"Boss, boss! Target spotted! There's a Marine warship heading toward our position!"
Inside the ship's dining hall, the pirates were boisterously enjoying their lunch when a pirate ran in, shouting in a panic.
Sitting at the head table in the very back, Allen looked up, pleasantly surprised by the news.
After leaving the Baratie, they hadn't headed straight for their next destination. Instead, they had been roaming the nearby waters.
Allen was currently dead broke. Yesterday's banquet had completely emptied his pockets, so he needed to take advantage of the Baratie acting as a natural bait for wealthy marks to thoroughly plunder any passing ships.
Under Allen's orders, any ship they spotted was to be considered a target, and the Marines were no exception.
Allen grinned, waving his large hand as his cape billowed behind him, and strode toward the door.
"Post-meal entertainment is here, boys! Grab your weapons and follow me!"
"The Marines are delivering supplies and weapons to us! Follow Captain Allen, boys!" the Nyaban Brothers shouted excitedly.
Yesterday at the Baratie, they had witnessed the battle between Allen and Marine Captain Smoker with their own eyes.
Since even a legendary Logia-type Devil Fruit user had been defeated, there was no Marine in the East Blue who could possibly be a match for Allen.
"Yeah!"
The pirates snatched up their nearby weapons, raising their swords and readying their guns as they followed him with imposing momentum.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As soon as they stepped onto the deck, the pirates heard deafening explosions, and several pitch-black cannonballs came hurtling toward them at high speed.
Allen glanced at them but made no move to act; judging by their trajectories, the cannonballs wouldn't hit the ship.
However, he didn't let his guard down. Having been a Marine himself, he knew that the first round of artillery fire was mostly for calibration. The real display of the warship's overwhelming firepower would come next.
Splash! Splash!
The cannonballs crashed into the surrounding sea, kicking up massive waves that caused their ship to sway slightly.
Looking in the direction the cannonballs had come from, they saw a small Marine warship sailing toward them at an angle.
When he clearly saw the designation number on the side of the warship, Allen frowned slightly.
Sanji walked out of the dining hall and stopped beside him. Seeing his expression, he couldn't help but ask in confusion,
"What's wrong? Is it a Marine you know?"
"No, but..."
Staring at the warship's designation number, Allen's gaze grew a bit more serious as he said,
"That's a Marine Headquarters warship. They don't usually appear in a place like the East Blue."
The Marines were divided into Headquarters, Grand Line Branches, and the Four Blues Branches.
Grand Line Branches typically started with "G-" followed by their base number, while the Four Blues Branches only used their base number.
The warship before them was well-built, yet it lacked an obvious branch number on its hull. It was blatantly obvious that it belonged to Marine Headquarters.
If the figurehead hadn't been missing that iconic dog head, Allen would have almost suspected they had run into Garp.
But it probably wasn't him. After all, the warship model didn't match either. A small warship like this should be commanded by a junior officer or a field officer.
Thinking of this, Allen felt a little relieved. He really didn't want to pull a reckless boarding stunt against a true monster.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Soon, the next round of artillery fire launched from the opposing ship. This time, it wasn't just a few simple cannonballs; all the broadside cannons fired at full force.
Pitch-black cannonballs flew over in a straight line at high speed, as dense as a torrential black rainstorm.
Allen tapped his toes against the deck in rapid succession, snatching a longsword from a pirate's hand along the way, and leaped high into the air from the bow in just a few strides.
He took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, aimed the tip of the blade at a cannonball, and hurled it with all his might!
Whoosh—! Boom!!
The longsword pierced through the air, whistling with an ear-piercing shriek, and accurately struck and detonated one of the cannonballs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Engulfed by the flames, several other surrounding cannonballs were detonated in a chain reaction, kicking up a powerful blast of wind pressure.
The flight trajectories of the remaining cannonballs were disrupted, and they all missed, plunging into the sea dozens of meters away from the pirate ship.
