"So, it's war again?"
"...I'm sorry, Daz. According to our original plan, we should already be gathering forces in the Grand Line by now..."
"We have enough men. Seven ships, including transport vessels and converted fishing boats, our fleet totals fifteen large ships."
"That's way beyond what we expected..."
Well, everything went out the window the moment we picked up Robin.
After dueling with Mihawk to select and dispatch reconnaissance personnel, dueling with Mihawk again to oversee reconstruction efforts, and then dueling with Mihawk once more to ensure a smooth audience with Princess Bede, tonight was yet another night of dueling with Mihawk.
With things about to get hectic, I decided to at least rest my body and lounged around in the men's quarters.
"The Mogwa Kingdom... I haven't heard of any famous swordsmen there, but I'm more interested in the 'reinforcements' we'll somehow need to summon."
"Mihawk does favor the strong, doesn't he? Well, I'm a warrior myself, so I can't say I don't understand that sentiment."
Mihawk and Hack were also spending their downtime as they pleased—sharpening their swords or doing strength training.
"Well, even if we hire mercenaries, we'll probably call in skilled ones. After all, we're deploying a unit formed around newly built ships."
"...That's why we lost, isn't it?"
Daz probably thinks that way because he prefers familiar, reliable equipment over new ships or weapons.
Actually, that's not entirely wrong. But...
"From what you've described, they must have built those ships specifically for long-range cannon warfare."
They tried mounting long-range cannons on the main vessel, but they were too large and hindered maneuverability, according to the reports.
"You guys aren't just individually strong; your tactics, which prioritize cannon battles, pose a clear threat."
That's the kind of evaluation you get when you can slice through cannon fire with just a sword. Not exactly flattering.
"Hahahaha! If we really wanted to, we could hit Kuro-sama's ship even at night. That'd give the enemy quite a scare."
"...But the only reason we can pull off such a feat is thanks to Perona."
Fortunately, we had an ample supply of the same type of gunpowder, allowing us to conduct multiple test firings, a significant advantage.
We arranged cannons of similar performance in a single line, adjusted their angles by fixed increments, and fired simultaneously.
Perona, observing from a high vantage point using her Ghost technique, reported the impact locations.
For example, if the impact points of the first and second cannons landed on either side of an enemy ship, there would be one shell that fell short but came closest, and another that was close but overshot.
At this point, Perona reports the enemy ship's position relative to the midpoint between the first and second cannon impacts.
For instance, if the second cannon landed slightly closer to the enemy ship, she'd report "From first to second, seven-three."
Based on this information, we adjust our aim and continue applying pressure with increasingly precise cannon fire. This is our basic tactical approach.
One advantage of the Holo Holo Fruit is that vision through the ghosts allows us to see clearly even at night.
(If it were a night battle, I'm confident we could completely overwhelm them, though that also depends on the enemy's strength.)
"At least they're not just cannon fodder. If they were mere numbers, it would cost extra to gather enough forces to outnumber us."
"So they're elite troops?"
"Elite, and with decent numbers, I'd say."
Mihawk, you're smiling too much.
I want to fight, I want to fight. That smile is really getting on my nerves, you bastard.
We fought for over eight hours today, didn't we?
"So depending on the enemy's movements, it might come down to a naval battle?"
"It depends on the numbers. Without capable fighters who can operate effectively at sea, the number of ships will ultimately decide the outcome."
If we load all our men onto ships and engage in naval combat, losing even one or two vessels could spell disaster, depending on how the enemy responds.
We can't afford to simply escape like we did at the regional headquarters.
"We'll have the Fishmen handle some tasks, but the main battle will be on land."
After all, we have a fully automatic human-slicing machine already activated and ready to deploy.
To fully utilize its performance, we need solid ground, not the rolling deck of a ship.
The rest depends on how much intelligence the reconnaissance team—the supply unit and Bede, can bring back...
Just to be safe, I've ordered them to avoid Mogwa directly and gather information from neighboring countries instead.
I could investigate Mogwa's homeland alone, but that would leave us without personnel to manage our territories and intelligence networks while we're expanding our influence in the Grand Line.
It seems they'll use an organization under Bede's influence to investigate Mogwa's homeland... I hope that works out.
"Oh, Kuro."
"Hm? What is it, Mihawk?"
"Well, now that I think about it, I didn't know about your original plans. You're currently involved in this massive project of forming alliances with non-member nations, but you had plans as a pirate before this, didn't you?"
Daz twitched.
Ah, right. The only ones who knew about the original Grand Line plan were Daz and Perona.
I was planning to explain it to Robin eventually, but then we got caught up in the Marine slavery incident during our first mission with her...
"I trust everyone here, and since the plan is no longer relevant, I'll tell you... Our goal was to conquer an island. Before entering the Grand Line... and after entering, we planned to focus on strengthening our forces enough to take and hold territory."
Originally, the plan was supposed to take at least five years.
We wanted to mature enough that we wouldn't look like children anymore before getting serious about it.
"An island, huh?"
What's that supposed to mean, Mihawk?
