Chapter 143: Decapitation Squad
Whether a miracle will happen is a matter for the future.
People living in the present can cast their gaze far ahead, but they cannot aim too high; no matter how far their eyes see, they still need to take one step at a time. Zephyr is still the Navy Chief Instructor for now, though he basically doesn’t handle affairs anymore, and all the new recruit training work is handled by his second-in-command.
Zephyr has shifted all his work focus to the Pirate Guerilla Squad.
However,
such a situation is already a thing of the past.
After dealing with Weibul and resolving his mental block, combined with Elus’s hidden ambition, Zephyr handed over the Pirate Guerilla Squad’s work to Ain to manage. With Elus’s assistance, there was no fear of any mishaps. He himself took Binz back to Marineford and reclaimed control of the Navy Chief Instructor position.
For no other reason than that if the Pirate Guerilla Squad didn’t want to be a flash in the pan, it needed a steady stream of fresh blood. And as Elus said, placing hope in the future—weren’t these Navy recruits the future? With proper planning, they could completely borrow a chicken to hatch eggs.
Use the Navy under the World Government to incubate a brand-new Navy force.
Elus wasn’t entirely confident it would succeed, but if Zephyr had no objections, it was worth trying. Even if it failed in the end, as long as they could pull as many Navy experts as possible to their side, it wouldn’t be a waste of effort.
······
Grand Line first half, Paradise.
The climate of the Desert Kingdom remained as oppressively hot as ever. The gales on the Gobi whistled tirelessly, kicking up fine yellow sand and dust that blotted out the sky and sun. This made Dillon, who was used to the vast blue sea, quite unaccustomed to it. Deserts existed in the New World too, but they were tiny ones, completely different from this vast desert that seemed boundless.
“Ptoo ptoo!”
Spitting out the sand in his mouth, Dillon had no choice but to wrap his headscarf back on.
He wasn’t used to this outfit that wrapped his head up tight, but the desert wind and sand quickly taught him that local attire developed for good reasons. He didn’t like having his head bundled up like a hammer, but compared to eating a mouthful of windblown sand, this minor discomfort was nothing.
He was riding on the back of a burly Karoo.
This big fellow wearing a horned helmet was named “Cowboy,” a member of Alabasta’s special unit, the Super Karoo Unit.
Karoo are a unique creature native to the Alabasta Kingdom, nicknamed “Land Duck.” They can run through the desert at speeds even faster than galloping horses, making them the fastest animal in the Alabasta Kingdom. Plus, they are perceptive, loyal, and can be considered a quite renowned special unit of the Alabasta Kingdom.
Throughout Alabasta’s long history, traces of Karoo can be seen everywhere.
This time,
the operation to raid Crocodile’s lair again mobilized the Super Giant Duck Force.
That’s right, Dillon was on the road raiding the Sand Crocodile’s lair. Over a dozen Super Karoo charged wildly through the desert, kicking up smoke and dust wherever they went, like a long dragon winding through the desert.
Just as Elus resolved the issue on Black Thorn Flower Island, Dillon, who had arrived in the Alabasta Kingdom, discussed it several times with King Cobra and a few loyal kingdom ministers before finally settling on this Decapitation Plan.
That said,
in truth, it was Dillon’s idea. King Cobra originally didn’t want to use such an aggressive method. If they couldn’t take out the Sand Crocodile in one strike, once they truly tore off the facade, Alabasta might really plunge into even greater chaos.
By now, Baroque Works had grown too large to handle easily. Compared to the loosely organized Rebel Army, the strictly hierarchical Baroque Works that Crocodile established posed a greater threat.
But they couldn’t persuade Dillon.
Unlike Cobra and the others, Dillon wasn’t worried about this operation at all. Even if they couldn’t eliminate the trouble of Crocodile in one go, as long as he made public the alliance of friendship between the Alabasta Kingdom and the Eckmond Kingdom, he didn’t believe Crocodile would dare continue troubling the Alabasta Kingdom.
Based on absolute reverence and trust in Elus, he was determined to push forward with the Decapitation Plan to strike at the heart.
In the end,
Seeing no chance to persuade Dillon to opt for a gradual approach, Cobra even contacted Elus via Den Den Mushi, but Elus firmly supported his aide-de-camp, saying he believed Dillon’s judgment was correct and reasonable······
With no other choice,
Seeing that even without their support, Dillon was ready to act, Cobra could only adjust the plan, providing Dillon with full assistance—whatever he needed, he got. Even the scarce Super Karoo Unit was dispatched to him all at once.
It had to be said that King Cobra was indeed a pretty good king. Even with differences in ideology, he wouldn’t deliberately trip them up over such conflicts.
With King Cobra’s full cooperation, Dillon quickly made all preparations. Under the protection of over ten “highly skilled” helpers sent by Cobra, he set out from the capital Arubana toward Alabasta Kingdom’s newest dream city—Rain Base.
The kingdom’s largest casino, Rain Dinners, was located in this dream city, and it was precisely Crocodile’s lair.
“Lord Dillon, Rain Base is still an hour away.”
Princess Vivi loudly relayed the latest information.
This squad raiding Crocodile’s lair had a complex lineup: outsiders like Dillon, the princess, ministers, guards······ This wasn’t because King Cobra was unreliable; it was because this Princess Vivi was too lively.
She snuck out of the Royal Palace behind King Cobra’s back and joined this Decapitation squad. Then, the kingdom’s guard captain, Igaram, who chased after her, failed to persuade Princess Vivi to return to the palace, so he simply stayed as well.
Dillon offered no opinion.
