On the island, General Kuchiel spotted the Red Leaf merchant ship approaching in the distance. He immediately stood up and walked to the shore, his gaze fixed in anticipation.
Nearby, a colossal black and red warship was anchored. Vice and the others had not disembarked; they had arrived over an hour earlier. Now, standing on their deck, they too watched the approaching merchant vessel.
All the Senior Executives were present: Vice, Yves, Eigg, Kuchiel, Franpetar, Bica, Bacon, Sherilmo, and more. Beyond them stood over a dozen other executive-level figures, including Mandigore, Bilvat, Rosearchi, Sacren, and Jacks. All were assembled and ready for departure.
"Boss!"
"Boss!"
A wave of solemn acknowledgments rippled through the assembled figures as they greeted Wilder. The merchant ship slowly drew alongside the shore. Wilder disembarked, his face unreadable, followed closely by Kui and a visibly bruised Karai.
"Boss…" Kuchiel knelt on one knee, his gaze lowered, his expression earnest and serious. "Please grant me an opportunity to atone for my mistake!"
The others watched this scene in silence. They were a band of hardened individuals, daredevils united under Wilder's leadership. A mistake was a mistake; no words of comfort would be offered.
"Rise. Prepare to depart," Wilder said, walking past him, pausing only briefly to deliver the command.
"Yes, sir."
Having delivered Wilder to his destination, the Red Leaf ship, following prior instructions, did not linger. The crew on board were practically desperate to leave; upon arriving and witnessing the assembly of such an intimidating, battle-hardened group, they had been so terrified they could barely move their feet, even controlling their breathing with an almost painful caution. Lingering was out of the question.
Wilder boarded the Black-Red Warship, his greatcloak billowing in the wind. "Depart!" he commanded.
"March on Germa 66!"
"OOOH!"
Ever since hearing the news of Jesse's and the Monitoring Squad's capture, a simmering fury had been building within every one of them. Now, finally, the time for retaliation had come. An undeniable current of fierce anticipation and excitement surged through their ranks. Vicious smiles spread across their faces; none among them were to be trifled with. Anyone who dared to draw a blade against them had best prepare to face the ensuing storm.
The Black-Red Warship took the lead, with ten escort warships fanned out behind it, forming a formidable arrowhead formation that narrowed from a wide rear to a sharp point. Each escort vessel carried at least one executive and a contingent of two hundred elite crew members. The entire fleet, a truly imposing force, surged towards its destination.
Aboard the Black-Red Warship itself were concentrated the highest echelons of Wilder's combat power: Wilder himself, his Senior Executives, and his Elite Executives. The designation "Elite Executive" didn't denote a separate rank from other executives; rather, it signified those who possessed top-tier combat capabilities within the executive level, individuals with the potential to ascend to the rank of Senior Executive. Among them were figures like Mandigore and Bilvat, both of whom had backgrounds as merchants, and also Birdman Jacks. Thanks to the Devil Fruit Wilder had provided him, Jacks had not only leaped to the rank of executive but his strength was also progressing by leaps and bounds, positioning him as a strong candidate for future promotion to Senior Executive.
The fleet sailed onward, unceasingly, towards its objective.
Before long, a fleet of such considerable size inevitably began to attract attention.
"Boss, there's a ship tailing us," Vice reported, approaching Wilder. "From the looks of it, they're surveillance from some power."
Wilder remained silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Which waters have we entered now?"
"The territory of one of the Four Emperors—Big Mom," Vice replied, his expression grave.
The specific name of the sea area was less important than whose sphere of influence it fell under.
Wilder's gaze fixed on the distant horizon, his eyes like burning torches. His voice was deep and resolute as he responded, "Ignore them. Anyone, regardless of who they are, who dares to cause trouble will be left behind!"
Hearing Wilder's domineering words, Vice's eyes flashed, an undeniable surge of excitement and fervor rising within him. "Yes, sir!" he responded with inspired energy.
Similarly, the others who had overheard Wilder's declaration bared beast-like grins.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters.
A soldier knocked on the office door and hurried inside. "Fleet Admiral, sir! We've just received a report from an informant. The Warlord of the Sea, Lucifer Wilder, leading his fleet, has appeared in the waters controlled by Big Mom. His objective is currently unknown."
Seated in the office was a man with an unremarkable face, yet marred by savage frostbite scars. He wore a red suit, a single, blooming flower embroidered on its breast. Hearing the soldier's report, the movement of his hands paused. He slowly lifted his head, and his seemingly ordinary eyes flashed with a keen light. The temperature in the room seemed to drop by a subtle degree. This was the new Fleet Admiral, the user of the Magma-Magma Fruit, known as Akainu—Sakazuki!
