Chapter 66: "The Blaster" Wendigo
"The Marines are starting their counterattack."
"But we don't know who their target is."
Several Marine warships secretly sailed towards the Great Sea, led by Admiral "Daytime Tiger" Davis.
This news was secretly passed to Hades.
He was inside a tavern.
Gently swirling a glass of red wine in his hand, the surrounding pirates didn't dare to approach him at all.
With the end of the battle on Kent Island, Hades's bounty reached 120 million Beli for the first time.
And Titan also had a bounty of 100 million Beli.
It could be said that Hades and Titan had become completely famous, stepping on the heads of Marine Vice Admirals to reach the heavens in a single step.
The vast majority of pirates didn't dare to easily provoke them.
As for the few who delusionally tried to use them as stepping stones, their corpses were already hanging outside the door.
He was a little curious about which unlucky soul the Marines had set their sights on.
Since they were making a move, they would definitely have full confidence.
After all, the Marines held the intelligence and the initiative, allowing them to allocate combat power specifically.
Accidents like Hades were simply few and far between.
As for the Rocks Pirates' reaction upon receiving the news, when they couldn't determine the target the Marines intended to strike, it could only be said that there was none.
The nature of the Rocks Pirates meant that they were always the proactive type; passive defense was extremely inefficient.
Moreover, without even knowing the target, they could only act like headless flies.
Pirates also clearly didn't have that much patience.
What's more, the camaraderie among the members of the Rocks Pirates was pitifully scarce.
Who would be willing to clash with the Marines for a pirate they had no real connection with?
Hades didn't care about this.
All along the way, they were heading towards Hachinosu.
They were about five days away from reaching the main base of the Rocks Pirates.
"Let's go, Titan."
Hades wore a black cloak, concealing his body.
The demonic scythe stood diagonally behind him, making him resemble a Grim Reaper from the mortal world.
Titan was still wearing armor.
The two hammers hanging at his side didn't affect his movements at all.
Three Marine warships quietly arrived in the Sea Area where Flame Island was located.
"Captain, this is bad! The Marines are here."
"The Blaster" Wendigo was excitedly celebrating with his crew members, his arms wrapped around two scantily clad beauties.
Suddenly, this shocking news arrived.
In the entire banquet area, everyone instantly sobered up.
"Captain, let's quickly ask the Rocks Pirates for reinforcements." A member said somewhat anxiously.
Although the Marines could only temporarily avoid confrontation in front of the Rocks Pirates, that was the Rocks Pirates; it didn't represent them.
The Marines were still a colossal entity to them.
After hearing the news, their hearts trembled.
Since the Marines dared to come, they would definitely send out very powerful combat power, and the target was them.
"It's no use, it's already too late." Wendigo shook his head.
He knew exactly what kind of people were on that ship, and he was the same.
Saying this, Wendigo stood up and tossed the women in his arms aside.
The two women fled in terror and panic.
With the Marines arriving, staying here would likely result in being caught in the crossfire.
"My lads, we're preparing to retreat!"
Wendigo shouted loudly.
"Where there's life, there's hope!"
"That's right, run!"
"I haven't even finished spending my treasure yet!"
.
.
.
The entire banquet area was chaotic yet orderly.
Time was pressing, and each pirate grabbed things important to them.
Fleeing from the Marines was not shameful at all.
"Targeted strike! Destroy all visible ships along the Coast, cutting off The Blaster's hope of escape."
Admiral "Daytime Tiger" issued the order.
Davis would not allow this mission to fail.
The failure of the previous mission had left him extremely embarrassed, and his prestige within the Marines had also declined somewhat.
"Yes, Admiral."
If there was anyone who benefited most from the improvement in artillery accuracy, it was naturally the Marines.
The Marines' systematic training was enough to cultivate a large number of excellent gunners.
Furthermore, some Marine Soldiers who originally seemed ordinary gained promotion because of their outstanding ability with artillery.
This greatly enhanced the Marines' firepower at sea, and the status of gunners also began to gradually rise.
The true battlefield for gunners, however, was actually the Four Seas and the First Half of the Grand Line, where overall strength was lower.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With just three rounds of artillery, all the ships at the Flame Island dock were destroyed.
And the Blaster Pirates, who had rushed over, had grim expressions.
"Quickly ask the Rocks Pirates for reinforcements."
Wendigo said to his subordinates.
He selectively forgot what he had said earlier.
He had already seen who the leading Marine was.
Admiral "Daytime Tiger" Davis!
At this moment, he could only fight to the death, placing his hope in the support of the Rocks Pirates.
As long as the Rocks Pirates' support arrived, he would have a chance to survive.
"You all stay here and maintain the artillery bombardment! Don't worry about my presence."
Davis gave an instruction, then stepped on Moonwalk and shot out like a cannonball, rapidly charging towards Flame Island, intending to deal with the Blaster Pirates by himself.
The Marines' firepower would continue to bombard the Blaster Pirates incessantly.
Once the cannonballs were used up, the Blaster Pirates and the pirates on the Island would be mostly dealt with.
Then, the Marines could land and sweep, minimizing losses as much as possible.
And he was confident in his strength.
He didn't need to worry about cannonballs causing him harm at all.
Having learned from the previous lesson, Davis strictly demanded himself to perfectly complete this operation.
In the entire Blaster Pirates, the only one he needed to take seriously was "The Blaster" Wendigo.
"Wendigo, you're not getting away! Come with me obediently to Impel Down to live out the rest of your life. That is your final destination."
Davis stared intently at Wendigo, his entire body radiating a terrifying aura like a wild beast.
Making the members of the Blaster Pirates feel immense pressure, as if they were being targeted by something terrifying.
And Davis's body gradually changed.
His body grew significantly taller, becoming stronger, muscles bulging.
Golden fur grew on his body, and a tail grew out behind him.
His hands turned into sharp claws, and two saber-like fangs seemed capable of tearing everything apart.
From the very beginning, Davis had not thought of holding back.
The reason he suffered such a great loss at Shiki's hands was largely related to him underestimating Shiki at the beginning.
Now, he just wanted to decisively deal with "The Blaster" Wendigo.
"Daytime Tiger, a guy who was humiliated by that Shiki kid, what right do you have to yell in front of me?"
Though losing in terms of momentum, and despite being at a disadvantage against Davis, Wendigo's words were still sharp.
And he wasn't wrong.
In the Rocks Pirates, he was also Shiki's senior, having joined the Rocks Pirates several years earlier.
However, Shiki caught up in just a few short years, reaching the same status as him.
Normally, saying this would have been fine, but not here.
If it were within the Rocks Pirates and Shiki heard it, they would inevitably have a good fight.
As soon as these words came out, Davis's expression instantly darkened.
Wendigo's words directly struck Davis's sore spot, equivalent to directly rubbing salt in his wound.
Now, Wendigo had officially become the second Pirate he hated most.
Without a word, he used only action to express his anger at this moment.
A afterimage lingered in place as Davis rapidly charged towards Wendigo.
His sharp claws tore through the air, tempered by flowing Armament Haki to be harder than steel.
Wendigo had already sensed that sharpness, but he didn't panic about it.
Armament Haki coating his fists, he instinctively punched towards the approaching Davis.
In terms of Armament Haki quality, he couldn't compare to Davis.
In terms of Haki application technique, he was also slightly weaker than Davis.
However, he was an Explosion-Explosion Fruit ability user.
In terms of destructive power, he was never inferior to anyone.
(end of chapter)