"Captain, looks like someone beat us to it."
"I see it."
The firelight reflected in Jack's eyes, and it didn't improve his mood.
He didn't feel any sympathy for the island's inhabitants; that simply wasn't in his nature. The reason he was upset was because the island had already been wrecked like this.
This meant he couldn't perfectly carry out the mission to occupy the island assigned to him by Kaido. What he wanted was an intact island, not a broken ruin.
"Fish-Man Karate: Spear Wave!"
Jack's response was straightforward—after all, they were pirates. In moments like these, there was no need to talk about morality.
Grabbing seawater from the beach, Jack unleashed a Fish-Man Karate move that instantly destroyed the opposing pirate ship. He then led his subordinates inland.
Further inside the island, adults armed with weapons were struggling to resist the invading pirates. Above them flew Whitebeard's flag, but that flag could no longer offer them any protection.
"You all must've heard the news by now, this is no longer Whitebeard's territory. You get that, don't you? That symbol... it's worthless now!"
The pirate chopped down the flagpole, then stomped Whitebeard's flag underfoot, his tone full of scorn.
"From today on, this island is mine!"
"Who gave you the right to say that?"
Before the pirate could finish his sentence, a low voice rumbled from behind him. It was Jack.
"Who's there?! I'm.."
He arrogantly tried to shout out his name, but in the end, he swallowed the words back down.
A massive Copperajah appeared before the pirate. Against opponents far weaker than himself, Jack still preferred his Beast Form.
With a metallic body that couldn't be harmed by ordinary people even if he is not using Haki, Jack's appearance was also quite well known throughout the New World.
Steel Mammoth – Jack, bounty: 1,088,000,000 Berries. Among the new-generation officers of the Beasts Pirates, he is the most famous. Whether in terms of aggressiveness or frequency of fights, he ranks number one among the younger officers. In recent years, he has even begun to be referred to as the Fourth Calamity.
The aftermath of Kaido's involvement in the Summit War brought more than just a boost to his own bounty. Accordingly, the entire crew was influenced by both Kaido and Arceus, leading to an overall increase in their bounties.
Queen's bounty might include some inflated value from blame-shifting, but Jack's current bounty comes with no "ivory" padding. It was purely based on his real combat strength.
"Hm? Go on, say something, why so quiet now?"
"I-I…"
At that moment, a small Alcremie emerged from the braid on Jack's head. It glanced at the pirate in front of them, then patted its hands on top of Jack's head, implying that it had no memory of this person.
In a way, Jack had limited mental capacity. He only remembered the well-known pirates on the seas. If someone wasn't famous, Jack had no idea who they were.
In comparison, Alcremie was a bit sharper. If a pirate had a bounty over 100 million, it might at least remember something about them. The fact that even it didn't recognize the man meant that he was just another low-level nobody among the sea of small fry.
Boom!
Immediately afterward, seeing the enemy so terrified he was stumbling over his own words, Jack swung his elephant trunk, smashing him straight into a nearby cliff wall.
"Wipe them all out. From now on, this island belongs to the Beasts Pirates."
In an instant, the island's situation was completely reversed; the pirates who had been the aggressors suddenly found themselves facing much stronger pirates.
With the Beasts Pirates' war coming to an end, opportunities to gain contributions were becoming increasingly rare. Jack's subordinates were naturally war-hungry, and the moment Jack gave the order, they had already charged forward to rack up more glory in this final fight.
"Whitebeard's dead, and now every mangy dog thinks they can crawl out."
Watching the enemy pirates being effortlessly crushed by his own men, Jack had no interest in stepping in; they were far too weak.
Taking advantage of the moment, he approached the island's residents.
"Hang our flag here. I trust you won't have a problem with that."
Although it was phrased as a question, Jack didn't actually give them the right to refuse. It was more of a formality; regardless of the response, it wouldn't affect Jack's next actions. The only thing it might influence was how the island would be managed in the future.
And seeing the island in flames, the local leader didn't object to it either.
Similar situations weren't limited to this island. All of the territories that once belonged to Whitebeard were experiencing the same thing. Ironically, the islands that had already raised the Beasts Pirates or Big Mom Pirates flag were the ones unaffected.
Whitebeard was dead, but Kaido and Charlotte Linlin were still alive and well. Their flags carried just as much, if not greater, deterrent power.
While Charlotte Linlin had excessive demands for food, she could still guarantee a decent quality of life for the people under her rule. As for the Beasts Pirates, there was even less to worry about; the administrative team was already on its way.
As for the islands that hadn't been occupied, they were the most unfortunate group as now they were stripped of protection.
Once Jack had stabilized the island and hoisted the Beasts Pirates' flag, he led his men to suppress some nearby pirates who had thoughts of stirring up trouble. After that, he began the journey back with his crew.
Olga's operations were nearly identical to Jack's. The biggest difference was in their combat style: Jack's enemies were crushed head-on after recognizing his face, while Olga's enemies died having seen only a pirate flag fluttering in the wind.
Once hidden, Inteleon's tail blade and sniper attacks, combined with illusions that caused infighting, left the enemy with no idea who or what they were actually facing.
Not to mention the Marines and Whitebeard Pirates, who faced huge losses, and the completely annihilated Blackbeard Pirates, even Big Mom and Red Hair encountered setbacks during this war.
The only crew to come through completely unscathed was the Beasts Pirates.
Kaido fought to his heart's content, and their territory expanded.
Arceus found the Icicle Plate, and Arceus Cult got to witness another miracle, enriching their doctrines.
At most, Queen ended up taking the fall for a few more things, but he was already buried in so much debt that one more debt hardly made a difference.
Onigashima also began preparations for a grand banquet, but that was something only for the Beasts Pirates, the rest weren't so successful.
Take Moria, for example. With Absalom's ability, he successfully managed to escape from Marineford, but whatever spirit he had left was utterly crushed by Kaido.
Kaido proved through action that whether it was Moria's zombie army or his current strength, both were a joke to him.
This led Moria to become completely useless, wasting his days away, with even his living expenses coming from Absalom, who used the power of the Clear-Clear Fruit to dig up gossips.
The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates also began their return to the New World after coating their ship, but seeing the new flag raised over Fishman Island left them with complicated emotions.
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