"Monitor him closely. Report his movements in real-time and ascertain his objective. Notify the G5 branch to proceed to that sea area immediately. Additionally, covertly dispatch personnel to maintain strict surveillance on Charlotte Linlin's movements."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier hurried away to relay the Fleet Admiral's orders.
Concurrently, numerous other powers in the New World had also taken note of the formidable fleet surging through the seas. However, most were merely aware of its presence, not the identities of those on board.
But one power was different: the undisputed rulers of the waters Wilder's fleet currently traversed—the Big Mom Pirates! A fleet of such magnitude could not possibly go unnoticed. From the moment Wilder had entered their territory, their lookouts had spotted him, and this intelligence had been relayed back to Whole Cake Island.
Whole Cake Island, the headquarters of the Big Mom Pirates, an island constructed entirely from sweets and confections.
"Mamamamama!" A peculiar, booming laugh echoed from within a lavish castle.
A woman of colossal stature lay on her side upon an equally massive couch, her mouth full of sweets. Saliva dribbled from the corners of her lips, hissing as it corroded the floor beneath.
"A Warlord of the Sea…" she mused, stuffing more sweets into her mouth, an enigmatic smile playing on her face. "What could he possibly want?"
"Mamamamamama!" Another peel of her characteristic laughter.
"Cracker, why don't you go and see for Mama? About that… whatever-his-name-is-De."
"Yes, Mama." From within the room, a man with a strangely intricate appearance emerged, a cold smirk on his face as he departed.
…
The Black-Red Warship sailed on, brazen and unchecked. Other pirate vessels unfortunate enough to spot this armada gave it a wide berth, not daring to approach for a closer look. No one was foolish enough not to recognize that such a fleet was far beyond their capacity to provoke.
"Vice, how much longer until we reach our destination?" Wilder never concerned himself with the minutiae of the journey; he only needed to know the estimated time of arrival.
Vice, who was currently fiddling with Karai's crossbow, looked up and replied, "Approximately two more days of travel."
"Hey, hey! Don't you dare break that! It's my secret weapon!" Karai, standing nearby, practically jumped in agitation, reaching out to snatch the crossbow from Vice's hands.
"Get lost!" Vice shoved Karai aside, grumbling, "What's your hurry?! It's not like I'm not going to give it back! I'm just examining its construction, seeing if it can offer any inspiration to our Science Department and Munitions Department."
"Aaaargh!!" Karai gritted his teeth in frustration. Knowing he couldn't overpower Vice, he could only hover nearby, looking for an opportunity to reclaim his weapon.
Vice had recently developed a fascination with science and munitions. It wasn't that he had suddenly developed a love for research and development; rather, ever since the Science and Munitions Departments had successfully developed the machine gun and the special cannonballs, he had taken a keen interest in this area. He reasoned that if they could create even more powerful weaponry, their own military threat would undoubtedly escalate to an unparalleled level. This was the driving force behind his newfound enthusiasm. Consequently, he had taken to studying any peculiar-looking weapons he came across, his curiosity so intense that upon seeing any item with a unique construction, he was practically itching to dismantle it for a thorough examination.
And now, Vice was preparing to do just that with Karai's crossbow.
"You bastard! Stop it! That's mine! What right do you have to take it?!" Seeing this, Karai's hair practically stood on end with rage. He threw caution to the wind, forgetting whether he could actually win, and lunged at Vice, the two of them tumbling into a brawl.
Just as they were tussling, a pirate ship emerged from the distant sea.
"All hands, attention! We have a situation!" The ship immediately went on high alert.
The pirate ship cut through the mist, heading directly towards the Black-Red Warship. Vice and Karai ceased their squabble. The former stood up, his expression serious, while the latter, still clinging to him, moved with Vice towards the bow of the ship.
"What's going on?"
"These newcomers likely don't have good intentions."
As the pirate ship fully emerged from the mist, its true appearance was revealed. Its Jolly Roger depicted crossed cutlasses beneath a skull with large, red lips and a captain's hat. As the vessel drew nearer, a subtle shift occurred in the expressions of Wilder's crew.
"Tsk… still so sensitive, huh," Vice muttered, pouting slightly, though his face remained extremely serious.
"Well… it is her territory, after all. It's only natural for her to be a little… touchy," Bilvat remarked. He was impeccably dressed in a white suit, a benevolent smile on his portly face, a wine glass swirling in his hand as he observed the approaching pirate ship.
The newcomers were…
A ship of the Four Emperor Big Mom Pirates!