Cool splashes of water rained down on the deck. Looking up at Allen, Sanji frowned, unable to help but feel secretly shocked.
'Dealing with a warship's artillery barrage like this? This guy is a monster.'
Landing back on the broken, headless bow, Allen reached out behind him and shouted, "Bring me more weapons!"
"Y-Yes, sir!!"
The pirates froze for a moment, but once they snapped out of it, they hurriedly ran forward to hand him weapons.
Meanwhile, on the opposing warship.
"What's going on? Why did the cannonballs explode mid-air?"
A pink-haired man dressed in a sharp suit walked out onto the deck with a displeased expression. He approached the bow, picked up a pair of binoculars, and looked toward the enemy pirate ship.
Beside him, a Marine soldier stammered with a hint of panic,
"Um... it looks like someone on the other side threw something... and h-hit the cannonballs."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Ironfist Fullbody lowered his binoculars, grabbed the Marine soldier by the collar with a dissatisfied look, and scolded,
"What kind of joke is that, you idiot! Hurry up and prepare the next round of fire!"
"Y-Yes, sir!" the Marine soldier replied loudly, saluting in a panic.
"Tch!"
Fullbody scoffed in displeasure, released the soldier, and raised his binoculars to look over again.
"I was just trying to enjoy my leave with a date at the Baratie, but pirates keep delivering themselves to my doorstep one after another. Today is just full of bad luck."
After watching for a while, Fullbody, unable to recognize the pirate flag, lowered his binoculars and turned to ask his subordinate,
"Which pirate crew is that? Have you found out yet?"
"Reporting, Lieutenant! We couldn't find a matching pirate flag on the wanted posters!" a Marine replied with a salute.
"Just a bunch of small fry without even a bounty? Good grief, what a waste of my time."
Fullbody's tone was disdainful. He turned around and glanced at a gaunt-faced pirate on the deck, whose hands were bound behind his back.
"Whatever. At least I caught a pirate with a 12 million Berry bounty. I suppose that's a pleasant surprise."
Fullbody slowly walked down the deck and stopped in front of the gaunt pirate sitting on the floor, looking down at him with a mocking expression.
"The rumored Gin the Demon Man. I bet you never thought you'd fall into the hands of Ironfist Fullbody."
"If you want to suffer less, I suggest you obediently confess the location of your leader, Don Krieg. Otherwise, don't blame the judge for being merciless once we reach Enies Lobby."
Fullbody leaned in close, speaking to the gaunt man in a provocative manner.
Gin didn't say a word. He merely stared at the man with cold, icy eyes. Even though his face was expressionless, it faintly exuded a fierce aura.
"Tch, stubborn idiot."
Seeing that he had no intention of confessing, Fullbody scoffed with a look of disgust.
Just then, the panicked shouts of his subordinates suddenly rang out from behind him.
"Lieutenant Fullbody! The enemy pirates have entered the fifty-meter range!"
"What did you say?!"
Fullbody immediately cried out in shock and anger.
With the firepower of this warship, how could an ordinary pirate ship possibly get within fifty meters?!
He instinctively glanced over, only to see a pirate ship steadily closing in. Dozens of pirates stood by the railing with swords drawn and guns readied, glaring over with imposing ferocity.
With no time to overthink, Fullbody hurriedly barked,
"Prepare for boarding combat!!"
"Yes, sir!!"
All the Marines on deck responded loudly, drawing their swords and cocking their rifles as fast as they could.
'The Black Cat Pirates?'
Seeing this dark red, headless pirate ship, Gin couldn't help but frown before glancing up at the pirate flag.
'No, it's a flag I've never seen before.'
'I don't know which crew this is, but their timing is perfect.'
'I still have a little strength left. Once the Marines start fighting them, I can take the opportunity to break free from these bindings.'
'As long as I can find some food to recover my stamina...'
A fierce glint flashed through Gin's eyes.
...
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