Grand Line, Stanting Kingdom, they had no idea they were already being targeted by the Hundred Beasts of the New World, and it was their fleet used to combat pirates that was being watched.
"Your Majesty, this is Orlen Booth's report for the year. They've found a treasure and dealt with some competitors. The corresponding items have been sent to the national treasury."
Orlen Booth, the fleet captain hired by the Stanting Kingdom, the actual controller of the Yotamaria Grand Fleet, known on the sea as the "crafty adventurer killer."
He had an agreement with the Stanting Kingdom; they provided him with logistics and supplies, while he was responsible for naval battles.
This included but was not limited to treasure hunting, combating pirates, and eliminating competitors.
"Not bad, it seems this deal was the right choice. With Orlen Booth, the country's income has been steadily rising, so we won't have to tighten our belts after paying the Heavenly Tribute."
"Your Majesty is wise. By the way, Your Majesty, a group of pirates has plundered our island in the east and still occupies it. The garrison has already requested reinforcements several times..."
"Send Orlen Booth to reinforce them. I don't need to teach you about such trivial matters, do I?"
"Yes, understood."
The Yotamaria Grand Fleet didn't always need to deploy all at once. Due to the tasks from the Stanting Kingdom, they would sometimes divide their forces. For example, this time, Orlen Booth led twelve ships and over a thousand crew members towards the destination.
The island in question, although detached, was still part of the Stanting Kingdom's territory. Due to historical reasons, many countries weren't a contiguous whole, and large landmasses like Alabasta were rare.
Even if much of it was desert, it was still solid territory, which was extremely rare in this world. No one would complain about having too large a landmass, and occupying some archipelagos was common.
...
"Sir, I've already sent out the distress call as you asked. Can you let me go now..."
At this time, the island requesting reinforcements had already been occupied, and the distress call was sent under the threat of the Hundred Beasts, with the intent to lure their support fleet over.
"Throw him in prison and let them deal with him later."
Ignoring the man's words, the pirates of the Hundred Beasts threw him back into the island's prison for further watch.
"Brother Jack, is it really necessary to go to such trouble? We could just attack them directly, couldn't we?"
"Yes, Brother Jack, I've never heard of any renowned strong person here."
The pirates nearby didn't understand why they had to besiege and ambush; they should have just blocked and attacked.
"Brother Kaido said to ensure stable and sustainable development. The nearby areas are home to the Navy's G1 and G-5 branches. If they rush over, it would be hard to take the ships."
A flagrant attack on an allied nation would likely prompt them to call for Navy reinforcements. He wasn't afraid of the Navy; he didn't believe those Navy forces could do anything to him. A simple kingdom wouldn't warrant an intervention from a Headquarter Admiral.
But if they got tangled up, it would be quite difficult to take the ships away.
"And we need to prevent scaring them off, or what should we do in the future? Making them think we don't dare attack their homeland would make it easier to act."
"But Brother Jack, what if the Navy does come after receiving the news?"
"Then sink them. They're just the Navy; do you know who I am?"
Under Mandfeish's friendly guidance, Jack understood what caution meant, but deep down, he remained a brute to the core. With someone advising him, he'd proceed cautiously, but if something unexpected happened, he would end it violently.
"Alright, you guys arrange the manpower. Oh, and get me some strawberries, fresh ones."
"Already prepared, Brother Jack. This island's kitchen has everything, no wonder so many nobles come here for vacation."
Ginrummy handed over a basket of fresh strawberries, Alcremie's lunch for the day. Having sailed the sea for quite some time, strawberries weren't easy to preserve, so it had been a long time since it last had fresh strawberries.
"You said it wrong. It's precisely because nobles vacation here that the logistical supply is so well-equipped. Remember to extract a good sum from them."
"Yes."
Unrelated people were driven out, leaving Jack alone to feed Alcremie, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements.
...
"Admiral! We're almost there!"
"What about the enemy's identity?"
"Haven't seen it; they don't seem to have a pirate flag raised in the town..."
"Strange, are they really pirates occupying this place?"
Ordinary pirates, after occupying a town, would definitely hoist their pirate flag at the highest point, eager for everyone to know who took over. This anomaly made people feel uneasy.
"Admiral, should we continue advancing? Wait... Admiral! New situation, there are a few pirate ships moving around us, it seems they're trying to encircle us!"
"Attack as soon as we're in range. Only three ships, and they want to surround us?"
Orlen Booth issued his command, but as he finished speaking, he noticed the wind on the sea began to intensify, and then something intermittently struck his face, causing slight pain.
The sky started to darken, and slowly, the visibility was obstructed, leaving only vague silhouettes of ships in the distance.
"This... sandstorm????"
In all his years, he had never seen a sandstorm arise over the sea. Even with the volatile climate of the Grand Line, he had never witnessed such an outrageous weather condition.
This intense sandstorm was undoubtedly Tyranitar's doing, though without the energy of seastone, it was just an ordinary sandstorm. This way, the consumption was low, and the range of the sandstorm could be broader, enough to cover this small area of the sea about to become a battlefield.
"Hmm, the farthest left ship, Tyranitar, sink it."
"Tyranitar?"
Though not fully understanding why, Tyranitar chose to follow orders. It opened its mouth wide, and a Hyper Beam began to form.
"Brother Jack, why sink that ship? Isn't our mission to capture them back?"
"Hmph, Brother Kaido said to capture 10 ships back, but there are 12 here in total. Brother Kaido said just to take the ships and leave the people, so we'll leave one ship for them to sail back, to prevent scaring them off.
We'll make an example out of the remaining ship to scare them into submission, leaving just 10 ships.
Brother Kaido must have foreseen this situation, that's why he gave such orders."
Shaina took Arceus's words as divine instructions, and the same went for Jack. For those he admired from the bottom of his heart, Kaido was seen as all-powerful. So, he over-interpreted things, believing that by saying 10 ships, Kaido must have anticipated the scale of the opponent's reinforcements.
Far away on Ghost Island, Kaido had no idea that his casual estimate of a number led Jack to concoct such ideas...