Chapter 243: Thunderclap
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several cannonballs landed around the Beasts Pirates main ship, splashing up large sprays of water.
Although none hit directly, the impact of the cannonball explosions still caused the ship to shake violently.
On the deck, Burufaruto, unsteady on his feet, grabbed the ship’s railing and then hurriedly glanced at Kaido, who was still covered in flames.
After seeing that neither the other nor Ra had been affected much, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, then furrowed his brows and immediately ordered to fire back.
“Damn it! Fire back, fire back at them!”
“Sink them at the fastest speed!”
“Don’t let them interfere with Boss Kaido’s treatment!”
The enemies had appeared suddenly, catching them off guard.
Fortunately, the opponent’s firepower wasn’t strong; they were probably just here to delay them.
But since they had played this hidden card, it meant the opponent’s main fleet was about to arrive soon, while Kaido was still in treatment…
As he was pondering, he heard the gunner shout in some panic:
“It’s no good, Brother Burufaruto, we can’t aim in time!”
“Those strange ships surface, fire one shot, then dive straight into the sea—we can’t catch them at all!”
“Tch!”
He punched the ship’s railing, Burufaruto fuming inside.
Their warships’ firepower far exceeded the opponent’s, but the enemies avoided direct conflict, using those small boats that could submerge for guerrilla tactics, which truly disgusted him.
“Hm…”
But glancing at Kaido still in treatment, Burufaruto forcibly suppressed his anger and ordered:
“Have all the remaining ships close in, surround the main ship under my feet in the center, then ignore those sneak attackers and advance at full speed!”
“This…”
“Go, now!”
“Yes!”
With the Navy intelligence group’s scout ships’ weak firepower, truly sinking a warship wasn’t easy.
So Burufaruto thought to use the remaining fleet ships as shields, sacrificing pawns to protect the king.
After all, ships could be rebuilt if lost, but if something happened to Kaido, the Beasts Pirates would be done for.
……
“Hm? Formation changed?”
In front of the periscope, the new chief of intelligence saw the Beasts Pirates ships mobilizing and immediately guessed Burufaruto’s intent.
“I see… quite decisive.”
“Pirates from the New World are indeed different!”
He hadn’t seen this kind of resolute personality much among pirates from the Four Seas.
“Officer, what do we do now?”
“What to do, hm… Pass the order: everyone change targets, aim at their sails.”
Stroking the beard on his chin, the experienced chief of intelligence quickly came up with a countermeasure.
“Sails?”
The intelligence group soldier handling communications was somewhat puzzled.
“That’s right. Our goal was just to hold them up anyway, until Admiral Sengoku arrives to net them all.”
“Now they’ve clustered together, out of reach of their main ship—so let’s just shred their sails and force their speed down.”
Ships in this world were mostly sailboats; the larger the ship, the larger and more complex its sails as power sources.
Those huge, thin, fragile sails were undoubtedly easier targets than the hull… no great firepower needed, just a few cannonballs could ignite them.
And this move indeed hit Burufaruto’s soft spot.
With the Beasts Pirates ships gathered on his orders, the Navy scout ships’ hit rate soared; in just minutes, two escort warships’ sails caught fire, their speed dropping sharply.
……
Bang!
Bang!
“Put out the fire quick!”
“Two more cannonballs incoming! Someone intercept them!”
“Keep up with the ships ahead, don’t break formation!”
“No good, the main sail’s burning, not enough power!”
Chaotic shouts came from the left-wing escort ships, making Burufaruto frown tightly.
Scattered explosion sounds rang in his ears, the thick gunpowder smell stirring his mind into chaos.
“Brother Burufaruto, what do we do?!”
“Seventh and fifth teams’ sails are hit; they can’t keep up with the formation now.”
“If we keep this speed, our left wing will be exposed!”
“The main ship might face direct attacks again!”
Looking at the two warships marked “5” and “7” on their ship’s railings gradually falling behind, Taolong asked anxiously.
“Hm, this…”
“Please make a decision quickly!”
“I… let me think.”
Burufaruto was clearly thrown off by this move from the opponent.