Sensing the implication behind his words, I shot him a sharp glance. The sword master of our personal guard took a sip of wine and said,
"Well, it's strange, but when you talk about conquering and ruling an island, I can't help but think it would surely prosper under your rule."
When Mihawk said that, Daz and Hack burst out laughing simultaneously.
You guys...
"I've been thinking about this for a while, but ruling through fear backed by brute force is just... inefficient, don't you think?"
Well, if you're as powerful as the Four Emperors, or at least command as many followers as Creek—then sure. But how did Buggy and his single-ship crew manage to rule a town so confidently?
Even with Buggy's powerful special cannonballs, what could they do against a mobilized navy?
Because they got cocky after Tea Beard and Whitebeard's deaths, they ended up like those pathetic creatures...
"You're really not pirate-like."
"Is that so?"
We're still fighting the Navy...
And this time, our enemy is a member nation.
They came looking for a fight.
"Normally, people get intoxicated by violence. Well, such people either die before entering the Grand Line or soon after."
"Isn't that just calling them scum instead of pirates?"
Even if that's the norm, it's not for me.
If I have to worry about drinking safely in towns from now on, I'll be too paranoid to enjoy it.
"Heh heh. Sorry, you're right."
"So, Kuro-sama, which island in the Grand Line did you want?"
"Hm? Ah..."
"Jaya."
***
"Sorry for always bothering you. By the way, before dinner, you have a visitor..."
—She's a nice girl, but... being around her puts us in danger too... Besides... look at this bounty...
—Damn it, she's not in the room! Find her! Hand her over to the Navy!
"...!!"
Nico Robin jolted awake, remembering a dream she hadn't experienced in a while—a nightmare that had actually happened.
She instinctively tried to regain her balance, but remembered she wasn't in a ship's hammock but on a roughly laid mattress in a large palace room, and took a deep breath.
In the room, like Robin, the female members of the Black Cat Pirates—including Hancock and her sisters, were sleeping on mattresses scattered around the floor, wrapped in sheets and blankets.
Those not present were likely on guard duty throughout the palace, which had become the Black Cat Pirates' base of operations.
Robin looked around nervously, searching for anyone awake, but everyone was sound asleep.
After hesitating, Robin considered waking the green-haired girl sleeping beside her—Sandersonia, but ultimately decided to get up alone.
She was thirsty and wanted some water, and she also had a lingering sense of unease.
Walking quietly, she opened the fragile door as silently as possible to avoid the slightest creak, stepped into the hallway, and headed toward the balcony where the water barrel was kept.
"Huh? What's wrong, Robin? Did you wake up?"
There, the large black cat who had been by her side ever since that day was basking in the night breeze.
***
"Captain, you're awake too?"
"Yeah, Mihawk got me drunk on wine, and that bastard kept encouraging us to drink more... So I ended up sleeping soundly earlier than usual and just woke up to get some water."
That guy is such a drunkard, it's a real pain.
Wine is a precious luxury these days, so he should savor it more carefully...
...Most of the crew prefers beer anyway, so there was definitely some wine left over.
"Me too... I just suddenly woke up."
"Sorry about the noise. It would be ideal if we could set up a water station inside, but we don't have the resources for that right now."
I tried to open it carefully, but there's still some sound.
Maybe someone else will wake up after Robin. We should prepare some glasses and cups.
If we could allocate resources for things other than maintaining order and working the fields and mountains, we could start working on the water supply...
"Here, is this okay?"
These days, we have to walk all the way to the water source every time.
I remove the barrel's lid and pour water into a wooden container. Robin takes it and says thank you.
"...But this is unusual."
"Robin, you've been able to sleep properly lately, haven't you?"
Back when we first met, even while asleep, she'd wake at the slightest sound. Whenever I talked with Daz and Perona in the room, she'd always keep one eye and ear open for anything suspicious. Those days feel so distant now.
After we took in Amis and the others, her guard began to drop, and by the time we started developing the island, she could sleep soundly.
I'll never forget the day Perona waved her hands over Robin's sleeping face to confirm she was truly asleep, then made that mysterious victory pose.
"...Yeah."
"Maybe you've gotten used to the hammock and can't relax on a mattress?"
I'd like to provide proper beds for all the crew, but we don't have the resources yet. All we can manage is gathering sleeping bags and mattresses.
Even on the ship, it's not like we have a proper galleon—it's just a makeshift vessel. Everyone basically sleeps in hammocks. At least they're lightweight.
(I guess we really need to earn some money. Even if I'm not Nami, being a poor pirate crew is no good.)
If they're going to follow me around, I should at least provide them with a slightly better life.
Robin must be getting too accustomed to this extreme poverty.
We should ensure at least a little breathing room. It's not top priority, but it should be secondary.
"...I had a bad dream."
"A dream?"
"Yeah... Before I met the captain..."
Before she met me. Before Robin hid in that barrel.
(Traumatic flashback dreams are such a grim trope, aren't they?)
For a moment, I imagine our world collapsing and Robin taking the original timeline's path, but... that's unlikely.
With Mihawk happily staying here, even if some sacrifices are made, I don't think the collapse would be severe enough for Robin to flee.
