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After officially joining forces with the new recruits, Aero's next move was clear get off the island.
With Bugsy's thousand-man unit now under the Hurricane Pirates, and Krieg's once-formidable five-thousand-strong fleet completely dismantled, Aero's crew had grown into a true force.
The Hurricane Grand Fleet was born.
Over a thousand pirates now served under Aero's name making them the largest and most feared crew in the East Blue.
They were, without a doubt, its new rulers.
But Aero didn't celebrate.
The more power you hold, the bigger your target becomes. And if the World Government noticed them too soon, all it would take was one Marine Vice Admiral unleashing a single area-obliterating technique, and everything he'd built could be wiped out.
That's why they couldn't afford to draw attention yet. Not until they reached the Grand Line. Only there would Aero and his elite have the chance to truly shine.
Meanwhile, Ray's troops were riding high. With their polished gear and disciplined structure, they believed they could dominate any pirate crew in the East Blue.
But that was only because they didn't yet understand the reality of the world. The Emperors. The Warlords of the Sea.
In their minds, they were now at the top. They had no idea what waited out there.
But Aero had more pressing concerns.
He turned to Ray and asked plainly, "I've already spoken to Bugsy. Now that our force is this big… how do we break the Navy's blockade?"
Ray grinned. "No need to worry, Captain. I arranged the blockade myself—with the Navy Commander. He's too incompetent to realize I've already left a backdoor open for our ships."
Aero exhaled quietly. That was one problem solved.
If things had gone south, he'd have had no choice but to destroy a few Navy ships himself. The idea didn't bother him, between sparing his men or sparing the enemy, his choice was always clear.
Still… commanding a fleet this size wasn't something he'd planned for.
His ship carried only fourteen handpicked crew. His core team? Just four people.
From day one, Aero believed in quality over quantity. After defeating Arlong, waves of pirates tried to join the Hurricane Pirates but Aero rejected nearly all of them. Only Gin had made the cut.
Now, the Dove wouldn't take just anyone. Only those who proved themselves could step aboard.
Ray's unit of a thousand wouldn't be joining the main crew, but they were valuable. They could serve as a buffer, protect territory, and man outposts. Things that Aero's small elite force couldn't handle alone.
In the East Blue, having a sizeable following was the only way to secure territory. That's why Krieg had survived so long. Only after he attempted to seize a kingdom did the Navy finally step in.
To the Marines, disorganized pirates were easier to handle. Break them apart, pick them off. That was the strategy.
And it worked because pirates, by nature, were divided.
Pirate against pirate. Pirate against Marine. No unity. No command.
Despite pirates vastly outnumbering the Navy in strength and scale, the World Government still ruled. Not because they were stronger, but because pirates refused to unite.
Even the most powerful pirate forces of the Four Emperors stayed in check because they held a silent agreement: divide the sea, don't cross into each other's territory.
Alone, none of them could stand against the Navy's full might.
But if, one day, all pirates served under a single flag?
The world would belong to them.
Yet that was a fantasy. Pirates would never unite under one person. That's why they'd always be at a disadvantage.
Back to reality, Aero nodded and turned to Ray. "We'll split up from here. You take your force and head to Loguetown. Stay hidden, keep a low profile, and prepare everything we'll need for our journey into the Grand Line."
The Grand Line had always been the goal. Once you became a pirate, it wasn't a matter of if but when.
But navigating it required more than guts.
Its magnetic fields, weather, and ocean currents everything was unpredictable. Conventional navigation was useless. You couldn't survive there without proper tools.
"Make sure to secure Log Poses and Eternal Poses," Aero added. "Without them, we're just drifting blind."
"Yes, Captain," Ray replied, bowing his head. He didn't know what those items were but if Aero ordered them, he'd find them.
"Oh, and one more thing," Aero said. "There's a Marine in Loguetown tough one. Don't blow your cover. If your crew ends up in prison, I'm not bailing them out."
He was thinking of Smoker, the Marine captain who nearly caught Luffy. His Seastone weapon was still a problem. If Aero faced him now, he could easily end up in Impel Down.
And with his Devil Fruit-dependent body… he wasn't exactly built for prison life.
Especially with Seastone shackles.
With all instructions given, Aero and his core crew returned to the Dove. Their next move would follow Ray's lead.
But they needed a distraction.
Ten pirate crews still remained on the island. They'd make the perfect scapegoats.
As Aero's crew watched from a distance, Ray's men demonstrated the sheer difference between proper gear and desperation.
The result wasn't even a contest.
Ten enemy ships were obliterated.
And then Ray's crews hoisted a new flag. Not the emblem of the Bugsy Kingdom.
But the black skull of the Hurricane Pirates.
From this moment on, the Bugsy Kingdom's navy had vanished from the sea.
In its place? The Hurricane Grand Fleet.
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