Chapter 115: Drought Comes To The Door
Whole Cake Island and Wano Country, one in the east and one in the west, while Eckmond Kingdom is precisely sandwiched in the northern territory between the two countries, so the visitors from both sides are also one from the east and one from the west. The Beasts Pirates approached from the east, with their fleet heading straight for Black Swan Island. Only by passing through here could they penetrate deep into the confidant territory of Eckmond Kingdom.
However,
When they saw the Pirate Guerilla Squad’s fleet patrolling in the sea area under Black Swan Island’s jurisdiction, the Beasts Pirates’ unstoppable momentum involuntarily paused, stopping on the outer sea without continuing forward.
This was not because they were afraid of Zephyr.
If Black Arm, this former Navy Admiral, was at his peak, they naturally wouldn’t dare to be the slightest bit negligent, but the current Black Arm was long past his former glory. BIG·MOM didn’t take this former opponent to heart. If not for worrying that harming Zephyr would attract the Navy’s crazy retaliation, plus Zephyr’s Pirate Guerilla Squad hadn’t come to trouble her, she wouldn’t have bothered with this old opponent.
The reason they were halting now had its own considerations. After all, this operation was originally intended to take advantage of the fire to rob, preparing to profit from the clash between Beasts and Black Prince, ruthlessly exploiting Eckmond Kingdom to make up for previous losses, and best of all, to damage that maritime transport network.
Of course, the latter was not something easily achievable. The current maritime transport network was already established, spanning dozens of sea areas in the New World. Even destroying a few branches would at most cause temporary trouble; it was just a fleeting thought for Perospero and the others.
The topic has strayed a bit. In short, the Beasts Pirates coming here this time was not to take the blame for Beasts. It was just because Whole Cake Island was a bit closer to Eckmond Kingdom, so they arrived at Black Swan Island first. If they acted first because of this and attracted Black Prince, it wouldn’t align with the reason for taking advantage of the fire to rob.
Not to mention the Pirate Guerilla Squad led by Zephyr blocking the way on the sea, even without them, the Beasts Pirates wouldn’t easily land on Black Swan Island. Only after confirming that Black Prince and Beasts had clashed would be the best time to act.
“Black Arm Zephyr, I didn’t expect this old guy to be blocking here······” Charlotte Snack, the least senior among the Four Sweet Generals of the Beasts Pirates, stood at the ship’s bow, gazing at the warships flying the seagull flag in the distant sea.
“Just an outdated old guy, no need to take him to heart.”
A man wearing heavy armor walked over and stood beside Snack.
“Cracker brother, have you fought that Black Arm before?” Sensing the hint of resentment hidden in his brother’s words, Snack couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked.
He was not very old, only twenty-six now, more than a dozen years younger than brothers like Katakuri and Cracker. Unlike Cracker, who had been tempered by wind and rain, when he grew up, BIG·MOM had already established the might of a Pirate Emperor.
However, among the younger generation of siblings, he was the most ambitious one. Just look at so many brothers and sisters; only he had risen to the rank of General, expanding the three Generals to four, standing alongside Katakuri, Cracker, and Smoothie.
He was quite interested in those past years of struggle, but unfortunately, the older brothers and sisters were not easy to talk to, and they were all busy with matters, rarely having the leisure to chat idly.
“That old man was very powerful before.”
Cracker did not deny it.
He had indeed crossed paths with Zephyr. In the past, the Beasts Pirates had been relentlessly pursued by the Navy. Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr were the three carriages of the Navy in sweeping pirates. He was young at the time but had already followed Brother Katakuri into battle.
However, back then, he could only spar with colonels in the Navy. In front of Zephyr, he couldn’t even withstand one move. During one major battle, just being grazed by Zephyr’s fist shockwave left him bedridden for over half a month before he could get up, leaving him with an indelible memory.
“But that was only before. Now······ hmph hmph, without Mom making a move, I alone can trap that old guy.”