A few more or fewer people made no difference to him. He hadn’t counted on them for any help in direct combat this time; gathering intelligence and handling logistics would suffice. Besides, everyone was riding Karoo anyway, so there was no worry about slowing down the group’s speed.
“One hour······ Everyone stop and rest for a quarter of an hour.”
Dillon patted the Karoo’s neck. This highly intelligent duck immediately halted its charge. This Karoo named “Cowboy” wasn’t the captain of the Super Karoo Unit; Princess Vivi’s Karoo named “Fast Runner” was the captain.
But who could argue when Dillon was now the core of the team!
When he chose to stop, all the other Karoo stopped as well.
No need to say more about resting—everyone dismounted, stretched their muscles, replenished water, and carefully tended to the ducks. The Super Karoo Unit was one of the Alabasta Kingdom’s elite units; though few in number, they always played a big role.
Even Dillon carefully fed “Cowboy” water and food. After just one ride, he had grown fond of these smart, reliable ducks that ran fast and steady. If they hadn’t been adapted to desert life, he might have asked if he could buy a few to take away.
“Mister Dillon, what if Crocodile gets the news and flees?”
After feeding Fast Runner some food, Princess Vivi felt a bit uneasy and subconsciously walked to Dillon’s side, asking softly.
“He’ll definitely get the news, but······ fleeing is another matter.”
Watching Cowboy drink, Dillon stroked its neck. A faint smile appeared on his stone-like, unsmiling face. “Based on your kingdom’s intelligence, Baroque Works has likely infiltrated every corner of the kingdom. My movements were probably exposed from the start.”
“Then, then······ why go through with the plan?”
Princess Vivi was a bit dazed.
When she sneaked out of the Royal Palace to join this Decapitation squad, she hadn’t thought that much, assuming Dillon planned to catch Crocodile off guard······ But it seemed that wasn’t the case?
“Crocodile won’t flee.”
Dillon stated with absolute certainty.
“I never intended to keep this operation secret from the start. On the contrary, the more people who know I’m coming for Crocodile, the better. For a guy like him who rules his subordinates through martial power, fleeing would only alienate them. And even if he escapes once, I’ll keep chasing him.”
For pirates,
reputation is something very intangible yet extremely practical.
To most pirates, reputation is like bounty—both measure a person’s strength. If their reputation is ruined and they’re seen as cowards, challengers will come like carp crossing the river, endlessly. Without enough heads and fresh blood to cleanse their tarnished signboard, they’ll always be in danger.
“But, but what if Crocodile rallies Baroque Works members to surround us?” The clever Princess quickly spotted the flaw in this open scheme.
This approach did force the enemy into direct combat by exploiting their need to maintain reputation, but the problem was that leaking the news too early gave the enemy time to prepare, making the operation more troublesome.
Unexpectedly—
“That would be perfect.”
Dillon grinned, revealing his row of clean, neat white teeth, as a terrifying, bloodthirsty beastly aura quietly emanated. “As long as I take out Crocodile and the rest of Baroque Works’ higher-ups, my mission is complete.”
“······”
Princess Vivi was speechless.
What he said······ was right!
At that moment,
Dillon suddenly turned his head.
Vivi keenly noticed that the direction Dillon looked was exactly toward Rain Base. With a faint premonition, Princess Vivi immediately raised her telescope, adjusted it slightly, and saw rolling smoke and dust appear in her view.
Quite a few were coming.
Such a massive cloud of dust suggested several hundred, even a thousand people.
“It’s Mr. 7, Mr. 8, Miss. Father’s Day······ and Million and Billion······” Princess Vivi had once boldly infiltrated Baroque Works for a time. Though she didn’t reach the core, she recognized quite a few people.
“Princess Vivi, there are too many enemies, and we’re too few. We need to avoid their edge for now.” Igaram also spotted this army of over a thousand, his face changing drastically. Their dozen or so couldn’t even match a fraction of them, so the kingdom’s guard captain immediately thought of retreating.
This wasn’t cowardice on his part, but because Princess Vivi was here.
He could die in battle, but Princess Vivi, as Alabasta’s sole heir, absolutely could not have any mishaps.
“Igaram, don’t worry. Mister Dillon is here!”
Princess Vivi was indeed panicked at the sight of so many enemies, but this clever girl glanced at Dillon standing motionless like an iron tower beside her, and her heart stirred. She had personally seen Dillon spar with Bell—that level of combat was beyond her normal cognition.
Perhaps,
with Dillon here, no need to retreat?
“Princess Vivi, rest assured. I won’t let these enemies get within a step of you.” Dillon bowed respectfully to Vivi, then straightened up, gently pushing aside the approaching Cowboy, and strode forward.
Under the gaze of over a dozen people and over a dozen Karoo, Dillon started with a brisk walk, accelerating until it unconsciously turned into a sprint. His upright bipedal form shifted to four hooves flying, a rhinoceros with a long massive sharp horn and thick fur charging wildly across the desert.
The charging behemoth didn’t escape the notice of Baroque Works’ army.
Seeing such a massive beast charging at them, this not-very-disciplined army fell into minor chaos, but Baroque Works’ strict, cold hierarchy allowed a small number of high-ranking agents to quickly suppress the unrest below.
Under orders, nearly a hundred Billion charged forward. They drove horses pulling heavy cannons, lining them up in front. Without waiting for the cannon-pulling warhorses to retreat far, the Million operating them immediately directed loading and firing, without even adjusting the elevation and azimuth.
This wasn’t because these Million were incompetent; mainly, Dillon charged too fast, leaving no time for trial shots. They could only rely on past experience to roughly aim the cannon, then load and fire.
The booming cannon fire echoed over the endless yellow sand.
Thick gunpowder smoke told the desert’s creatures that human war had erupted again.