Which leaves one possibility.
"Your intuition is probably working. And it's probably correct."
Robin is a sharp kid, sensitive to malice. She wouldn't have survived alone for twenty years otherwise.
"The people of this country will betray us at the slightest opportunity. Or they might already be preparing to do so. Keep that in mind."
Robin looks startled, but not overly surprised.
She probably sensed hints of malice all along.
Well, it can't be helped.
No matter how justly we govern, we're still pirates with no real roots in this land.
"Just a few days ago, they had to sell their own relatives—their parents and children, to survive."
In fact, Ruchu Island, where there were clear-cut raiders, was actually better off. At least there was an obvious reason for their misfortune.
Here, even though the mafia had their fingers in everything, it wasn't as blatant.
Dissatisfaction with the royal family for failing to govern properly, dissatisfaction with rebels who engage in plundering, dissatisfaction with citizens who refuse to rise up.
It's a tangled mess of grievances, resentment, and more grievances.
They've grown too accustomed to getting by on meaningless anger and betrayal.
"In some cases, selling us out might allow the allied nations to maintain a more stable state than before. It wouldn't surprise me if people were thinking along those lines."
Specifically, someone like the queen, who rarely shows her face to us.
(She probably thinks that if she lets her daughter meet with us pirates, we have a higher chance of winning... but in the end, she'll likely sell us out.)
In that scenario, the queen would abandon the princess and use her younger sister to negotiate with the allied nations or the World Government... right?
(Nothing would surprise me at this point, which makes decisions difficult... We have almost no troops of our own, so as long as we watch out for poison, we should be fine...)
"What about you, Captain?"
"Hm?"
"Aren't you angry?"
Even if you ask me that...
"Well, if that situation arises, I'll feel hurt and get angry, but that's just human nature."
I can't say for certain that I won't end up in such a humiliating position myself.
In fact, it's more than possible.
There's a good chance I'll abandon everything and end up back in the East Blue, pretending to be a butler again.
Robin, too, might end up abandoning all her books and getting involved in human trafficking if something happened...
Good and bad, right and wrong, they're all separated by the thinnest of lines, aren't they?
"Since becoming a bounty hunter, I've hated being alone, so I've taken on anything I could handle. Well... it's true that I've been swayed by such circumstances."
"...Me too?"
There's no point in lying, so I nod.
"At that time, I honestly hesitated about picking up Robin. After all, we were just a group of three kids starting out as pirates."
Above all, it was a dangerous situation that could have made our bounties skyrocket.
So initially, I tried to avoid Robin by monitoring the Marines' movements.
"But in the end, we're being saved by the things we've taken on. Robin, Amis, Hack... and even Mihawk, to be honest. I didn't recruit him, but he's helped us tremendously."
Lately, it's been nothing but fighting, working, fighting, eating, fighting, and resting, so I've been thinking I'd like to land a solid kick to that guy's face at least once.
Today I thought I'd gotten him, but he flew backward to absorb the impact, then tried to slice off my leg. That sword-wielding fool.
"And that's how we ended up on this island. I'm starting by using the people of this island to create a situation where the government can't easily lay a hand on me or any of you."
And once we've created that stalemate, it's certain that the World Government—along with the Four Emperors, will eventually strike.
It's disheartening.
"In the end, it's all for ourselves. If that's what it takes, I'll swallow a hundred or two hundred betrayals."
The point is, we just have to ensure they can't act against us.
From here on out, it's a race.
We have to build a foundation stronger than the government's assessment of our threat level before they can move against us.
And before the people in our conquered territories start looking down on the "Black Cat," we need to build up our achievements.
For that purpose, battles with allied nations are perfect for propaganda and tightening our ranks.
"—Oh, there you are, Kuro."
After patting Robin's head as she calmed down from drinking water, Bege emerged onto the balcony.
"Ah, I had some unfamiliar alcohol and it hit me harder than expected..."
"You're the fleet commander. If you're going to drink, make it count."
"I'll keep that in mind. So, what's the situation?"
"I had my subordinates investigate Mogwa's port town, and they spotted an unfamiliar ship and took some photographs."
"An unfamiliar ship?"
That must be what Bege is holding.
Robin stood up and stretched.
It was a subtle gesture, urging him to show the photos.
...Robin, Bege, and Mihawk, they're all somewhat harsh toward those who've fought against me.
What would happen if I told them that Daz was the bounty hunter who once came after my head?
"Can I see it?"
"Sure, here you go."
Bege hands me the photo and, with the same hand, gently pats Robin's head as she tries to peek at it.
Robin pouts slightly, but Bege seems to be enjoying himself.
Bege, you... are you some kind of mischievous uncle?
"It's quite a large ship. There are five of them. Well... I'm sure you're more interested in the design than the numbers."
"What is it? Two ships... Kuro?"
Oh...
"What's wrong?"
Oh my god!
"Bege, gather all the executives in the conference room immediately. I'll summon our executives here as well."
This pattern again!
We're in the West Blue, aren't we?!
"A dangerous enemy has appeared."
This is definitely a Germa ship!
***
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