“Black Arm······”
A fiery gleam filled Snack’s eyes.
He really wanted to test the weight of this former Navy Admiral’s fists.
Cracker saw it but said nothing. With Snack’s abilities, he naturally wouldn’t be Zephyr’s opponent, but with Mom here and him here, even if they lost, it wouldn’t matter; it would just serve as tempering for this highly motivated younger brother.
Of course,
All of this presupposed that Black Prince and Beasts fought first, and to an irreconcilable degree.
————
“Teacher, the Beasts Pirates have stopped on the outer sea with no movement.”
“As long as they don’t approach Black Swan Island, ignore them. Tell the scouts to be careful. If the Beasts Pirates make any moves, don’t try to fight head-on; avoid them as much as possible. As long as the information gets through, minimize unnecessary casualties.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve instructed them many times.”
Ain agreed. She stood in front of the desk, silent for two seconds, then hesitantly spoke, “Um, teacher, I don’t know······”
“You want to ask about the situation with Prince Elus?” Zephyr guessed his student’s thoughts.
“Yes.”
Ain nodded.
The reason she cared about the situation with Elus was still because of Teacher Zephyr. After all, based on their judgment, if Elus could repel Beasts in a short time, the Beasts Pirates here might also retreat accordingly. Conversely, if Elus fell into a bitter fight, Teacher Zephyr would surely clash with the Beasts Pirates.
“Elus has left Eckmond Kingdom’s borders.”
Zephyr revealed the latest intelligence.
Since Elus had invited Zephyr to help watch the Beasts Pirates, even using the Hogyoku’s power to cure Zephyr’s malignancy, he naturally wanted to take this opportunity to build a good relationship with Zephyr, laying the groundwork for recruiting him later. The two had exchanged personal Den Den Mushi numbers and had been sharing intelligence these days.
“Left······ Planning to meet them outside the borders?”
“Correct. Prince Elus doesn’t want to damage his own territory and plans to face that monster Kaido on a deserted island.” Battles at this level had the power to destroy islands. Zephyr himself had damaged several deserted islands in past fights.
He quite admired Elus’s choice.
No matter how many setbacks and torments he had suffered these years, he still held to his original intent. Suppressing pirates was not his pursuit; protecting ordinary civilians living normal lives was his obsession. He fought not to destroy, but to safeguard people’s peace and joy.
Agreeing to help Elus watch the Beasts Pirates was partly to repay the favor of curing his malignancy, but also out of worry that the Beasts Pirates would rampage and kill freely in Eckmond Kingdom.
“No matter what, I absolutely won’t let these villains run wild.”
Zephyr clenched his fist.
————
Sand and stones everywhere, rocky peaks standing tall.
This was a summer island with little life, a deserted island with no human habitation. Aside from rocky peaks of various sizes, there was scant vegetation, and without plants’ nourishment, there were naturally no living creatures—not even many insects, let alone people.
Yet this island was quite vast. If it had springs and vegetation, it could probably sustain tens of thousands of people.
Unfortunately, nearby kingdoms had surveyed this deserted island multiple times but found no freshwater springs. Without sufficient freshwater, it was impossible to transform this deserted island into a habitable place for humans. However, such an inhospitable place was perfect as a battlefield.
Conveniently, this deserted island lay right on the Beasts Pirates’ must-pass route to Eckmond Kingdom.
Elus had chosen this spot, arriving first to set up formations, and proactively sent someone to contact the Beasts Pirates, issuing a challenge to Beasts. He made it clear that if Beasts dared bypass here and attack Eckmond Kingdom directly, he would likewise go to Wano Country and sink it into the deep sea.
“Your Highness, will Beasts really come proactively?”
Fran asked worriedly.
This deserted island was said to be on the Beasts Pirates’ must-pass route to Eckmond Kingdom, but with an Eternal Pose in hand, they could bypass it without fear of getting lost. The Beasts Pirates could simply avoid Elus and charge straight into Eckmond Kingdom’s mainland.
