During this period, Xu Nian's progress with Armament Haki was obvious.
She had already reached the point where she could coat bullets with Armament Haki to increase their lethality.
Even Beckman and Shanks couldn't help but marvel at it.
Xu Nian was a true genius.
"Ren, we're leaving."
Shanks suddenly walked over and said that to him.
"So it's time, huh?" Ren smiled. "Then I guess this is where we part ways."
Shanks scratched his cheek and asked, "You really won't join my crew?"
"No. I've got my own dream. I won't be joining you."
Over the past few days, Shanks had tried more than once to recruit him into the Red-Haired Pirates, but Ren had turned him down every single time.
"What a waste."
Ren laughed. "Are you disappointed about me, or disappointed about Xu Nian?"
"Obviously Xu Nian," Shanks said without hesitation. "Even Beckman admitted her brains are on his level. She's pretty, she's a genius, and she'd be perfect for my crew. Of course I want her to join."
"Shanks."
The moment he heard Xu Nian's voice, Shanks realized he had said the wrong thing.
He immediately clamped a hand over his mouth and bolted for his ship.
Ren chased after him, shouting, "I treated you like a friend, and you're trying to poach my crew?!"
…
"Beckman, I'm leaving these drinks in your care."
"No problem."
At that moment, Shanks pasted on a shameless grin and said, "Ren, come on, we're such good friends. Shouldn't these drinks be entrusted to me instead?"
Ren and Beckman answered in perfect unison.
"Get lost."
Give them to him, and by tomorrow, even the bottles would probably be gone.
After getting yelled at by both of them, Shanks could only lower his head and climb back onto the ship.
Beckman handed Ren a small piece of paper.
"This is a Vivre Card. With it, you'll be able to find us."
Ren stared at the piece of paper in his hand.
This was the first time he had ever seen a real Vivre Card.
He turned it over a few times, studying it carefully.
Beckman added, "Take good care of it. Don't let it fall into anyone else's hands."
Ren naturally understood what he meant.
If that card fell into the wrong hands, then the Red-Haired Pirates' location would no longer be a secret.
Trying to find a single pirate ship on the open sea was like looking for a needle in the ocean.
But with a Vivre Card, it was a completely different story.
It was basically a signal that constantly pointed toward its owner's location.
"Don't worry," Ren said. "I know how important this thing is. I'll keep it safe."
"See you around!"
Standing at the bow, Shanks waved at him.
Ren waved back.
Watching the Red Force gradually sail away, Ren turned to Martha and Xu Nian and said, "Get ready. We'll be setting off too."
But at that exact moment, he saw something strange.
The Red Force, which had just left, was heading back toward them.
Ren frowned, puzzled.
What was this?
Did Shanks forget something?
Then he saw the reason.
Behind the Red Force were three Marine warships.
Ren immediately cursed, "Damn it! You leave for barely a moment and already drag the Marines back with you? Three warships at that?"
"Martha, move! Start the ship! The Marines are here!"
At the same time, Shanks's crew shouted from a distance.
"Ren, run! The Marines are here! The Marines are here!"
Ren looked at the warships, where the cannon muzzles were already clearly visible, and muttered, "I'm not blind. I can see that perfectly well."
"Captain, which way?" Martha asked.
Ren quickly assessed the situation and said, "The Marines are coming from the north. Shanks is heading east. We go south."
It wasn't that he didn't want to stick with Shanks.
The problem was that Shanks hadn't waited for them at all and had already chosen his own direction.
And if Ren stayed with them, the Marines were far more likely to pick The Lucky as the easier target.
Compared to the Red Force, his ship looked small, shabby, and much easier to sink.
But shortly after turning south, Ren spotted three more Marine warships.
"Damn it. Turn around. East. Now!"
Earlier, things had been too chaotic for him to examine the enemy properly. This time, he saw them clearly.
Those weren't ordinary branch-base warships.
They were Marine Headquarters battleships, the kind equipped with three triple-gun turrets.