Clang! General Kuchiel silently strode to the forefront, drawing the massive broadsword from his back. His gaze, sharp as a blade, pierced towards the Big Mom pirate ship. The others, seeing this, also braced themselves for a confrontation. The atmosphere instantly grew tense and solemn.
Only Wilder's expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever. His gaze seemed to penetrate the distance between the two fleets, focusing on the tall figure of the Biscuit General standing on the prow of the enemy ship.
"Charlotte Cracker, is it…" One of Big Mom's three Sweet Commanders, Cracker the "Thousand Arms."
"No matter how you look at it, for a figure of his stature to appear personally, Big Mom must be more than just a little sensitive, wouldn't you say?" Bilvat quipped, his penchant for witty remarks undiminished, the benevolent smile never leaving his face. Beside him, Mandigore, clad in a black suit, remained silent, his expression grave, though his slightly narrowed eyes occasionally flickered with a somber light.
The ships drew ever closer. With less than fifty meters separating them, and given the keen eyesight of those on board both vessels, each side could now clearly discern the other's lineup.
"Quite the grand display! A force of this magnitude, hahaha! Are you planning to declare war on someone? The New World's pie… you want a slice of it too, do you? Warlord Wilder…" Cracker called out from the bow of his ship, a sinister smile playing on his lips. His voice carried clearly across the water, easily reaching the ears of everyone aboard the Black-Red Warship.
"The probing begins," Bilvat murmured, maintaining his benevolent smile as he swirled the wine in his glass, his tone unhurried.
The others remained calm, their gazes fixed unwaveringly on the pirate ship, which had now closed the distance to forty meters. Everyone understood that Cracker's words were a test, an attempt to discern their intentions. They all looked to Wilder, awaiting his response, and thus remained silent.
Wilder offered no elaborate reply. He simply stated calmly, "Continue forward."
A wave of astonishment rippled through his crew. "Boss…"
Yes, in everyone's estimation, this was, after all, Big Mom's territory. They had assumed Wilder would at least offer the other party the courtesy of a brief parley before proceeding. If, after such an exchange, they were still obstructed, then battle would be unavoidable.
But now…
Wilder, however, had his own considerations. The Marines were undoubtedly aware of his movements by now; an operation of this scale was difficult to conceal. If, under such scrutiny, he were to halt his advance and engage in discussions with the Big Mom Pirates, it would inevitably lead to unwanted speculation.
Compared to offending the Marines at this juncture, Wilder was more inclined to offend Big Mom. After all… he still possessed some room to maneuver in his dealings with the Marines. Between pirates, however, there was only mutual plunder and slaughter; strength was the only language spoken.
There was no clear demarcation between a wise course of action and an unwise one. Wilder's current approach might prove to be a mistake, but could an alternative course guarantee a correct outcome? Therefore, who he offended was not the primary concern; what mattered was that offending someone was inevitable. And at this moment, Wilder was unwilling to allow anyone to obstruct his path. It was as simple as that.
"Yes, sir." Seeing the unyielding resolve in Wilder's expression, no one said anything further. Regardless of the circumstances, their duty was to follow their captain's orders. This was the fundamental principle of any organization, any power structure. And they had never been a crew to shy away from death. Even Bacon, in this tense moment, appeared remarkably composed.
"Full speed ahead!"
"Aye!"
The fleet, which had momentarily slowed its pace, abruptly surged forward again, catching the opposing ship completely off guard! The two vessels were now on a direct collision course—or not quite. The Black-Red Warship had, in fact, already begun to alter its course. However, the Big Mom pirate ship had charged straight ahead, resulting in the two vessels once again finding themselves in a confrontational alignment, the distance between them rapidly shrinking to less than ten meters, a collision imminent.
Cracker's face turned ugly. He couldn't fathom why Wilder's fleet had suddenly accelerated. "Quick, quick, quick! Evade!" If the two flagships collided, Big Mom's vessel would undoubtedly suffer the greater damage. The pirates on his ship were thrown into a panic, frantically trying to steer their ship away.
Aboard the Black-Red Warship, Wilder and the others frowned. To avoid a collision, their own helmsman was also desperately maneuvering their vessel in another direction.
In that hair's breadth moment, the two ships scraped past each other, side to side. A long, ear-piercing screech filled the air, accompanied by a shower of sparks. Crew members from both sides glared at each other with unbridled ferocity.
Swish! Just then, a figure shot out from the Big Mom pirate ship! Soaring high into the air, a long, wide sword was already drawn from his back!
Cracker's face was dark and sullen. He began to descend towards the deck of the Black-Red Warship. "Are you trying to challenge the Big Mom Pirates… Lucifer Wilder?!"