Though he tried maintaining a calm facade, Kaido’s coma and the urgency of the Navy’s large fleet catching up had already turned his mind upside down.
Before, he just followed Kaido’s orders, defeating enemies without thinking—no need for anything else.
But now, with the huge pressure of the Beasts Pirates’ survival suddenly upon him, even as the only reliable adult male executive among them, he couldn’t help hesitating.
Subconsciously glancing at Ra with his peripheral vision, he saw her still calm, the flames under her palm steady without a flicker, as if utterly unaware of the crisis.
“Hoo~”
Retracting his gaze, taking a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit, Burufaruto immediately decided to keep advancing.
No matter the harassment or provocation, his task was singular—to get this main ship as far away as possible, buying more time for Kaido to wake.
“Pass my order: abandon ship five and ship seven, continue full speed ahead!”
“Yes—”
Bang!
Just as Taolong personally grabbed signal flags to relay the order to the executives, a small-caliber bullet seized the gap, directly hitting the main ship’s left side, sending wood chips flying across the deck!
……
“Woo yeah! Hit! That fifty thousand Belly is mine!”
Inside a Navy scout ship, the gunner who fired that shot had a cigarette in his mouth, sweeping a pile of Belly from the table into his arms.
With the Beasts Pirates abandoning return fire, these intelligence personnel leisurely started a betting pool.
It could only be said that though the top chief of intelligence had changed, the time was too short; the previous chief’s ‘fine tradition’ still prevailed among New World intelligence personnel.
“Haha! Who’d have thought the Beasts Pirates fleet would be sent scurrying by our scout ships!”
“They don’t even dare fire back—what a bunch of cowards!”
Another intelligence personnel on the ship mocked while drinking booze bought with funds.
This scene of a few hyenas biting a giant dragon into silence, stomping superiors underfoot, greatly stimulated their vanity and some twisted emotions.
Turns out even those infamous sea overlords had times when small fries like them could chase them around~
Had to seize the chance to humiliate them properly!
“Tch! You got damn lucky~”
Another intelligence personnel who lost money in the cabin unhappily shoved the table, then kicked a protruding water pipe, shaking the whole ship.
“Hey, you idiot! This ship’s valuable—don’t break it and get us in trouble!”
“What’re you afraid of? Just say it was the enemy; claim reimbursement from above! Might as well cover what I just lost too.”
That intelligence personnel said carelessly.
“Heh~ Things aren’t like before.”
“This new boss isn’t easy to fool; he’s pinching the funds tight—no more easy pickings~”
“Damn, that pisses me off!”
“Just a hick from ‘Paradise’ riding roughshod over us!”
Smack!
Tossing his uniform hat aside, that intelligence personnel went straight to the gunner’s position.
“Move, let me fire a few rounds!”
“What bullshit Beasts Pirates, watch me directly—”
Crack—BOOM!!!
Without warning, a thunder dragon dozens of meters wide crashed down!
The Navy intelligence member itching to fire for venting hadn’t even touched the cannon before he, the scout ship, and countless surrounding seawater were directly vaporized by the thunder from above!
At the same time, as if a god enraged, over a dozen similar golden thunderbolts thundered from the heavens at lightning speed, precisely blasting the submerged scout ships into carbon.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! … Boom!
No one reacted; in an instant, these intelligence personnel were erased from the world.
After the thunder’s feast, the chaotic sea surface gained many thunder-struck sea holes dozens of meters wide.
Countless seawater surged into them madly, yet seemed forever unable to fill the god’s lingering fury.
……
A white little boot landed on the Beasts Pirates main ship’s deck; the crew looked up, seeing only a mass of crimson starlight.
Even sensing mid-journey that someone’s soul had been pulled back from the Underworld gate, Aoxi still didn’t exit ‘Super Meteoric Burst’, continuing at this high-load state to rush over.
She needed to know what happened at utmost speed.
Under everyone’s gaze, she waved away the ‘sweat’ steaming from her, spotting Kaido in ‘cremation’ at a glance, then heavily sighed in relief inwardly.