Not only were those ships more heavily armed than the regional Marine ships, but the people commanding them were in a different class too.
Six Headquarters warships meant there were at least several Vice Admirals present.
Thanks to The Lucky's smaller size and superior speed, Ren managed to change direction before they sailed into the Marines' firing range.
But before long, he found himself staring at the Red Force again.
Seeing Shanks's ship return, Ren said emotionally, "You... you actually came back to help me? But there's no need. I already shook off the ships behind me."
Beckman answered flatly, "No, you misunderstood. We didn't come back to help you. There are Marine warships in the east too. We're surrounded."
The truth hit Ren like a physical blow.
That actually hurt a little.
Still, the situation was now crystal clear.
The Marines had obviously already figured out the movements of both his crew and Shanks's crew.
That was why they had launched this operation.
Now Ren and the Red-Haired Pirates were boxed in on three sides by the Marines, while the fourth side was the island itself.
If they didn't want to end up enjoying the six-star treatment of Impel Down, then there was only one option left.
Break through by force.
"Shanks," Ren said, "we punch through the eastern side. We'll take the lead. While we do that, your crew holds off the Marine warships behind us. Deal?"
"Deal!"
"Martha, full power. Xu Nian, prepare the artillery."
"Understood."
"Move!"
…
Aboard one of the three Marine warships on the eastern side, a Vice Admiral with a face full of scars and two swords hanging at his waist watched the approaching pirate ships expressionlessly.
"Vice Admiral Beart, we've confirmed the Myriad Worlds Pirates. They're with the Red-Haired Pirates."
"So there's an unexpected bonus today," he said coldly. "Capture them all."
"Yes, sir!"
"The Myriad Worlds Pirates are charging us."
"Hold your fire until they get closer."
Then another order rang out.
"Fire! Sink the pirate ships!"
"Understood!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
All three Marine warships unleashed a concentrated barrage at The Lucky.
Yet neither Ren nor Xu Nian moved in the slightest.
They knew better than anyone what kind of ship they were standing on.
Watching The Lucky vanish behind walls of exploding water, Shanks asked, "Beckman, you think Ren's alright? The one commanding those ships is Vice Admiral Evil Ghost Beart."
Even Beckman's expression had turned grim.
The three-ship concentrated bombardment was no joke.
And The Lucky was simply too small.
A single direct hit from a Marine shell would be enough to blow apart a ship barely over ten meters long.
"Captain, look! Ren's ship is still there!"
At that shout, The Lucky burst out through the curtain of spray and reappeared before everyone's eyes.
Standing at the bow, Ren hoisted an RPG onto his shoulder and aimed it at the nearest Marine warship.
"Since you've shown me courtesy, I should return it."
Then he pulled the trigger.
The rocket streaked across the sea with a blazing tail and slammed directly into the forward turret of one of the warships.
With its immense armor-penetration power, the shaped-charge warhead punched through the turret's armor, and the molten jet inside struck the ammunition stored within.
The next instant—
Boom!
The entire turret was blown off the ship.
The explosion tore apart the forward section of the warship, opening it to the sea and causing massive flooding.
At the same time, Xu Nian brought The Lucky's only cannon to bear and opened fire on the Marine fleet.
With Observation Haki guiding her aim, every shot landed with terrifying precision.
Not only could she hit without fail, but each shell found a vital point on the target.
In just three rounds, she destroyed all three turrets on another warship and set the vessel ablaze.
"Vice Admiral! Warship Seventeen's forward turret has been destroyed, and the bow has suffered severe damage. Warship Nineteen has lost all three main turrets and is on fire. It can no longer continue fighting!"
"Damn it!"
"Hahaha!"
"Ren's doing pretty damn well!"
Shanks grinned like a madman.
"Boys, we can't fall behind! Move!"
With only a few minutes of fighting, Ren and his crew had already crippled nearly half the combat strength of the three eastern warships.
The Red-Haired Pirates' morale surged instantly.
The Lucky, with only one ship, had just helped hold back six Marine warships.
[Author Note]
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