant Dragon Pirates' current Base Camp, Dragon Country.
Some people had already guessed where the Byrnndi Pirates' target was.
The massive fleet charged directly into the Calm Belt, and then disappeared.
The Byrnndi Pirates' target was the West Blue, without a doubt.
The news rapidly spread on a certain level.
The World Economic Journal published this news immediately.
The various Member Nations in the West Blue all received warnings from the World Government.
They were on high alert, beginning preparations in advance to deal with the potential chaos that might erupt in the West Blue.
The arrival of a terrifying combatant strength and a world's top-tier Pirate Crew couldn't help but make people recall the fear brought by the Rocks Pirates back then.
The entire West Blue became somewhat restless.
This was a foreseeable disaster.
Residents living on Islands near the Calm Belt began migrating.
Residents in various Areas of the West Blue prepared to deal with the coming disaster.
In fact, due to the Rocks Pirates attacking more than once back then, they already had some experience in seeking the protection of powerful Factions and Kingdoms.
Or hiding in the deep mountains, waiting for the incident to end before coming out.
Even more desperate ones would directly flee to other Sea Areas first.
The Byrnndi Pirates had not yet arrived, but everyone in the seemingly peaceful West Blue feared for themselves.
Prices, especially the price of grain, increased by one-fifth in just three days.
This was just the beginning.
It was also the lingering effects brought by the war in the Four Seas during the Rocks Era.
Even if the World Government officially released news that a Marine Admiral would lead the military to stop the Byrnndi Pirates, it still couldn't change this situation.
Compared to the World Government and the Marines, people often trusted themselves more.
Justice might arrive, but what good is justice that arrives late?
Passing through the Calm Belt from the New World, it would only take a few days to reach the West Blue.
And the Marines in the West Blue, and even the military of most Kingdoms, had no ability to resist the Byrnndi Pirates at all.
Marine Headquarters was located in the Grand Line, and it was unknown how much longer it would take to reach the West Blue.
Grain was being hoarded in large quantities.
Prices, especially the price of daily necessities, also rose.
The price of guns and ammunition in the West Blue's Underworld was also rising.
Even some ordinary Residents would get a gun through various means, only then feeling secure.
The Marines reacted quickly.
Admiral "Sengoku the Buddha" led twenty thousand Marine Soldiers and many Navy Officers, including the marine supernovas Borsalino and Sakazuki.
Dozens of marine warships left Marine Headquarters, heading towards the West Blue at full speed.
Besides Sengoku, Zephyr was training the Elite Training Camp.
Garp was constantly roving in the New World, chasing the Roger Pirates, while also responsible for guarding the New World for the Marines.
Following the downfall of the Trade Route, the number of Marine Bases in the New World was no more than ten, and the number of Pirates greatly increased.
Even though the number decreased significantly under the Marines' clear out, the recovery speed was indeed astonishing.
It had now become an active Area for Pirates.
Pirates would often attack directly, or encounter each other during patrols.
War was unavoidable.
"Is it enough with just Sengoku alone? The Byrnndi Pirates are not that easy to deal with."
Tsuru felt a little worried.
Facing Byrnndi World, this strong enemy, Sengoku didn't have the ability to suppress Byrnndi World.
"Leaving it to Sengoku is no problem."
Kong nodded confidently.
As his heir, Kong gave this mission to Sengoku.
For him, it was also a form of training.
And the main reason was that the number of usable people in the Marines was not large now.
For Kong, the only one who possessed powerful combatant strength while also having free time was Sengoku alone.
Twenty thousand military strength was temporarily still enough.
It wasn't that Kong didn't want to send more people; the losses from last year's war were too great, and next year's military budget was very likely to be reduced.
Kong had to consider these aspects.
"Didn't expect it would be like this. Then the North Blue and West Blue are no longer safe. The Calm Belt's role has already weakened significantly."
The impression of the Calm Belt serving as a natural barrier, separating the Grand Line and the Four Seas, was somewhat deeply ingrained.
The Marines didn't even think of this aspect at first.
The Byrnndi Pirates' operation made Tsuru realize this point.
Even the Rocks Pirates attacked the Four Seas this way back then.
By deliberately wanting to forget that dark era, they had unconsciously overlooked this point.
The difference was that back then, the Rocks Pirates relied on Shiki "The Golden Lion"'s ability to pass through the Calm Belt.
But now, the Byrnndi Pirates relied on the ship's own special structure.
In the Calm Belt, aside from Areas with Islands where the magnetic field was normal, there was no wind on the sea surface.
Even birds found it very difficult to fly in the Sky for a long time.
No wind also meant that sails lost their role.
In the past, if one mistakenly entered the Calm Belt, ships would only stop on the sea surface, unable to move, and would ultimately only become food for sea kings.
But now, in recent years, pirate ships have added propulsion devices.
Through human power, they could turn the propeller to sail on the Great Sea.
Such technology existed very early on, however, the distribution of technology on the Great Sea was very unbalanced, and it only began to spread in recent years.
With this technology, sailing in the Calm Belt was not an impossible thing.
For most Pirate Crews, the Calm Belt was still a Forbidden Land like Hell.
But in the eyes of those powerful Overlord-level Great Pirates, passing through the Calm Belt was no longer a difficult thing.
Powerful Conqueror's Haki was enough to deter most sea kings.
After realizing this point, the degree of danger in the Four Seas would increase significantly.
Because now there was one more sea route to leave the New World.
The Byrnndi Pirates' operation had a considerable impact in the New World.
They didn't expect Byrnndi World to have such great boldness, directly charging into the West Blue without cooperating with any Faction.
The Byrnndi Pirates had gone out in full force, not leaving any personnel to guard their Territory.
The hundreds of Islands they originally occupied seemed to have suddenly become "ownerless."
However, before the dust settled on everything, other Factions didn't dare to act rashly.
As long as the Byrnndi Pirates were still fine, the Byrnndi Pirates' flag still flew on these Islands.
The Tyrant Dragon Pirates took no operation.
The Whitebeard Pirates' unusual movement was kept down by Whitebeard.
The war between the four Pirate Crews was still fierce.
(end of chapter)