As the Sun Pirates arrived, Borsalino slowly reached out and took down the magazine covering his head.
His face still held that lazy expression, but his gaze, hidden behind his brown sunglasses, had already fixed on the gradually clearer dark silhouette.
He didn't directly order the Marine ship to move, but simply watched, watching that Fishman swim little by little into the large net he hadn't spent much effort setting up.
Borsalino stood up from his sun lounger, his bones emitting a series of faint cracking sounds, and stretched his neck like an old man who had just woken up.
"Alright~"
He drew out his words, his tone as lazy as if he had just woken from a beautiful dream:
"Time to get up and move around~"
Beside him, the young Marine, who was eager to make a name for himself, was now looking at his superior with a mixture of shock and bewilderment.
He couldn't understand how this Vice Admiral, who seemed to do nothing productive all day, had not only accurately predicted the Sun Pirates' route during this seemingly aimless voyage but also conveniently chosen such a natural ambush site.
But now was not the time to think about such things. The Marines on the warship held their breath, the entire ship hidden in the shadows, quietly observing the Sun Pirates approaching Gladstone Island.
Beside the makeshift dock on Gladstone Island, the Sun Pirates' ship had already dropped anchor and stopped.
"Hurry up!"
Fisher Tiger's booming voice rang out on the deck:
"Purchase according to the list, don't cause any trouble, we'll leave as soon as we resupply."
Jinbe nodded steadily, being the first to step onto the gangplank.
Arlong followed closely, clicking his tongue impatiently:
"Got it, Boss Tiger! What kind of trouble could there be on an island like this…"
Several Fishman crew members chatted and laughed, carrying empty wooden crates and cloth bags, forming a small team. They followed the two cadres along a familiar small path directly towards the town on the island.
Such resupply operations had been repeated countless times over the past three years.
They even knew which bakery in town had the largest cinnamon rolls and which butcher disliked Fishmen but would still do business for money.
Everything seemed so normal, as if it were just one insignificant stop among countless others for resupply.
They didn't know that from the distant shadows, dozens of eyes were watching everything.
Until the last Fishman responsible for carrying supplies also disappeared at the intersection leading to the town, the entire coastal area fell silent.
"Alright~"
Borsalino snapped his fingers:
"It seems~ it's time to cast the net~"
As he spoke, he casually extended his joined fingertips forward.
Biu!
An extremely concentrated golden laser, like a hot dinner knife cutting into butter, silently pierced through the dim night.
Then… boom!!!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted, and a fierce blaze instantly engulfed the makeshift wooden dock.
Thick wooden beams were blown into countless fragments, scattering outwards with the shockwave, and the nearby sea was stirred into huge, violently swaying waves.
When the smoke and flames dissipated, the dock was gone.
Only a patch of floating charred wood and a severely damaged shore foundation remained on the sea surface.
Although Borsalino's
Biu, biu, biu
seemed like he was slacking off when dealing with Charlotte Linlin, only those who truly faced this attack would realize its terrifying destructive power.
His target this time wasn't the Fishmen who had already landed on the island, but to cut off their connection with the pirate ship.
Whether the Fishmen wanted to return to the ship or jump into the sea to escape, they would have to suffer heavy casualties.
Borsalino tilted his head slightly:
"In that case~ it depends on whether you want to be trapped on the island until death, or come out and fight~"
The deafening roar also startled the Sun Pirates members who had just entered the edge of the town.
Tiger, Jinbe, Arlong, and the others turned their heads abruptly, just in time to see the last moment of the dock vanishing before their eyes.
"It's the Marines!"
Tiger immediately realized something was wrong; they seemed to have been ambushed.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence that the dock was blown up just as all of them had landed on the island.
But the earth-shattering roar caused a brief panic among several young Fishman crew members, who started running around aimlessly.
Although Fisher Tiger was not a professional commander, years of fighting at sea had already honed his most direct combat instincts.
He knew very well that given the current distance between them and the coast, whether they tried to force their way back to the ship or directly jumped into the sea, they would inevitably be exposed to Marine firepower and suffer heavy casualties.
His broad hand quickly pointed to several higher rocks and abandoned houses, and he immediately ordered:
"Everyone! Don't panic!"
"Immediately find cover! Prepare to fight!"
"Quick! Gather the supplies!"
"Arlong! Take your men and guard the high ground on the left!"
"Jinbe! The right side is yours!"
Tiger's approach seemed somewhat foolish. In a world where top powerhouses could decide the outcome of battles, what good could such a defense do?
In reality, this was the normal state for pirates when facing the Marines on a daily basis.
Not everyone in the Marine is a top powerhouse. In most cases, battles at sea are still primarily fought with cannons and boarding actions, and weapons are diverse. Such a formation is actually more suitable for dealing with Marine fleets led by junior officers.
With the orders issued, the panic in the Fishmen's hearts finally settled somewhat, and they began to act quickly.
Not far away, Borsalino's Marine warship revealed its cold silhouette in the explosion's firelight.
Looking at the area on the island subtly stirring due to the explosion, Borsalino was not surprised by Tiger's reaction:
"It seems~ you react quite quickly~"
Without him needing to give an order, the battleship's main cannon let out a roar, and a black cannonball whistled out of the barrel, flying directly towards the defensive formation the Fishmen had just organized.
Mid-flight, a golden beam of light shot out, arriving later but instantly catching up.
Borsalino's figure flickered at light speed, leisurely standing atop the flying cannonball, and together with the cannonball, he smashed towards Tiger's location!
Almost at the moment the cannonball landed, he separated from it, lightly descending into the center of the formation, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
The landing spot was only ten meters from Tiger.
Borsalino pushed up his brown sunglasses and spoke to the burly red Fishman in front of him, using his characteristic slow cadence:
"Yeah~ it's been a long time, hasn't it~ Mr. Tiger~"
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