“They definitely will come.”
Elus nodded.
“Beasts’ target is me, the maritime transport network, not Eckmond. He’s probably here this time to take advantage of the Navy’s inability to scheme in the New World, to subdue me. Even if he can’t kill me, as long as he defeats me, he can draw those opportunistic followers under us to his side.”
The maritime transport network had spread such a vast network in the New World. Excluding the Four Emperors’ territories and special places like Elbaf Giant Kingdom, basically all inhabited islands were encompassed. This vast net connected the New World’s isolated, scattered sea areas.
What enormous profits this represented was clear as day to anyone not blind or brainless.
BIG·MOM wanted to take advantage of the fire to rob precisely because the maritime transport network’s expansion affected Whole Cake Island’s interests, and she coveted the massive profits it brought, leading to this action. In fact, the maritime transport network not only brought Elus rich profits but also benefited the participating countries greatly.
What the maritime transport network did was not plunder or dumping, but mutual exchange of goods.
However, though the profits were huge, it wasn’t entirely stable. Operating the maritime transport network spanning most of the New World required enormous manpower, which even Eckmond Kingdom lacked to fully control.
What Elus did was have his aides use fists to subdue the kingdoms in various sea areas, integrating them with martial power to form the current maritime transport network.
But as the saying goes, what builds it can also destroy it. Elus used martial power to forge the maritime transport network, so similarly, anyone who could defeat Elus could naturally recruit or force many to switch sides. Even if unable to fully replicate the current network, it would still yield sufficient profits.
Elus knew exactly what Beasts was plotting.
To be precise,
Beasts’ action this time was within his expectations. His malicious purchases of Zoan Devil Fruits on the black market gave Beasts a pretext to act, but it was also Elus’s opportunity to engage Beasts. That’s right—Elus had deliberately provoked Beasts to come.
“Then, Your Highness······ are you confident of winning?”
Fran asked softly.
“Haha, Fran, do you think I’ll lose?” Elus laughed.
“······Probably not?”
Fran answered uncertainly.
Even with the record of fighting BIG·MOM to a draw—which she had witnessed firsthand—Beasts Kaido was hailed as the strongest in single combat, a universally acknowledged fact that even the other Four Emperors never denied.
“Whether I can win, I’m not certain.” Elus spread his hands. Though he had the Hogyoku, at this point, climbing to higher realms relying on it wasn’t easy. With the souls absorbed so far, it was still far from enough!
“But I definitely won’t lose.”
Even if temporarily unable to ascend to higher realms, the Hogyoku’s power was enough to ensure Elus remained invincible.
Besides,
He had no intention of fighting Kaido to the death anyway, and he believed that sly guy Beasts wouldn’t really play any no-holds-barred deathmatch with him either. Many knew Kaido’s hobby was suicide, but if he really wanted to die, why escape from the Navy’s prison ship?
And even if he misjudged, it would just be a proper contest with Kaido, with no great loss.
At that moment,
Someone came over.
“Your Highness, the Beasts Pirates’ vanguard has reached twenty sea miles away. According to the intelligence, the arrival is the Beasts Pirates’ top executive, [Drought] Jack.” The rushing attendant reported the obtained intelligence faithfully.
“Kaido hasn’t come?” Elus asked.
“Beasts should still be behind. The vanguard only spotted Drought.”
“Only one Drought? Looks like it’s not yet time for me to act. Go notify Dillon; this battle is his to handle. I want to see whether the Beasts Pirates’ top executive is stronger or my handpicked aide.”
The attendant withdrew and rushed off to notify Dillon.
Soon, a warship detached from the fleet, sailed out of the port, and sped toward the direction from which the Beasts Pirates were coming.
Elus stood on the flagship’s deck, gazing deeply at the departing warship. He had spared no effort using the Hogyoku’s power to cultivate his aides; this time was perfect to see if his efforts had been wasted. The Beasts Pirates’ top executive was the ideal touchstone.