【All good.】
Slightly calming her still-trembling divine power core, Aoxi turned her golden eyes to Burufaruto, who looked like he’d seen a savior.
“So? What’s the situation with Boss Kaido now?”
“And why not fire back when attacked?”
“Weren’t you guys too pathetic while I was gone?”
“Uh… well, this…”
Burufaruto was a bit embarrassed; though it was for the big picture, being chased by scout ships was indeed humiliating.
“Cough~ It’s like this, Aoxi…”
Roughly explaining the situation since the battle started, Burufaruto helplessly summarized:
“The Navy’s large fleet could appear behind us anytime; I really didn’t dare stop to tangle with those fly-like guys.”
“Oh~ I see. Didn’t expect you, Uncle Burufaruto, to have such an enduring side… Able to stretch and retract, truly a real man!”
Aoxi nodded, praising in a strange tone.
“Haha~ Your uncle I isn’t that dissa… Hm? Wait!”
“Stretch and retract… you little brat, aren’t you slyly calling me a turtle?”
“Huh? No way? Turtles retract into shells too, right~ Don’t be so paranoid.”
“…”
Burufaruto frowned, thought, then nodded.
“Hm… fair point.”
“Then thanks for the compliment.”
In just two sentences, Burufaruto felt the suffocating pressure in his heart magically dissolve into nothing.
In high spirits, he waved his hand grandly.
“All ships, spread out again! We continue—”
“Turn around! Full speed charge at the Navy fleet behind!”
Before Burufaruto finished, Aoxi announced her order even louder.
“Eh?! Aoxi, you… we should pull away from the Navy now and wait for Boss Kaido to wake.”
“Ha? Why?”
“Knowing the enemies are right behind, why run? Of course turn and face them head-on!”
“But the Navy Admiral…”
“Heh~ Just one admiral, should I dodge his edge?”
Aoxi glanced at the silent Ra, then crossed her arms arrogantly.
“No…”
Burufaruto wanted to say more, but Taolong beside him suddenly called out.
“Brother Burufaruto.”
“Hm?”
Burufaruto looked over, seeing him not continue speaking, just gesturing with his eyes to look around…
Everywhere he looked, the other Beasts Pirates crew members on the ship were watching him quietly.
These crew members’ faces looked somewhat—no, very disheveled.
From the battle with the Wald Pirates, the aftermath of Kaido vs. Wald, plus the recent flight… they should be very disheveled.
But unlike the expected exhaustion and dejection, after Aoxi’s bold words, Burufaruto clearly saw only—battle!!! in their gazes.
No matter the opponent, just close in!
They were Beasts Pirates; slinking away was never their style!
“Jeez… you guys.”
“Fine, Boss Kaido would probably give the same order when he wakes anyway. So…”
Burufaruto grinned wildly, raising his right fist and commanding loudly:
“Pass my order: all warships turn around! We’re going to meet the legendary Navy Admiral!”
“Oh!!!”*n
“Well~ That’s more like it.”
Seeing the whole crew pumped up, Aoxi nodded satisfied, then spread her wings to go ahead.
“I’ll go meet that so-called admiral first; follow slowly, Uncle Burufaruto.”
“Hm, be careful; if you can’t win, just run.”
Burufaruto trusted Aoxi’s speed; if she wanted to flee, even an admiral probably couldn’t stop her.
“Also, if you see Jhin, tell him Ra’s treating Boss Kaido—have him hurry back to rendezvous.”
“Got~~~ it~~”
Aoxi’s reply came carried by the sea breeze from afar; her figure was already out of sight.
“Eh~ A Navy Admiral, huh. This is our pirate crew’s first direct face-off with this level of opponent.”
After seeing Aoxi off and calming down, Burufaruto couldn’t help worrying a bit.
After all, that was the Navy’s publicly strongest combat power, the sole admiral left after Zephyr stepped back.
A man’s fame, a tree’s shadow—the opponent wasn’t someone to handle lightly… plus this time with a joint fleet far larger than theirs.
“Will we win?”
“We will win.”
Responding to Burufaruto was a familiar ethereal voice.
